Friday, May 23, 2008

GLS and Arts Conference Update

Talked to Larry my Global Leadership Summit team leader today and got some more info.

I'll travel to Willow June 10th for base camp. I think there are 7 of us who will be trained and then travel to a new international site this fall, to assist local teams in the production of their own Summit. Willow is training and paying all my travel expenses. That alone is amazing.

Turns out that I won't likely know what country I'm going to until later in the summer. Larry will make the decisions after spending time with us, reviewing final dates and seeing how things play out. (Note to Allison, he did mention the Phillipines. A site that has come to mind for me a couple times is Costa Rica, which he also mentioned).

Our base camp training was moved out from this week to mid June in order to coincide with the Willow Creek Arts Conference.



Our team isn't attending this year so I wasn't planning to go, but my entrance will be comp'd due to my GLS role. This threw me in to a spin. I have loved my Arts Conference experiences over the years- I can trace much of my growth as a leader, philosophy of ministry and sustainability in a 52 weekends a year treadmill to the Arts Conference. Best guess is this will be my 7th year attending- but in addition to rest, amazing training and the opportunity to worship without responsibility... the best best part has always been the relationships that we've developed while we're away.
This trip I will be going solo.
Yeah, that's right... just me on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier...
This is basically horrible for an extroverted person who loves her team. How could this be what God has in mind? On the other hand, I will be traveling to a foreign country by myself in the fall, so maybe this is good experience. So I've wondered, prayed, asked around and this week decided to attend the Arts Conference.

Next hurdle: The cost of the lodging has been weighing on me. Today, Larry said he's arranged for me to housesit while I'm there. Apparently I am meant to go and money is no object for the plans God has. When will I learn.

Got online today to purchase the plane tickets and for a minimal difference I'll be traveling Saturday to Houston, spend two nights with Chris and then fly on to Chicago for Base Camp and the Arts Conference.

Then got online for the Arts Conference and basically am about to burst with excitement. Gilles Ste-Croix is one of the Session speakers. He's the creator of Cirque Du Soleil. If I wasn't married with children I would find a way to work for this company. I seriously can't even stand this news. Tomorrow's my birthday and this is my present.

In addition, I'll be sitting under the following teaching:
Nancy Beach, Brian McLaren,Richard Allen Farmer, Francis Chan
Worship leaders/artists: Robbie Seay and Kendall Payne
Attending these breakouts:
A Biblical Model for Worship and the Arts- Ross Parsley
Snakes & Doves- Mark Batterson synopsis highlight: stretch your imagination as you discover new ways of redeeming technology and culture to “incarnate” the Gospel message.
Conducting an Effective Tech Rehearsal
Building a Visual Arts Ministry

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is meant to be. I couldn't be happier for you!!!

--Jos

Melinda said...

I can sense the salivating!

Anonymous said...

That's fantastic, I only wonder if I was still at Sunset if I wouldn't have done something like this....