With Brian Holland
Note: Brian has been speaking at Hume for over a decade! We caught up with him and had a few questions to ask so that you could get a speaker’s perspective…
Why do you have a heart for speaking at Hume?
First, Hume means so much to me. In 1991, I stood up in the Ponderosa chapel as a seventeen-year-old soon-to-be-senior in high school and completely committed my life to following Jesus. Something still hits me every time I step on stage at any of the Hume locations, especially Ponderosa Chapel, because this is where the Father called me to surrender to Jesus. This is where I met him, and I’ve never been the same.
Second, I’ve seen God call my two sons to surrender to Jesus at different chapels while speaking at Hume. I remember being almost overwhelmed by the emotion as I saw each of them stand up to declare Jesus as Lord and receive his gift of salvation as they committed to following him.
And third (but there are many more reasons), Hume keeps the main the main thing. The heart of Hume is the gospel of Jesus. The heart of Hume is to see people and campers surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. Everything comes back to this.
Even after 12 years of getting to partner with Hume, it still feels like Christmas when I receive an email inviting me to partner once again and to teach his word to others. It never gets old.
What need do you see in the kids you are speaking to?
I know there are so many different answers to this question from seasoned youth workers, all right and helpful as we continue to serve and care for the next generation. However, from the contact I still get with students, one of the main things students need is to be brought back to truth. Unfortunately, our culture has bought into “confusion” as the acceptable norm, moving forward into more profound relativity, leaving everyone fending for themselves when defining good and evil. However, this ideology leads to hopelessness and chaos as everyone “does as they see fit.” But the word of God brings about standards and guardrails for our good. The commandments of God are not stifling in nature. Instead, God’s commandments are for our ultimate good and joy, as well as for the good of society at large. With so much “misinformation” talk in our world, I believe that students can thrive by coming back to the reliability and beauty of God’s word and learning how to live life with Jesus. And when they do, they are introduced to the God who loves and adores them, who calls them out of sin and into life. The God who introduces them to the beauty of his grace and the splendor of his holiness. They receive God’s gift of forgiveness. They are given purpose and value. They are given a mission. They are invited to follow Jesus, to be changed into his likeness by the Holy Spirit, and to introduce others to him. They are invited to come to Jesus – the way, the truth, and the life. And all of this is found in the truth of God’s word.
Do you have any stories from camp while you are up at Hume interacting with the kids?
Story 1.
I recently had a conversation with a young man who told me about his journey with Jesus and how he had faced many difficult things in his life (his dad leaving his family and one of his friends committing suicide). As he shared, I was so touched by his honesty in trying to figure out a life of faith that gets attacked when life hits with uninvited pain. His questions of “why” weren’t irresponsible or disrespectful. As he was sharing how he was feeling, Psalm 73 came to mind. He sounded a lot like Asaph, the leader of the Levitical choir, who complained and cried out to God with raw honesty. And as we talked through it, he asked me a question. “So do you think God will use me to help others who have gone through things like I’ve gone through? Is that why God let all of this stuff happen?” To the question of “why God let this happen,” I told him that I didn’t know why God let it happen. I reminded him about God’s goodness and greatness. I reminded him of God’s sovereignty and how his ways and thoughts are not like ours. I reminded him that so many times, on this side of heaven, God doesn’t answer our “why,” and when he doesn’t, it’s always connected to his grace and that he can be trusted. But to the question about God using him to help someone else? I told him, “ABSOLUTELY!” 2 Corinthians 1.3-4 came to mind. I handed him my Bible and had him read it out loud:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (ESV)
As he finished reading it, I asked him if he understood it. He did. He told me what God spoke to him through his word, the truth that God will comfort him so that he can comfort others who go through something similar. And then he let me pray for him. And it was beautiful.
Story 2.
A while back, after I had invited students to stand to tell others that they had surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus and received his gift of salvation, a young man about 15 years old came up to me before I could walk to the back of the chapel to sit down. He said, “Brian, can I tell you something?” I, of course, told him that he could. He then said, “I don’t feel worthy.” He didn’t feel worthy of all that Jesus did to redeem him. As he stood there with eyes wide open, I looked at him and compassionately said, “You’re not.” He had this puzzled look on his face. He said, “Ok. Thanks,” and started to walk away. I stopped him because there was more to it. I said, “Wait… Dude, you’re not worthy. Neither am I. But the cross of Jesus is God’s declaration that you’re worth it.” And it clicked. It’s as if, at that moment, he knew that he was loved and adored by Jesus even more than he thought. That never gets old.
Story 3.
After getting to be part of speaking to youth at so many locations where Hume ministers to students, I’ve been so humbled to have young adults and youth pastors and youth workers, and Hume staff come up and say, “You were my speaker when I came to camp back in…” “You were the speaker when I surrendered my life to Jesus.” I’m looking at these young people who are impacting the kingdom of God and serving and loving Jesus well, and I’m blown away. Even as I type this out, I get a little choked up to think that God would allow me to have any impact on anyone else. I’m genuinely thankful for the gracious gift that God has entrusted to me to teach his word and make much of Jesus.
Brian Holland has been in ministry for over 25 years in Southern California. He is currently the Lead Pastor for Ignite City Church. He is an outstanding speaker passionate about seeing people come to know and follow Jesus. Brian and his wife, Kelley, have two sons, Tyler and Dylan. Brian just wrote a book, Simple, that is available for purchase on Amazon!