Finishing up some work stuff today and getting ready to head to the National Youth Workers Convention in Cincinnati this weekend. I'm looking forward to being there but also have a bit of trepidation because there seem to be a lot of unknowns about the future of the organization right now. But, this is an event that I've gone to for the last 15 years and it always feels like I'm at a place where I belong. I'll be working as a consultant meeting with youth workers to talk about their ministries, churches and help them wade through any issues they might have that I can help with.
Here's a top 10 list of what I'm excited about this weekend.
1. Seeing Friends- Most of my friends do youth ministry. Many will be there. I like my friends.
2. Being Validated- Even though I have a great church where youth ministry is a huge priority it's still nice to be around an organization and people who get it when I tell them what I do and that this is all I want to do and I'm not just waiting to be a senior pastor or get a real job.
3. Getting re energized- It's funny to think that a weekend without much sleeping and a lot of business can give energy to this closet introvert. All I can say is that I love it and can't really explain why I get energy since on a normal weekend 2 hours at church makes me need to take a nap.
4. Reaffirming identity- When I was in high school I was one of those kids who blossomed in youth group. I discovered who I was and what my gifts were. That still happens for me when I'm at this event.
5. Discussing future- This year I'm guessing there will be a lot of conversations happening about "what's next" I enjoy being a part of brainstorming and dreaming.
6. Meals and Fellowship- I enjoy sitting around tables talking to people about what we are learning or what we disagree with. I also like to eat. I've never been to Cincinnati so I'm hoping that there are some good restaurants.
7. Seminars and speakers- Even though this is my second convention this year I haven't seen or heard most of what is going to be taught. There are a couple speakers that I'm looking forward to interacting with.
8. Consulting- One of my favorite things to do is to meet with people trying to figure out their youth ministry. I don't have all the answers for sure but I do enjoy helping people wade through some of the issues that they are dealing with. I do this every day with my staff and I like getting the opportunity to meet with more people.
9. Taking the online offline- I'm a bit of a geek and through this blog, twitter, facebook and the online world I interact virtually with people every day. I'm looking forward to have real face to face conversations with many of those people. The world is funny now in that there are many folks that I have never met but I feel like I know a lot about.
10. Resources- I still enjoy walking through the booths and the resource area. I'm scared of booth people and do a poor job of making eye contact but secretly I like to see what all the booths are about. If I could just walk through all by myself I think it would be very enjoyable. But since that's not an option I'll just wear sunglasses. 
