Secret Saints Go to Sunrise Raves

Because our team works the Encounter Tent from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Burning Man, we usually keep early nights. But once during the week, we make an exception for one of my favorite traditions: Tycho's Sunrise Set.

Instead of staying up all night, we wake before dawn, leave camp around 5 a.m., and bike into the deep Playa. By 5:30, we're surrounded by thousands of people, dancing as the sun slowly rises over the desert.

Secret Saints Know Who They Are

When we arrived, crowds were pressed around the art cars. Many people looked exhausted. Their eyes were dull. Their movements were small. They were moving to the music, but there wasn't much joy.

Then our team started dancing. And I mean dancing.

Big movements. Huge smiles. Laughing. Celebrating. Inviting strangers into our circle.

Slowly, something shifted.

People began smiling. They danced bigger. Strangers joined us. What had felt tired began to feel joyful and alive.

It reminded me that we are Secret Saints and our presence and authority comes from knowing who we are and whose we are (a line from my children's book!)

We are beloved children of God, filled with His Spirit and sent into the world as ambassadors of His Kingdom.

Jesus told His disciples:

"Behold, I have given you authority... over all the power of the enemy."— Luke 10:19

Spiritual authority isn't about being louder, more forceful, or more religious than everyone around us.

It's about carrying the presence of Jesus wherever we go.

Even to a rave.

Secret Saints Carry the Kingdom

We weren't there to escape the world around us. We were there carrying something into it. Joy. Freedom. Life.

Scripture tells us, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10) and "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17).

So we danced like people who were free.

We welcomed people like they belonged.

We celebrated like children who knew their Father was good.

And suddenly Psalm 149 didn't feel like an abstract verse:

"Let them praise his name with dancing."— Psalm 149:3

Our bodies could become part of our worship.

Our joy could point toward the Kingdom.

This Is the Secret Life of a Saint

I think we sometimes imagine spiritual authority looking dramatic.

But what if it also looks like this? We walk  into an ordinary—or very unusual—place carrying the Holy Spirit.

We know who we are.  

We notice what is happening around us

And instead of being shaped by the atmosphere, we bring the Kingdom of God into it.

Sometimes that's prayer.

Sometimes it's courage.

Sometimes it's friendship.

Sometimes it's simply joy.

That's what I mean by a Secret Saint.

Most people dancing around us that morning had no idea who we were. They didn't know we were missionaries. They didn't know we had gotten up before dawn intending to carry the presence of Jesus onto that dance floor.

They simply encountered a group of people who were unusually joyful, free, and welcoming.

And for a few beautiful moments, joy became worship, strangers became friends, and a dusty dance floor became a little glimpse of the Kingdom of God.

What About Me?

Your place may not be a rave in the middle of the desert.

Maybe it's your office.

Your neighborhood.

Your gym.

Your kid's soccer practice.

You don't have to wait for a mission trip or a ministry opportunity to become a Secret Saint. You have already been sent into the spaces you inhabit every day.

Jesus calls us "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Light doesn't have to announce itself. It simply enters a space and changes it.

So pay attention to the places around you.

Where is there anxiety that you could bring peace? Loneliness that you could meet with friendship? Heaviness that could use a little joy?

You are a beloved child of God. The Holy Spirit lives within you. Walk into the places God has already given you and quietly bring His Kingdom with you.

That's the secret life of a saint.