hey ya'll!
I think that this is my first blog since... quite a while actually!
I just wanted to take this time, with the encouragement of Paul Han's wish for me to write this blog, to reflect on today's Seeker's Leadership Conference (Seminar/Retreat)
I would have to say that the overall experience was pretty great. It wasn't as 'great' as I had expected it to be, but was still a worthwhile event. For one, it definitely got me even more pumped for Stuy's Seekers and the GREAT potential that we hold for this year.
First off, it was definitely pretty cool to meet some of the pastors that previous Seekers' leaders have been talking about such as Pastor Doug and Edgard and even Alan Chiusei (I don't think anyone knows how to spell his last name correctly haha). I even got the chance to meet with other cool pastors such as pastor Angel from the Brookyln Tabernacle.
The first half of the conference was dedicated mostly to setting up a vision and the goal plans for the new year. They offered ideas on bringing in guest speakers and actually publicizing them so that people will be likely to come. They also challenged us to think outside of the box and do events that can reach out to the school to actually show that Seekers is an existing and a very alive club/fellowship. I think that is something that we Seekers leaders can definitely consider. They talked about having a can drive for Thanksgiving or having a huge banquet of some sort for the holidays and those are actually pretty great ideas that we should consider. As for the speakers, they offered that we can invite doctors, scientists, pastors, and even Bernie Williams and have them give testimonies. Also, we can invite special groups or organizations to give seminars on hot topics such as evolution or homosexuality or teen pregnancy which is definitely something we should consider. Their final noting words were pretty much 'Dream Big!' because anything is possible with the grace of God!
The second half was devoted to workshops. I took a workshop on evangelism and another on leading Bible Study. Pastor Angel from the Brookyln Tabernacle led the one on evangelism. I would have to say, that it was definitely quite a noteworthy experience. He introduced the concepts behind evangelizing and the 'four laws' that one can rely on to express when evangelizing. He then took a good chunk of time to pose himself as an actual person that he had met when he went evangelizing. What he wanted us to do was try to take the role of an evangelizing and try to lead a conversation with him. Some of his role plays were as quiet folks while others are even as obnoxious, self-centered people. Some were even demon-possessed people and others were people who were simply running around. It was very indeed interesting because they were situations that I have never been encountered with. This role playing actually encouraged me to even try street evangelizing in public. I think that he will be a great speaker to have in Seekers in this upcoming Fall.
Another workshop that I took was the one on Bible Study. The information given was pretty much straightforward; mainly that we should be prepared for each Bible Study and that we should recognize that it is the Holy Spirit talking within us as we converse. A key pointer was that we should never ever argue with anyone during the Bible Study because it kills the whole point of it. Another pointer was that we should lead personalized 1-on-1 Bible Studies with non-Believers who can not relate with the text. I believe that Bible-Studies are great ways for us to pretty much edify each other's knowledge of the Bible as well as to share a good time of fellowship.
One of the things that I remember the most from this whole conference was the idea that we can not have fellowship with one another IF we can not "touch" each other. In other words, by having prayer with one another or even having Bible Studies with each other allows ourselves to open ourselves up to each other, formulating a sort of physical contact with each other. This led me to the idea that is to reinforce my opinions that Seekers should not lead "fundays" in our Thursday meets. Sure we can have fun with one another, but we really don't get to touch each other's souls. Simply, extra, specialized fundays will be sufficient enough to make our club spiced up.
I also got the chance to talk with Angela, who will also be the Vice President, and she noted that we leaders should have discipline in what we do. For instance, we should be able to read the Bible on a regular basis and be able to fast when necessary. She also noted that we leaders should be able to testify ourselves to Seekers and that the logic behind that is that this will also encourage others to open themselves up to. I think that these are pointers that we should all definitely consider and definitely try.
Overall, to keep this long first post not that long, Seekers does have ALOT OF POTENTIAL this year. We really really do. We are all bursting with ideas, and the great thing is that, most of them have been written on paper or on the web. I pray that we will be able to get even more ideas and that we will all have the courage to help bring all of our ideas up front to the battlefield and successfully bring them out. We should always remember, however, that, none of this is possible with God's help. It may be us doing the labor, but it is God who produces the results. Let's do this guys! We have God! =D
