The week of June 8th through June 11th, I was blessed to experience the West Ohio Annual Conference in Lakeside, Ohio. It was an enlightening experience. I stayed in the youth house as a NGL intern. Although politics are not my favorite thing to participate in, it was important for me to see how the United Methodist Church operates. I went to a couple of their sessions and it took all that I had to stay awake, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I should mention that the freedom the UMC offers its members, clergy and otherwise, is remarkable. The voice of the individual is powerful and recognized. It is a very open approach to religion and theology. I was blessed to be a witness to such a posture. The worship services were outstanding! Ginghamsburg Praise Band and the Hope for Africa Children’s Choir led worship. The teachings were on leadersh
ip from different perspectives. Whether one was trying to understand biblical leadership or develop leaders there was something in the messages that spoke to you. Sue Nilson Kibbey was especially enlightening for me. She was pleasant to listen to without losing the passion in her voice. Both her and Mike Slaughter used short video stories on different topics to help the conference understand and visualize their message. I hope to create something similar for Central soon. It was a good example of using technology to enhance and enrich the Gospel. Many times technology can be used to put on a performance instead of bringing people closer to Christ. In my opinion, the videos were a great way to use technology to help glorify the Lord and His kingdom. A great example of leadership! 
Another memorable moment during conference was the offering of school kits. It was amazing to see hundreds of people taking thousands of kits up on stage. It wasn’t much fun to move them off of the stage and on to a truck. Then move them from the truck into a storage room while packaging them for shipment. But it was a wonderful blessing for those at conference and the children who will receive the kits around the world! 
The time I spent with the other interns and the youth at the house was wonderful. Even though the introvert in me wanted more time to rest and process information (which is what I think many youth leaders forget…not all youth need something to do all of the time!) I had a great time. A couple of mornings we went down to the dock for sunrise and then had breakfast/coffee together. The time of fellowship was priceless. It was the beginning of many lifelong friendships! As always…
In Christ,
No comments:
Post a Comment