Below is an email I sent to my leadership.  I wrote the email late the other night but sent it to them just last week… enjoy:

I’m sitting in my house and it’s late. I won’t tell you how late, I’ll leave that up to your own imagination… but I should be asleep.

I can’t sleep.

My thoughts keep running over and over of what this next year might mean… of what this next year might look like in our college ministry… of what this next year might look like for you… of what this next year might look like for me, for Abigail (& even ole’ Ebenezer)… of what this next year might look like for Baylor… of what this next year might look like for Waco & our world. And thus:

I cannot sleep.

What would happen if our friends who we thought knew Jesus might for the first time come to grips with the reality that they actually don’t know him and then place their faith in him?

What would happen if we saw people begin to confess things they’ve kept hidden all their lives?

What would happen if we cared enough about our friends; roommate; classmates; professors; frat-mates; sorority sisters; boyfriends/ girlfriends; parents; & siblings that we shared w/ them that which matters most in life… Jesus.  And not just because we felt obligated to do it; not because we felt forced to do it; not because we felt like we had to BUT because Jesus matters that much to us.

What would happen if we couldn’t sleep because so many great and awesome things were happening in our ministry and amongst us as a leadership?

Would that not be awesome?

Will you join me in praying for that to happen?

I think the Lord has some crazy awesome things in store for us this next year and I’m totally stoked (yeah, I said stoked) to see how the Lord is going to play these things out among us.

Now remember; we start at 10:15am on August 23rd.

Drag. Pull. Plead with. Drive. Con. Do whatever it takes to get your friends to church when the new semester begins.

If you don’t invite your lost friends to church how will they ever hear about Jesus?
Will they hear about Jesus from you?
If you bring your friends to our church, they will hear about Jesus… I promise you that.

I want to pack out the college hour room.
I want us to have to create new small groups on the first Sunday.
I want us to have too many people desire to serve internationally & locally on some type of mission endeavor this next year.
I want us to have to plan a baptism service the first Sunday this semester because so many of your friends come to faith.
I want us to have a space problem.
I want us to dream and dream big of what God might do in and through us.
I want us to worship like crazy on that Sunday.
I want us to be willing to look foolish for Jesus’ sake on that Sunday & all of them to come…
may we not hold back together… may we not hold back.

I want to be amazed… do you?

Whew!  As you can see, I’m totally stoked that you’re a little over a week away from being here in Waco again. I’ve missed you. Our church has missed you.
Please come soon.

love&live the gospel,

criner