Well, soon I will be in Indianapolis speaking at SYMC.  I always love being at this conference.  But this year I’m doing something a little different.

In years past I’ve done “Half-Tracks.”  These are 4 hour tracks for people to go on and I’ve typically done workshops focused on doing college ministry in a local church context.  Each 4 hour track was broken up into two 2-hour workshops.  They were fun and, I think, fruitful.

However this year will have a little different focus and will be in a little different format.  I will be doing a “Deeper Learning Track” that will be 8 hours long, broken up into four 2-hour workshops.  4 hours will be on Saturday and 4 hours will be on Sunday.  I will also be doing a Monday morning workshop on my latest book, “Better Off Without Jesus.”

So, I thought I’d post the descriptions for these for anyone interested:

The 5 Targets: Fueling Growth and Maturity In Older Adolescents (and In You!)

Our goal as spiritual leaders is to disciple younger people, but defining how to go about this and prioritizing areas of focus can be far more ambiguous than we would like sometimes.  We often look at younger generations as a unique demographic and then adjust our approaches to ministry.  But the reality is at the core of the human soul we find the same issues that need to be addressed, regardless of which generation we are a part of.  This seminar series unpacks 5 areas of focus and their unique generational aspects, but does so from the premise of a deeper understanding of what we all desire.

Session 1 Generation Human: understanding generational differences from a place we all identify with

Session 2 The Search for Self: helping others discover their identity from a deeper understanding of our own

Session 3 Desire to Belong: understanding the vitality of peer and inter-generational relationships

Session 4 Forgotten Values: pinpointing theological concepts that cultivate the church culture we all desire

Better Off Without Jesus: Listening to the Holy Spirit in Youth Ministry

Most Christians can at least intellectually articulate the idea of the Holy Spirit being inside of them, but that doesn’t mean they know how to practically embrace Him. In fact, to most this truth seems overly ambiguous and subjective at best. The idea of having Jesus physically alongside them seems far more practical. Based on a forthcoming book, this workshop investigates the inner tensions of our pursuit to hear God speak to us and provides down-to-earth and practical ways to be certain you are hearing God speak. By the end of this time, the hope is you would leave more confident in your ability to hear God’s voice in your life and ministry.