Greetings From Cincy

(I wrote this yesterday from the convention, but Blogger wouldn't let me post it. Sorry for the delay--I'll write more about NYWC later on, too.)

Well, it's the eve of the final day of Youth Specialties. It's been both short and long, but overall pretty much amazing.

YS conventions always seem to be a catalyst for change or dramatic growth in my life. My first experience at the NYWC was just a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and experiences that promoted healing and worship. Last year YS came along at just about the time that I started discovering who God is outside of the framework of Adventism and more from the perspective of the Christian church as a whole.

My first two years at the convention opened me up to a whole world of Christians out there who, at the core of things, believe in the same stuff I do--Jesus, love, that we're here for more than just chillin' through life until we die. Today I ran into a guy whom I first met at YS in Atlanta two years ago. I remembered him (he didn't remember me) because he was the first person I'd ever met who could stick his finger through the piercing in his ear lobe and spin his hand around. I think he made it on the big screen for "Stupid Human Tricks" for that. I remember thinking that he seemed revolutionary and rebellious and very, very cool. And he was, and is, quite possibly the friendliest person I'd ever met.

Now he seems rather, well, normal. Since then I've discovered U2, dyed my hair purple, found myself to be a political and (gasp!) religious liberal, learned to worship jumping with my hands in the air, and started wearing jewelry every so often. I've nurtured my inner rock star (let us not forget the soon-to-be famous band Katie and the Sweet Skunks!) and learned a lot about myself, God, the church, and what I believe to be true of all three. My tastes in music have swung from country to rock to worship to rock to everything.

This year has been another catalyst for change. I'm much more dissatisfied this year than I have been in the past, and it has nothing to do with the great time that Youth Specialties has given us here. It's got everything to do with my dissatisfaction with the church and who we are
and what we do.

I think this time the change comes in my need to discover who God is and what Christianity means outside of the framework of the church, period. I need to figure out what it means to be a Christian if I never again set foot in the door of a church, or if I never again hung out with typically "Christian" peers. (That's not something I'm considering, by the way.)

I guess it's a road God's had me on all along--the need to discover Him for who He is, without the trappings and images that the church attributes to Him.

I don't have the faintest idea how to do that.

But I guess that's okay, 'cause God does.

Highlights of Youth Specialties so Far

• Meeting David Crowder and Mike Hogan and getting them to sign stuff for me (including my iPod, which now boasts the autographs of Crowder, Hogan, and Solley, and only needs Jack, B-wack, and Mike to complete the band).
• Meeting Marko, the president of YS, with whom I've e-mailed a bit lately. We agreed to pray for each other in the couple of days before the convention started, and it was great to meet him. He strikes me as a very Christ-like person, and that's a pretty awesome quality to find in a new friend. Plus, today he wore a shirt that says "Real Men Wear Kilts" and that makes him cool.
• Worshiping with Starfield. Dare I say (gasp!) that I might have enjoyed them on a comparable level to DC*B.
• Mike Pilavachi's talk. He's funny and I always, always get a huge blessing. Two years ago he had me weeping endlessly, and yesterday I was also touched and blessed.
• Hanging out with old buddies. Old friends really are often the best kind.

There are a lot of other great highlights, but I feel like I should free up this computer for some other poor internet-starved youth worker waiting in line at the "digital lounge." Posting will be more regular throughout the rest of the break, methinks, so stop back--maybe even for some photos!!!!