Thursday, June 8, 2017

Young Life Staffer and Ecumenical Group Meets with the Pope


Today history will be made. Pope Francis will welcome a staff person from Young Life at the Vatican. But first a little backstory.

In 1968, Young Life’s founder, Jim Rayburn, visited Rome where he met with five Catholic seminarians studying for the priesthood. Rayburn loved it. He loved them. He reveled in the meeting, calling it “the highlight of my European tour.” Whether he knew it or not, that meeting ushered a rising tide of unity and shared mission has been growing for half a century. And it is about to reach a true watermark for the kingdom.

In 1969, one year after Rayburn’s powerful visit to Rome, a young man named Marty Caldwell met Jesus Christ through a group of Young Life leaders in Phoenix and it changed his life forever. Nearly 50 years later Marty is now the Executive Vice President of Young Life International Ministries, overseeing the explosive growth of YL ministries in over 100 countries around the world.

Marty has always embraced the ecumenical vision of Young Life and has built abiding friendships with Protestants and Catholics across the country, and in his current role, around the globe. For years Marty has been working with a group of ministry leaders from Phoenix who pray the John 17 prayer of unity for the sake of the city.

Today Marty and this group of John 17 leaders, both Protestant and Catholic, will retrace the steps of Jim Rayburn in Rome but will take it a step further. They will be received by Pope Francis himself. This is truly a day to celebrate as it exemplifies the prayer of Jesus, that we may be one, that we may reach across the dividing lines and walk hand in hand into the world of kids and share with them the abounding love of God in Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis understands the valuable work youth ministers do every day. “You are the ones who accompany young people on their path,” he says, “helping them find the way that leads to Christ.” He furthermore understands the incarnational approach of Young Life that is necessary to reach kids today. “Much more than promoting a series of activities for young people, you walk with them, accompanying them personally in these complex and difficult times.” It is this ministry of accompaniment, meeting kids where they’re at, and walking with them through all of life’s challenges, that creates real and enduring connections. “It’s in this connection,” Pope Francis says, “where a true dialogue can be engaged in by one who lives a personal relation with the Lord Jesus.”

Marty notes, “This is a wonderful opportunity. Our group is small enough to have a good discussion with Pope Francis – about Jesus, about evangelization, about the Church. We’re trusting God is up to some big things among the diverse churches who yearn to see Jesus lifted up.” In a special moment, the group will pray the prayer of John 17 together with the Holy Father. I can only imagine the celebration in heaven, including the likes of Jim Rayburn whose insistence on "majoring in the majors" set the course so many years ago for such a momentous occasion today.

Pray with me, with the mission of Young Life and with the entire Church universal, that our unity today will help the world to know the love of God in Jesus Christ and embrace the life that can only come through him. All glory be to God!

14 comments:

  1. My heart leapt for joy when I saw the subject of this post come through my email. Come Holy Spirit...

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  2. What a blessing! I'm so thankful that God continues to pave roads of reconciliation among the Christian family. Michael stay strong in the work you are doing for Christ's kingdom.
    -Andy Walser

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  3. I led a YL Club in a predominantly Roman Catholic community (late 70's - early 80's. When I tried to reach out to the Rector and Priests of the local Catholic Church, they indicated, through the church secretary, that they didn't need to meet with me or know anything about YL or our ministry in their community. I found that surprising and somewhat discouraging, about 80% of our Club were Roman Catholic. Hopefully, since my time, and after this meeting, the Catholic church (local) will be more amenable to working with complimentary ministries trying to reach kids for Christ (members of their congregation or otherwise)!

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  4. Michael! I'm blown away by God's faithfulness!! I'll be praying for an excellent and productive meeting. With John 17 being prayed, how can it be any other way?? Thanks for your amazing bridge-building!!❤️�� Mary

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  5. With every beat of me heart today, I will be praying that the Holy Spirit leads! Lord, Have Mercy!

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  6. Wow!

    And,and again I say unto you, Wow!

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  7. I love things like this so much! When my daughter was in high school, she was on the work crew at a Young Life camp for a month. Her work crew boss took 4-5 kids to Mass each week. When she went to Malibu as a sophomore, a priest from her Jesuit high school offered Mass at Hamburger Point. Last summer, my parish donated to an all-city outreach to teens and young adults. Our parochial vicar took a bunch of kids with him to the event. As a lifelong Catholic and a nearly lifelong fan of Young Life, I could not be happier over the Pope's meeting.

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  8. Wow, this fills my heart with Joy. Been a life long Catholic and a volunteer/staff/supporter of Young Life for 25 years. Took some knocks from many not understanding the centrality of Christ. May we be one, huge prayer. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Yay!!! Weeping for Joy in China. Praise Him! Oh LORD Jesus Christ, have your way among us.

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  10. That's what the world needs. I will be praying. God is amazing

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  11. Fantastic. God works in mysterious ways through all Christians. It's beautiful to see Young Life & Catholicism working together as they should be. God bless you and God bless your work.

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  12. This is wonderful beyond measure. I'd like to hear how the meeting went!

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  13. Michael, reading this today I reflected back to the first time I told you about my Dad's trip to Rome, and since reading it I have poured over his diaries again (many entries not published in the recent "Diaries of Jim Rayburn" book). My Dad travelled all the way to Pakistan once to call upon a young Muslim man who had visited Frontier Ranch as a camper. As he aged and matured, as all of us hopefully do, I think he became less and less concerned with one's background, faith tradition, etc. What mattered to him was whether or not someone really was united with the Lord through his Spirit, did someone really "know him" or "know about" him. In some significant way, he connected with these young men in Rome and sought to share with them what he had to give, and I'm sure he was interested in their points of view as well. One thing is for sure, the more deeply those young men knew intimacy with the Lord, the more Dad would have connected with them. Dad's prayers were powerful, unusually so, I know that. And he alone, save our Heavenly Father, knows what he prayed those days after leaving Rome. He had every intention of "following up" with those young men but he never had the opportunity.

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Thanks so much for your input. I pray that this dialogue may be a blessing to you personally and to the ministry you exercise in Christ.

Michael