stage fright

I am sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops in Madison, listening to some Norah Jones and enjoying the way caffeine interacts with my bloodstream or whatever it is that makes my brain work so much better. The past couple of hours I have been working on talks for camp this weekend with the middle school students. I enjoy the process of trying to craft a talk, to capture people’s attention and hopefully influence the way the live.

To that end I have to be careful. Sometimes I can get so caught up in the challenge of coming up with the right hook to grab the listener and make them want more and then move into the meat of the message and flow into one great illustration after another. They will forget that time is passing and move from emotions of humor to sadness to conviction. I want them to leave the room with a desire to change the world and with the knowledge and motivation to do the little things that can make that happen.

But too often this process is all about me. The rush of being up front and the feeling of importance are intoxicating. People care what you have to say and even when you suck people take the time to tell you you did a great job. That would all be nice and good if I were a motivational speaker and sometimes that sort of thing sounds good. You know, all I need to do is go try out for the Notre Dame Football team, get in for one play and the rest will be history. Of course that might have already been done so I will have to come up with something else to conquer.

I am looking forward to this weekend and can’t wait to get through all the details and just get on the bus and be on our way. By God’s grace I hope that students both experience and better understand Truth. I look forward to teaching and seeing what comes of it. And then I look forward to a long night's sleep come Sunday.