During general sessions, Mark Oestreicher, Tic Long and Jeanne Stevens took turns playing the role of emcee.
I'm not sure which one said it but I appreciate the honesty. I think it was Mark but I'm not sure. Anyway, someone said, this conference is diverse in terms of which part of the many branches of Christianity a speaker comes from and you will hear things you will agree with and somethings you will disagree with. I encourage you to hear everyone out and be sure your bovine scatology meter is fully operational!
In my 4 days there, I'd say far more often than not, I was encouraged and challenged by the speakers whatever their perspective. Occasionally, I'd hear something I wasn't sure I bought and once in a while something I disagreed with.
But back to the point on diversity: the general session speakers were all over the map. Not a one was identical in style or background. Each had something to say and moved me in some fashion. Sunday was no different.
Shane Clairborne was probably the youngest main session speaker. I'm guessing he is in his late twenties. But he has already lived a very full life. He got involved with helping the homeless in Philadelphia and spent sometime working with Mother Theresa in Calcutta. He is passionate about the message of Jesus for us to care for the poor and downtrodden. I don't think anyone in the auditorium will forget his closing.
He told us (I'm paraphrasing) I turned my honorarium into one dollar bills and wrote "LOVE." on the bills. My assistant will now layer the front of the auditorium with those bills. If you are so moved please come forward and take one and put it to use in serving the poor. This is my way to encourage you to do something and love the poor of this world.
I don't know how much he gets paid to give a 40 minute talk but that lady put a LOT of one dollar bills on the floor!
In the afternoon, Philip Yancey was the speaker. People who know me know I've read several of his books and often recommend them. My favorite is Disappointment with God. I was browsing in a bookstore and started reading it because the title caught my eye! Before I knew it, I had read about 1/3rd of the book. At that point, I figure I owed it to the bookstore to buy it.
In the session, Yancey spoke about prayer which is the subject of his latest book.
One thing he said, did you know a lot of the prayers in the bible are complaints? So don't be bashful about being honest with God!
He also said, you know what, I've discovered that a lot of times we are the answer to our own prayer. That is why prayer is so dangerous and so easy for us to skip praying because then we don't have to deal with it! He said when we pray for something in the world or for someone we care about it is quite possible that God's answer will be... I see that problem too so YOU go do something about it!
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