Uncensored and General Council

I've only been in Atlanta 5 weeks and already got my name in a book (Jeanne's Uncensored). How cool is that? Ok, it's only on the "Thanks" page, but still fun stuff:)

General Council in Indy's RCA Dome was fun. Met some great people. Reconnected with my Cadre peeps. They are way too cool and so much like family. My sis got to attend the closing session with Jeanne, that was awesome. About 30 of us closed down PF Changs afterward where I got the opportunity to put a face to a voice. Josh Mayo and I have been talking daily in an attempt to help Brett get the youthleaderscoach website up. It's still got some work, but is well on its way.

Jeanne knocked it out of the park in the RCA Dome, which is pretty amazing considering it has the most horrific accoustics (everything echos) and sense of closeness (imagine being the person in the middle of the field trying to penetrate the heart of someone in the upper deck ... good thing that was God's job).

I've come to some conclusions on stuff I saw there...
1. Jeanne spoke about the need for senior pastors to be "dads" to their youth pastors. As I listen to youth pastors across the country, it is so evident that's the cry of their heart. However, I don't think it's limited to youth pastors. I think there are countless people out their longing for a spiritual mom or dad, which is something more than a mentor, coach, etc.

2. There were a lot of really old pastors at the convention and a lot of really young ones. It looked like there may have been a missing age gap in their 40's. Maybe I just missed them, but it made me wonder if the church world burned them out ... I hope I just missed them.

3. I think revival will one day be redefined. Planetshakers sang a revival type song right before Jeanne spoke and it seemed so appropriate. Revival stories in days gone by have centered on a particular location where an outpouring occurred (examples might be with Edwards, Wesley or, more recent days, Kilpatrick). I just have a sense that it's going to look different in the coming days. I feel like we're only beginning to fully realize the multiplication factor that occurs with the holistic linking of arms locally and globally. It's a Pay it Forward strategy - I'll teach you, now you go teach others. I think of what Jeanne is doing with the Cadre, Mark is doing with Innovate, Rob is doing in India, Rick is doing with Purpose Driven...and the list goes on. The beauty is that they are all significally, not loosely, tied to a LOCAL church where they are living life in the trenches. I'm still in the early stages of the thought process on this, but thought I'd throw it out there.

4. Coming from Granger, we've always championed and done well with the reclaiming of the arts for the glory of God. I don't know how well it's doing with big church, but the Assemblies of God is knocking it out of the park in this area when it comes to its young people. They do this thing called "Fine Arts" where kids from all over the country compete on a state level, then national level, in categories like drama, human videos, short sermons, long sermons, a gazillion music categories, etc. It's like Indiana's ISSMA (a public school competition for bands and choirs) on steroids, with the sole purpose of glorifying God. I'm told that some churches take it way too serious (they lose sight of the purpose), but from an outsider looking in ... it was amazing ... seriously, amazing!