Why I am NOT going to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference…

Okay, so no doubt by now you've seen or heard all about the Group/Doug Field's Simply Youth Ministry Conference. Mail-outs, ads on 65 pages in Group magazine, promotions on Facebook, Twitter...who knows, maybe even on your late local news.

I thought of all the reasons why I should WANT to go to this conference, but what's really in my heart are all the reasons I am NOT going to the conference.

First, can anyone say "Chicago in February"??! Spring doesn't even hit Chicago until July...and I live in a beach town. Forget winter gear, I don't even own a pair of close-toed shoes, for cryin' out loud.

Next, and with all the love and respect I can muster, what's with all the big names? Doug Fields, Jeanne Mayo, tobyMac...even the Skit Guys. I'm just ' humble, small-church, no-named youth guy. What could I ever have in common with those people?

Now I don't know about you, but as far as youth ministry goes, I'm a life-er. I've been doing youth ministry for 25 years. I've been to every conference known to man: "How To Help Small Church Youth Ministries," "How To Help Large Church Youth Ministries," "How To Deal Effectively With Whiney Junior High Girls." You name it and I have notes on it. I've been doing youth ministry so long I still have cassette tapes of conferences I've been to. (I finally threw my 8-tracks in the trash in a flurry of New Year's organization!) What could SYMC possibly have for me that I haven't already seen, done, heard, and got the T-shirt for?

No, I can't go to the conference for all of those reasons...so I'm not.

I'm going to the conference because I need to fall in love with youth ministry again. I need to spend time with some people who "get" me-people who have had the elders of their church cancel the summer trip after it's already been promoted and paid for...and after they approved it in the first place. People who feel the pain of watching kids go a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction and wondering if even Jesus will be enough of an air bag to save them when they crash. People who are so strapped for cash they had to donate plasma to help pay for the trip to Chicago...seriously. I need to go because youth ministry has made me tired.

I'm also going because I need to fall in love with Jesus again. After years of doing ministry, I've come to the conclusion that working in the church can be one of the hardest things on your relationship with Christ. I need people who understand the pain of knowing others are counting on me to be holy...and knowing who I really am when I look in the mirror. I need people who understand that even though I love Jesus, sometimes I read my Bible and all I get out of it is work. I need people who know the frustration of needing to worship, but being so consumed with running the service, they can't.

I can't wait to get Chicago. Jesus has something for me there-I know it! Even though I've been to a bazillion conferences, I believe this one offers something different: community, connection, respite, rejuvenation, and renewal. I so desperately need that. And having met Doug Fields, Jeanne Mayo, and some of the others, I'm proud to say they're just like me-real people doing real ministry and enjoying the same perks and enduring the same frustrations that I do....every day....in every way. And as far as Chicago in February goes....well, let's just say I bought my first pair of tennis shoes and a pair of mittens today!

See you in Chicago!