“Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.” Remember that little song from ‘Finding Nemo?’ Nemo’s dad (youth workers) was struggling to carry-on. The journey – and the mission – were overbearing. He was losing heart – and losing faith. Enter Dory (Kerensa!!) with just the right amount of encouragement to help the sea-weary dad embrace the challenge and complete the mission.
Kerensa is the consumate encourager. She’s always reminding us to look for praises among the prayer requests. She wants people to know how valued they are. And she’s great at that!!
The folks of SYMC – both the professionals and the volunteers – value YOU! Register today and get a discounted registration – but expect a bonus of encouragement. And while you await the conference kick-off, find Kerensa on Facebook. (By the way- you’ll see a great photo on her timeline of some of the best youth leaders in the country who await your arrival in Louisville!)
There it is. I told you there’d be more than one for him. Here’s the thing. Matty will say anything. He’ll say things that will make you laugh. His words will sometimes make you blush. Occasionally, he’ll tick you off. But the words I treasure most from Matty are his words of challenge…never tendered with mercy, but filtered through that spiritual gift he tries so hard to hide! :)
In the last year, I was making a transition in my church. It was a difficult transition that required some truth-telling. In true ‘people-pleasing-confrontation-avoiding’ fashion, I was finding all kinds of reasons but the real one to share as my ‘public persona.’ As Matty and I were discussing this, he straight up called me a liar. Now let me just say – although I really like to be the ‘good cop’ in a conversation, I have no issues being the one who ‘tells it like it is’ (they don’t call me the Youth Ministry Drill Sergeant for nothin’!) I don’t like to shrink beneath a veil of subtlety or ambiguity.
When Matty verbally slapped me upside the head using my own technique, I was truly stunned….almost speechless, which rarely happens to me. I tried to talk around the truth and massage the conversation – but Matty was undeterred. And I realized in short order that I would not be able to pull the proverbial wool over his heart-seeing eyes.
He wasn’t mean – he was merciful. He challenged me to lean into who I was. He pushed back just enough to remind me that leading isn’t always easy or convenient. He reminded me that truth should win.
I will never forget that day.
Do you have people in your life who remind you who you are? You can - register today for SYMC. And be sure to meet Matty. He’ll probably be in the bookstore or at the registration counter. If not, you can catch him on Facebook or Twitter.
Do you call him David? Do you call him John? Just call him friend. I do.
DJ is one of the hippest guys I know. He ratchets out fresh beats and has ridiculous dj skills (as in ‘disc jockey’ – not his initials! Maybe I need to ask him which came first!)
But the most notable characteristic David exhibits is a passion for Jesus. He has the most honest, humble heart for obedience I think I’ve ever encountered. He loves his family. He loves his church. He loves his teenagers. But mostly, he just loves Jesus.
He’s also a status-comedian, Top Chef wannabe, and caring friend.
You’ll know all of this first-hand when you register for SYMC. (And hurry, you can still get a discounted registration for a few more days!) You can also know this by stalking DJ on Facebook or Twitter.
Matthew 9:35 - He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”
In my book, Justin handily takes first place by bringing up the rear! In fact, over the past few months, I’ve had several occasions where I needed Justin’s help. He dropped everything. Solved my issue. Smiled while doing it.
I don’t know how he pronounces his last name – but I pronounce it ‘friend.’ I’ve never seen Bill without a smile on his face. He’s never spoken anything but encouragement to him (most definitely his spiritual gift.) Last year, I had the privilege of meeting his wife, Jean, when they attended an SYMC Connect Group I was co-leading with my wife, Katie. Jean shares his name and his gift! I imagine if we lived closer to one another, our families would spend a lot of time hanging out together.
Bill loves people and Jesus. And I’m so glad he loves me. A friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Joe is a truth-teller. You know the kind I mean – no sugar coating. He’ll tell you you’re an idiot to your face. He’ll argue with you if he thinks he’s right. He embraces debate.
He’ll also admit it when he’s wrong. He’ll defend the honor of teenagers. He’ll give you the shirt off his back.
Joe is a student missionary of sorts. He runs an after-school program building TRUE relationships over video-game wars with kids who would never cross the threshhold of our faith factories. He works for the passion of Jesus and teenagers…and not much else…like most missionaries.
The ‘Real Stories’ series is written by Darren Sutton. More stories and other youth ministry tidbits can be found at everyonescalledtoyouthministry.com. You can know Darren better through Facebook and Twitter.
I’ve never met someone with a more authentic, tender heart for youth workers. As SYMC participants complete their youth worker profiles, Kami squirrels them away in her binder as though they are jewels. That’s because to her, they are! Each profile – each SYMC goer – represents to her beautiful, priceless gems of the Kingdom.
When I registered for SYMC the first time, I got a personal email response from Kami. I instantly knew this would not be a typical conference experience. Kami is not a typical conference planner. Her passion and compassion for youth leaders drives every decision she makes. We have no stronger advocate on Earth.
Steady. That’s Doug. Recently, Doug has faced one of ‘those’ seasons in ministry. He exampled for me an abiding trust in God’s plan, regardless of the outcome. It was definitely one of the very few times I’ve seen a minister go through the ringer without complaint and with very little worry.
Doug and I became friends at SYMC last year. As he shared some of his life story with me, I was humbled and challenged by his simple faith in the midst of mounting life-crisis. I kept waiting for the calm AFTER the storm of his story…it never came. What should have caused him to crumble seemed only to make him more dependent on and confident in God. I want to be like that when I grow up.
Doug is one reason why you should register for SYMC today. Those Biblical examples of faith come springing to life before your very eyes. And I’m so grateful to know those stories. They push me to live that kind of life!
OK–for those of you who are new to the SYMC 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 SYMC 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 SYMC 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 SYMC 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 SYMC 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 SYMC 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!
If you haven’t met Jeanne Mayo (NYMC Track Leader, and founder of Youth Leader’s Coach) you’ll definitely know her after attending the conference. Word’s can’t really describe her heart for ministry and her amazing impact on people…but this attempts to sing it.
I'm Kami Gilmour, director of SYMC, and I'd rather be talking with youth workers instead of buried in SYMC paperwork. Join me, Andy Brazelton, Rick Lawrence and the rest of the SYMC team as we continue the conversation and explore what’s happening behind the scenes of SYMC all year!
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Kerensa Huffman.
