Willow Creek - Shift Conference #1

This is for you amy. Missing you! When are you coming to visit?!

It was a great few days at the conference, the weather was terrible, but the conference and time with staff was wonderful. Here is what I learned and what happened....

1. One of the most exciting moments of the trip was at the registration table I ran into my junior high pastor (Mark Hadley), whom I haven't seen in about 10 years. He is still in youth ministry at Twin Cities Church, in Grass Valley, CA and his wife and kids are doing great! The best part was that I was able to tell him what a huge impact he and his wife had on my life. That the reason I am in ministry investing my life into students is because he and his wife never gave up on me as a junior higher. It was a great reminder to me that when I get frustrated with whether or not students are understanding the message, I have to remember my own story. Also, what it says in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7...

"After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow."

God causes me to be heavy burdened for my students, but ultimately there is nothing I can do through my human power to make students understand the awesome life that waits if they follow Christ, it is only God who can grow what I plant.

The Lord really rocked my world this week with this concept. It's interesting how HE gave me such a cool moment and then constantly was reminding me of it all week. It has been a really tough week in ministry. The burden for my students became almost too overwhelming to handle. Sometimes I wonder why God put the calling in my life to be in full-time ministry, why me? And how can I make sure that I am doing all that I can to reach todays youth and share the message of Christ's love, grace, and compassion for their lives when they just don't care about the future. I have been working with junior high students since I was 15 (junior leader) to now 25, 10 years. I always thought the Junior high world would never change. That no matter what, I would know what a 7th grade girl was going through. Within the last year, I have been bombarded with the idea that they are not the same as I once understood. Students are going through things that I didn't experience until high school or even college. My brilliant friend allison and I had an amazing conversation about this. We are dealing with students (me junior high) who on the outside are going through what a Junior/Senior in high school experiences, but on the inside are still 12! It's just so hard. God has been teaching me so much, it has challenged me in my ministry and allowed me to have awesome conversations with people and feel encouraged at the same time.

2. Brain Mclaren spoke at the first session. I read a book of his in college titled "Adventures in Missing the Point," I for the life of me can not remember thinking "This guy is crazy." Apparently, Mclaren is very controversial among the evangelical community. My boss Phil is a huge fan, so I was anxious to see what the big deal was about this guy?! Why is he so controversial? And he said nothing that made me think he is crazy or not a Christ follower. He makes people ask themselves hard questions. Why, as a church community, are we bickering over lame "rules" of the church, when the message of Christ is simple...

Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Mclaren's point basically surrounded the idea that the church needs to start loving our neighbors, helping stop poverty, combat disease, bring justice to the injustices going on all over the world. I think this will describe it perfectly. I ran into someone I knew at the conference and asked if anyone else from their church was there. The response was this, "My senior Pastor wouldn't allow me to bring anyone because Brian Mclaren was speaking." Really?!?! That is exactly Mclaren's point, churches are focusing far too much on things that JUST DON'T MATTER and ignoring the real problems of the world.

ok, this is just half of day one...be back with more later...thoughts?