Black Mountain - Nav Fall Conference

I (David) got back from the Navigator Fall Conference on Sunday -- I had a blast! It was a time for fellowship, reflection, fun, and some much needed energizing. The students involved in our ministry mean the world to me, and I have enjoyed interacting with them and watching them grow in so many different ways. We have a really strong core group of students who want to learn how to walk with Jesus for a lifetime, and I am a better follower because of them!

Students and staff from Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Georgia Tech, NC State and Clemson (among others) joined us at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC for the weekend. Mike Jordahl, my former boss in Colorado Springs, was the speaker. He did a great job communicating his message and really added so much value to the conference. His 4 talks centered around the subject of "Following Jesus for a Lifetime". I respect how much the Navs center themselves around the Scriptures, and how Mike connected several passages to the overall theme of the weekend.

One of the highlights every year at the conference is the Ultimate Frisbee Championship. To me, it's surprising how popular Frisbee is on these campuses. I guess I just miss lining up in the I-formation and playing some good old-fashioned backyard football. At any rate, we finished second to Clemson (we have won the previous two years), and the above picture was taken after the game. Despite the intense competition, the students were really good about putting winning or losing into context.

There are many more highlights I could share, but I don't want to blog endlessly. I do want to mention the workshop that I led on Saturday afternoon. I called it, "The Illusion of Perfectionism", and we discussed how being a perfectionist can seriously hinder spiritual growth, not to mention how it creates in our lives a standard that can never be met, at least consistently. I was interested in the topic because I see it played out in my own life, especially in the area of people-pleasing. I enjoyed speaking on this topic and challenging students from all over our region in this topic.