Thursday, May 01, 2008

Conspire Conference in Chicago (Part 1)


I got back from Conspire in Chicago on Saturday. I wanted to take some time to write about it, but if I wait for "enough" time, I'll never write about it so here goes...

I got there Wednesday morning and heard Christina Yount Jones speak about "Erase Your Fears." It was great to hear her and others make the point that "you are the right person to be here." It was comforting to believe the God meant for me to be there and that I was the right person to be there.

She talked a bit about how Jesus calmed the wind and the waves (Luke 8) and how that related to all the "storms" we go through. She encouraged us to "Stick with It" and not just change courses for the sake of fearing we might not be doing enough (Ecc 11:4). Don't just change, but if there are problems address those. Also, don't give up best practices for "quick" results.

She also talked about what your "worst case scenario" might be. We fear something bad that can happen be she encouraged us to "lean into" it. She told a heart-wrenching story of losing her husband. She's lived thru her worst case scenario and God is faithful (Ps 23:4).

The last fear she talked about was "Fear of Breaking Something." She encouraged us to "breat it" (Dt 31:8). In many cases God might be calling us to change things up completely and if so He's prepared the way. She felt led to change up her church's children's ministry a few years ago which was strange b/c she wasn't the leader. However, when she shared her thoughts w/ the leaders, she found out they were praying for God to raise someone up to take over!

I'll try to post more in the following days of the rest of the conference.

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