well, the nywc is almost over. only the final ‘big room’ to go. i’ll be heading down in a few minutes to attend that whole session, in support of my friend tic long. after more than 30 years at ys – most of those years leading the nywc – tic is doing his first-ever general session talk. i know what he’s going to talk about (fear), and think he is the right person at the right time with the right message.
this convention, here in nashville (as opposed to the earlier one in san diego), has not caused anxiety or weird feelings for me. honestly, it’s been wonderful. i’ve had a very full schedule, but have deeply enjoyed my time here. i haven’t been able to make it to the general sessions much, due to so many appointments — the one session i made it to did feel a little weird for me, as that space has so many memories and is so deeply connected to who i am and who i was. but, really, being here has been awesome.
i spoke 4 times:
– a ‘fishbowl’ dialogue called “soul care for busy non-contemplatives”. i really enjoyed this one — lots of great interaction and participation. i love the fishbowl format, and really felt we had a “we’re in this together” vibe in the room.
– a brand new seminar called “leading without power”. i think this one went well — i got good feedback. i’m planning on a blog post series with some of this content in the weeks to come.
– a 2 1/2 hour ‘grande seminar’ called “youth ministry 3.0”. despite the remote location, we had a decent turn-out, and great interaction.
– and a late night discussion on “the future of youth ministry”. this had a super-small turn-out, and some of the dialogue was a bit odd; but it was still worth doing. i have a blog post series planned out of this one also.
and i had dozens of meetings: time with friends getting caught up, time with youth workers who asked for an hour, time with current and potential ministry partners cooking up cool new things for youth workers (ooh — i’m so excited about some of the stuff i’m gonna try in 2011 and 2012).
in the end, this convention didn’t feel as much like closing the loop on a past reality to me as much as it felt like framing and realizing the good, new reality. i think the ‘leading without power’ seminar title is a good metaphor for my place at nywc, and it’s good.
i hope i get to come back next year!
glad it went well Marko
Hey, sorry for the odd dialog? Could I get a hold of the emails and stuff you were reading? (email me?)
p.s.Glad it wasn’t to wierd for you, thanks for being there.
“Leading without Power” seems to describe what I’ve been feeling/experiencing as well. I no longer am on staff at a church. However, I feel like I do more youth/student/family ministry now than ever as I’m a “family consultant.” Thankfully I work for a faith based company but our contracts work through Dept. of Child Services. Thus, I don’t get to help “lead” a church, just trying to help create the church. Anyway, in thinking about my past experiences with churches and ministries, traveling, and education…I wonder if I’d work in a church again one day…however, I’d like to use my gifts and glorify the Lord…thus I feel like I lead without power.
Wanted to go to NYWC, but couldn’t make it. Maybe next year!
Great to see you last week! Sad to miss your sessions, but they were all around the time of one-on-one’s that I had.
Thanks for sharing this post, Marko. Glad to hear it was a great experience. God is using you in big ways. I’m eager to see what’s next.
It was great seeing you again this weekend! I’d love to grab another cup of coffee sometime, but didn’t ask this time because I knew you’d be crazy busy. Another time though for sure. Thanks for all you do for all of us
Marko
While there, you were still missed. I have much to say about my reactions this year and will share them on my blog later, but I so appreciate your leadership and courage to provide time, space, and a platform for those with no voice or “new” ideas
still mourning the loss of YS emergent and am thinking that you were the real backbone behind that movement…though I could be wrong
either way, it was great to have you there and still be a voice, although I believe your voice needs to be heard more, especially as it relates to the future and progression of youth ministry into an ever-changing climate
My husband attended the fishbowl and the 3.0 seminar and really got a lot out of both. We actually used the fishbowl concept in our high school class last night because he liked it so much to pretty good results. So glad you were there!
Hey Marco, I have been trying to find the audio to soul care for busy non-contemplatives from either San Diego or Nashville and don’t seem to be able to find it. Any direction on where I could find it or some guidance in this area as a fellow (I am assuming) non-contemplative. Thanks
Sorry, that was a “fishbowl” conversation, not a seminar. So they didn’t record it.
Great to have you back…so glad I made the remote for 3.0 as it was a great wake up for those of in this game of YM. Great to have you back and I pray for many many more with you my brother.