I’m going to try to contain the superlatives about the weekend. But it is going quite well. From the actual facilities to the staff to the convention goers… everything far exceeds my expectations in approaching this weekend.
It’s been fun, encouraging, refreshing, and stretching. It hasn’t been exhausting, disappointing, or overwhelming.
I’m having a hard time explaining the convention to myself. It’s clearly not what I thought it was… I expected stuffy people and kids who were "present." Instead I’ve found some of the most loving, thoughtful, diverse, and genuine people I’ve ever encountered. The feel of this convention is fantastic. It feels like a family… 800-900 people… feeling like a family. That is impressive. I was talking to a woman tonight in this big common area they call "the tee-pee" and I explained it to her that I feel honored just to be around something like this. Much less having the privilege to speak at.
The students are very approachable and teachable… to be honest, that’s refreshing! The two sessions today rocked. The band is great… a good ability to create the "worship lather" that every speaker longs for. Tonight’s session wasn’t monumental in its response, but it definitely stirred people. All-in-all I think my part of the weekend has gone smoothly. I’ve tried very hard to "just be Adam." (Let’s just say I’ve been a bit better behaved than "just be Adam." Ha!)
I have one major thing left as I’m speaking at the "youth mass" tomorrow morning. I’ve talked to enough of the "old people" to know that it’s going to be a rockin’ good time. For the students and adult delegates here… there is a lot of anticipation for a homerun service. I hope I can be a small part of that homerun.
A "funny to me" moment.
Tonight the band did an amazing job of moving the students. Just before I was about to speak, the worship leader asked me to pray. (I thought to close the music part of worship and transition into the Bible portion.) The funny part was that there was this very serious "moment" and my opening illustration was the story, "fish farts save lives." It ended up being no big deal as I needed to take some time to help people transition… but it was one of those "funny to me" moments. Kids were spending holy moments in the presence of God and I was getting ready to talk about farting herring.
In the next day or so I’ll be sharing a story that involves my face and a toilet. I promised the students tonight that I’d share it with them… Believe me, it will be memorable.
Leave a Reply