In a few months, hundreds of students and leaders will converge on Camp Jackson, a property set aside for decades as a meeting place between young people and the Lord. Our theme for this year’s camp experience is “The Movement // ROOTED”. Those familiar with our TYM Family are well versed in the phrase “The Movement” and and its meaning, and if you have been listening in recent months the idea of being ROOTED is not foreign. Upon first hearing, it may seem absurd to connected the words MOVEMENT and ROOTED. However, natural terms at times fall short in giving a complete picture of the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom it is viable to say one is both ROOTED and moving in equal parts, simultaneously. I want to share three verses that have helped us shape this theme.

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with the mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never whither, and they prosper in all they do. (Psalm 1:1-3)

This psalm reveals, in part, what it is to be a citizen of God’s kingdom. A generation that chooses to not take its cues from or have its thinking shaped by a wicked, anti-Christ system…A generation that refrains from taking a stance with sinners…A generation that does not join the mocking, cynical, contrarian, volatile ways of society…A generation that takes great joy in the word, heart and ways of God’s Kingdom and sets its thoughts there…That generation bears fruit despite the environment and maintains beauty in all things. That generation prospers in all it does.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

This passage in Jeremiah works in unity with Psalm 1 giving additional details of what it means to be a citizen of heaven. A people who trust the Lord (because they know they are loved), make the Lord their hope (rather than money, success, acclaim) and make the Lord their confidence (rather than their talent, intelligence and connections)…They produce fruit and remain beautiful despite the conditions of the world around them.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. (Ephesians 3:17)

We are like these trees. We are planted in the soil of the earth, but in the deep places we have rooted into a source of water…a river…THE river…Fully sinking oneself into the truth of God’s love…we are graced to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit when the conditions of life are less than ideal. In a world that is parched, dry and increasingly barren, we can be a generation which stands out in the landscape because we have a heavenly source. We are empowered to defy the conventional, the normal, the expected. This is not about knowing how to dance and shout. This is not about knowing how to cry and lift hands. This is about the depths of our soul being rooted in God’s love, our mind being fixed on the Lord, our hope in him not the amenities of the world, our confidence in his strength. This is about looking like the culture of the kingdom of God in the middle of a broken land. This is about being stable, strong, dependable, consistent. This is about looking like hope…bearing fruit of which others can come and partake…this is about a life of beauty in a time of great ugliness.

This is about being ROOTED so The Movement Never Ends…