Day 1 Group Conference

FRIDAY, February 21, 2008
Because I don�t want to pay some exorbitant fee for Internet in the convention center I will be uploading most of this from my phone and then adding in pics later.
First day of the conference�Great start! The bottom floor of the Duke Energy Convention Center is hosting an auto show. Some really cool cars. The amazing stuff is inside where you have to pay. But you can peek and see from outside a little bit.
Its drizzle raining and there is snow and ice on the ground. People are using umbrellas here. Weird. We don�t use them in Oregon. There are actually laws against them. McCormick & Schmidt�s was on tap for dinner
Tim Timmons lead worship. He plays a mean guitar and does a great job of intertwining old and new songs. Mostly I like his heart.
Tony Dungey spoke and did a fantastic job. It was not deep or new; it was, however, right on. He talked about mentoring. He started off by talking about how important the jobs are of youth ministry leaders and how unimportant, when you compare it, football coaching is. We just don�t get the press they do.
Here are a few notes on what he had to say:
Youth Ministry is Like Coaching
Mentors � 80% of new NFL players don�t have a dad in their life. �Who was the dominant male influence in your life?�
What we do is important. How do we do it effectively?
You�re not going to win every game.
Learn your craft. � conferences, Bible studies, seminars, etc. Get trained.
Connect. � make it personal. Be yourself. Take a personal interest in others. A bad teacher can teach an A student, but a good teacher can help every student.
Recharge. � rely on Christ. Take time away. Walk as close to the Lord as possible. Do not let God�s Word depart. Trust Him in everything.
This is the theme of the weekend and he did a great job of connecting to the theme.

Josh and Jake did the announcements with their shirts off (they are not the skinniest guys on the planet) and slapped each other during the announcement. You could see the pain in their eyes. The slaps kept progressing�from the chest to the face and ear. Very funny.
We saw a 90 second trailer to the �Soul Searching� movie based on the book. The book is excellent. Looking at lives of students and where they really are at. They will be showing the whole movie tonight.
Sarah Groves did a concert.
One of the songs she sang was in response to her trip to Rawanda. They played a video of her there with words that would ease into the video that would fit with what she was singing. It was awesome! Here are a few lines from her song.
Your pain has changed me
Your dreams inspire
Your courage asks me what I�m afraid of
I like this girl. She�s good.

I off to the SYM live podcast. Have you listened to this? It�s good. Lots of fun banter with Doug Fields, Josh Griffin, Matt McGill and Jana. Should be cool. I think you can watch it live at www.live.yahoo.com/simplyinsider