The Anthem of Our Generation...its long, but its a must read

'THE VISION'
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Story so far… The words of 'The Vision' got written late one night on the wall of the first ever 24-7 Prayer Room. "It wasn't a big deal", says Pete Greig, "... just a very personal thing - trying to work out the call on my life and why I was awake at 0300 praying when sane people are all tucked up in bed!"
Surprise... But somehow the words of The Vision escaped that Prayer Room! They must have been copied off the wall by someone and sent as an email to a friend. Pete recalls: "I didn't realise any of this until someone in Canada emailed my own poem to me saying they had come across it and thought I might like it!"
Before long The Vision was being printed in magazines, remixed by DJ's in New York and Sweden and even choreographed in Spain! At that stage no-one knew who'd written it or where it had come from, and we wanted to keep it that way. (We only went public when certain rather dodgy 'ministries' started implying it had come from them!)
In August 2001 The Vision was published in a magazine called 'The Way' which circulates a staggering 100,000 underground churches in China. The very same week the words were quoted by 10,000's of American young people at an event called 'The Call' in Washington DC. In August, The Vision was also filmed in Central London (the TVisionMix).
Call to Arms We were amazed! Somehow the words scrawled on our Prayer Room wall had taken on a life of their own. The Vision had become a personal mission-statement for many - a generational call to arms.
The Vision made us realise that God was doing something with our prayers, something immeasurably bigger than we could 'ask or hope or imagine'. Perhaps it's another indication that the Spirit really is moving across the nations, uniting the generation with one dream, one passion and one Commander in Chief. http://www.24-7prayer.com/cm/resources/27

The Vision by pete greig
for a graphically illiustrated version
which is freaking awesome, go to this link
http://media.24-7prayer.org/thevision/index.html

So this guy comes up to me and says,
"What's the vision? What's the big idea?"

I open my mouth and words come out like this...

The vision?
The vision is Jesus:
obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones?
I see an army.

And they are free from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday
and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix;
the way the West was won.

They are mobile like the wind;
they belong to the nations.
They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil
and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves
of the hurting and dirty and dying.

What is the vision?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity
long ago to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive,
every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps,
their Satan games.

This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day
its soldiers choose to lose
that they might one day win
the great "Well done"
of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical
on Monday morning
as Sunday night.

They don't need fame from names.
Instead they grin quietly upwards
and hear the crowds chanting
again and again:
"COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing...
This is the sound of the underground.

And the army is disciplined.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his
comrades at arms.
The tattoo on their backs boasts
"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their
upward eyes.
Winners. Martyrs.
Who can stop them?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed?
Can fear scare them or death kill them?

And the generation prays
like a dying man with groans beyond
talking, with warrior cries,
sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of
laughter!

Waiting.
Watching:
24 - 7 - 365.

Whatever it takes they will give:
Breaking the rules.
Shaking mediocrity from its cozy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their
precious little wrongs,
laughing at labels,
fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them.
Hollywood cannot hold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless
to shake their resolve at late night
parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously
attractive (on the inside).
On the outside?
They hardly care!
They wear clothes like costumes:
to communicate and celebrate
but never to hide.

Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives,
swap seats with the man on death row;
guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears,
with sleepless nights
and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God
and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses Jesus.
(He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.

Their words make demons scream in shopping malls.
Don't you hear them coming?

Herald the weirdos!
Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud,
skyscrapers bow,
mountains are dwarfed
by these children of another dimension.

Their prayers summon the hounds of
heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be.
It will come to pass;
it will come easily;
it will come soon.

How do I know?
Because this is
the longing of creation itself,
the groaning of the Spirit,
the very dream of God.

My tomorrow is his today.
My distant hope is his 3D.
And my feeble,
whispered,
faithless prayer
invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great
"Amen!"
from countless angels,
from heroes of the faith,
from Christ himself.

And he is the original dreamer,
the ultimate winner.
Guaranteed.

For more food for thought,
http://www.24-7prayer.com/cm/
what is 24-7 prayer....http://www.24-7prayer.com/cm/resources/47
http://www.boiler-rooms.com/cm/
http://www.mustardseedorder.com/cm/home/?category=1

The Manifesto

I have been learning alot from the sermon on the mount (Matt 5-7) how Jesus is the most magnificent person that ever lived. That is what I am saying by being a "little christ" (christian). I never really realized how revolutionary the truth was that he proclaimed that day on the mount. He is pretty much law by law picking apart jewish law saying...You have heard it said like this, but I tell you. The underlying theme in the whole passage which is the crux of our faith is love from your heart. Dont follow rules because following rules for the purpose of following rules has no positive end and is not kingdom living. He is saying to love from the center of who you are from your heart. Not because you "have" to but because you are deeply in love with Jesus. As I shared with a man Al in a mountain town of Cyprus that overlooked the Med. sea. Religion is like an arranged marriage both partners love out of obligation, the couple is boxed in, their forced to. I am not gonna get into it you know where I am going with this. Who wants to be told who they have to spend the rest of their life with. As in a marriage centered around love... not obligation, your love for that person grows more and more every day not because it has to, but because it is the natural progression of the human race across the board. This carries over with my realationship with God, I am free in my decision to love Him or not. What kind of God does that? anyways. The evidence of what he has done for me and for you objectively and subjectively is overwhelming and I couldnt help to cave. Fall head over heals. Jump off the cliff. My roomate josh encouraged me to read the bible as a romance I mean it is the best seller and it is the greatest love story ever. You know the one where the girl leaves the guy for this dirtbag but the guy is a classy gentleman and doesnt give up. He still calls the girl and proclaims his love to the girl, because true love doesnt give up or give in. I know this is a little sappy of an example but I... we are the brides of Christ I hear it all the time, but recently its stuck. The idea hangs in my head on a string in my subconsciousness lingering relentlessly...GRACE. When will we stop to hear the wooing whisper of I love you in our ears. When will we stop allowing the conpulsive machine of society, the social norm deture us from kingdom living and the abundant life that God has for us. I put down the tv remote I turned off my radio. I stopped wasting time online. I ran out into the woods. And let me tell you what I found was a father with open arms waiting to welcome home the prodical son. Proclaiming his unfailing love for me. I encourage you to do the same. Healing comes through solitude. Do I still allow my insecuties and conpulsiveness let the noise distract me from time to time yes, but I have tasted and I want more.

I Met a Man

Let me tell you about a man I met on the road many years ago. I was walking the wrong direction along this road looking out only for myself. While I was walking, I heard this unmistakably familiar voice call my name. This man then proceeded to turn me around and, with an alluring sense of kindness in his voice spoke four profound words that echoed through eternity, “Come and follow me... “. He looked into my eyes which were full of hurt, fear, and a longing for more, and I saw an abundant overflow of love and compassion burning in his. He spoke again saying, “My son, are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly,” (Matt 11:28 The Message). As these words resonated through out my whole being, my heart longed to agree. His voice was so reassuring his words relaying freedom, his breath was life-giving...I said “Yes.” He then took my pack of sorrow off laying my burdens at his feet. The tears began to roll, Overwhelmed by my emotions, I crumpled into a heap at his feet, - feet that had been pierced on cross. He then reached down and gently lifted up my chin and said, “Child you are my beloved and now I am yours.” He picked me up, wiping the tears from my eyes as he dusted off my clothes. Embracing me, the prodigal son who had come home, as he whispered promises that were sweet like honey to my ears. He reminded me that his love is unfailing, his mercies are new every morning, and I am his son. He told me how he had been longing for this day since the beginning of time and that all of heaven was rejoicing with us in great song and jubilee. He said that my life would now be about kingdom things: loving him, being kind to all people, and making disciples of all the nations. He shared how he was going to prepare a place for me and not to worry because he would be with me always. As he left, he turned back and grinned at me from ear to ear. I smiled back in response and gave a triumphant shout while dancing for joy! I began to follow Jesus down the path, knowing that a lifelong adventure had begun.

Expectations

I have been given the humbling blessing to go to Cyrpus, Germany, and Backpack Europe this summer. For 67 days, 18 days in Cyprus, 12 days in Germany, and 37 with a pack on my back in Europe I will vacate the country. The days of counting and day dreaming have come to an end. I have dreamed of Paris, Rome, Scotland, Ireland and many more wonderful places. I have seen pictures and heard stories. I am sure you have to...I mean who hasn't Ahh to dream about going to Europe. I have contemplated over and over what does a perfect trip would look like? The mind tends to take a thought and run with it to exotic places, where kings live in castles and beautiful women feed them grapes. In preparation I began to worry about the details loosing sight of the big picture. I guess the bottom line is after "getting ready" as much as can the big picture has smacked me in the face. This trip will only be a failure if I do not listen to the Lord and obey. Progressively realizing this has helped me to let my expectations go. A planed trip for me would be a predications agenda: a regimented order of overwhelmingly bland events. I am in the process of buying a one month unlimited train pass that will give me access to 18 countries. If God wants me to rip the pass and camp in the woods the whole time I am striving to prepare myself to do this. I am open for whatever he has, which in the past has proven to be quite rewarding in a spiritual sense. As my good friend Joe Daley reminded me this past semester after both of us contemplating sighing our lives away to work at his dads boys camp for 2 years, "Tyler you are DEAD". Those words could never be so refreshing at this point. I refuse to rush around Europe to say I have done all these things. My desire is to learn how to become independent from man and depended on God. To learn greater how to see God in the small things such as the blessing of having birds that play songs for me every day outside my window, I often don't take the time to notice. In the big things, architectural structures of old, trees I love trees (maybe I will share about this love sometime soon), the ocean, and MOUNTAINS ^^^^. These things are large in our world but way small in comparison to our creator. It will be so interesting to see the different cultures.

For me this is a study of life. An experiment to see what others think about God, church, and the lack there of. Where God will lead me I do not know. And that is what lures me woes me, captivates me so much for that I keep on coming back for more again and again.

He told me to go so I am...

Going overseas is unlike anything I have ever done before and I don't know what to expect and that's what I like about it. I wont be disappointed.

Will you buy me a house?

Last night there was this Gorilla poetry insurancy, the flier said that it is an anti-authoritarian, collaborative pro-humanity artists' collective incorporating music, rhythm, spoke word, song, community, and resistance. Whatever that means, they were just reading poems, expressing themselves about the economy, government, how much they hated bush at a park near downtown D.C.. Andy and I were randomly in the park when it started. Earlier in the Day Andy and I were walking to McDonalds to get some burgers when we heard a bald brother say, I would give you a hug to if you bought me a house to a couple that were groping each other in. The couple laughed, and we laughed too at his bold jester of a remark. He ended up stopping buy and talking to him at for a while. Turns out he a brother in Christ, Mike recently got out of jail and has made it his lives ambition to bring joy to the world by joking with random people on the street, He seriously asked like twenty people when we were sitting with him for lunch, Hey will you buy me a house? It was quite comical . Mike since he got saved has been writing poems from God to man to encourage people and ones to speak God's justice. Mike invited us to Dupont park, a bus ride away, but we said we couldn't because we didn't have money. He said he would take care of that and not even 3 minutes later came back with enough money for a bus fair. Andy and I were wondering how in the world? He told us that he just recites his poems for people and they give him money. It was so encouraging meet him, his perspective was refreshing.

After taking a bus ride to the park, I was sitting there wishing we could hear some people play bongos, because I wanted to dance. So this group randomly shows up. These two hippies Jesse who had really long hair and wore a bandana, Sarah had blonde dread locks, who came for the poetry. Came over to talk to us, I guess they were lured by our bandanas and B.O. (body odor), hopefully Christ. We had a wonderful opportunity to share the sweet adventure God had given with us thus far. They seemed really free with their lifestyle with gave up room to speak freely about our love for God. Mike took part in poem-off and shared some of his poems from God. His boldness was contagious, SO after Sarah shared her poem, Sarah and I ended up doing a interpretable dance in front of maybe 30 people in the park to the sound of a jungle beat on the bongos. I got up there on the mic and shared how the dance was dedicated to my father in Heaven whom I love very much, the God who I serve. Let just say I was inspired, and am a ways looking for a opportunity to dance...It was so much fun.

Then at 9:00 a homeless many George hooked us up by taking us to an upscale deli that through out all its leftover salads and sandwiches to see if they would donate their food. On the way there I shared, I feel that we are going to have a feast tonight. Sure enough we were given over 10 salads and sandwiches Boo yeah. We all sat indian style in the park partaking in the sandwich goodness and passing the different kinds all around. They really appreciated us sharing their adventure with them. This has been the way our trip has gone. God has been guiding us along the narrow path and all we can do is look back and smile at how his hand is working and the divine appointments and people of peace he has brought into our life. This afternoon we are in Georgetown and tonight we will be back at dupont circle where a lot of homeless people, interesting folk, and action goes on. George told us there are breakdancers coming to perform at the park, Andy and I are so stoked. Looks like we are going to have break it down tonight.

con·tem·plate
v 1: look at thoughtfully; observe deep in thought; "contemplate one's navel" 2: consider as a possibility; "I contemplated leaving school and taking a full-time job" 3: think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes

reck·on
To count or compute: reckon the cost.
To consider as being; regard as.
Informal. To think or assume.

To be honest I dont remember my first thought. Though looking at my childhood years retrospectively, not knowing what thoughts to keep to myself or thinking outloud always got me in trouble. In recent days, I have realized that keeping some of these thoughts in is not the answer. I can not and will not stop thinking and asking questions. I will ask why until it hurts. Until I die. WHY? Because I want to learn and grow. Learning what it means to be a worker laboring for the kingdom. To attain knowledge on how to build shelters with my bare hands out of bamboo, sticks, and grass. To learn about new trails to hike through the woods and how to live off the land and so much more. To grow in my knowledge of truth. And to know overwhelming of a fathers love for his child, a grooms for a bride, and a shepard for his sheep. I am restless, in need of a chase, something to pursue other than a woman. I want my shallow bubble like perspective to be shattered, to be pierced. For my framework of thinking to be shaken out of its cosy little bed, because it does have a bed its in the house I reside in off langhorne Ln....and just so you know it is little.

So to you I ask these questions that lerk in my subconsciousness that are lingering into the light. With you I desire to share some thoughts from my day that jump out in my mind as ! marks, and in comparison the little things that make me ponder this gift called life. What makes me giggle and what makes me cry. Thoughs of love, how it progress and recesses. Blah...to far. Rhyming is so beautiful though. Especially in the form of a rap. so yeah who knows maybe I will rap, or write a poem or a jingle. Anyways, for me this is a journey into a way of thinking that exposes, lies and truth, love and fear, failures and successes, and adventures. This is the story of a northern boy who moved to Virgina, and after hearing the phrase "I reckon" for the first time and attending school on a mountain, became a champion (critique of a movie that will be out summer of 2011).

The Diaries of Tyler T Williams(no longer under locket and key)

You think you know, but you have no idea...