conversations from the couch

OK–for those of you who are new to the NYMC blog–this is the behind-the-scenes report on all conference happenings as they move from brainstorm to execution, plus breaking news, cool stuff, and the good, bad and ugly parts we’re probably not supposed to share. The year-long journey of planning a conference is a huge part of our team’s real-life ministry to youth workers, and we thought we’d share the the glimpses of holy grace that compensate for the gritty frustrations along the way. You’ll get inside the heads and hearts of the folks on the conference team who are thinking/planning/praying for youth workers needs. And, your comments and input on the blog give us the feedback that makes the conference great!

FYI for returning readers: the blog took a hibernation when I took a sabbatical of sanity. (the event team continued on with some exciting staff/company changes, but I (Kami, the self-appointed NYMC blogger among a variety of other conference roles, took a time out.) Since this blog is about the real truth behind our conference ministry–here’s the scoop: I returned from NYMC 2008/Cincinnati in February full from the experience, but ultimately broken by the long journey that took us there. Part of it was the sheer strain of the amount of work on a tiny staff, but it went beyond that. I had felt God’s call on my heart to serve youth workers so loudly that it drowned out the balance in my life for anything else. I totally neglected my role as a wife, mother and friend, and rationalized my workaholic ways all in the name of God. It became clear that my own prideful addiction to performance/achievement/affirmation overtook what began as authentic calling to ministry. Exhausted, disallusioned, broken and bitter I wrapped up some final projects, left my position at Group and limped home to heal my life.

It’s now been 5 months and I’ll share bits and pieces of that healing time in future posts. I’ve learned that committing to ministry of any kind means committing to continual personal and spiritual recovery and renewal along the way. My friend Megan Hutchinson from Saddleback and NYMC 2009 Track Leader for Helping Hurting Kids has said it best: just breathe.

So, with a great big breath I’m throwing a healthy leg back on this conference pony. I’m totally inspired when I watch the NYMC promo video, and reminded about healthy spiritual balance in the words of the accompanying song, Sweetly Broken, by Jeremy Riddle. I’ve been there. I’m grateful for the amazing team that continued planning NYMC 2009–I’ll re-introduce the whole crew (and new faces) soon. Thanks to Doug Fields for refusing to believe I could really walk away, and a huge thanks to Rick Lawrence for carrying this torch high and keeping it burning so brightly along with everything else on your plate: you are a true champion!