Thoughts on Next

I have just returned from four days in Baltimore, Maryland at Sovereign Grace's Next conference.  The worship was powerful, with three different bands performing wonderful songs.  Hundreds of Christians packed together with hands raised, singing their hearts out.  The testimonies of the people who stood up to tell their story of how Jesus Christ sought them out, were gut wrenching.  The deep, rich messages delivered by some of the greatest teachers of our time should be mandatory listening for all Christians.

Yet, there was much to that could be found lacking in paying such a large amount of money for the conference.  The bands rocked out with rows of speakers that were deafening, and made it appear more like a concert than a worship service.  People jumped and danced around, caught up in the music and the emotions of the moment.  In a room of that size, you were forced to watch the speakers on the overhead projectors, which means you might as well just stayed home and downloaded the video and gotten just as much out of it.

So, what was so different about this conference that continues to so deeply impact people year after year.  It is because the Spirit of God was there.  Alone, the music would be only music.  The people would have been play acting hypocrites.  The speakers would perhaps been impressive, but most of it would have been over-the-head and their would defiantly been no lasting change in any life.  When the Spirit of Christ is present, everything changes and there is a passion instilled in your heart like no other.   This revelation came to mind strangely enough when I played ultimate frisby with some of the other young people attending.  I admit I was expecting the usual gentle, peace loving church kids.  What a thrill when I started getting knocked down, beat up, and exhausted.  These people's passion for knowing God translated into everything they did, whether it was a competitive spirit or the thoughtfulness of tipping the maid and giving their extra food to the homeless.

This has left me to wonder how many time in my own church do we focus on the style of worship, the method of preaching, the opportunity to fellowship with friends.  Somehow it seems we loose focus on Jesus Christ Himself and the power of His Spirit, and so when the teaching or music does not meet our standards, or the fellowship is not all that great, we become disenchanted.  Or more commonly, we just walk away from the Sunday meeting with the feeling that something is missing.

This is why I loved everything about the conference.  My prayer would be that every Sunday morning, God would dwell with in such a way that, as Sinclair Ferguson put it, "our hearts would be strangely warmed".

Online messages from Next conference:

http://www.thisisnext.org/resources/