Day 6-9: Say Good-bye to Hollywood...

edit: photos now added :)


(This post doesn't yet have photos...I forgot to upload the pics to my comp and I can't be bothered to get it out of the overhead luggage compartment...hehe)

Yes, I'm in a plane once more as I type this. I didn't have the time the last few days because of the convention, so I'm compressing it all into this one post.

On Day 6, I got to meet up with Dennis Kim again. Some of you may remember him as the pastor who came to speak for the PG1 & PG2 retreats this year.




We went to a local steakhouse and had a beautiful cut of meat cooked just right - not so rare that it's still dripping, but not too done so that the meat is a pale pink. Succulent and tasty! And the clam chowder we had as an entree was really good too!




Just as an aside, in America, they call the "main" an "entree". And the "entree" is called an "appetiser". Actually...it's appetizer with a "z"... :P

It was good to catch up with Pastor Dennis and hear about what he's been up to and where God is leading him in ministry.

Another random thing about USA...I don't think I want to live there.

Why?

Nothing bad, really. Most of you know I LOVE sports. Here in the States, there isn't a day that goes by when there's some form of sport that's on. With the start of the NBA season, I've had access to 4 games of basketball a night no TV, plus some repeats of NFL (Americna football) and also NHL (ice hockey).

If I lived here, I'd never get anything done because I'd be watching sports on TV all the time!



And so with Day 7, the NYWC 2006 began. The seminars were excellent! I got a lot out of them...deeply challenging and convicting. You got to choose out of a heap, so there's always something you can learn from.

But one thing I found disconcerting was the level of preparedness of many of the "youth pastors" who turned up. I'm not necessarily saying that strong academic foundations is vital for everyone, but there is still a need for some basics. A lot of the "youth pastors" were barely out of high school, and their grasp of Scripture and views of ministry were very uninformed to say the least. Very much a case of the "blind leading the blind".

Having passion is vital, and I don't deny that. But you also need training. It's not an either/or situation...you need both!

And some even revelled and gloried in their ignorance. One guy who'd been in youth ministry for ages boasted to me, "I've never been to Bible college or anything like that. I don't need it. What's systematic theology going to do for my youth?"

A great deal, was my answer.

But I did get to meet some wonderful people and learned a great deal. My eyes were opened to new things, and was encouraged greatly by God during my time there.




And so, I'm here on the plane...about an hour out from Incheon airport. I'm sure the next week is going to be a complete culture shock - from the laid-back, deliberately-trying-to-be-cool attitude of thousands of youth pastors, to a conference for and with several hundred Korean Senior Pastors who for the most part will be very conservative... Definitely going to be interesting!





Just as an aside...Korean Air recently updated their uniforms for flight attendants. To be honest, it's weird!




I'm all for avant garde fashion and cutting edge design...but these uniforms just make the flight attendants look like cosmetic counter girls in a department store...hehe