NYWC

Cincinnati.

• This is my third National Youth Workers convention. As I was sitting in the convention center yesterday I was thinking about the fact that I am not officially the youth worker or even a regular volunteer – I guess I am a regular volunteer, but not in the way that other attendees of this conference are- and the messages and theme of this conference resonate with me so strongly. I remember walking into my first conference in 2004 in Dallas Texas. I was gripping Paul’s hand as I choked back tears. I entered a room with 5 thousand youth workers and I was moved beyond words. I remember being so overwhelmed by the idea that I was in a safe place. These people here know what my life is all about and I felt like Paul and I were in a crowd – not on a hill shining as a lamp alone- but as a blazing fire with thousands of like minded, passionate people of all ages, races and denominations. We all have one thing in common. God has given us a heart for Students. I still feel this way.
• This particular weekend was started off by one of my new favorite spiritual activities. A prayer labyrinth. Last year was the first time that Paul and I went through one and we were so moved by the experience, we told each other that we should have done it in the beginning of the weekend. So, to the labyrinth we went this morning – first thing to get some time in with God. The labyrinth is set up in a dark room lit with candles. A large (and I mean large) canvas is taped to the floor with the labyrinth taped out with different stations placed periodically through the journey. When it is your turn, you are given an mp3 player that takes you through the process. It starts by preparing you for the walk into the center of the labyrinth – which focuses on confession-letting go- focusing – being still, that sort of thing. There are different stations you go through that allow you to stop, pray, think, and participate in an activity that physically goes through the emotional and spiritual activities that you are experiencing (i.e. dropping a rock in a small pool to symbolize letting go of the things that keep you from focusing on God). In the center is the place to just sit and be with God. There is wine and bread along with bibles and pillows on the floor – the idea is to commune with the Lord and be in his presence. The walk out of the labyrinth works through worshiping God for who he created you to be, prayer for others, and thoughts about our impact on the world. There is soothing music playing while the mp3 player allows you to process between stations. It is one of the most refreshing and rejuvenating experiences I have ever had in prayer!
• We then went to the first general session. I was smiling like a geek because it was hard to find a seat, there were 4, 000 of us there, and it was so great to be in the presence of these people. I was glad that the house was packed. We worshiped with David Crowder (always an awesome experience) and then heard Phil Vischer (creator of Big Ideas – Veggie Tales and 3-2-1 Penguins) our speaker. His story of success and the dark valley that followed was moving and reminded me that focusing on God is more important than focusing on where God is taking me. He said that if we are working on putting ourselves in the center of Gods will, then where we will be in 5 years is none of our business. So true. We have this need in us to push toward the future and succeed in whatever it is that we are setting out to do that we shove being with the Lord to the side and neglect our relationship with him. When we do that, we are giving God permission to do whatever it takes to get our attention again. Even if it means taking our dreams away from us when we make them more important than God. Phil also went over the psalm that says (roughly): as the deer pants for the water so shall our souls pant for you, Lord. He emphasized that this Psalm does not say that we should pant for success, money, or even great impact in ministry…we will pant for the LORD.
• We then went to a seminar on leadership. It was really good. At first I was feeling iffy – I don’t like motivational speakers. I want real talk from God. But this was convicting. It talked about how leaders skill is divided into two categories: Character and Persona. Leaders who lead with their persona may appear successful but in reality are concerned about image and instant success – the appearance of doing well is their definition of success. On the other hand, leaders that lead with their character and do not use any persona are not the best leaders either – even though they are more reliable, honest and authentic, they don’t always know how to lead others relationally and in the most effective ways. I am not doing the material justice. It was really quite profound and turned the United states world of business, politics, education and professionals upside down. The most profound thing that I heard was that leadership starts by leading ourselves. If we lead ourselves effectively – we then are leaders. It has noting to do with authorities, leading people under us or being a team player…it has to do with our character. Duh.
• More worship. Very fulfilling. I am working on buying a bible. One that is for reading more than studying. Great deals. Lots of free stuff.
• On our way back to the hotel tonight there were horses with carragies sitting out front of the Westin. One of the drivers saw my smiles at the creatures and asked if I wanted to feed her horse (Red - a large draft horse) a treat - OF CORSE! It was so wonderful. I love horses. Thanks to the nice lady in front of the Westin...and thanks to Red.
• Paul is being worked on in a major way. Remember him in your prayers. He has been struggling a lot this fall and really feels that God is addressing his needs here – even just in this first day God has led us very clearly and Paul is already worried about making changes in his life once we get home. Change can be hard and it can be painful.
• I have been having random dizzy spells. I had a scary one on the road on the way down here yesterday. I couldn’t see straight and I thought I was going to hit something. Yikes!
• P.S. I have found that I could sit back all day and watch people be blessed. I love Extreme Makeover Home Edition – and here, each day they surprise youth workers with free tickets to the conference and things like that. They also bring up workers to be thanked by their home church calling or sending videos – once last year they brought in 7-10 graduated students of a youth worker who was in his 40’s. They were all reunited on stage and the students wrote letters to him thanking him for the impact they had on his life. I love it. I could sit back and watch it ALL DAY. Sigh.