Willow Creek Conference: Day 3

Well my last day at the conference was really good. Don Miller is always great.
I heard don at Cedarville University last year and he is such an awesome storyteller. He spent a little time trying to point out that Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is actually two stories in one. Part of the story has to do with the warring families. Don explained how these two family’s represented the two parts of Christianity that were warring during the time of the writing of the play. The Catholics and the Protestants were really at war in Great Britain.
The second story in Romeo and Juliet is actually an allegory for Jesus’ love for humanity. It needs to be examined a lot further, but the basic idea is that Jesus loves humanity so much that he chose to die for it.
Erwin McManus was really good, but it was his team from Mosaic that made it great. They did a presentation called "Scribble." Since I got to spend some time with a couple of the dancers the day before, their routine meant a lot to me. I told Michelle that the only way I can describe what they did was if you took RENT and made it into a really good Christian production. Even the dancers looked and acted like they had been in RENT. (maybe they have). I got some good pics. The basic idea of their presentation is that we are told to do things in such a uniform way. From parents, schools, churches, friends, and job, someone is trying to tell us to get in line, think the same way, and do the same things. But the team from Mosaic really drove home the idea of think, doing, and living differently. It was a very moving and inspiring experience.












So, the conference ran over by almost 20 minutes. I left Willow Creek at almost 1:00pm, had to get gas and drop off my rental and have them shuttle me to the airport, check my bag, and get through security, and get to my gate in less than an hour and a half. I felt panicky. When I finally got to my gate they informed me that my flight had been delayed for one hour. i was a little upset, but also relieved. I could get something to eat and calm down a bit.
Then they made us change gates. Not a big deal, the new one was right across the hall, but a hassle nonetheless. Then they told us that it had been delayed another hour. Now I was getting upset. Michelle was already at Columbus airport waiting for me and I hadn't even left O’Hare.
They moved us back to our original gate again at one point and I just conceded that this was out of my control and I would get home when I got home. About 20 minutes later they said that our plane was on site, and we would board in 5 minutes. That all being said, what should have been a 3:30 flight ended up being a 5:45 flight. And with the time change, I arrived in Columbus at 7:45pm.
All in all, this was a really good experience. It helped to inspire me, confirm some things I have been wrestling with, and help me to explore some possibilities. If you are in ministry of any kind, I recommend this conference for next year.

Willow Creek Conference, Day 2

I never get up quickly. It usually takes me about 30-45 minutes to actually get out of bed. When you add time for a shower and traffic, I got here just in time (but not in time to grab some breakfast).


My first session was led by Efram Smith, a minister at a multi-cultural church in Minneapolis. He was a great speaker. The topic was on using gifts and passion in ministry, but also included the idea of using our frustrations and our past as motivation for doing more effective ministry. Most people just grumble and gripe, but that only breeds negativity. Frustration is not useful unless it leads to something positive.

Anyway, I will post notes for that session as well.

Mark Miller, a marketing exec for Chic-fil-A, led my second session. He is also considered a creativity guru. He led us through various techniques we can utilize to help creativity flourish and how we can keep ideas coming. That can be a hard thing for many of us “creative types”. We sometimes get looked at as some sort of idea machine. The thing is, sometimes the machine is empty. What then? That is where Mark steps in. I will post notes from this session later as well. *one thing about my note taking, I tend to take notes by hand. I write all over a sheet of paper, and in all directions. I make sidebar notes, draw arrows, and draw emphatic symbols. This doesn’t translate well to a computer document. I may take pictures of my notes and then upload them as pdf files. However, they may not make much sense to anyone but me in the original format. I dunno what I will do. Still trying to figure that out.

During the lunch break, I took some pictures of a paint project that is going on. Basically, there were four blank canvases that we were encouraged to paint expressions of hope and faith onto. Then at the conclusion of the weekend, these paintings will be given to four churches. Pretty cool. Here are a few of the pics I took.










My sessions for the afternoon including a snapshot of a weekend service at Mosaic (in southern California) Erwin McManus ministers to Mosaic, but we got to hear from one of their creative arts ministers. The first part was music. It was a stripped down group, just a guitarist/lead singer, a sax player, and a backup singer/keybordist. We did a few Mosaic originals and a few new standards (Tomlin, Crowder).
The best part of the “service” was a dance by a troupe from their church. First of all it was not just a hodge-podge of untalented hopefuls. It was made up of professional dancers. I am not usually impressed with church dance, mostly because it is not very well done. But this really moved me to tears. I even spent a few minutes talking to two of the dancers afterwards. They were really great.
Finally, David Arcos (the creative arts minister) spoke about hearing the voice of God and about encouraging and empowering others to do the same.

Overall, it was a great experience, and one of my favorite moments of the conference.

I can’t get over the dance. So many times I feel like throwing in the towel. Ministry is a thankless task and often we get only negative feedback. After a while that starts to hurt your heart. I struggle with what to do with my ministry life. Watching this dance group and seeing how passionate they were, how talented they were, and how dedicated they were was so inspirational and encouraging. In a strong way it confirmed some things about me and my future in ministry. I know that I cannot use my gifts and passions in a lot of traditional places. I think God is really pushing me to make some tough but incredibly exciting choices.

The last session I had was called “Simplicity as a way of life”. This class was not necessarily about consumerism or material simplicity. It was about spiritual simplicity. Uncluttering your soul. Realigning your life with the will of God. Slowing down and listening for God’s voice. It was led by Mindy Calquire, a leader of a group called “Soul Care” that specializes in mentoring and serving church leaders and organizations. She was really a great speaker and motivator. I took a lot of notes in this session too. I need to figure out what I am going to do about getting some notes posted. It might be a day or two. I need to process all of this.

Tomorrow is the final day. I get to hear Don Miller and Erwin Mcmanus speak and then I have to rush to the airport to catch my flight (which I pray will not get delayed) back to Dayton. Well that’s it for the night, I am pretty tired, gonna veg out for a bit.

Willow Creek Conference, Day 1

Well, my first day at the conference was a long, exhausting, and inspirational experience. It actually started at 2:30 Tuesday morning. I got up for class at that time, went to class and was home a little after 10:30pm Tuesday night. I am currently taking a class on church planting, and although the texts and topics tend to be focused on the “Purpose Driven” methods, we are diving into other concepts and ideas as well. Overall the class is pretty helpful.

So that leads me to my trip here, to Chicago. Michelle and I had planned to leave our apartment around 4:00am to drive to Columbus for my 7:15 flight. That meant getting up around 2:30-3:00am. Well, in my excitement and anticipation (as well as my slight fear of my first commercial flight) I didn’t get to sleep at all. So when I finally got to lay down yesterday, I had been up for 32 straight hours. YIKES.

My flight was not bad, but it was delayed for a little over an hour due to some communication issues. This put my whole first day in a spin. I had planned to arrive at O’Hare, get a rental car, and get to the conference just before it all began. Since I was delayed, I actually missed all but ten minutes of the first session. Bummer.

The second session was with Nancy Beach, one of the staff members at Willow Creek. She was really good, inspirational, and interesting. I will post some notes later.

Don Miller is supposed to speak Friday morning. But he also spoke at Willow creek’s Wednesday night service. I have heard him before and he is such a great story teller, but because of my sleep deprivation, I was unable to pay attention. I went out into the main part of the building a walked around, prayed, and collected my thoughts about some things I am wrestling with. So it wasn’t a waste.

Back at the hotel, I think I was awake for less than a half hour before I crashed. It was such a long day, but a great one.

Update

Life is pretty crazy sometimes. I turned 31 yesterday. I have never been a big birthday person, but for some reason this year feels different. I know I haven’t been updating as often as I have promised to, and for that I apologize. Let me fill you in…

I am rounding the corner and heading for home in regards to finishing my degree. I have about 4 months left. It will be a great personal accomplishment, especially since I started 13 years ago. I am still trying to figure out the specifics of starting my Master’s program, but I have a feeling that I will have to wait until next August to start that.

I was recently promoted at work. That is a big deal too. I don’t like to brag about money, but it was a good pay increase. The great part isn’t necessarily the raise, but the opportunity for days off. It looks like I will be able to stay on 3rd shift (which is beneficial for school) but I will have Friday morning through Sunday night off!

Michelle and I are doing a lot of traveling in the next few weeks (although unfortunately, none of if it is together). I am going to a conference near Chicago this week, she is going to a conference in Denver the following week, then she flies out for a trip to Ireland the week after that. The Ireland trip is important. It is kind of a graduation gift to herself, I guess. Something that she needs to do. I understand that, even if others seem confused by it.

I have some other stuff going on too…stuff that is really exciting and scary at the same time. I can’t say much about it yet, but when the time is right, you will be the first to know. Just pray that I hear and follow God’s lead for the time being.

Well, that’s it for this update. I am sure I will have some thoughts to post from the Chicago conference. I will hopefully get some pictures as well.