our youth this past weekend engaged in conversation over what it would take to lead through the changing culture. these are their notes.

FRESH Happenings

Leaders of Change- What should a leader look like?
Integrity- act because it is the right thing to do
Trustworthy/Trusting- no control issues
Open-minded- equality, nonjudgmental, remember that we are all God’s children and we are all valuable
Mutual Respect
Fearless- courage, takes on challenges, brave
Good Communication
Listening- values all input
Vision- plan, set goals, be in motion
Confidence with Humility- confident but not arrogant
Optimistic- positive, hopeful
Inspirational
Passion- enjoy what you are doing
Teamwork- cooperative
Service- leading by example, knows when to follow and when to lead
Unity- everyone works together, common goals
Knowledge- understanding, research

Embracing Change-What sets United Methodists apart?
Bigger Picture- faith, trust, hope
Actions- compassion, inclusiveness, attempt new things
Acceptance- open-minded
Risk Taking- faith, acceptance of results, responsibility, confidence
Same Emotions but Different Reactions- peace, hope, life changing, strength from struggles
Support- God, church members, youth groups, pastors
Miracles/Blessings- seeing the world through different eyes
Prayer/Bible
Motives- acting for others and not for self
Conflict Resolution
Being An Example- actions, grace, love, stories
Presence and Energy- being there, support
Shared Experience- witnessing, guidance, sharing is caring
Forgiveness- love, live by example, progress, lets go of negative energy
Community- connections, support system
Encouragement- support, sharing
Sharing of Strengths- new ways of communicating, art, music
Having and Holding Faith- provide healing time
Hakuna Matata- worry free life

Transformation- What calls to us?
Issues- teen pregnancy, eating disorders, addiction, suicide, over indulgence, pornography, Instant gratification
Spiritual Depth- touching God, sharing God’s love, worship, hands on, ideas, creativeness
Wastefulness and Indulgence- recycling
Small Things Big Effects- volunteer
Bring Passion- make changes in issues that excite you
Raising Funds and Awareness
Be Role Models- not just to younger people but also adults
Be Selfless- passion for helping others, think about others, no selfish thoughts
Discipleship
Involvement
Become Someone’s Hero- share time and experiences, smile at someone
War- be peace makers
Be A Childlike Teacher- learn how to play again, children at heart

a pretty extensive list.. what do you think. btw meet our new ccym leader for the next year. it’s a good looking group.

i’m keeping a running tab on my thoughts and opinions from annual conference.. they are my thoughts and come through my lens of being part of this family. take issue with them or agree.

• our youth president is sitting with our bishop and entourage as a sign of showing support for and giving importance to the youth of our church. so why did the bishop just get the youth president to go and get him some coffee? bad form
• laity address is giving the same old rhetoric of ‘we need to get younger laity and clergy’.. funny, that didn’t seem to matter to you last year when we were electing delegates for general conference and the young adult laity were begging for consideration of balance of ages for our laity delegation. maybe i was too old at 32 to be considered young.
• mckendree report coming in. the fallout from all that is really tragic & hopefully will find its way into a better place. my grand father-inlaw got to stay because he had personal care insurance and wasn’t dependent on medi-care stuff.
• thinking bout conversation with my pastor before entering the sanctuary.. i’m dreaming big now & excited to know i work with a solid and challenging visionary. cool thing too, i think some of the dreams can happen
• not sure what the ‘other business’ we are discussing, but i’m tuned out and scanning the crowd. see a lot of lovely people that i hope to catch up with sometime in the next 2 days
• hispanic report was cool. some good folks involved in that whom i really like. lame that i really know very little about engaging in those ministries.
• tennessee conference had the highest increase in percent participation with the advance in ’07 in the southeast jurisdiction.. impressive
• into nominations. not sure what all is happening, but there are some good people & number of youth on the nomination list.
• this is a nice article that i find relevant for my days context
• on my pew: computer science homework, twitter, sudoku, book, book, txt msg, book, day dreaming, book, book, sleeping, the last two are paying attention. business as usual
• bishop’s address: "its been a hard year".. yes, it has
• 
    "you would be surprised what you can learn from our middle school students" yes, if only you actually listened.

evening highlights

• got recognized for my work/participation with youth ministry institute 2. afterwards ginna said some great things about beth as recognition for her work. beth cried, which got me crying. we hugged, it was special, and sad at the same.
• i seemed to be sequestered by people to talk about the upcoming camping task force & conference program position resolutions. i don’t know how all that is going to go down, but it was interesting that so many people sought me out for perspective.
• ran into adam hamilton while trying to figure out the camera stuff and talking to others. talked with his wife about their travel in. she seems quite nice. adam said thanks when i held the door for him.
• change of plans, change of plans.. but we got the ordination service recorded. it wasn’t ideal so it will be a bear to get compiled into video. there is footage and that was goal 1 after every single plan seemed to fall apart beforehand. it was fun to chat through the headsets. probably was too chatty, oh well. dock my pay
• ran into richard, an old youth who is now in working world and finishing university. he was all dressed up in a suit. very professional looking.