Well it’s here. After all the waiting and procrastinating (by me!), NYA2008 is here and I’m not sure what to say about it.
As I said before I have history with this thing so it’s a little odd being here. Despite not having been at the National Youth Assembly for several years is seems in some ways as though I’ve never been away. There are lots of people I know, lots more than I was expecting.
I met with my team in person after planning our sessions using the wiki and all seemed well.
Staff worship was brilliant. Linda led us through a beautiful commissioning service which really moved me.
And then it was off to join the delegates and begin. The start was ok. Great video intro from Boycey but then a bidding song that didn’t seem to fit well after the noise and images, but maybe that’s the point. God comes to us in unexpected and sometimes incongruous ways amid the noise and the distractions.
The theme for this year is ‘End of Part One’. Part one of what? Not sure where that is going but I missed Steve’s session last night so may have missed the unpacking of the theme.
Mark Yaconelli, our keynote speaker, was great. What a gifted story-teller. He’s a lot like his dad. I know I hate it when people say that to me, but it’s meant as compliment. I was a big fan of his dad, Mike, before his untimely death and Mark fills me with the same excitement and wonder.
The first debate sessions came too quickly, and without explanation. They are different this year. Instead of the usual General Assembly type debates we’re having four sessions to explore issues before we debate them on Monday. That seems to have taken lots of people by surprise, mostly because they haven’t read the information provided! But that’s another story.
People seemed tired and maybe we talked too much to fill the gaps but some folk came up and said they liked the session. I really appreciate people’s feedback, especially when they can be honest and open about the good and the bad.
I spent the rst of the night changing tomorrow’s session to be a little more structured so we’ll see how that goes.
There are some photos of flickr with lots more to come. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?