A Day of Scouting

Trevor slept pretty much the whole day which was a very good thing! He's feeling better this evening, and he's still planning to speak at the Summit. I still think it's bad enough that he's following Arthur Blessitt, one of the most well-known evangelists from our generation. Praying for strength, clarity of thought, and clear communications.

Todd and I scouted the area. We walked to the little storefront church that we'll be meeting in (that is hosting this entire series of events!) and then to the park where Saturday's Convocation will be. Didn't realize that it would be so far! Found ourselves walking down Haight Street, and turned right at Ashbury. What a weird place: a mix of the counterculture and mainstreat, smoke shops selling "medical cannibis" next to commercial tourist shops. I estimate that we walked 6 or 7 miles walking, including getting meds for Trevor.

It looks like the wedding of young leaders that was planned has been postponed. I guess it was too big of a surprise for the families.

Found out that the place we're staying is in the heart of the "Tenderloin District" of San Francisco. The locals say, "Sure, there are loads of drug dealers, addicts, prostitutes and mentally unstable street people, but if you can get past that, you'll find it is also one of the city's most exciting and diverse locales." It certainly is diverse!

I've observed that almost nobody on the streets makes eye contact with anyone else, though they're certainly very aware of everyone else nearby. Inside the shops it's different, at least in the local ones (the tourist shops don't count): they greet you as an old friend whether you're buying or just looking. We had a wonderful conversation with the proprietress of a local Thai restaurant.

How desperate this town is for light.

Good Morning San Francisco

It's hard traveling with someone who's not feeling well. Trevor is still struggling with what appears to be the 'flu. It'll be interesting to see how he does speaking tonight. He's scheduled to be the second speaker in the Evangelism gathering tonight: right after Arthur Blesset. He's asked for help making sure that he actually gets to the church on time tonight.

B'fast in the hostel is an exercise in a) youth culture, b) international culture, c) all of the above. Almost no English, almost nobody our age. It occurs to me that these are the people that this whole thing is about! How cool is that!

We're in San Francisco!

OK, this is definitely a cross-cultural experience. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The drive down here was long and it was not un-eventful. Twice, we came pretty close to getting hit, and that was before we got to San Francisco. Thank you for your prayers!!

Our team leader, Trevor, is pretty sick, so right away, we're asking for prayer! He's just back from Kenya, but it seems that he's dealing with the 'flu. We assume. We hope. Please pray.

We're ensconced in the San Francisco City Center Youth Hostel. It's a hectic place. The English language is scarce here; I'm sitting in the crowded "common area" and I don't hear English anywhere among the busy conversations. The van is parked three or four blocks away, and the streets between there and here are... shall we say, "an educational experience." I declined her proposed education, and scurried home quickly!

The Summit doesn't start until tomorrow evening; Trevor needs to be at a gathering of speakers at 6:00 pm, so he'll sleep in. We hope to have some time to pray together in the morning, looking for the day's instructions. If we get the chance, we might look around the city, to get our bearings.

We're already in touch with some of the others who are down here ahead of us, and some who will be coming later. It looks like we'll give a ride home (as far as Portland) to one person, and someone else may share our eclectic room here.

Yikes. Thanks again for praying!

Prophetic word for my generation

This is a prophetic word declared by Bob Jones over this movement, though not perhaps over the specific days that we'll be in San Francisco. This carries the heart of part of what we're praying towards:

The youth are gonna come in without number. It's started, you’re not gonna be able to stop it. But they will fragmentate if some of you over 50 don’t get behind them. You’ve got the wisdom of pain and failure behind you; that is really important to impart to this generation that is about to come forth. You can motivate and direct, but one thing you must not do is get in front of them.

Another very important part of the over 50’s is that they are the Joshua generation that’s gonna cross over. You’re gonna cross over before they are. And those of you that have been worried about dying young at 85 or 90 or 100, if you get behind this you’re not gonna die you’re gonna have something to look forward to live. So it really is important. I’ve sent those that have retired and they didn’t re-fire, and they weren’t here long. So it is really healthy for the over 50’s to get something to live for, get behind, fire-up and finance.

The over 50’s has got to scratch to finance it. Sow it in to the youth, sow it into your grandchildren and great grandchildren, because they’re gonna be around. So you over 50’s get a vision for living.

Down to the Wire

We're coming down to the wire. In about 36 hours, we'll be leaving for the Summer of Love Summit.

I spent the last weekend camping with my extended family. Several groups among them serve to sharpen my focus for this trip with their questions. They don't speak Evangelical Christian-ese, so I have to translate my expectations into actual English for us to communicate. That's good, but it is somewhat difficult for a trip like this.

Well, first of all, we're going there to repent on behalf of my generation for fumbling the ball when God started pouring out His presence in the '60's. Then we're going to plan for ways to help the next generation do better. Then we're going to party with the hippies and with Heaven. I didn't discuss the growing feelings of a specific prayer assignment once we get there: how can I? I don't know what it is yet!

Today, we're praying for clarity, for solid relationships between us as we travel ("iron sharpening iron" doesn't always look pretty, does it?) , for a minimum of distractions with directions or travel arrangements, etc. Focus, David; focus.

The Summer of Love is growing!

I keep hearing from folks already in San Francisco about how big this is getting. It appears that this whole event was planned as a small conference, a regional event, for the host church and anyone in the area who wanted to join them.

Then God got ahold of it. Now it's a national event, and people are already streaming into San Francisco, mumbling, "God told me to come!" Apparently, no speakers have been invited: they all invited themselves ("God told me to come!").

As a result, the event is growing in scope and in size. Families and churches are signing up to host the crowds of young people that are arriving, many with "no place to lay their head." The Convocation in the park at the end of the week is turning into a major outreach: booths for face painting, henna tattoos, personal prophecy, dream interpretation, whatever. Did I mention that a wedding has been added?

So we're excited about the Summit, and about the Convocation; we know that we're to be a part of the strategic planning for the next generation, of the impartation to the next generation, and we have this expectation that God will be whispering a few other things for us to do while we're there.

Please pray that we hear well, we obey quickly and completely, and that we don't get distracted. Thanks for your prayers!

The Schedule for the Summit & Convergence

Wednesday, Aug 8 Evening: Evangelism: Reaching the Coming Harvest

Proposed Panelists: Arthur Blesset, Chinua Ford, Sabine Ball, Adam Hood, Larry Rosenbaum, Trevor Macpherson

Thursday, Aug 9 Morning: Pastoring the Coming Harvest

Proposed Panelists: Gary Goodell, Michael Brodeur, Jay Grant, Richard Paradise, Melissa Brodeur,

Afternoon: Creative Renaissance and the Harvest.

Proposed Panelists: Shawn Bolz, Jonathan Fung, Rachel Ford, Trevor Macpherson and Others.

Evening: Apostolic Considerations for the Coming Harvest

Proposed Panelists: Che Ahn, Jerome Ocampo, Gary Goodell, John Isaacs, and Others

Friday, Aug 10 Morning: Teaching and Discipling the Coming Harvest

Proposed Panelists, Robert Gladstone, Chuck Mervin Adrian Simila, and Others

Afternoon: Marketplace Ministry and the Coming Harvest

Proposed Panelists: Leo Scott, Justin Eldred, Chuck Girard And Others.

Evening: Prophetic Considerations for the Coming Harvest

Proposed Panelists: Jill Austin, Ray Hughs, Shawn Bolz, Jesse Engle, Erica Greve, Adam Hood

Saturday, Aug 11 All Day: Summer of Love Convergence

In partnership with the Red Riders, we will be gathering thousands of passionate Jesus people in Sharon Meadows in Golden Gate Park. We will have seven worship bands from around the nation with key leaders who will be speaking. We will have space for artists to draw, paint and display their work. We will spend the day worshipping, praying and proclaiming the Love of God. Join the Summer of Love Procession @10am at the base of the Panhandle or join us at Sharon Meadows from 12-5 in the afternoon. Sharon Meadows is located near Stanyon St and Fell St. in the heart of the Haight-Ashbury District. For more info see: www.thecauseusa.com.

A late addition: there will be a wedding during the convergence. Angelo Jeanpierre will be marrying Hanna Proctor of Elisha’s Request. The celebration will be officiated by Rev. Shaun Bolz, and will be the centerpiece of a significant evangelistic outreach. It’s been a little while since I’ve been part of an outreach like this; reminds me of my YWAM days.