Category: NYWC

  • The unicorn of death

  • NYWC Sacramento Post Thoughts

    Let’s see. I am home from my first NYWC as a staff member. Looking back over the weekend I have a lot of things floating around my head. Here are some quick reflections.

    #1 People are people. This isn’t profound to me but I kept getting asked, “What is _____ like?” I don’t know a nicer way to say it than the obvious, people are people. I met tons of folks… both general session speakers and youth workers and they are all pretty much the same. Just normal folks.

    #2 I told the truth. It’s a little weird being on staff at YS because people will flat out ask you for the world. And while my ministry with YS is to encourage and resource people while building community I simply am not able to do everything I get asked. Typically, I’m a people pleaser and I have a hard time saying no. But this weekend I made sure I didn’t commit to anything I didn’t actually have the ability to do or the desire to do. And since I was often out talking to people, when they asked questions that I knew the answer to, I just told them the plain truth. A few times that was “I’m really not able or qualified to talk about that.” But a few other times it was more like, “Let’s go check it out together.”

    #3 I have all new respect for the events team. Wow. I mean WOW! I know that there were times when they were overloaded, but Tic’s team makes it look easy. I bow to Holli, Michelle, and Yost. On top of that there are the volunteers who pull off all the little details. Not only are they giving up their time, but they take so much ownership of the event. Plus, a lot of them are new friends of mine.

    #4 This year was profound-er than ever. Tony Compolo laid a smack down on us last night. I think Andrew Marin is the sleeper for those going to Pittsburgh and Nashville. I don’t want to do any more spoilers than we had on the live blog.

    #5 It’s weird being an insider. Yeah, that’s self-explanatory.

  • Talking about homosexuality in the church

    Homosexuality is one of the 1000 pound gorillas of today’s evangelical church. In other words there are a lot of people either struggling with gender preference themselves or someone they love is. And the churches silence on this issue has lead to a ton of people feeling like they cannot connect to God.

    Into that understanding, Andrew Marin presented on Friday night. In a very loving, Christ-centered manner, Andrew challenged NYWC attendees to begin figuring out how to build bridges between kids who are either gay or thinking they may be gay and a loving, forgiving, and grace giving God.

    As his part of the session ended I prayed that the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let this discussion die when Andrew left the stage. It’s my hope and prayer that this is just the beginning of the evangelical church taking this 1000 gorilla seriously. My favorite quote (paraphrase) of Andrew’s time, “If you think this issue doesn’t pertain to your church just know that there are gay people in your church. And if there truly aren’t any people in your church that are gay, and this issue hasn’t come to your ministry yet, you’ve got the opportunity to do something now so you don’t screw up.”

    Discussion question: Beyond an annual “talk on homosexuality” how can you help your ministry build bridges with the gay community in your town? How can you help facilitate a loving way to connect homosexuals to your ministry?

  • I rode the magic unicorn

    Talk about a string of words I never thought I’d string together? So there was a camp here at NYWC that has a mechanical unicorn one can ride.

    Well, with a little coaxing I actually got on the thing. I have to tell you… riding a mechanical anything isn’t nearly as fun as I had thought it would be. I fell of two times quickly.

    The worst part about it was that the second time I fell off I actually got hurt. I think the back of my leg scraped across the handle part or something. All I know is that I have a massive bruise on the back of my leg.

    Don’t worry, you’ll get to catch this moment on video!

  • Sacramento Day 1

    I’m here. Being on this side of things is great. At the same time the next 24 hours are the most stressful of the 3 conventions.

    The live blogging kicks off at 1 PM PST. Make sure you check that out. nywc.com/live

  • NYWC Sacramento: Wednesday

    I’m one of the few folks still in the El Cajon offices this morning. The primary convention staff went up Sunday while the rest who are going up are trickling in the rest of the week… some arriving as late as Friday. My flight is early Thursday morning as I still have to help get the YMX booth set up in the exhibit hall.

    What am I doing at NYWC Sacramento? Lots!

    Job #1 I’m live blogging, twittering, and making a daily video blog. This includes overseeing a fun group that I put together of three other youth ministry bloggers. You can watch our live blogging craziness at NYWC.com/live.

    Job #2 I’m a social butterfly. Is that a job? Yes, it really is! 350 days per year my job is to use non-personal means to reach out and encourage thousands of youth workers like email and internet stuff. But 15 days per year I get to do this in person. So I will be talking up a storm. Listening to people’s stories. And basically a ton under the umbrella of “connecting.” Think about it like a PGA Tour event. There, most of the players can stay “inside the ropes” where the public doesn’t go. While I do go there as well, I try to be “outside the ropes” as much as I can. (Honestly, YS staff rarely stay inside the ropes… we’re all social butterflies!) So if you see me at a seminar taking notes or in the hallway or walking around the convention center, please stop and say hello!

    Job #3 The YMX Booth. Last year YMX made its debut at NYWC Atlanta. We were a tiny little company in a big huge room of 400 exhibitors. We had a small booth and most people probably missed us. This year, you won’t be able to miss us! Right when you walk in you’ll see our sexy new logo and be invited to sit down and connect in our “bigger-er” booth. Bring your laptop and enjoy some free internet too. Get ready to learn about ymwomen.com as well… Register for an account at YMX/ymwomen (free) and enjoy the loudest giveaway I’ve ever seen.

    Job #4 Facilitate the small church youth worker discussion. I’m super excited about this! Obviously, I’ve been in a small church for the last “forever.” Together we’ll talk about what’s going on in your church, encourage one another, and just have a blast. Trust me, it’ll be great.

    Job #5 Bringing the energy. Yesterday, in the podcast Marko talked about being weary. I gotta say, that is not me. (right now) I’m exuberant about the conventions this fall. I know some of that is that I’m the new guy on staff. But a big chunk is that I feel like I’m right where God wants me for this season of life. I can’t wait to connect with others and I hope to be a part of the energy on site.

  • Money Saving Tips for NYWC

    We were thinking about something this morning. With all the talk about NYWC, I wonder how many people are realizing that they may still be able to go to the convention… but they may have to do things differently to afford it?

    Take it from someone like me… you can go to the convention really, really cheaply if you need to. In 2006 I did the whole thing for about the cost of a full price convention registration. Gas, registration, hotel, meals. Not bad!

    The result of this chat was this little video: