Tag Archives: NYWC 2008

Shane Claiborne spoke tonight and one question he asked stuck out at me. YS did a very cool thing with tonight’s general session; they had 3 speakers who each spoke for about 20 minutes, then about 10 for conversation with little groups of people, then 10ish for questions that we text messaged in, either during the speaker or during the discussion time. Very web 2.0, although they didn’t use any of my questions.

Anyway, Claiborne was talking about the Bible story about John the Baptist’s disciples coming to Jesus to ask, “Are you the Messiah, or should we wait for someone else?” Jesus, as he often did, didn’t answer with a “Yes I am” or anything clear like that. He looked back at them and said, “Look at what you are seeing happen; the blind, deaf, and lame are being healed. Bring your answer back based on these things.”

As Christians, Shane went on, if someone came up to one of us and said, “Are you a Christian?” could we answer back, “Look at what you see?”

I’m having a number of incomplete thoughts about this.

I also had dinner with Marty at Uppercrust Pizza, which is just across the street from the convention center. And while it looks like we’ve all discovered it already from the number of convention nametags I saw while we were eating, I’ll take a moment to recommend it. They have an all-you-can-eat buffet (for we hurried and underfunded youth ministers) and they make excellent pizza. They are at 1200 K St.; here’s the Google Maps link

So today’s the first full day of the NYWC in Sacramento, and it’s been a rock-awesome day so far!

Chris Folmsbee got it exactly right this morning when toward the end of the Critical Concerns course he reminded us to take the big ideas we’d learned there and adapt them once we got home into the big ideas we already use in our congregations. I think this goes for anything we hear in conventions, unless we’re working in a blank-slate church and need to download a whole new program into the place. The people we work with back home weren’t here with us; they need the info we get here, and the new ideas, but they need them translated into the language we use there.

Bishop Sherwood Carthen spoke at the first general session about the “cost of leadership” in God’s kingdom; he was teaching from the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, and mentioned several purposes of wilderness experiences. The thing that got me the most was something I’d NEVER SEEN before, in the hundreds of times I’ve read and taught that story: Jesus was SENT to the wilderness by the HOLY SPIRIT. He didn’t wander there on his own, or get tricked into going there by Satan. Instead, the Father’s plan for Jesus included a time of testing and a time of loneliness.

The first point Bishop Carthen made about the purpose of the wilderness is that it “crucifies false spirituality.” That is, it strips away all my notions about my own plans and ideas and spiritual practices and lets God install His goals and guiding in me, at least when I see the wilderness for the gift of God that it is.

Today at lunch I discovered the Bread Store– exit the convention center at J street and turn right. Go about four blocks and it’s on the right-hand side of the street. I had a terrific Cuban sandwich and overheard many interesting conversations. The best thing about the place is this sign, which reads:
“Spot metermaid–ring bell–take home a free baguette!”

Hello from sunny Scramento, California! I’m here for the National Youthworkers’ Convention, and using this amazing five-day event faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away from my youth group (I love them all, and they were very disappointed to hear I wouldn’t be at Starbucks with them today) to get a jumpstart on this blog and a few other writing and organizing projects that have been pushed to the side by my general laziness and the ease with which I procrastinate.

I’ve always joked that when procrastination stopped working, I’d stop doing it. Well, that happened this year, and it’s time to live up to my joke. (It’s like the time someone’s uncle gave up watermelon for Lent every year, and then suddenly watermelons were being imported from countries where they were actually *ripe* during Lent and he had to live up to his sacrifice!) This year the ministry at St. Michael’s is big enough, has enough volunteers who need training, enough kids who need care and enough events that need planning that I’ve come to the edges of my successful putting-off! And with school and various personal things all waiting to be crammed into the week, along with time for God and time for my comfortable couch, it’s time to practice the discipline and habits I try to teach all the time!

Today Marty and I ate at Amarin Thai Cuisine here in Sacramento, and I can completely recommend it. There’s a lot of great spicy Thai food on their menu, they have a terrifically friendly staff, and it’s an easy walk from the Convention Center, on 12th and I Streets. If you’re hungry…

I’ll be finishing up Chris Folmsbee’s Critical Concerns course on nurturing volunteers tomorrow morning; stop by and say hi if you have the chance; I’ll be the guy looking for a place to plug in all morning!