Imagine if you will…it’s a warm summer day and you are in a beautiful location surrounded by incredible creation. Included in that creation are over a hundred youth and young adults who are all in the deep waters of ‘We Believe’.
This last week I had the great blessing of once again spending a week in the mountains of western North Carolina at Kanuga with young folks from all over the southeast. Each day we learned and discerned what it is we believe.
The majority, but not all, were Christians. And of those, the vast majority were Episcopalians. As such we began our journey unpacking the Christian faith tradition, particularly how it is manifested in the Episcopal Church. We then began to explore four other major religions of the world, including many of their cultural expressions.
With this as the backdrop we invited each participant to take a deep dive into not just the ‘what’ but the ‘why’ they believe what they do. Through art, drama, playing, and written and verbal expression the young people painted an incredible picture of the foundation of what they believe.
On our last day together the youth were invited to explore how they see themselves living out their beliefs. As a part of our closing time I shared with them CEO of Habitat for Humanity International Jonathan Reckford‘s recent commencement address to the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He articulated three points that I passed on to the young people:
• What values will define you?
• Who are you going to follow?
• What problem will you help solve?
My challenge for the young people was if you are clear and grounded in what you believe it will completely shape the answers not only to how you answer those questions but how you will choose to live your life.
What a blessing and privilege to walk with these young folks. I am both inspired and confident that these youth will lean into what they believe.