Willow Creek St. Min. Leadership Conf. Day 1

I can go home now. These first two sessions were worth everything. The only thing that could have made it better would be to have met and talked with the two speakers (one or both) over a meal. What they had to say was great. To write down everything would take too long. I'll try and summarize neatly.
A tulip and an oak tree. Both, on maturity, are beautiful. One, however, really doesn't need any defence. The other, throughout it's short life, needs a small fence and careful watching over to make sure the kids don't squash it. What time of my life am I in - am I a tulip, or an oak tree; am I strong enough to stand alone, or do I need somebody to stand by me? While Gordan's point was to share some tulip moments when we may need somebody to lean on, it made me think (at first) of those times when I've been protection for others in tulip moments. My boys, especially, come to mind. For now, they are tulips. As they grow, though, they will need to have more moments when they at least are given opportunities to be oak trees. I will need to let them stand on their own so they can learn and grow. Moving on, though, Pastor MacDonald proceeded to share five "Tulip Moments" in his own life that we need to work hard to avoid, or, should we not be able to avoid them, then have somebody who will be a fence around us to protect us. He then provided 5 "C's" to help us survive/operate in those "Tulip Moments." Those are 1) Make wise choices about what I'm going to focus on (see Ezra 7:10), 2) Have Connection/Community, 3) Know my Call and keep it fresh, 4) Control my self/Have Self-Discipline in all areas of my life, not just physical or mental (this is especially needed in my ego), and 5) Have Continuity of my Conversion - keep it fresh. If I can keep these five things, then, in those "Tulip Moments," I'll be more likely to come out smelling and looking like a flower worth keeping. (Okay, that was sort of a self-promoting ending, but it sounds cool).
I'll talk more about Dr. Jack Groppel in another post. That was excellent, too. For those who want more information about these sessions, feel free to say so in the comments section, and I'll get back to you. I will say that I'm in a "Tulip Moment" right now, as is Shari, and we would appreciate the prayers of our friends, that we would make right choices, get better connected, and do all the other things Pastor MacDonald suggested... which I know to be true. Most of all, we must stay connected to "The Vine."