conversations from the couch

Tons of new info…check out the detailson each of the 4 sessions of all Deeper Learning Tracks, complete workshop descriptions, affinity group descriptions plus the bios of dozens of speakers that weren’t up before! We’ve added the most updated schedule too–late night breakouts and other new happenings on Friday afternoon! 

The casual, quiet pace of the office during the holidays puts me in the mood to chat–so instead of my usual barrage of email correspondence, I opted to pick up the phone and connect with a few conference speakers I needed to connect with.

I talked with Danette Matty, an energetic, dynamic youth worker from Minneapolis who is leading the Women in Youth Ministry Affinity Group, and teaching a few workshops (one on setting boundaries, one on recovering from the aftermath of a youth ministry scandal/mess, and one just for volunteers) We burned up the phone for nearly 2 hours–talking conference schedule and workshop content–bouncing ideas all over the place. Danette has such a sparkly nature–but with a powerful groundedness, transparency and intelligence that makes her brilliant.

We landed on a great plan to shift some workshops a bit and offer late-night breakouts on some hard hitting subjects. We added a new ”recovering from the aftermath” breakout for Sunday night based on our interesting discussion on setting appropriate boundaries in youth ministry–and what can happen when there aren’t boundaries. Danette shared some painful stories about situations that resulted in tremendous pain for some youth workers–and for the youth workers who followed in the footsteps of the mess.

It’s cool how the conference is “owned” by the hearts and minds of the people who are coming to serve in speaker and ministry mentor roles. (and by youth workers who are willing to share their thoughts!)Everyone has an opinion–backed by years of experience, success and failures that give such authentic dimension to every detail!

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! 

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.