Hebrews 13:8

NECC 09/01/2006 through 09/03/2006 <><  ><> <>< + ><> <><  ><> Perceptions of a First-Timer (-=< Ray Hamilton >=-)

First and foremost, kudos, just in case anyone involved happens upon this, for anyone and everyone involved in the "production". From the ushers, through to security and sound, and right on down to vending...marvelous job! Also well deserved is a reciprocal "well-done" to such a large group of brothers and sisters who, even with kids involved, left behind an impressively well-kempt area. I would also be remiss if I failed to mention the great website and the brochure/name tag received when checking in. I've long been a strong proponent of name tags, and the brochure covered all facets of the weekend's events well, right down to the map on the back with directions to various lunch venues.

          Friday night opened with a bang and a flourish, the music being fiery and full. Its admirable diversity made it as enjoyable as it was inspirational. The band was tight across all modes and methods, and the singing was a fine praise offering to our mighty and awesome God. The soloists were terrific on all occasions this weekend, though, for me, the young Latino tenor was an especial joy; he was beautiful and soothing, evoking a prayerful meditation, particularly, I imagine, among those of us who do not know the language, but couldn't help but be moved by the power and beauty of his voice lifted in praise!

          Next a video presentation posed a question each for the three elements to the weekend’s theme. Yesterday: How does the Cross, and the Forgiveness won on it in the past, affect your life? Today: How does your relationship with God help you daily? And Forever: How has a brother or sister’s “passing to forever” impacted you? Included were video-taped answers to each from a random variety of brothers and sisters representative of all the participating churches. It was a fine, thought-provoking kickoff to a strongly applicable theme.

          Then John Porter opened up the Conference with the "Yesterday" emphasis as his topic. And what better a topical focus than the Cross and its power? John reminded us that the power is available always just for the taking, if we only remember to tap in. However, we were reminded, too, that, while tapping in, Christ has more for us than ideals; He has expectations. He has not recommended, but, rather, commanded. We don’t have mere opportunity; we have a commission! And that command is, as quoted in John 13:34, to love.

          Next came Saturday morning, beginning at 10 AM with a short gathering to open in prayer and songful praise, followed by various announcements, then Javier Amaya’s presentation of Jesus Today. His was a very classic, yet wonderfully heartfelt summation of Christ among us…wherever two or more are gathered…including all the expected exhortations to evangelize…and, more, to be zealous. I was left with the intense feeling that Zeal…in Faith…was not just a requirement for today’s Christian, but its validation, fuel and fulfillment. I was pumped for what the rest of the day had to offer, too!

So, armed with my brochure, and inspired by his opening the night before, I selected John Porter's class, "Running to Win" as my first. It addressed the challenges faced in the troubled church in Corinth as it struggled through its growing pains amidst the temptations that abounded in this very worldly urban center. He drew many parallels that rendered the entire lesson as relevant to today's world as to then. Most notably was the recurrent "collective" versus "individual" theme...a notion, relative to "rights" today, that causes us no small amount of trouble...in both spiritual and secular circles. I think that just made the lesson all the more near, dear, and clear. However, John, after summarizing the finger-pointing and my-versus-your attitudes that were so pervasive, brought it all home with, "Remember, there is only ONE critic...God. YOU...are in the play!" Touché, Mr. Porter.

We broke for fellowship and lunch, which I spent with the Stanfields, and a couple they knew, Dan and Kathy; Anngie had gone to school with Kathy. We ranged farther than the brochure indicated…despite the rain…and found a great little Hungarian place where they actually had to turn the lights on for us. We had a very engaging time, with a lot of sharing about the conference and Christianity in general. It ended up feeling like the owner had invited us into his own kitchen at home! It made a tasty burger with great company all the more enjoyable.

          After lunch was our second class, for which I chose Gary Sciascia's presentation about Early Church History. It was very interesting and enlightening, though that came as no surprise; I attended this class primarily because I already knew how much I enjoyed not only the topic, but Gary's speaking style. And I’ve always believed the topic to be a most essential one, warranting as much emphasis as is placed on "in context". If it's understood that quoting chapter and verse out of context can completely skew the message, then it must also be understood that a document written 2000 years ago will necessarily be understood out of context if the times, conditions, and social mores for which it was written aren't as understood. Indeed, understanding the challenges the early Christians faced, against the backdrop of their society, only makes visualizing the parallels we can draw all the easier. However, some subjects are just too large to be adequately addressed fully in so topical a timeframe; knowing this in advance, Gary kept us engaged us with just enough anecdotal material to  make us want more, all the while doing a fine job of outlining and offering some very insightful references for those of us who would like to take this study further.

          Then my last class of the day was The Heart to Ask "Why?" presented by Dr. G. Steve Kinnard; what a convincing and moving speaker. His convicted sincerity was outpaced only by his obvious wealth of knowledge. Even better, his presentation directly related to John Porter’s from that morning; where Dr. Kinnard begged us to question our motivations, Mr. Porter provided many good examples thereof. This was the best feeling class, and it still amazes me that, amid this weekend of fired-up inspiration, emotions could still be raised higher yet!

          By the end of this class, we were exhausted (commuters) and didn’t stick around for the evening’s fellowship events…a coffee house for the adults and a DJ & dance for the young’n’s! But missing them, with everything else the weekend was for me, made me determined to make an entire weekend of it next time!

          Sunday saw a huge gathering for service celebrating the third facet of the weekend’s theme, Jesus…Forever! First, the Transfiguration was represented as an insightful and encouraging vision of the Forever promised as available to us all. Forever is painted as “The Prize”, and Shawn Wooten left us with no doubt that Forever was real and, therefore, pursuable. With all the miracles of both the Old testament and the New testament itemized as testimony to the awesome power of God, Shawn then assured us that the ultimate end game for that power…God’s singular and unswerving goal…a goal that saw Him sacrifice His only Son on our behalf to attain…was that we each win Eternity with Him. Why such an extreme and intense sacrifice? The degree of sacrifice makes it impossible to miss exactly how much God…and Christ…love us.

Overall, I was so proud of Groton/New London…I saw many of US there...very proud of our contribution to the turnout...and encouraged for the growth it represents and the potential for the greater illumination we can shed downstream, gleaned  from our involvement. And, though “Zeal” and “Faith” and “Love” and “Curiosity” were all abundantly evident this entire weekend, for comparative size, I think we simply shone! Anyone taking registrations for the next one yet?!? ;-)

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