As always, I had a blast at the NYWC in San Diego. It was great to be with friends and to interact with youth workers from all over North America. A couple of really cool experiences…

> I felt like my seminars went well. I have a few revisions to make to the content of both the “Living, Loving and Leading in the Way of Jesus” and the “Story, Signs and Sacred Rhythm’s” before the St. Louis Convention. All in all though, between the vibe in the rooms, the positive/critical feedback and the great conversations since the seminars I feel like they were helpful and good.

> I greatly appreciated Mark Matlock’s challenge on Sat. night in the general session. His ability to communicate makes him easy to listen too and he always has something to say. I was especially challenged by his comparison between culture and kingdom and how the church (and youth ministry organizations) go about their ministry endaveors being guided by either the ways of culture or the kingdom way . His 5 minutes or so on leaders who try to hold on to and build their own identity while “serving the kingdom” was particularly helpful for me to hear.

> Jim Hancock… Over the last couple of months I have had the privilege to bump into Jim. He is a brilliant, creative and gracious person who I just love being around. I especially love how Jim takes the movements in other disciplines (architecture, design, education, sociology, etc.) and finds ways to learn how they impact youth ministry. You can get to know Jim a bit by checking out his site at: http://www.westofthe101.com/

> One of the nights I had the chance to meet with Kara Powell, Ginny Olson, Steve Argue, Mike King, Damien O’Ferrell, Mark Riddle and Jim Hancock. We spent a few hours together talking about the future of youth ministry and how we can best go about aligning ourselves with what God may or may not be doing to capture this generation.

> Had a great dinner with two friends who were over from the UK — Martin and Chris. I am especially intrigued by youth ministry in Europe and how different it is there than here in North America. I think by studying the efforts and movements of youth work in the UK, we can learn a lot about how and what to do or not to do as it relates to our ministry strategies, etc. Martin and Chris are connected to a wonderful magazine you should check out called YouthWork. You can explore the mag here: http://www.youthwork.co.uk/magazine/. YouthWork does a fantastic job helping you explore youth minsitry around the globe.

> I connected with a few friends from my youth ministry days at a church near Minneapolis named, Jeff and Georgia. It was great to be with you guys if even only for a short time!