Youth Specialties Pittsburgh – Saturday November 2, 2008
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Today was a good day. I spent most of it in and around the various prayer spaces provided by YS. Andy and I are working as volunteers in the Labyrinth this weekend. I had two shifts today, and it was an amazing experience. My first shift was during the morning’s general session. Yesterday was not very busy. There was never any kind of a backlog. Since it was a general session, I figured most people would be in listening to Francis Chan speak, so I guess that it would be more of the same. Acutally, it was busier than either of the sessions I worked on Friday.
But that was nothing compared to my afternoon shift, which was during the time between the afternoon seminars and the evening general session. When I walked in, the labyrinth was full. There were two people at most of the stations and three at at least one or two. There were 6 people waiting to start, and there were 4 people on the sign up sheet to start in the next 15 minutes. It was crazy.
What I learned pretty quickly is that busy is better. And not just because it makes time go by faster. It is incredible to watch the people who go through the labyrinth. I don’t think that I have ever been a part of something where people have so consistently had incredible experiences with God. I get to watch people from the time they walk into the door, through the time they are at the prayer stations, up to the time that they leave. I get to see countenances lifted. I get to see people lift their hands in worship. I get to see them shed tears as they work with God. I get to watch as burdens are lifted. I literally get to watch as people are changed because of their experience with God. It’s just incredible. Thanks YS for the opportunity to be a part of it.
Between the my two shifts in the labyrinth, I spent some time on my own in the Prayer Chapel. One of the things I spent a lot of time praying about before coming to Pittsburgh is that God would provide some guidance for Quest for the coming year. I certainly don’t know everything yet, after after my time in prayer today, I feel like I have a lot more clarity. Keep watching here for details.
Phyllis Tickle was the general session speaker today. I was fortunate enough to see her in Atlanta last year and was blown away. I blogged about that session here, and I was part of a discussion of her talk here. I also read her book The Great Emergence. I think she’s fantastic, but I wasn’t quite as blown away this time around. However, let’s be honest, a big part of that is because it wasn’t a new idea to me this time. While there was a bunch that was new (or at least different) from her talk in Atlanta last year, it is very similar to her book. Still, it was good stuff to think about.
Tomorrow I don’t have any shifts in the labyrinth. I get to be a participant all day. I’m not sure I’m excited about that…
Youth Specialties Pittsburgh – Friday November 1, 2008
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I spent most of today in and around the Labyrinth. Those of us who are volunteering to work there got to be the first participants to go through it this morning before it officially opened. As always, it was great. I think it’s really cool how each time I pray the labyrinth something different sticks out to me. Today it was the station called “Outward Journey.” “Outward Journey” comes right after time that is dedicated to just spending time with God and taking communion. It discusses the importance of taking that experience with us as we go out into the world and using it to affect the world for God. It sort of matched up with things I’ve been thinking and questions I’ve been pondering about the direction for Quest in the next year. The actual convention hadn’t started yet, and God was already beginning to speak to me. That’s awesome.
After finishing the labyrinth myself, I started working. As a volunteer, my job is to make sure that everything in the labyrinth is running smoothly and to give participants some instructions and answer their questions. Because most people weren’t here yet, the morning session was very quiet. It is really cool to be involved in the “Soul Care” department of the convention. Youth Specialties puts an emphasis on giving people the time, space and opportunity to strengthen themselves spiritually.It’s awesome to be even a small part of that. The most fun is talking to participants after they are leaving. Many are completely blown away by the experience that they have just had with God. It’s great to see God at work in the lives of others. I am so thankful for the opportunity to volunteer and be a part of it.
I worked two shifts in the labyrinth. Between them was the first General Session. It was fantastic. Joe Castillo did some more of his sand art. This time, he used it to tell the story of the Prodigal Son. It was awesome. Check out the link. It’ll be 9:20 well spent. Then Starfield lead worship. I love Starfield. I’m glad there here for the first couple of days of the convention. The speaker for the session was Mike Pilavachi. He was great. To me at least, he is a very entertaining speaker. He’s British, and since I generally love the British sense of humor, I found him hilarious. He touched on a variety of topics, but the big one was about helping people to grow the way Jesus did. Jesus sent out the disciples and allowed them to make mistakes. Then he made sure they learned the lessons from the mistakes. The lesson for us is that we have to release people before they are ready. People learn to be good by being given the freedom to be bad. To often, we want people to be perfect before we give them the opportunity to try. Of course, then how can they ever be perfect, since they don’t have the opporunity to practice and try things out…
Youth Specialties – Thursday and Friday Pictures November 1, 2008
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Youth Specialties – Thursday November 1, 2008
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This is the first time that I’ve ever been at the National Youth Workers Convention on a Thursday. The main convention always starts on Friday afternoon, but there are early bird events on Thursday. I have to say, it’s a different place. Much quieter and more sedate.
Andy and I got here at about 9:00 a.m. this morning after driving through the night. We weren’t able to leave the Chicago area until 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. We had to be here by 10:00 a.m. Thursday to work on the set up of the Prayer Chapel and Labyrinth. We were a little tired on the drive, but there were no problems or safety hazards. When we got to Pittsburgh, we parked the car across the street from our hotel. Then we walked into the lobby to ask when we would be able to check in. They told us that we could have our room right away, which was very cool. It was even cooler when we opened the door. The room is HUGE. It’s bigger than most studio apartments that I’ve ever been in.
After checking in, we walked the 3 or so blocks to the convention center and met the team that we are going to be working with. It’s a great group of people. We worked hard at the set up. Everything went up quickly, and it looks really good. There are a lot of cool areas and stations in the Prayer Chapel. I’ll post some pictures in my next entry. I think my favorite area is the one with the paralytic’s mat. We created a “hole” in the ceiling, and there is a mat on the floor with ropes running up to the “hole.” It’s a place that can encourage prayers for healing or faith, and contemplation about who you would go through the trouble of lowering through a roof or who would be willing to lower you through a roof. Very cool. I can’t wait to see everything tomorrow when everything is lit for ambiance and it is all in use.
Quest 