Weekend Wrap Up

I spent this weekend at the Y.S. Convention, woke up super early this morning to drive back to the O.C. So instead of my usual weekend wrap up from my ministry I'll wrap up some of my experiences this weekend.

General Sessions: I really enjoyed the general sessions this year. I think it was primarily because the subject matter of the speakers hit me a bit more personally than usual. I'm a Doug Fields fan, and I get to hear him teach quite a bit, but his message on envy was perhaps the best I've heard from him in a long time. Not sure anybody in the crowd could say 'not me' to what God was saying through him.

Workshops: I sat in some and I taught some. According to the Y.S team, the workshops this year were some of the lowest attended ever. They attribute it to the fact that the conference is in San Diego and the weather was amazing....probably some truth to that.
My buddy, Phil Shinners attended a workshop that rocked his world. I don't know the title of the workshop or who taught it, but I'll do some research and post about it in the future, but the premise was this: We've all been taught and probably believe the LIE that we can change the methods without changing the message when in fact every time you change the method you do, in fact, change the message. Really interesting....and a pretty strong statement that, according to Phil, he backed up well.

People: Lots and lots of youth workers and lots and lots of opportunities to connect with old friends. I got to spend some time with two youth pastors who used to be volunteers in my ministry and are now serving the local church full time. Really fun to hear how God is using them.

Middle School Youth Workers: Always my favorite group of people to be around! The workshops were fun and energetic. Last night a small group of about 13 of us went to dinner together and had a blast.