YQ

Hey I know that this is making it's way around the internet right now, so I thought I would do my part. I was really impressed by the decisions they have made if YQ this year so here it is

"Greetings from Youth Quake!

You may have noticed the absence of big-name acts on our YQ poster and website. I want to offer a word of explanation about that so you can catch a glimpse of how God has been working in our lives, preparing us for YQ ’07.

We went through a long process this year of trying to locate bands for the Friday night concert at YQ. We started making formal booking requests in August, before most agents wanted to talk with us. None of our requests were accepted, right up to our poster deadline. As time wore on and our deadlines loomed larger, a sense of urgency (desperation?) started to work itself into our decisions. We started making offers to bands that we either didn’t know or didn’t necessarily like. By the beginning of October, our desperation had “paid off”—we had two bands confirmed for our concert slot. Given the process we had gone through, it was actually a surprisingly strong lineup.

Here’s where things turn interesting.

As soon as I booked our “big band,” I was uneasy. In the days leading up to their confirmation, God had convicted me of a practical idolatry that we were exercising in terms of the bands. We look to bands to save YQ, to bring kids to our event. The “need” for a band had skewed our priorities and we were offering increasingly costly sacrifices to appease our gods and win their favour. God called me on this and called me back to him.

Isaiah 30:1-3, 15

"Woe to the obstinate children,"
declares the LORD,
"to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
who go down to Egypt
without consulting me;
who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,
to Egypt's shade for refuge.
But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame,
Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength . . .

After much prayer and discussion, I felt led to break the agreements we had with the two bands we had signed for the Friday concert. We booked them out of a sense of desperation, not direction. We’ve been convicted of this and so we’ve cleared the field as a costly sacrifice of praise to our one TRUE God. We’re listening to him now, asking what he wants to do at Youth Quake on Friday night. My sense is that it might not look like a standard concert at all, but whatever it will be, it will be the thing that God leads us into. We have thousands of dollars we had budgeted for bands—how does God want to spend that money? That’s an exciting question to be asking together! My sense is that his plans might not look like a standard concert at all, but whatever it will be, it will be the thing that God leads us into. We will keep you updated through our website as details develop.

When I was in the thick of the struggle, I sensed God asking me if I wanted everything that he has planned for YQ. I do. The implication, though, is that it means giving up what we had planned and waiting on him. This is our freefall! This is costly (we may still need to honor the financial contracts into which we entered with the bands), but there is a powerful promise that is motivating us and moving us forward. God has plans for YQ and I don’t want to stand in the way of those.

We thought it was important to let you know why we’re doing what we’re doing at YQ ‘07. We want to invite you to pray with us and join us on the journey toward all that God has for us. Our hope is that people will want to be a part of an event where the leadership is willing to prepare the ground for Jesus at any cost. There’s powerful opportunity in all of this and we want to make the most of it!

With anticipation,
Kevin Fawcett"
Director of Youth Quake