It’s been a wild week this week. Got the event-planning nightmare of phone calls which added to my frustration about some of these band booking agents. (I’m itching to go into details, but it might be below the line of integrity.)   A few days of frustration was followed by some incredible news that’s once again proved God’s got these things under control. 

Thank you Allen Weed, our ministry partner from Interlinc, and long-time dear friend.  Your heart for serving youth workers, years of experience in the Christian music industry, and the authentic friendships you’ve created with so many people are evident in this awesome new announcement. (I also appreciated your  sage wisdom and comfort– thanks for “talkin’ me down off the ledge” this week when I was struggling with the stress of it all.) The Christian music industry has a great ambassador in you.

 To the rest of you all–check the blog in the next few days for the big news…

Looking for a road trip partner? Got a few empty seats in the church van? Need a roommate to share hotel costs? Check out the NYMC forums.

Great dialogue with Doug and Rick today about adding some extra workshops into the mid-day time frame for a brown-bag series so folks who are sticking to a track can access some workshops too. More info about this here soon–great ideas and brainstorms today! 

Over-the-top Christmas decorations in a 5 x 8 cubicle. Do people really have this much free time on their hands?

The Deeper Learning Tracks are very cool, but probably need better explanation.

1. A Deeper Learning Track is a series of workshops that meets 4 times (twice on Sat., twice on Sunday), and is taught by the same speaker (or panel of speakers) Tracks take the workshop model to a deeper level, covering more material and allowing time to discuss application of the ideas and information. Lots of class discussion in tracks–people are encouraged to ask questions, and to share ideas and solutions with the class. Track seating arrangement is small-group inspired in round tables with 8 per table.

2. All tracks have a condensed 90 minute ”Super Session” on Monday morning for exposure to another whole track.

3. There was an error in the registration system–and you DO NOT have to register for a track in advance. (although it is recommended) This advance seat reservation simply helps us plan for accurate class size, and ensures a seat for those who really want one.

4. You can hop around and attend any track session or workshop at anytime–no reservation is needed. However, some tracks might be totally full, and seating is prioritized by advance reservation. The best way to experience a track is to attend all 4 sessions, and supplement with workshops offered at non-track times.

So deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic shootings in our neighboring Colorado ministries at YWAM and at New Life Church. To the young lady from the New Life youth group who was interviewed on 9News tonight–your faith and spirit of forgiveness illuminated God’s infinite grace. For all who have been affected by this, we’re praying for you.  

Doug and Rick are passionate about a lot of things in youth ministry. They also have a lot of friends who are passionate about a lot of things in youth ministry.  I can always tell when Doug or Rick has bumped into one of their youth ministry buddies and been inspired by the conversation, because it always results in an email to me that goes something like:

“Hey Kami–just ran into [insert name here] and WOW–they’re doing such a great thing in their ministry. I think a they could do a phenomenal workshop at NYMC on [insert topic here]”

Doug and Rick obviously have a lot of conversations with inspiring people, because I get a lot of these emails. I’m finally at the point in spreadsheet-land where the workshops are getting finalized, along with a schedule, room assignments and all. What started out as 13 workshops has turned into 30. Because of the amount, we added an extra workshop time slot (late-night) and another classroom, which actually made room for 3 more. On Friday I sent the final list to Doug and Rick for their final input–and pointed out the 3 open spots.

Rick’s email back cracked me up–he had 6 “really strong” suggestions for the final 3 workshops. I can’t wait to see what Doug has in mind too.

Had an amazing night on Friday listening to Jeremy Riddle. Although it was a concert, it turned out to be an incredible worship experience with a powerful take-away about abiding in God’s presence. I’ve actually been thinking about that message all weekend. Hmmmmmm.

A whole bunch of us are going to see Jeremy Riddle in concert tonight in Ft. Collins. I’m excited to hear him live because there’s a cool story how we connected with him for NYMC. This was a God-thing. 

Last spring we wrestled through tough decisions on which Christian bands to hire for the evening concerts at NYMC. I thought this would be the fun part of event planning, but working with some of the booking agencies was sometimes pretty discouraging. I realize it’s a business like anything else, but the conversations just felt so far removed from the DNA of the event. ($40,000 for a 30 minute set? You need to have WHAT in the green room? ) 

Actually, I almost quit at that point, my job was so burdened by a number of shallow administrative details it just sucked the fullfilling ministry part right out. I couldn’t justify the sacrifices on my family if this was it. So I was driving to our final band meeting, fuming and praying (nice blend), and a song came on the radio that blew me away. I didn’t know the singer or the title, but I pulled over and wrote down the lyrics. 

I came bursting into the meeting with the news that we had a band for the Saturday night general session concert, but I’d have to google the lyrics to figure out the song/title/artist first. The team was much less inspired about this God-delivered song, but we ended up giving it a shot. About 2 hours later we figured out the mystery song and artist–Sweetly Broken, by Jeremy Riddle. I contacted his booking agent (the part I always hated) discovered that Randy McCoy, Jeremy’s agent at Creation Associates, actually lived a few miles from Group.

Randy wanted to meet for coffee before we signed anything though. He explianed that Jeremy doesn’t book events that just want him as a “gig”.  He values the integrity of his worship ministry, and chooses opportunities that fit his filter of authenticity. A few cups of coffee later, we had Jeremy Riddle filled into the Saturday night spot, and I had a new favorite song I listen to whenever I need some inspiration.

Another GREAT question. What started out as pre-conference activities has become a major small groups initiative. Love that this idea was inspired by input from 2007 NYMC attendees.

 Affinity Groups are optional, casual small groups at NYMC so you can connect, share info learned in various tracks and workshops, and discuss how it applies to your similar ministry situation. Each group has a ministry mentor who’ll help lead discussion, and organize the next group meeting. Affinity Groups kick-off on Friday 2/22 from 3-4:30 pm for fellowship, and continue throughout the conference during various times. Example: early morning coffee devotions, brown-bag lunches, and late night discussions.  Affinty Group information boards in the commons area communicate daily happenings.  A lot will happen organically–we’re plugging in the mentors, coordinating some logistics and communication, and letting God do the rest.

Affinity Group details will be on the web soon, but groups we’ve got so far are: small church ym; large church ym; urban ym; jr. high ym; women in ym; veteran youth workers; new youth workers; tech nerds; college & seminary students and professors; PDYM; older youth workers (45+); and a support group youth workers dealing with difficult pastors. The list is growing…feel free to comment and add your ideas for Affinity Groups. (or anything, really)