Seminar #6: Mentoring:Discipleship with Wisdom in mind. Mark Matlock.
General Session #7: Starfield, Mark “give me an O!” Oestreicher, Skit Guys
Just like back home, Monday morning kicks in and many of the volunteers have headed home to ‘real jobs’ and real life. For me, this feels like it is real life. The subject matter anyway. Mark Matlock’s session was good, again I really appreciated the amount of content he managed to squeeze into that hour. Some great diagrams and processes in regards to processing knowledge and applying it in such a way that builds not just cognitive wisdom (I know what to do in this situation, but also patterns of wisdom (I think according to wise patterns). Something about neuroscience, biology and adolescent development just turns me on in a way that is really really wrong – I’m meant to be creative and yet I am so energized by understanding how we as youthworkers can help these young minds develop. It really does bring freshness to “Shaping young minds”.
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life. – Sandra Covey
Talk about a great purpose for being. Also – thinking about these mentoring and integration principles has been really helpful in thinking about how to write my discipleship/small group and leaders training materials for Eastercamp this year. Brilliant. Mark Matlock is around here and does interesting stuff very soon here.
I think the Skit Guys are genius. They make me laugh so much. One of the really important values that is implicitly communicated through everything YS does, especially at these conventions, is the importance of enjoying yourself, laughing, having a laugh together.. and the value of laughing is just another way of expressing care too. So between Lost and Found, various comedians and the Skit Guys.. there is lots of laughing.
Marko’s closing talk was the subject of his blog here. The responses online were wide and varied, and if you have any remote interest in the subject it’s worth an investment of your time in reading them. Note the language that’s being used, the locations (when mentioned) of the comments. It’s hard to write commentary on it, other than I totally appreciate the proposition that he arrives at when it comes to a future youth ministry “not-driven; present”.
From observation, those moments of benediction, the last ringing of the bell on such a communal gathering of people are very precious. They have weightiness because they are the final filter, the last gasp. In reading people’s responses to various things over the weekend, there have been so many messages. Not all of them are in synergy together and that’s a good thing. It forces people to think for themselves and navigate their way through the ideology. And of course, a good theology (God coversation) is helpful to that, but “being present” is helpful. Being present to God in the locality we are in, his fingerprints and footsteps. Being present with God wherever we are, wherever He is. Being present with yourself and the ministry of God at work in you and through you. Being present will mean being actively engaged in the ministry of questions, not answers. I love that. I love the gooey, toffee-like chewiness of that.
And that was NYWC St Louis 2007.
Ok a few last comments on things I will take away..
On being physically connected and engaged in singing-worship: One of the consistencies with nearly all of the worship leaders was the use of physical expression in simple ways. Clapping, dancing, cheering all played in large part in many sessions. The crowd was willing and easily engaged. In addition to the sense of individual movement and energy, there was a connectedness through holding one another’s hands and group activity. This is just not really part of our corporate expressions.. the physical connectedness within a group & dancing forms being the least common. It’s something to think about as I go home, especially when so much use of the word “dance” is connected with the phrase “with joy” in scripture. Hence one could draw a reverse conclusion that dancing goes hand in hand with joy, where there is an absence of dancing/physical expression there is perhaps less present “joy”. This would be backed up by the theory that the body emits 30amps of energy just being present in a room. Express and elevate that energy, you’ll elevate the endorphins present in the body’s system and by default, the room.
The relationship of actual physical energy to interpretation of environment is something that would be interesting to study in light of the hype-worship-expression continuum. So if anyone knows of anything helpful in this area.. speak up.
On meeting new people: I love youthworkers, because most of the time they are keen to meet new people, either to show off their world or escape into yours for the time being. It makes it really easy to meet people when you are all alone, needing people to float with. Of course, the previous statement is a gross generalisation. Lance, Brad and Jeff from Heartland Vineyard were lots of fun, with some decent conversation thrown in there as well. I really like people from Iowa. Every second and third person I’ve met this trip has been from Iowa. Strange.
On the Exhibit Hall: There is a loving and a loathing within me. Partly I love the proliferation of resource to aid youth workers in what they do. If I was going to employ a youth worker, I would want them to spend at least 80% of their time doing what they love and what they’re good at. So those that write great curriculums, great material should write and publish, so that others can concentrate on different stuff. But there is a tshirt, bumper sticker, mission project resource tool for just about everything. Books. I like books. Hmm. It’s a strange continuum of service and supply. How about an exhibit hall that was just an exhibition of youth ministry. Imagine donating your youth group to YS for a weekend and letting people experiment. Experiment with discussion formats, ministry styles.. and then let the kids feedback to you. “this helped me understand… this was useless..” Ha. That would be a cool exhibit.
On the General Sessions Room: The format of the room was interesting to observe and experience. Almost in the round but with a twist. Two halves of the floor seated audience were facing each other across a small space, with a satellite stage in the middle used for speakers and anything two people or less (including Marko & Tic’s cheerleader special).
brief pause for YouTube clip.
Right. So, apart from the echo splash when sitting sideways, it created a nice dynamic to have multiple screens in multiple directions to look at. The widescreen scrim with moving middle section was a really great touch and provided interesting visual stimulai. It was frustrating that the line array was so low and crossed the sightlines from just about everywhere. I’m envious of the media production software, and I loved the use of creative in the songwords for Starfield. Very choice. The grandstands in the back left and right corner felt removed from where I was situated on the floor most sessions, but to be fair, I didn’t go up to have a proper look or feel for it. Certainly it was great to have multiple presenters working from multiple stages and made the transitions nice and smooth. Still n
ot convinced on whether or not the kids could maintain a sense of focus if we did it similarly at Easter, but it’s worth observing. It made everything more intimate, but even with more people our general set up is more intimate anyway… pros and cons.
NYWC St Louis Sunday 4 November General Session #5: Ralph Winter, Jeff Johnson, Skit Guys, Zach Hunter, Ayeisha Woods
Seminar #4: Why Talking Helps, What Neuroscience has to tell us about relationships, personal narrative and spiritual formation. Mark Matlock.
Seminar #5: Conflict..why can’t we just get along? Jeanne Stevens.
General Session #6: Leeland, Starfield 59, Skit Guys, Greg Stier
I love people that push the boundaries of collective common Christian thought. Mostly because I find that common Christian thought isn’t particularly well-thought out, rather it’s been constructed from assumed knowledge and socially appropriate behaviours then adapted to maintain a set of power structures across generational shifts. So when people start talking about Christian sexuality in a way that gives single people permission to be sexual people too… I start to listen. I also listen when we start to talk about spiritual formation taking into account psychological, sociological, historical as well as contextual data.
When Ralph Winter, preeminent storyteller stands onstage at NYWC and starts talking about effective, powerful storytelling being about embracing the darkness that reveals the humanity of our stories.. I am compelled. Not because I haven’t heard this message before, but because it is so convicting to see a storyteller illuminating spiritual truth (not scripturally evidenced truth, which so often creates a perception problem) using Heroes, X-Men and stories that connect with culture. One of my favourite things about Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the way her character was actually written as a generation seen onscreen. Similarly, using advertisments that are iconic art and pop-culture references loaded with sub-text.. what I hope is that people stuck in the middle of safe, overly sanitised and saccherine Christian culture came to understand something different about real storytelling.
What I remembered was that there is a difference between content and message. Too often there is an intellectual obligation to content fulfilled beyond the compelling call of the soul. Narrative is a remedy to the human condition because we recognise ourselves, our better humanity and divinity in the stories we hear and see. Standout Statement: The best storytellers allow the audience enough space to draw their own conclusions, to fill in the blanks, to colour and flavour it themselves, thereby allowing the story to be many things to many people. Uniquely and individually nuanced by the subtext of our own lives interacting and engaging with sometimes multiple subtexts within one piece. We identify with both mother, father, grandfather and daughter in Little Miss Sunshine. We are both Storm, Nightcrawler and Wolverine in X-Men. And the multiplexes are the temples of worship, the soul sanctuaries we journey to each week. We have such responsibility as storytellers, not only to excellence and to content, but to the darkness. The darkness is a requirement. It’s our humanity, it’s reality. It’s what makes our stories digestable.. and the canvas that creates space for the audience to see light emerging. We need to learn to love the dark.
Jeff Johnson’s Celt influenced contemplative, responsive singing worship experience this morning was beautiful and peaceful to listen to. It was interesting to observe this very trusting and engaged congregation allow themselves to be pushed out to another boundary. I am so envious of the broad stage these wonderful people have to experiment with people for their own good!
Likeminded thinkers are rare and beautiful creatures in my life. I so enjoyed my time with Steve Gerali on Thursday and Friday. Today’s delectable treat was Mark Matlock’s session on how Neuroscience informs a bunch of relevant stuff for working with and developing young people. I was torn between the Gerali/Olson CC and the Matlock one – so I’m glad I chose what I did, but I’m buying a lot of CD’s tomorrow. For starters – the same sense of Scripture infusing Matlock’s wisdom is present as was with Gerali. But here’s what I liked beyond the topic itself..He’s a fast talker, which suits me well as it keeps me really present and engaged with the materials, not just lost in my own application process. He’s smart and practical – realising that understanding the idea is more important that communicating technique alone. The communication around explicit/implicit knowledge systems and how they are formed/shaped/challenged, along with explicit/implicit memory was great. It was an excellent foundation for understanding in another way how some of the similar behaviour/thought patterns are birthed, percieved and reinforced. I found his presentation style great – and the notes, although they had some ‘fill in the blanks’ had a little bit of extra info too. Standout Statement: We are hardwired to connect. Both nature and nurture have a role to play in the development of our biological and psychological selves. The key to integration between the two knowledge systems (ways of perceiving and understanding the world around us) is invariably relationship with others where we can verbalise, process and come to understanding of both the factual and emotional data. In these places, there are patterns of response and understanding constantly being formed and reformed. The key is working with young people to help them develop integration and understanding. Often this work is done through gently probing questions that cause them to examine the what, who, why, how.
Adjunct…while listening to Mutemath, You Are Mine…
“everyone has their obsession, consuming thoughts consuming time, they hold high their prize possession, it defines the meaning of their life..”
I am feeling so challenged in a positive way being present here. I am so much more comfortable in my identity both as a person, but also as a youthworker. I feel confident now, in ways I never would have. I’m ok living as a youthworker in a context different to how I would have perceived it before. It’s strange not thinking about taking it home and applying it to a specific group, but I’m sure that time of ministry will come again. In the meantime – it’s really informing some of my thinking and planning for Eastercamp.. I’ll come back to this.
Seminar #4 with Jeanne Stevens was interesting. I think I was expecting a deeper soul excursion. After Ralph Winter and Mark Matlock, I was ready to delve into the depths of my soul darkness and examine myself. The presentation itself was fine – she’s easy to listen to. I will admit there was a sense of fascination to hear her present as well. The content was fine, but nothing that truly pushed or challenged me, the only piece of seminar content so far that hasn’t won me over either way. The most interesting part for me was the initial scripture reading. Jeanne was looking for a volunteer and there’d been that awkward pause for a moment too long. So I read, and was halfway through before I realised with a sense of guilt that my accent was probably distracting and confusing, to the overall detriment of the purpose. So I shut my mouth for the rest of it.
General Session #6 kicked off with a great bang, namely Marko and Tic leaping around in costume in tribute to the Athletic Cheer competition that was sharing the building with us this weekend. At some point, I’ll share a profound reflection on that little idiom of American culture, but not now. Suffice it to say, it was the most inspiring cheering I have ever seen. I really liked what Leeland did, and didn’t mind Starfield either. I notice interesting ne
w patterns in the lyrical content of the songs that have been brought into worship. Lots of references to daughters and sons, the familial connection with Abba Father is really strong. There is more narrative appearing in the content as well.. which both intrigues and frustrates me as a worshipper.. because I don’t always want the song to go a forgone conclusion. Sometimes my story doesn’t end the same way as the song and I want permission to not finish it. But there must have been something in the water as a couple of ideas for Eastercamp that have been on slow cook, just came together in sheer moments. Brilliant.
Good thing I had something to think about though. I’ve never had much time for people who preach from anecdoctal evidences, particularly when the subject of the anecdote is themselves and gay and/or lesbians. I just have a deep sense of the injustice that the gay community suffers in many ways, and that we as followers of Jesus, need to learn to embrace the justice cause for everyone, including the gay community, not just the poor. It’s not only the poor that suffer injustice. They are separate causes. Anyway, Greg Stier from Dare 2 Share is one of those evangelist types that has stories about their conversations with gay people.
The important thing to point out and I’ll stand by it.. is that Greg Stier is obviously a really good-hearted genuine guy. His love for Jesus and people came rolling off stage. I personally struggled with his message of preached Christ Crucified and bringing everything we do back to the foot of the Cross.
Here’s why.
Firstly, words are important. Listen to Lucinda Williams sing ‘Words’ from her latest album, West. Words are really important. Language is just carelessly strung together. So when you use words like “Christ crucified”.. don’t let that language become null and void by not connecting it to EXACTLY what you mean.
Secondly, if you reduce the Christ through whom all things were created, the Christ who is presently interceding for us in Heaven, the Christ who was from the very beginning, Wisdom.. just to the Christ on the Cross, there is far too much of his character, personality and life cast aside. Yes, the cross is key and pivotal, but the cross is not the sum. So it’s an imperfect model to base all our youth ministry on. Because Christ is grace, risen redemption, creation, sabbath breaker etc etc. It is almost to suggest that a Christ before the cross is powerless if everything has to go to the cross.
Stier’s passion comes at you off the stage like a wave, both pleasant and overwhelming. It’s just a little too big for the break and the salt water sprays up your nose just enough that you have to feel uncomfortable in a way that isn’t challenging, it’s just uncomfortable cos you’re not meant to breathe salt water. Still, whilst not for everyone.. we live in a world where there are some for whom tonight was probably grand. Very possibly they own bullhorns.
Late night conversations: I have so loved hanging out with the boys from Heartland Vineyard, Cedar Falls, Iowa. They have been generous with their time, hearts and enthusiasm. I hope very much to stay in touch with them. I also really enjoyed a conversation with Mark Matlock today.. sharing a combined loathing for fill in the blanks notes and nasty assumptions about how people require groupwork and blank notes in order to learn anything. It was a bunch of fun. The conversation also ran into the desolate barren woman analogy again. I’m just stating for the record that it’s a concept from Wok Henton and I’ve been developing it.. and maybe one day I will write the book, the mass marketing plan & campaign, the book tour and speaking schedule. Mark “Mo-mo” Matlock, despite your threats, you’re not allowed to steal it.
NYWC St Louis Saturday 3 November General Session #3: Matt Maher, Lynne Hybels, Shane & Shane
Seminar #3: Intro to Creative & Contemplative Prayer Practices Jeannie Oestreicher & Larry Warner
General Session #4: Matt Maher, Family Force 5, Doug Fields, Michelle from Compassion
One of the best things about Anaheim in 2004 was the presence of both Crowder and Tomlin. Even though the more days that pass, the more lustre wears off this experience, I have an enormous respect and empathic connection to Tomlin as a worship leader.
Confession: I find singing worship hard at the best of times. I am a singing worship leader in my church and I know that’s it’s practically a sin, but to be honest – there are just so many other ways I connect in meaningful and engaging worship than singing. So musical connections like Crowder and Tomlin are rare.. because I find myself easily engaged in a genuine worshipful response, rather than stadium enthusiasm.
So I haven’t been finding it easy to retrain my brain into learning new songs and connecting with music worship through a variety of brand new worship leaders. I struggled a little bit with Matt Maher through both sessions, although I certainly appreciated the context and content, but I found myself constantly engaging with my own internal dialogue to the detriment of my intentionality within corporate worship. No big deal. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes I just feel self-conscious of my own voice too. Sometimes, I really do just like to listen to people singing together.
Lynne Hybels in the General Session carried her insecurities on her sleeve. I thought she had some great content and her story was engaging, if a little long. I was a little horrified at the number of people that were leaving throughout the message but I’m putting this down to the specificity of her message. It was very feminine in language and referenced Bill Hybels so regularly and familiarly that it was almost as if the expectation was that ‘everybody’ knew who Bill was. An interesting assumption in a room full of youthworkers from all kinds of denominational, regional and local backgrounds.
I found myself asking the question, “is this really how Lynne would tell her story, if she was just talking to an old friend?”. Not that we should always operate with that level of disclosure, but I think she was overwhelmingly more comfortable with the words on the page written, than the words being spoken out from her lips. It made me angry and disappointed that more people didn’t respect what she was offering of herself to the table by walking away.
One day we’ll move beyond the discomfort and difficulty we have with relating to bi-gendered images of God. So I listened, and stored up what Lynne was saying about identity. It echoed in my soul later in the day.
Creative…It was a great session with Jeannie and Larry in the afternoon. The right mix of content, application and practical exposure – I was expecting to experiment and there was some. I think my favourite exercise was Flash Prayer – praying for what you see, literally what’s flashing before your eyes. The group split to two sides of the hall, and walked to the other side, meshing together before separating again. The second time we crossed the hall, we were instructed to pray for the people who we sensed a connection with, either by gut or eye contact. We all slowed down, paying more attention to what was going on. Standout Observations: Prayer is really more than a dialogue or conversation. It’s communion in such a way that you begin to recognise and look for God’s fingerprints in everything. None of the images we have of God are complete but the important thing is to constantly be asking the question of how everyday life teaches us about ourselves and God.
General Session #4. Wow. I am buying this MP3 of Doug Fields last night and distributing it to everyone I know. It was honest, disruptive, intense, brutal and really important. In addressing the issue of ministry envy and the destructive power it holds in so many lives because of it’s secrecy .. I think I grew to respect Fields more than I have ever bothered to think about before. So it was a good thing. He was very honest about his own struggles, and practical about the implications of this on our own ministries. For me, this is a struggle as I daily deal with people who are employed to do what I’m passionate about and good at.. and I’m not. Sure, I’m not sure if I’d want to be, but there is envy in the fact that their pathway is at least a little more known. All I know about my own path, is that it’s going to be different. I have to trust God in my future all the more, yet I’m envious of those that have what I don’t have or want because I’m not sure of what’s I’m getting. Yup. Brilliant.
Fatherless. Ugly, destined to be just like the father I look so much like. When Michelle from the Philippines took the stage and spoke so compellingly of the difference Compassion sponsorship has made in her life, I was typically moved to tears. However, when she told the story of her father’s abuse and sharp exit from her life, the subsequent suffering within her family as she was referenced to be her father’s child.. ugly and just like him. Yet she lived fatherless. She was robbed of her identity as a child of poverty, and then robbed of it again by what identity she had being corrupted by other people’s cruelty. But she was telling my story. Is it arrogant of me to claim a kinship with her .. probably, but I will anyway, because we are sisters in redemption.
Late Night Conversations: Family Force 5 are a phenomenal band. I haven’t seen such stage presence or compelling performance since the early Earthsuit days, when we took sheeo onstage and such. Plus they have catchy little numbers. They totally need to play Festival or something. Speaking with Michael from Lost and Found was grand also. I have enjoyed the opportunity to make conversation with all sorts of people in strange ways.
General Session #1: David Crowder Band, Duffy Robbins, Flatfoot 56, Joe Castillo
Seminar #1: The Expectations That Killed The Youth Worker Mark Oestreicher & Mark Riddle
General Session #2: David Crowder Band, Jars of Clay, Jared Hall, Chris Hill, Joe Castillo, Nooma #18
Massive day that got off to a great start and finished just as well, if not better.
Part Two of the Critical Concerns Course, inevitably moved a little faster when the pressure of the clock was on. The subject matter covered is fleshed out in the books BUT there is a synergy about engaging with the authors around the subject, especially when seeing connections between different but affected topics. For example, I was heavily reflected on the male stereotyping adolescent boys are subjected to, but how the outcomes of that stereotyping negatively impact female identity development as well.
Standout Statement: One of the strongest parts of Steve Gerali’s overall presentation is the scriptural, disciple’s filter on it all. He has a natural resonance with bringing scientific and sociological discoveries back under the sufficiency of the Saviour and the eternal truth we live under. Thus, he well identifies several.. no, many.. false teachings around societal norms that actually have been spiritualised into foundational belief systems within our youth ministries.
In discussion and reflection, some of these foundational lies about identity, sexuality and expectation are the cracks in the foundation for identity and spiritual crisis that manifests later on. I become increasing convinced about the necessary impact of physiological, psychological, sociological and historical understanding to be part of forming the framework for birthing environments and collective communities of young people that are nurturing places for these questions and discoveries to take place.
Collective communities: because in NZ our youth communities are not limited or primarily based around geographical context. That’s only a secondary measure. The primary measures are relational/social and/or historical.I’m debating whether or not this is a healthy or at least more appropriate word for ‘youth ministry’. What I don’t like about the word ‘youth ministry’ in the context of this conversation are the broad and varied understandings and perceptions of the word itself.
The general session with Duffy was actually very good. The sand artist, Joe Castillo, was phenomenal – more on that later. The band Flatfoot 56 were all at once the most hilarious, bemusing and perplexing thing I have seen so far. A Celtic punk band complete with heavy vocals, soothing psuedo-Celt accented pronounciation and bagpipes. And the piper was in fact wearing a kilt. I literally have no words beyond that. I might post photos tomorrow to expand the speechlessness. Duffy was in remarkable form – very funny and the audience was extremely receptive to the easy & predictable humour. To be honest, I was not expecting a wow from his presentation having heard most of his excellent material earlier in the year. But I was pleasantly delighted, especially with the particular Peter story he chose and the simplicity of what he delivered within it. Standout Statement: It’s refreshing to see and understand that the real life disciples were regularly involved in undisciplelike behaviour. Usually when they were choosing to operate in Reason over Righteousness (righteousness being the way of obedient faith – not just faithful obedience). Peter is the only person in Scripture to be literally interrupted by all three members of the Trinity – nice observation.
David Crowder Band are the living, breathing, real-life version of great worship leaders and songwriters. The context of the songs is almost more worthy of appreciation than the presentation or musicality behind the composition. Seamleass (mostly) transitions between blues-originated work to real country four on the floor. His vocal work is hard to follow, a couple of keys out of my really comfortable range but that’s more reason to sit back a little and admire the way he connects and engages with the crowd. Very different from Tomlin and I can understand the different connection points that are triggered for me by each one.. so that’s good, and a development from last time I saw them both in close proximity to each other. Crowder played both the general sessions with gracefulness, humour and humanity.
Joe Castillo of SandStory is a physical sculpture artist working with music, a video camera, a lightbox full of black iron ore sand and his fingers. He crafts the sand into shapes, channels and passages where the contrast between the opacity of the sand and the illuminate of the lightbox create both complex and simple images translated by video feed to a screen for display. Today he presented the creation story and images of Christ in two separate presentations. He says nothing, but lets the visual & aural art symphony speak for itself. I love what he’s doing because it’s emotive, captivating, engaging and sensory on many levels. It connects not just with the artistic but also with those who engage in functional fascination.. those who want to know how it works.
Of course, in the midst of watching it, there was a moment of awe and deep, sighing relief. An almost audible sound escaping from my soul to God’s spirit saying “oh look, there you go again”. Watching Joe’s art being formed only to last for moments before being shaped into the next image reminds me of the Rabbi Stones (for my sake all this was made/i am but dust). Each rendition of the piece is slightly different. The particular grains of sand scattered over time. Is it the same sand? How many stages and floors has ‘art’ been spilt on, swept up, vacuumed away from? But in it all.. Joe’s gift as an artist is remarkably close to the creation process at work in each of us every day.
Not only does Joe see the art before it exists, but he understands how to make it, makes it himself with his own messy fingers, doesn’t mind starting again in order to perfect it, sees art where there is none yet and most importantly… without the light there would be no image to gaze on and call art – so light is important. however, without the spaces for light to shine, the nothings.. there would be no room for light at all. So in us, God is also at work, fingers deep in our messiness, seeing art before it exists, making art and most importantly.. making art from the spaces and the nothings within us.
The Expectations are the mostly silent and deadly hit squad within our youth ministers, a problem that’s proliferated at home by younger and younger youthworkers being employed without appropriate groundwork, training, information and support services. Also, there are too many churches who still employ, without realising or acting on the knowledge that churches generally could use a really good spring clean of their professional practices and human resource management capability. And the problem seems the same whether the church is large or small. The seminar was compassionate, empathetic, practical and honest. I was stoked when ‘stuff’ was called to the table like… our own expectations, immaturity, pride, ambition getting in the way of successful communication with employers/supervisors etc. The Ladder of Inference (how we estab
lish actions based on beliefs that are impacted by assumption and data selection) is a really useful tool both for self reflection and assessment as well as working with others in broader environments.
In General Session #2 Chris Hill spoke really well on the story of Absalom and the building of monuments in his life. His communication ability comes leaping off the stage at you, in the warm, caramel tones of a black man. Most of his short and concise observations about anger, bitterness, rebellion, revolution, leadership, pride, humility and fellowship were worthwhile in commentary. Probably to have so many short points was a good call, as expansion may have turned the taste of it sour.. short and sweet, with a good little punch. Definitely a performer, rather than a presenter but there are times and seasons for that. Standout Statement: The seed of bitterness grew and grew until he no longer felt comfortable in the kingdom. The object of his pride became the thing that ensared him. He was alone without companionship at the end – he’d alienated even those who were meant to be in the battle with him. Rebellion and bitterness can lead us to become the very thing we despised in the first place – the focus gets out of whack. Our arrogance leads us to desire monuments to ourselves – recognition on earth, but earth is not our home. Better to build monuments of clay, rather than stone.. monuments of clay that will be celebrated with us in our heavenly home.
Nooma #18 – Name was played at the end of the general session tonight. There could not have been a more poignant yet quiet moment as the intersecting themes of my life came rushing into wovenness together in the film. For the first time ever, I think I walked away knowing my story is even better than the content in this BUT… my journey of identity, discovery, embracing, revealing and delighting in who I am at the same time as discovering my own storyline and realising that my path is different and has permission to be different first became apparent to me in 2004 during and post the YS NYWC, thanks in part of Yaconelli, Nouwen and mostly, a very patient Saviour who has waited a long time for me to embrace his sufficiency. It’s worth watching – but I still think my, unfinished, story about my name is going to be better.
Late Night Had a perfect nightcap with some new friends and less-new friends. I am blessed actually, with the conversations, handshakes and smiles.
NYWC St Louis Thursday 1 November Critical Concerns: Understanding Teenage Guys & Girls Steve Gerali & Ginny Olson
Ok, one day down. It was totally serendipitous to run into Marko at the airport. I had been wondering whether or not we’d catch up at all, seeing as this is a really busy kinda weekend and you know – work! Funnily enough, walking to baggage claim I recognised both the hair and the ‘bent over my cellphone’ look.. a few moments later figuring out we’d actually been on the same plane. A perfect way to arrive in a brand new city, to a conference where the O’s are the only people I know. Yay.
Onto the actual NYWC stuff… the exhibit hall is about a billion times bigger than I remember from Anaheim in 2004. It’s going to take a few days to get through it. I scoped out the layout of the room at the WorshipTogether.com concert and I can’t wait to see it in action and then talk more about it.. it’s somewhere unconventional and it’ll be really interesting to see how a bunch of youthworkers respond.
So far, the 5 hours spent in session with Gerali and Olson have been completely worth the trip. So, I’ve become a bit of an adolescent development nutter recently – delightfully enough both the content and the presentation ability of these two is complimentary, challenging and thought provoking.
Olson is very well structured, linear and compassionate. She makes me love teenage girls and I really struggle with this aspect of youth ministry. I’ll be honest – I was raised by a strong, capable and confident woman and I find it really difficult to get my head into some of the spaces that girls find themselves nowadays.
Gerali is also straightforward, easy to follow and compassionate. But he’s sharp too. He’s a truthteller in that uncomfortable way that Paul was I suspect. His commentary around sexuality just has me leaping around the room for joy, because I find his approach so refreshing. Which then creates a sense of release and freedom to discuss the lack of truthful foundation behind so much of the underlying education around sexuality and healthy relationship development with our young people. It’s a difficult subject to confront and dialogue in a truly constructive way as a single woman unless you’re around the right people. For these few hours alone – it’s so good to be with the right people.
Finding Friends: I’m totally committed to playing the cute, international accent, yes, I really did come all the way from New Zealand card as much as possible this weekend – mainly because I want to make friends with more people this time around. In 2004, we were in a group and we just did groupy things, or us things. So this time, I really want to connect with like-minded folks in sessions and around the place. Not too hard at first, considering that so much of the four blocks around the hotel and the America’s Center are swamped with delightfully Christian folks that take joy in wearing their nametags! Woohoo. I’m wearing mine in traditional roadie style, through front right jean belt loop, tied off at 1.25 inches. I invite you all to join me in this! However, people like to read them things (it’s a polite way of being nosy I guess) and mine says NZ.
Tonight in Quiznos, Lance, Jeff and Brad discovered the magic lanyard, unwittingly realising that they had landed a conference buddy for the night. They are SO great.. and I love them already all the way from Iowa. Cruising through the exhibit hall is a great way to have a laugh and get to know people, as well as sharing our stories.
Passion Regional, Chicago. A collected assortment of musicians.
To be honest, I was surprised at how plain the formula was. And how long the sessions were. Without understanding the culture (just a little bit) that supports some of the structure and content, it would be easy to make the mistake of assuming that there is a lot more ego involved here that what I really think there is.
One of the main session presentations was John Piper on video. I was interested to see whether or not this as a teaching format could sustain the attention of the crowd. To my amazement, it seemed to – but perhaps this was more to do with the nature of the crowd. We’ve discussed this as an option for possible connections between camps, as a way of connecting into broader community. I’m not convinced, although I can think of a bunch of ways to experiment with making it work. However..I’m not prepared to experiment with it at the Eastercamp platform just yet.
I’m going to steal a word from Marko, because he supplied the word I had struggled to find. At the Passion conference were a bunch of people already sold-out to the Passion concept. So the ongoing promotion of the movement and values-therein seemed overkill. The audience were “compliant”. They would have loved whatever was dished up.
I was surprised at the lack of interaction between the content presented, the presenters and Passion ‘reps’. The volunteers were amazing, but I struggled to see obvious connection points between the presentations and the people, except for the easy laughs. I suspect that this would have been a dramatically different experience in breakout sessions and workshops, had it been a fuller programme.
I did really really like the consistency of response options. I thought it made it simple, clear and straightforward, although again, it seemed like there was a lack of intermediary leadership and response teams to people. The difference between a movement where your key constituency is actually nameless and faceless to a certain extent.
There’s every possibility that I’m sounding overly harsh. I don’t mean to in anyway. I thought there was some great teaching – particularly Louie’s rendition of Beth Moore’s pitdweller material. The “Do Something Now” project was simple and effective. I learnt a lot from watching Chris Tomlin work with the band at various points. I have a lot of respect and love for the passion of Passion, but I was really hoping to come away with a much clearer understanding of what about this movement is capturing people.
I think I certainly got a much clearer picture of the kind of people that Passion has really won over.
The tunnel between concourses at O’Hare International.
The palisades of Concourse B.
The Fifth Corner of the World. There is a billboard advertisement to the left of Gate E7, Concourse E at O’Hare International. It says “O’Hare, waiting to take you to the fifth corner of the world.” I simply contend that O’Hare is the fifth corner of the world. So far this trip I have spent 40.5 hours in transit, 7.5 of them at O’Hare. No other airports smell the same. The place has it’s own culture, even down to the pilots, cabin crews and airport staff that share the concourses with passengers. There is a soft, smiling side to O’Hare that I haven’t seen at LAX, or Sydney, San Francisco, Indianapolis or even St Louis. Definitely not at home… it’s a sense that these people working in a different time & place from everybody else, in a world called O’Hare. Everything new is built on top of something old. The shoeshine stations in the midst of neon light sculpture. The relaying of new pipes under the feet of Concourse F. The older red on white lightbox signs of the 80’s, next to hanging clocks from the 90’s and the placid United blue in squares, circles, constant reinventions placed next to each other in four different upholstery patterns, five different seats.
O’Hare feels lived in, even though the bathrooms are crisp and pristine. The floors are clean, the information up to date. The waiting staff are friendly in the restaurants and diners, where there’s enough variety that you could hibernate within the terminal for several days not running out of places to eat, new bathroom facilities to try and books to read. It’s a comfortable kind of place so strangers feel comfortable to make conversation over sportscasts and peanut shells.
So I like it. Which is good – because I’ll be stopping there at least one more time before I go home, my trip to the USA comprising of eleven flights with four landings at O’Hare in total.
The falling leaves.
Indiana is one of the most beautiful places on earth, where I’ve only just begun to explore it. This is my favourite time of the year too, because the colours are perfect. I was out walking on Tuesday and I walked into the glade of the Maple Ridge Trail. There, the sun was slowly seeping out of a polaroid blue sky, letting the warm glow of light come in through yellow and gold sinew on the trees. The slowest breeze I have ever felt came dancing through the trees with a crinkle crush like someone rolling tin foil and baking paper together.
One by one, the leaves started to let go their trembling hold on tiny branches and sink their way to the earth below. It was a slow, gentle, swirling dance that let each leaf fall and play with the light above and below. There was no sense to it, it was just like being caught literally in a sunshower of falling leaves. The romance in the air was heady and sweet – almost reminding me of crushed kowhai leaves at home. On and on the breeze came through as I wandered my way through, as if my walking was enough to stir the wind in my trail. A confetti of autumn in slow motion raindrops.
Tash McGill is a broadcaster, writer and strategist who works with people and organisations to solve problems and create transformation. She believes people are the most important thing and that stories are powerful ways of changing the world. You can find out more at tashmcgill.com or by visiting her LinkedIn profile.
