Zoe Conference: Thoughts and Impressions

The Zoe Conference was this weekend at Woodmont Hills Church of Christ/Family of God this weekend. The theme this year was Fearless and that was obviously very relevant to the turbulent times that we're all in right now (although I find it interesting that we are fearful of what threatens our ability to have comforts, rather than what could threaten our lives as so many others experience throughout the world).

It was a good weekend. Sheryl and I had houseguests in our basement (Adam, Matt, and Chris) and that was fun for me and for the rest of the family too. I got a chance to spend some time with Brandon, which I haven't done for a while now. It was good to see him and Sheryl and their kids. I got to talk to Murray Sanderson, the incoming worship minister at Otter Creek, as well as renew some acquaintances from earlier conferences.

Some highlights for me. I enjoyed hearing Scot McKnight's talks and his reflections on James in the leadership conference. I really enjoyed watching the movie "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers" Thursday night. I thought the worship during the conference was excellent, even with the numbers being down quite a bit from previous conferences. I really enjoyed Jeff Walling on Friday night, even though he's not always my favorite speaker. I thought he did a really good job with this part. Cope and Harris did fantastic jobs, of course, and I really enjoyed the final session's walk through Revelation. Larry Mudd did a great job as John during it.

I do always regret that I'm not able to do more interacting during the worship conference itself. For the last couple of years, I've been running the MediaShout, so that's meant that I've needed to meet with people to get things straight and not go to any sessions or interact with people. This year was bittersweet, of course, because it was my first time to run MediaShout with Brandon, since he resigned from Otter Creek almost 9 months ago. It was like slipping into an old shoe with knowing how he likes his transitions done and when he needs the slide changed to make sure he won't sing the wrong words. I will say that it was especially weird not having the Zoe team at Otter Creek on Sunday, and knowing that they were all down at Woodmont Hills. Having the team at OC on Sundays after Zoe was always something that made me feel like OC was deeply involved in Zoe and it felt like more of a disconnect this year from that.

So, all in all, a good weekend. A weekend of thinking about what makes us fearful and the God who can be with us, even in those fears.