7 Things: NYWC Seminars

A special thanks to Lauren Carr Cacciatore and her husband Brad for a great dinner last night.  Old friends are indeed the best friends.  And for those of you from the Kissimmee days, you will be pleased to know that Lauren ate mac & cheese and chicken.  :)  But the menu of what she will eat is ever expanding... And in another note about a faithful Kissimmee era reader, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Connor Lewis!

Before I begin remembering some of the great seminars and Critical Concerns Courses I attended at the NYWC over the years, I must first offer forth a confession.  For many of the last 5 or so conventions I attended, I didn't go to a single seminar.  I might drop by for a few minutes or attend to support a friend, but for the most part I used those times to catch up with colleagues, rest and read.  But in the early years many of those workshops were hugely important to my ministry.  I have previously mentioned a few, such as the Publicity and Promotion with Greg McKinnon in Atlanta, 1987;  Advanced Youth Ministry with Jim Burns in Dallas, 1982; and the Spiritual Growth Workshop with Fil Anderson and Mike Yaconelli that I mentioned yesterday.  Today I would like to remember 7 others...

1. Immaginuity-  Craig McNair Wilson, who for many years worked with the Disney Imagineers and did personal creative consulting for Michael Eisner, led this Critical Concerns Course in Anaheim in 1996.  His step-by-step approach to developing creativity in your ministry was something I never quit using. 
2. Issues That Divide the Church-  Tony Campolo led this very controversial seminar in Dallas, 1982.  Spread out over two seminar sessions, Tony tackled abortion, homosexuality, politics and war- the same things that still divide us 28 years later. 
3. Strategic Planning for Youth Ministry-  One of my very favorite seminar presenters, Chap Clark, led us (Nashville, 1995) through the steps of real planning for a preferred future in youth ministry.  I used what I learned in this seminar to focus the ministries I worked with for the next 10 years.  The plans for the Verndome in Kissimmee were a direct result of this process.
4. Dangerous Wonder-  Experiencing grace and expecting the miraculous.  No one but Yac could lead this one.  It was the same with Messy Spirituality and Starting Over After 25 Years in Youth Ministry.  There was only one Yac...
5. Creative Meetings Your Students Will Love-  Chosen at random to represent the dozens of Duffy Robbins seminars I attended over the years.  Duffy could make a seminar on white bread interesting.  And he did have killer ideas for meetings and how to speak to youth!
6. Leading Small Groups-  Laurie Polich inspired me to start small groups in Kissimmee with this Philadelphia 1997 seminar.  I must have enjoyed it, because I took it again in 2003...
7. Purpose Driven Youth Ministry-  In Denver (1998) I received my first exposure to PDYM.  It changed the entire way I looked at youth ministry for the rest of my career.  Doug Fields led the seminar and wrote the book.  I became more involved with the PDYM crew over the next couple of NYWC when I worked their table in the YS Bookstore.

These leaders and their wisdom were encouraging and inspiring to me for many years.  Tomorrow I will remember a few of the other folks who inspired me through their work at the NYWC. 

Because of Jesus,