CIY

The youth group from my church went to their first Christ In Youth Conference. So, Tuesday I went over to visit them. I have been to ten weeks of CIY. They were a big part of my young spiritual walk. But I have not been to one in eight years. Here are some of my quick-hit thoughts:

1. I did not like th music that much. This was neither a surprise or a big deal. They were not selecting music for people my age. The kids from my group said they liked it.

For me the songs were not memorable. I could not sing one of them to you two hours after the event. The lyrics were not going to be mistaken for something Rich Mullins wrote, either. They weren't terrible, but they were not great either.

I hope this is my age talking. I hope the kids can latch on to those songs. I hope when they are alone and in need of encouragement, reminders of God's presence and goodness, that those songs will be readily available to help them.

2. The speaker was interesting. A gifted communicator. He had a constant stream of hooks including; audience participation, props, pictures, humor, and suspense. This was very good, especially given the audience and setting.

I would not give him demerits for his lack of depth. This is CIY, after all. But his lack of clarity was more of a problem. He talked about being "in Christ". He said it was different than being around him or knowing a lot about him. But he never really told us how it was different. I hope the other groups were able to cover that in the youth group time.

3. They seem to have abandoned more dressy attire for celebration. Bravo! As a teen, I did enjoy all those girls purtied up, but it was not at all helpful for the purposes of the week.

4. My church kids quietly made fun of "the kid" who was constantly trying to get attention from everyone at CIY. I felt defensive, because... I was that kid.

5. A girl that was in junior church when I led it in college was now representing GLCC. I was more glad to see the fruits of good work than I was sad to realize how old this made me.

6. I saw Barry Zimmerman in tights.

7. I'm really exciting to hear more from our group when they get back.