2nd to last night

25 hours from right now, Urbana 2006 will come to its end, and I suspect many people will leave here having heard new things from God and excited about their futures working for Him. I think InterVarsity, the event's hosts, made a really good choice to move the event to a large conference center this year. Makes things much simpler, though it's likely more expensive.

Today, Urbana encouraged delegates to fast and pray, and I think many of them did. My organization's leaders, however, encouraged us to eat, so we would have enough strength for the afternoon's work. Glad I followed their advice. My legs are starting to wear down a bit from several hours of standing at a time. Still, it's always a blessing to meet new people who are searching for what God has planned next for them. I never presume to tell them all the answers, but I usually try to connect them with someone else who might help them better. For instance, I've run into 3 or 4 mechanical engineers so far who want to know how their skills might best be used in the Muslim world. I usually hand them off to my friends Carrie or Julie eventually, who have had experiences with Gap teams serving in N. Iraq.

Tonight, I decided to attend the main Urbna session and sit very close to the main stage...very, very loud choice. I enjoyed the worship lots. Even though I was close enough to see the speakers and singers' faces, I still usually looked at the big screen monitors. Heard Rick and Kay Warren address how delegates might best discern their calling...and it seemed really simplistic frankly. I heard nothing about waiting on the Lord, fasting, praying, seeking wise counsel. Instead, what I heard was mostly "Trust your feelings, go with what you enjoy, and look at your past to choose how God might use it. Or "Use common sense." I agree with some of it partially, but it seems like a good prescription for enabling people to stay fat in the U.S., too, rather than calling them to sacrifice what they enjoy for someOne infinitely greater...in my opinion. At the end, Warren talked about how he had gathered his six-service church together for the very first time this year--inside a gigantic stadium. He wanted the Urbana delegates to chant along with him a huge string of promises he'd written for the church (some of the vows(?!) directed to God, I think--what would Jesus say?). I stood up and chanted a little bit of it, but I couldn't keep going long because I knew I would never remember any of it, and I don't want to make empty promises. If I'm going to be judged by the words of my mouth, I need to be careful what I utter. I can't just repeat words on a screen and think God doesn't care if I don't do what I promise.

Overall, I'm enjoying this event...I'm still in much need of prayer on my last day of helping delegates through prayer, listening, and connecting. I praise God that the webcams are working pretty well, and the students seem to be enjoying connecting with folks overseas.