All Kinds of Thursday Action at ARISE

I’ve had so much fun today hearing about the variety of experiences connected to the Arise conference.  With over 160 different workshops, scheduled conversations with leading artists, a learning expo filled with ideas and practical equipment, and 3 hour Point Leader sessions with some terrific teachers, the attenders could custom design their day.  We capped it off with the Film Festival tonight, where I celebrated creative and impactful video work from many different churches.  I can’t wait to hear more stories of how today went for everyone, because I spent my day teaching small groups.  I love the more intimate settings, when I can roll up my sleeves with other arts leaders and pastors and talk about the behind the scenes challenges we face in building ministries.

Most of all, I’m thrilled that we can all see we’re not as alone as we think we are, and our problems aren’t entirely unique.  I love to watch us exchange ideas, affirm one another, and exhort one another to persevere and stay the course.  I locked eyes with some men and women who inspired me with their stories of God’s faithfulness in the midst of tremendous obstacles.  I won’t soon forget their faces – they will keep me going!

I can’t wait for our two final sessions tomorrow, including the music of Kendall Payne, the teaching of Richard Allen Farmer and Francis Chan, and a closing that I’m hoping and trusting God will use to launch us all back to our home churches with a sense of hope and tremendous resolve.  What a profound privilege to be a part of this event.  I am honored to be among all these remarkable individuals who give their lives and surrender their gifts to the advancement of the kingdom. 

Published 12 June 2008 09:44 PM by Nancy Beach

Comments

# Karlynn Anderson said on 13 June, 2008 08:26 PM
This was my 5th Willow Arts Conference. I tell people that it is my annual "battery charger" for the year. You would think that after 5 years (the battery being older!), it wouldn't charge completely, but once again, after this years conference I'm filled to capacity and then some. The Conversations were a great option and I took advantage of 3 of them. It was great to be able to spend time in casual discussion surrounding a topic important to all who attended. I have pages and pages of notes to type up! More importantly, a few new email friends to put in my address book! I'm anxious to share the gift of spiritual energy with my church team.
Email Comment  |  Notify As Inappropriate
# eunjin said on 18 June, 2008 12:53 AM
hi
Email Comment  |  Notify As Inappropriate
# Ken Holland said on 09 July, 2008 10:44 AM
WAC 08 was great as usual. I was able to bring 10 from our church this time and it's especially cool to see the conference through new eyes and hear it through new ears. We've had a chance to reconvene and debrief - go over all we learned and all that inspired us and came away with only one major negative-ish comment. (I know - I'm a jerk - this should be a "kudos-only" blog.)Maybe it was just us - don't know if you heard this from any other attendees - but all of the breakout sessions being loaded on one day was less than ideal. At least that was the consensus of our group... for a couple of reasons. [1] It simply made all the "learning" hours tumble over each other to the point some nearly going into overload, and [2] it basically did the same thing with the "inspirational" part - whereas spreading that out over the 3 days would have been nice. I'm sure the scheduling was driven by logistical considerations and realize that may be the best of many non-perfect choices. (I recall the shuttles, mutiple venues, etc. of WAC 06 - but it was worth the hassle to me.) Anyway - just one man's (make that one team's) opinion. We'll still be back. FYI - we were thrilled to attend the final NC service Wednesday. For my money, it was actually the best worship of the week! (Friday AM was a close second - but the music was largely a repeat of Wednesday night!) Blessings
Email Comment  |  Notify As Inappropriate