Winterfest 2008 and GACS 2002

I just got back from my 11th Winterfest experience. I have attended this "largest assembly of Churches of Christ" in four different functions over the years (student, chaperon, adult volunteer, and youth minister.) Youth minister was by far the most demanding, but it was also by far the most rewarding. I can honestly say that I have the greatest students in the world within my ministry. Jeff Walling changed gears this year in his subject matter and presentation, which is a blessing. He talked about missions and evangelism. For those of you who do not know, there has been a major shift in the expectation and the proclamation of the "Good News" in the last decade or so. It has mainly been spear-headed by Frost and Hirsh's book "The Shaping of Things to Come", the emerging church movement, the evolution of the already-not yet existence of the Kingdom of God, and the philosophical shift from modernity to postmodernity. In short the shift is from "telling people about the God they never knew" to "pointing where God is already active in people's lives." It was great to hear a respected leader from the Stone-Campbell movement speak about it.


Also, I just got through flipping through the profile pictures of my classmates who graduated from Greater Atlanta Christian School in 2002. It is great to see where people have gone, what people have done, and who these people have become. It was great to see pictures of beautiful little babies, little cousins, and wedding ceremonies. It was great to see so many finished up with college, working on Masters, and living all over the world. It was great to see the happiness and smiles of people with whom I spent seven years. It is amazing to see the growth (literally and figuratively) of those people. I am grateful for my years with these people, and I would not take it back for the world. That being said, I would not want to live it over again either. (And, the people who say that they would are either lying or were on heavy "medication" during high school.) It is a chapter of my life that I am grateful for and will never forget.