Thoughts Upon Banquet & Ball by Daniel Hede

Our team believes that, often, a step forward requires looking back and recalling where we have been. The following is an exhortation from Daniel Hede (Former Director of Banquet and Ball 2018-19 and 2019-20) to prepare for the next Grand Syndicate Ball. 


Thoughts upon Banquet & Ball
Do you remember your first Banquet and Ball? You waited in excitement and a little anxiety for it to begin. There was a deep fear in you that you’d screw it up, make a mistake, break the experience for someone. But there was one fear even greater than the rest; you would be seen. The real you. The hidden you. And that you would be found wanting.

Nevertheless, like a diver walking to the end of a high dive, you went forward; you took the leap. In the flow of that timeless interval of your first Ball experience, God gave you revelation. About yourself. About your destiny. About your identity. Do you remember what you learned? Have you forgotten? One of the saddest facts of life is that revelation fades. Passion untended goes out. 

What you once knew in the deepest parts of your being as true, you may no longer know. You may have decided that it means something different or that it is no longer relevant. To you I say Remember! Choose to believe that God still finds that worth in you, still has that purpose for you, and that the call remains. Examine your lives in view of it, and to ask God to forgive you where you’ve fallen short.

Another sad fact of life is that rarely (though not never) is a subsequent Banquet and Ball as powerful or as meaningful as your first. There are two steps that occur to me, that you may take to help yourself out.

Step 1. The simple truth is that in order for you to get something out of this experience, you will need to pour into it. 

If you go into this Ball waiting to see what you will get, the answer is very likely “very little.” You are now (or at least ought to be) able to teach, guide, and lead those who do not yet know what you do. My experience of God is that He is contrary; He is always doing things in the exact wrong order. If you exalt yourself, He will cast you down. And if you humble yourself, He will lift you up. 


This brings us naturally to the next step

Step 2. In order for God to speak to you powerfully, you must be honest about where you are.

If you go into this Ball wearing a mask of righteousness, of devotion, of faith or of humility, or of whatever facade you’ve put on this year, it is very unlikely that anyone will force you to remove it. It is also unlikely that you will get much revelation from this Ball.

I strongly urge you, brothers and sisters, to be real with God and repent of besetting sins that have crept in. Go through the “De-dragoning Process”. Let God strip you of your false virtues and unfeeling spirit. It is a thoroughly unpleasant and painful process, and utterly humiliating. If you cannot stand to go through it, I do not think any the less of you. If the Banquet and Ball is important enough to attend all these years after your first, then I think you will find it worthwhile.

Stand in the assembly of beloved friends and family and let them see you as you truly are. 

Trust the grace of God to provide sufficiency where you lack it.
The Kingdom of Heaven is within your grasp. Reach out and take it.
– Daniel Hede, July 1st 2020