THE EVENT

Okay, weeks ago I said I'd post some prayer requests for a big conference we're planning at work. I've been preparing for it for months but somehow the time is almost here (just 3 weeks!) and I feel woefully inadequate to pull it off. And so it's a good time to remind myself that it's not about ME and I'm never in control anyway and the point of the whole thing is to glorify GOD even though it would be nice to receive a little praise myself at the end of the day or at the very least to avoid looking like a complete idiot. (I'm just kidding, Lord. If you want me to look like a complete idiot, I'll do it for you. Though I can't imagine why you'd want me to look like a complete idiot, doesn't seem very compassionate. But really, I'm okay with whatever you decide.)

Here's an email I sent out to people on our list to invite:

Dear friends,

It’s hard to believe October is just a few days away! I am counting down the days to our first global church partnership event which will be held in Baltimore, October 18-20. Many of you have registered for this event already. For those of you who haven’t, I want to let you know that we’ve extended the registration deadline (as the attached email explains). If you’re still not sure whether it's for you, let me share a few of the things I’m most looking forward to about it:

1) Vinay Samuel and Oscar Muriu speaking about transformation, poverty and God’s call to the global Church.
2) International program staff and ministers from across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, sharing lessons and leading discussions about missional development and partnership.
3) Pastors, lay leaders and other members of partner churches from all across the USA, coming together to demonstrate that the Church is one body, and that when we come together to glorify God, we are changed. And in being changed, we can change our world.

I anticipate with joy (and not a little fear and trembling!) what God has in store for us -- in the formal meetings; in the unexpected conversations; in the worship and prayer; in the workshops on microfinance, cross-cultural relationships, responding to HIV/AIDS, and everything in between – and I pray you will join us. To register, please see the attached email.

Thank you for being ministers of the Gospel wherever you are. May you be blessed.

So there you go, that's the image of joyful anticipation I'm trying to get across and trying to embody, but let's face it, more often than not it's sheer terror. And again, I remember the reason for this post: prayer.

Please pray for...

• The event to be a time of celebration, excitement, and real relationship building.
• The international staff, that they would be prepared and comfortable, ready to present and engage in meetings.
• The partners and potential partners who will be in attendance, that they would be filled with grace, wisdom and openness to learning new things.
• All of us who are pulling together all the details, from food to hotel rooms to music to agendas to workshops. Pray that our heads don't explode.

More to come...Thank you for praying. Truly.