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.