Youth Rally Service

Youth Responding to God's Call and Reaching Out to their Peers

Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church

Roanoke, VA

January 30, 2010

Dr. Tony Campolo

Youth Rally Service

Topic: Youth Responding to God's Call and Reaching Out to their Peers

Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church

Roanoke, VA

January 30, 2010

  1. Tony tells story about the funniest thing that has ever happened to him- Standing in the elevator, his fly was open and he accidentally zipped a lady’s scarf into his zipper.
  2. Teaches the young people the song he learned about loving horns on automobiles.
  3. Tony knew as a young person that Christianity was more than just saying yes to the teachings that were given to you.
  4. Tony tells the story about being at WestPhiladelphiaHigh School realizing that Jesus wouldn’t be sitting in the back of the classroom with all the jocks that already had a lot of friends, but sitting with the nerd that didn’t have any friends.
  5. Be friends with people Jesus would be friends with
  6. Story about a guy named Roger in Tony’s high school that was outted. Roger was urinated on by the guys in the locker room because he was gay. Roger committed suicide
  7. Story about the bag lady at the expensive department store in BelAir, California and the kind sales lady who waited on this woman
  8. Tony talks about prayer and Pascal, the guy who invented calculus. He explains centering prayer. To drive out everything out of your mind except for Jesus. To have the Spirit of God in you creates a great sense of joy.
  9. College students and high school kids don’t have much joy anymore. Story about being in a double sided door elevator and the kid who didn’t laugh because Tony didn’t realize that there was another door and thought the elevator was stuck.
  10. Story about Tony’s black church and the funeral that was marked by joy. The church turned death and mourning into a celebration of rejoicing
  11. Story about Haitians singing hymns and praise to God after the Hurricane. Even in the midst of suffering, they were still able to sing hymns of joy.
  12. When the Spirit of God in you, you not only have joy, you have love too.
  13. Story about a school teacher in Michigan. The teacher didn’t really like one of her students, Teddy. He was musty, grungy, and always answered questions very monotone. She got joy out of marking X’s on his tests. Teddy’s mom was terminally ill, and his father wasn’t around. This boy changed her entire life, and she changed his.
  14. Story about a student of Tony’s who graduated top of his class at Harvard law, but he goes to the jail house every day to defend criminals on death row because he doesn’t believe in capital punishment. It doesn’t really pay the bills, but he does it everyday out of love and to live by the word of Jesus, “Blessed are the merciful…”
  15. What it means to be a Christian is not to just believe, or just do what Jesus would do, but to surrender to Christ and invite Christ to be a living presence inside of you. So that you would know joy and be persons that show his love.
  16. Tony Prays
  17. Youth Choir Sings
  18. Youth Prays
  19. Congregation sings

Tags: elevator, horns, automobiles, West Philadelphia High School, Roger, department store, bag lady, Pascal, calculus, gay, centering prayer, joy, funeral, rejoicing, hymns, praise, hurricane, Haiti, love, suffering, Michigan, teacher, Teddy, Harvard Law, surrender