Things can quickly become overwhelming in the “conference world.”  People everywhere, exhibit halls filled with vendors trying to get your attention, so many seminars and speakers that you feel like you’re drinking out of a fire hose, brochures coming out of your ears, a conference book that is filled with so much information that you are bound to miss at least a few crucial things.  But, when it’s all said and done there are a few things you can do to make your time meaningful.  Here are 4 simple tips for attending a conference:

1. Keep it simple. Usually when you’re at a conference you’ll hear a theme. There is always a theme for the conference, but I’m not talking about that one.   Typically you’ll notice a theme from seminar to seminar or conversation to conversation. All other seminars might not even mention the theme, but it’s clearly weaved throughout the one’s you attend. I’ve learned that this is the theme God working on you, specifically. Stick to that theme, keep it simple, push everything else aside, and go home and implement the theme God’s given you. Not sticking to the theme leaves you with a binder of notes you’ll never implement.

2. Develop a filter. Every speaker is there for a reason. Most have thought a ton about the subject their teaching on and have experience (hopefully) in that particular area. But, they don’t know your context, the people you work with, or the traditions you live in/with. Therefore, you have to develop a filter that would sift out the things that wouldn’t apply in your context – no matter how epic the thought might be. God’s called you to the context you’re in and you’re at the conference to be more effective in that context. So, the filter is necessary.

3. Stay humble. Every speaker has something to offer you and your ministry. Sometimes we can get frustrated because the seminar didn’t hit what we thought was important. We might even think we could do it better. This attitude shuts off our ears and inflates our mind. Ultimately, all this does is tune out what God was trying to teach us. As simple or basic as a seminar could be the truth is there is always something we can take away from it. Find that one thing and embrace it humbly.

4. Purchase carefully. Sometimes we go to a conference because we just need some time away, but usually we attend conferences because we’re hungry for some direction, training, and resources. And, oh man, we go into the resource center and everything looks good. We have the budget, so we just go crazy. If there are resources you think will be useful in ministry by all means buy them. But, just be careful to buy those that will actually be used. Far too many budgets are spent on resources still in the wrapper 12 months later.

Well, soon I will be in Indianapolis speaking at SYMC.  I always love being at this conference.  But this year I’m doing something a little different.

In years past I’ve done “Half-Tracks.”  These are 4 hour tracks for people to go on and I’ve typically done workshops focused on doing college ministry in a local church context.  Each 4 hour track was broken up into two 2-hour workshops.  They were fun and, I think, fruitful.

However this year will have a little different focus and will be in a little different format.  I will be doing a “Deeper Learning Track” that will be 8 hours long, broken up into four 2-hour workshops.  4 hours will be on Saturday and 4 hours will be on Sunday.  I will also be doing a Monday morning workshop on my latest book, “Better Off Without Jesus.”

So, I thought I’d post the descriptions for these for anyone interested:

The 5 Targets: Fueling Growth and Maturity In Older Adolescents (and In You!)

Our goal as spiritual leaders is to disciple younger people, but defining how to go about this and prioritizing areas of focus can be far more ambiguous than we would like sometimes.  We often look at younger generations as a unique demographic and then adjust our approaches to ministry.  But the reality is at the core of the human soul we find the same issues that need to be addressed, regardless of which generation we are a part of.  This seminar series unpacks 5 areas of focus and their unique generational aspects, but does so from the premise of a deeper understanding of what we all desire.

Session 1 Generation Human: understanding generational differences from a place we all identify with

Session 2 The Search for Self: helping others discover their identity from a deeper understanding of our own

Session 3 Desire to Belong: understanding the vitality of peer and inter-generational relationships

Session 4 Forgotten Values: pinpointing theological concepts that cultivate the church culture we all desire

Better Off Without Jesus: Listening to the Holy Spirit in Youth Ministry

Most Christians can at least intellectually articulate the idea of the Holy Spirit being inside of them, but that doesn’t mean they know how to practically embrace Him. In fact, to most this truth seems overly ambiguous and subjective at best. The idea of having Jesus physically alongside them seems far more practical. Based on a forthcoming book, this workshop investigates the inner tensions of our pursuit to hear God speak to us and provides down-to-earth and practical ways to be certain you are hearing God speak. By the end of this time, the hope is you would leave more confident in your ability to hear God’s voice in your life and ministry.

i teach often.  for the last 14-15 years i have taught every week and more often than not, multiple times a week.  the most messages i’ve ever given in one week was 15 (different messages).  that’s abnormal, of course, but when you teach all the time you are bound to have times when you just wish you had the chance to do it over.

okay, here is the third post of this series, but i’ve decided to add a fourth.  when i originally thought of this series i wasn’t thinking of my 6 week prep period prior to teaching the series. so in this post i will discuss that part and then the next post will cover what we do in our weekly meetings as we teach through the book.

this short blog series is designed to throw out some thoughts that can hopefully help you think about ways to incorporate others into your study of scripture as you prepare to teach.  the bigger picture might even include a bible study in general.  regardless, the key is to get different types of people with different strengths so that your study becomes more holistic.  i’m seeing the beauty of this more and more as we go from week to week.

my previous post shared some of the higher level benefits of prepping my messages with a team of people versus in doing so in silo.  here i will share the types of people that i’ve found to be good to include.  to be clear, i didn’t build the team with these types of people in mind.  i’ve just seen the beauty of having these types of people on the team with me.  all of the team has characteristics that overlap, but there are some clear distinctions between each person i’ve found to be very helpful.  here they are:

1. Old Testament focused person.  this would be good in general, but especially as i teach through the book of Romans, this has been a great person to have.  geoff has been a college professor of the OT for about 5-6 years and it has proven to be a huge asset to the prep team.  if you don’t have someone at this level it would be good to get someone that, at least, loves the Old Testament.

2. theologically in tune person.  the team i have put together are all sound, but it’s good to have someone that really knows the nuances of different views.  although he doesn’t even have a bachelor degree, adam is that guy for me.   he interns at Colossae but is way more in tune with the differences than most of us in the room are and can clearly articulate most of the differences in views.  when we throw out phrases or sentences on how to communicate things he can really decipher through the theological nuances of what we’re actually saying.

3. youth minded person.  our youth pastor, sean, is on the prep team and i love it because as we are prepping he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to teach this to junior high kids.  this does a number of things, but one thing it does is that it helps keep our conversation simple.  i boil things down pretty well, but having someone like him is fantastic.

4. a precision person.  words are important and especially so when communicated verbally.  teaching a book like Romans can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.  the book is actually quite simple in concept, but to find words and clear ways to draw distinctions can take some time.  daniel is an intern at Colossae and he is this guy for me.  he is good at illustrations and comparisons, which is obviously helpful.

5. a people person.  it’s really important to have someone that is in tune with people and, dare i say, a bit emotional (i mean that in the BEST sense).  justin is on staff with me and is highly relational.  we all are on staff, but justin is a bit more in tune emotionally which leads him to be a bit more sensitive.  he helps us keep in mind the people in the room and causes us to be more cautious with what we say and how we say it.

i’ve been teaching weekly for about 16 years in the church context as well as conferences/camps/etc.  this has ranged from junior/high school ministry to college ministry to sunday morning services, from a mega church to a church plant.  i’ve tried many different things in my prep, done my notes a multitude of different ways…on and on.  in my pursuit to continue learning i recently tried something new: i put together a sermon prep team.  this team is made up of 5 other people that i meet with every week (i want to add some others too, actually).  so, i thought i would do a short series here about what i’m learning about using this format.  hopefully it will cause you to consider it at some level.  i think i will break this series up in the following ways:

1. benefits of using a “prep team”
2. types of people to have on a team like this
3. the format of our meetings – what we actually do

today i will simply start by listing out some benefits i’m finding with using a team to help me prepare:

1. train people.  it’s not too often people see how a pastor preps for a message.  and it’s far less that they actually get to be a part of the entire process.  i’m finding this tremendously helpful for training others.
2. unity of the team.  my team is made up of staff and non-paid interns, so doing this together keeps everyone dialed in and totally on the same page.  i’m finding this to be very helpful with culture building.  we are all a deeply in tune with what God is teaching us and what we are teaching the people in our church.
3. immediate feedback.  i’ve always prepped for my messages alone.  i don’t read books on the subject and actually try to limit my reading of commentaries (i can explain why that is later).  i’m finding it to be a huge help to be able to bounce ideas off the team and get immediate feedback on it.  the truth is a lot of my ideas are not good…and this way i get to find that out before i walk on stage!
4. amazing ideas.  i lead the discussion and guide the thought process and ask the questions, but the bottom line is the people in the room come up with some brilliant thoughts that i’m pretty sure i would not have.  and this isn’t just ideas for illustrations or creative things, but also ideas on how to articulate thoughts precisely and in a way that is truly helpful.  we all feed off each other and collectively get to places that none of us would have alone.
5. less prep time in general.  because we are all in it together i’m finding the time it takes me to prep for a message is far less than it used to be.  this is a big benefit that i frankly did not see coming.
6. less stress.  it’s interesting that this approach lessens the amount of pressure or stress i feel.  the weight is ultimately on me (i guess) but it’s entirely freeing to have a team that is taking this seriously to the point of collectively taking responsibility for what i will be teaching.

i’m sure there are more benefits i’m finding than this, but those are on the front of my mind right now.  i’ll continue in the next post with the types of people i’m finding to be helpful to have in the room and a part of this team.  the bottom line is, i don’t see how i can ever go back to prepping in silo.

being thankful over thanksgiving weekend is easy.  it’s every other week that my sense of gratitude can be lost.

i would love to be able to say i never take things for granted, but am instead grateful.

but i can’t if i’m honest.

this past sunday at Colossae i taught on Romans 5:12-21.  paul here is comparing the man Adam with Jesus.  his point is clear: they are different people and each leads us in a different direction.  here is the comparison he makes between these two in this section:

Adam led to: sin and death (12, 17, 21); Condemnation (16); Disobedience (19)

Jesus led to: Justification (16); Righteousness (17, 19); Obedience (19); Grace (15, 20)

polar opposites.  here is what i know to be true about gratitude in my life: when i take my focus off man (which includes self) and put it on Jesus gratitude is a part of my life.  additionally, when i look at where i came from (i.e. the life of Adam) to where Jesus has brought me, i’m grateful.  and it’s when i can keep these things at the front of my mind that i remain thankful more than just a weekend a year.

on saturday i was speaking at the You Lost Me LIVE tour with my good friend David Kinnaman.  he had asked me to speak previously at their Seattle event and then again to join them here, in Portland.  if you haven’t read his book, You Lost Me, i would recommend doing so.

Okay, I think this will be my last post for this series.  Here are some final little random tips.  I hope this series has given you some decent ideas for you trip this winter.  If you would like more information on this, see College Ministry From Scratch.  Here is my last bit of tips:

• Let students lead aspects of the trip. Leaders in your ministry will naturally take on things, but make sure to use this as an opportunity for others to step up and take on responsibility as well.

• Choose an age range for the trip (like 18-25), make it clear, and make no exceptions. Make sure you think through how you will address those outside of this age range beforehand. There can be some sticky situations, so make sure you think through your reasoning for the range you give.

• Have a theme and use that theme in as many aspects of the trip as possible (shirts, messages/studies, decor, etc). Have one thing you want people to embrace and then make sure that one thing intermingles in between everything.

• Do activities that everyone can participate in.

• Make sure any promotional material is clear and precise. For instance, if you’re not covering all meals, specify which one’s you will be and what they should expect for the others.

• Utilize internet based advertising. This can really save a lot of money. Having fliers can be beneficial, but maximize the tools available at no cost.

• If you’ve never done a trip before, use pre-registration as a tool to get an idea of how many people will attend. A good thing to do is have them make a non-refundable deposit by a certain point. It doesn’t have to be much, but this can give you an idea of how many people to expect actually going. But, be prepared for anything.

• Be careful with “mixers.” I’m not saying don’t do them, but for some people these can be very uncomfortable and feel forced. On retreats we don’t need to push relationships, they will happen naturally.

• When it’s time to clean up, make sure you do the bulk of it at a time when the most people can pitch in and help. For instance, have all the clean up take place right before the last meal or meeting.

Well, here is my second to last post in this series!  Here are tips numbers 8 and 9.

Tip #8: Have little surprises.

 It’s great to start off with a bang. On our Utah trip we used to bring in fresh, hot, Krispy Kreme donuts immediately following our first night meeting. Other nights you can do very inexpensive things like provide popcorn while watching a movie. Beyond this, I also sought sponsors that might want to give away things as promotion for their company. For our Utah trip I simply went around to local sporting good stores, skate shops, etc. let them know we were doing a trip with college-age people, and asked them if they had anything we could hand out to the people in our meetings. We got everything from stickers to hand warmers to snowboards. It’s crazy how easy it was when I just took a few minutes and personally asked the owners. Anyway, having some very small things like this to give away in meeting times or on the bus can go a long way.

Tip #9: Provide Clear and Helpful Information. 

When the buses pulled up to the hotel for our Utah trip, we had registration ready to go. Students walked in, got their room key, a schedule for the week, and other pertinent details. Having a schedule printed on a half sheet of paper or on the back of their name tag is not expensive. We listed out what times things were, we provided bus schedules to the resort, city bus charts, times certain shops or restaurants were open in the area, movie times, and even gave them a list of options for them to do. Making this short and concise is best. In other words, don’t overwhelm them with a book, but provide clear information so you limit the amount of ongoing information needing to be relayed in your meeting times.