The Main Thing

Well we just finished our annual Super Conference, and what a week it was! Having attended church most of my life, I've been to my share of conferences and revivals. They're wonderful. They're uplifting. They're convicting. They're renewing. They're inspiring.

They're exhausting.

I thought it was exhausting when I attended services every night. I thought it was more exhausting when I was a grown up and I had to work all day and then attend the services.

I had no idea.

When I was a child and we had a revival or a conference, it was a lot of fun. There was usually special food. Possibly there were some new kids to play with (when the speakers brought their families), and the fun of staying up late every night. There was also the awe of watching the men of God as they chatted with my parents over a late meal. It was impressive to listen to them sharing wisdom and discussing life events over a cup of coffee and a piece of pie.

Now that I'm an adult, I realize that there's a lot that goes into planning and running a conference. There's the stuff you'd think of, like making hotel reservations, going to the airport to pick up speakers, and practicing music in the choir.

There's also things you don't think of, like stocking the bookstore, cleaning cobwebs and making a quick change of plans after you burn the pork loin into shoe leather. (Ahem!)

But the bottom line is taking what you've heard and applying it to your lives. Listening to great men of God preach from the Bible. Praise God for the opportunity to head to the altar and spend some time growing a little closer to the Saviour.

My kids aren't so little anymore, but I covet the times when they can look up to these great men of God and perhaps get a little advice or some wisdom. They're getting to know people they can look up to and admire. They're getting some great examples of the types of men they should strive to be.

And that's worth any amount of burned pork.