Xmen and Ihopu

I tend to love analogies so here's some random thought that has popped into my a head a number of times.  In asking the question of, who are ihopu students?  The only thing I find them analogous to is xmen.

The first thing I would like to say is this is not to put ihopu kids, myself inculded, onto some kind of pedastal above the rest of the church.  In fact, in one of my following points you will see that we are just as screwed up as the rest of the church.  My point is to (hopefully) comically categorize the breed (myself included) that comes here.

Xmen and ihopu students are both gifted.  Corey Russel, one of our professors likes to joke about this.  One day he said, "I can't even walk into some restaurants.  One time I did and said to my wife, 'honey, we got to go.  Why?  I don't know why?  Maybe there's some demon chef!"  Of course you can't really got the full effect of this quote on a blog because Corey's pretty hilarious in real life.  However, the point was that, what he said, he was a "feeler."  He discerns spirits through feeling.  Afterwards he had us all raise our hands asking, "are you a seer?  Are you a feeler?  Are you a hearer?"  He then joked about our giftings and how in real life we can't seem to make sense of them to our friends.  But they are real and true giftings!  Just incredibly unique sometimes.

Xmen have been taken out of regular life by Xavier to delve deeper into their giftings through training.  They are accepted in this environment.  Similarly ihopu students can't settle for normal church life.  They are awakened with dreams.  They fast.  They pray.  They are so burdened that "church" just isn't enough.  They have to embrace their calling.

Part of this is their callling as forerunners.  We are called in this generation to tell the world of Jesus' second coming.  This will save a generation.  In the same way, Xmen are not noticed until they save a generation.  When all else fails, they come on the scene.

Xmen training (as we have seen in the movies) is marked by nontraditional methods.  Xavier has to push a student off of a high point in order to get him to fly.  Ihopu is the same way.  We stand and sing in tongues.  Its a Bible school but most of the classes are spent in the presecne of the Lord, on our faces weeping.  Its very strange but God is definitely doing something.

Lastly, xmen are shunned by the world.  Ihopu has been called a cult.  They have been marginilized by the church who does not understand why we give ourselves to night and day prayer.

Finally, the xmen are in training.  That is, they're not superheroes yet.  They still have a lot to learn.  This is poignantly seen in teh last film when they're all using their super powers in silly ways, joking around.  They didn't take the call seriously.  I came here looking for superheroes and found a whole lot of broken people like myself "in training."  It was a comfort as well as a challenge.

Conclusion?  Heroes are not dead.  In fact the Lord made us to be heroes.  He made us to do great thigns for his kingdom.  We may feel small and somewhat insignificant but we are impacting the world.  We are the weird, dorky church kids, shunned by our own kind but pulled out of our regular circumstances by one guy (Jesus) to a higher calling.