I again got the chance to attend the Shepherds' Conference in Sun Valley, California this past week, and it's one of the greatest experiences I've had. This was my third time attending, and it continues to be a very refreshing pause to the throes of second semester. Admittedly, I think most people my age would not find 8 hours of preaching every day for 3 days all that entertaining. They may think it's tedious, even mind-numbing. I can understand that. To be honest, I wasn't hanging on every word for the entire week- there were many moments spent refreshing my Twitter and Instagram feeds and dreaming of the catered In n' Out lunch to come. But there's something about ShepCon that makes it easier to pay attention and get involved in the preaching. The preaching I get at NCC, the Crossing and RUF is great and I love it, but every once in awhile it's nice to get away and hear somebody (or 8) different than who you're used to. You see things from different perspectives and learn about a wide array of biblical topics, all under the teaching of some of the brightest minds in Christianity today. The sheer contrast of that experience from church on Sunday or RUF is enough to keep me engaged and fascinated by the depth of truth and wisdom coming from the speakers.
Perhaps equally excellent as the teaching is the hospitality shown to conference attendees by the host church, Grace Community Church. Any given Sunday there are about 7000 people on their campus- not large by modern mega-church standards, but much bigger than what I am used to. This year they had 753 VOLUNTEERS- that's twice the size of my entire church. They do everything from registration to working the breakfast buffet to running the conference bookstore and gift shop to security to picking up trash to preparing food. The Shepherds' Conference is their baby- it's an annual production that requires year-round planning. It is perhaps the church's flagship event that they put on, and they spare no expense. They invite about a dozen Christian publishers to bring their best books and compose the Conference Bookstore, they cater Firestone (the CA equivalent of an upscale Bandana's BBQ) and In n' Out for 3500 people, not to mention provide enough fruit, snack food and soda around campus to fill each man ten times over. Coupled with the 75-degree, perfectly sunny weather, their campus is transformed into a mini-resort that occupies you from 7:30 AM to 10 PM and you are never EVER bored.
What I've gained most from this experience is the chance to interact with pastors from across the US and all around the world. I got to interact with pastors from Australia, England, Belarus and South America. There were pastors there from Ukraine- in the midst of all the political and cultural turmoil in that nation, these men were still able to come over and I got the chance to talk to them a bit about what ministry is like in that context. God brings men together from all over the world to share in worship and the study of the Word, and there's nothing like it. Imagine 3500 men singing some of the faith's greatest hymns like they mean it with the most majestic organ and orchestra. They utterly drown out the 300-person choir on-stage. It's a chilling experience- sometimes I'd find myself not singing along but just listening and marveling.
It's the greatest experience I've ever had in my faith- and I'm going again next year. They've doubled the number of speakers and added an extra day to the conference- they've upped the ante. It's going to be a bonanza unlike anything I can imagine, and I can't wait.
359 days-start the clock...
