The Missouri Convention, Part 3

File Under: Extended Series

Previously, on parts 1 and 2... I went to Missouri, heard 30 seconds of Gwen Stefani, and cried and cried.

(as a reminder... the following are taking from notes I quickly scribbled down. If they aren't coherant, it's no fault of the speaker, it's my note-taking ability, or inability.)

9:15 am - Our room isn't cool, but it is *better*. We got up around 8, and had eggs and tater tots for breakfast. We had our SON-Rise group. It's a small group, same-sex bible study. Normally, the churches are supposed to be more mixed, but in this instance, there were 3 other people from Bethany in the group. And everyone else - including the leaders - were from a church in Iowa.

Apparently, with the heat index and everything, it's supposed to be 101 today.

9:45 - Waiting for Session 2 to start.
9:50 - Still waiting. They're 5 minutes late!
9:52 - It starts. Woot! It's announcement time. Apparently, there were no incidents last night. Please drink LOTS of water, ladies please dress appropriatly... Huh. Apparently, some girls were asked to change into modest clothing. Youth, I tell 'ya. Dutton URC, MI and 1st URC Chino, CA are tied for the highest attendance from a single church.
- Joel Weaver talks about the S.T.E.P. missions program. 4 young ladies also talked about it, and we watched a DVD talking about it. Guys were encouraged to go, 'cause... they kinda don't go. At all.
- Side note: I'm the only guy at convention who's last name begins with "J". For what it's worth.
10:12 - Time to SING! (I don't take notes during sing-sing sessions. We do half-hymns, half-feel-goody songs, which are WAAAAY too emotional for my taste. I have NO problem with emotion during singing, but... It's not the Oscars, folks. Keep a respectful balance!)
10:31 - Mr. Rip Pratt begins. He's the pastor of youth and family as well as counselor for the Bethel Community Reformed Church (PCA) in Dallas, Texas. He was also a main speaker at the 2001 & 2002 national conventions and has also served as a workshop speaker. (info from the official RYS booklet)
- We turn to 1 Timothy 4:13-14. To WHOM are we showing our faith, and why? He brought his family up on stage, and talked about family for a while. To raise a "perfect" family, it must be done with purity and discipline. It's tough, and never perfect. They need help, and love. He then talked about how they kept eating at a pizza place, and how the co-owner was, over the course of time, touched by how they just acted as a family. They didn't argue and bicker. The kids behaved, and they enjoyed each other's company. The co-owner eventually asked to go to their church. He was touched by their living testimony.
- Fear is good. The dominent fear of God produces awe. When you tread near him, you are filled with awe and wonder. But the flip side of fear produces trembling.
- All aspects of our live should glorify God, so we can witness to everyone, just by our daily actions.
- (the following scripture passages were looked at: Proverbs 29:25, Deut. 1:17, 1 Sam 15, John 12:42-43, and II Corinthians 5.)
- Man is naturally depraved, and as such looks towards himself for salvation and redemption. But we should seek repentance from God.
- In heaven, we will not be adoring man, but God.
- We then watched a clip from Braveheart. I've only seen THE end of the movie, so I don't know any character's names. So, um, Mel Gibson is with a mob, who declares that it's time to declare a king, that it is their rightful claim. Gibson walks out dramatically, giving a speech: "We've beaten the English, but they came back, because you wouldn't stand together."
- *pause in movie* Sometimes, we, as reformers, "squabble over scraps".
- *movie continues* Uh... attacking England is too risky... Mel Gibson is upset with the nobles... the noble looks confused... *ends clip* (I don't know, I've not seen the movie!)
- Don't be Rovert Dervluis (sp?). The riches of this world are NOT worth living for.
END OF SESSION.

Workshop One: Rise Up, Oh Men (guys only class)
Teacher: Rev. C.J. Den Dulk
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 3:1-10, Titus 2:6-8, Psalm 119:9-19, Gen 3:1, 2:16, 39:9-10, Hebrews 13:4, Matt. 5:27-30, Job 30:1, II Tim. 2:22, Titus 2:4, Matt. 12:33-37, Eph. 5:3,4

1:13 - While waiting for everybody to show up, each person has to tell something that he is thankful for, pertaining to RYS.
1:24 - We begin, with, of course, a word of prayer.
- He talked for a while about growing up in a military family, and seeing the soldiers go through vigorous training. They prepare to fight, for life or death. Nations rise and fall. We, on earth, are the church militant. When we die, we go to the church triumphant.
- Trivia: Bethlahem means "Home of Bread". Beth, in Hebrew, means home. (think: bread of life)
- Are God's commandments home in our hearts? We must start being godly when we're young. It's rarely the big decisions in life that make us live the way we do... It's all the little things that we do everyday.
- He had the class recite the 10 Commandments. He then mentioned that many pastors being installed today could not recite the 10 Commandments during their examinations - and are preaching today.
- We memorize scripture so we have God's words in our hearts, so we don't live against him.
- We are now talking about: Purity.
- There are many threats to grace, to celebacy. We watched a clip from a video, which talked about pornography. The upshot? It's evil. Marriage is to be honored by ALL. Fornicators and adulterers will be judged. We should guard our heart with God's word, as adultury begins in the heart. Also, keep it in the bedroom, 'kay? We must flee from lust. And though it's tough, through Jesus, we can.

Workshop Two: You're Always On Air
Teacher: Rev. Harry Zekveld
Scripture References: Matt. 12:33-37, Eph. 5:3-4, Matt. 12:34-35, Psalm 139:4, 141:3.

2:29 - Introductions. He has a wife, and 6 kids. I'm #4 of 8 siblings, so I think the Jurries win. But I digress.
- Think of Judgement Day (the ACTUAL one. Leave Ah-nold out of the picture). Jesus will be the judge, and ALL will be judged, and held accountable for every action, deed, thought, motive, attitude, and word that we've ever spoken.
- Now, he's trying to set up the context. But this is a direct quote, and it's not MEANT to be funny, and I'm not trying to poke fun of him at all, but... "Words are everywhere. EVERYWHERE!"
- When a person goes on the air, in radio or television, his speech changes. He's more careful of what he says (unless you're a shock jock. But I digress.), 'cause he doesn't want anything bad coming out on-air. He doesn't want the public to hear certian words. Well, God's ALWAYS hearing what we're saying. And as such, we're - feel the segway coming yet? - always on air. Beautifully gone!
- Every careless word will be accounted for. There is no secret that we hide that will not be revealed on judgement day.
- As we move away from God, our words become more godless. Just because there are many, many words, don't be cheap with your talk. Don't be careless with your words!
- There are 3 categories of idle speech: Drivel, Obsenity, and Profanity/Blasphemy. Yes, he said drivel!
- Statements can tell alot about people. Even off-hand comments can reveal how a person thinks, his character, and how he lives his life. (I knew that already... I'm the observer! The "quiet ones" knew that already.)
- Star Wars! Good and evil! Non-coherant note taking! Exclemation points!! Basically, Zekveld mentioned Obi-Wan's stupid "only a Sith deals in absolutes" line. Of course, the Sith are the bad guys. Guess I'm evil then!
- ALL words come from the heart. Your tongue paints a picture of the real you.
- If you joke ALL the time, and can't take anything seriously, that is wrong too. You need to be able to talk seriously!
- EVERY. LAST. WORD. LAST. FOREVER. Ever word has ultimate consequences. On the last day, our justification (or condemnation) will be announced, and our words replayed before us.
- We need to take all our bad words to Jesus, who washes away sIn. We need to pray for a guard to protect our heart and mouth.
END OF SESSION.

- Watched sports. Team Bethany lost Volleyball. We lost one game, and then lost in the losers bracket. (>_<) Apparently, everybody who was on Zion Christian's soccer team last year is at RYS, so they teamed up again to play. They won one game, and lost the second. (3 people from Bethany were on the soccer team)

I talked a while with Mrs. Pasma, who had arrived not too long ago. She talked about her plane ride, and about meeting the different speakers on the plane. Apparently, on the plane was a kid heading towards Springfield, who was from a very liberal church. And during the delays, he kinda hung out with all the speakers heading towards RYS. They hope that the delays at the airports were so that they could minister to this kid. She described the speakers as "very committed", which is very true. It's quite evident in the way they talk, in the way they speak. They believe wholeheartedly what they say.

Workshop Three: What's In Your Heart?
Teacher: Rev. Zachary Anderson
Scripture References: Gal. 5:19-20, Mark 7:21-23, Ezk. 36:17-21, 25-28, John 6:37, II Cor. 10:14, Rev. 3:1

- Before we began class, we were introduced to the "Royal Order of Siam". I'd spell it out, but then it'd ruin the game. It's funny. Maybe I'll post it later. But not now. I'll leave that as a tease, how 'bout? Sound good? Good.
7:26 pm - Idolatry starts in the heart. It is painful to realize that we ALL have idols. If you WILLFULLY have idols, you do not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
- Rev. Anderson talked about how he's been Lutheran, Baptist, and now Reformed. And how the Reformed Faith has a rich heritage. Remember that buzzword! Rich Heritage.
- Evil things come from within. In our depraved hearts, there is a desire to do ungodly things.
- In high school, Anderson played raquetball everyday with an athiest. In his sophmore year, Anderson became a Christian. He tried sharing his faith with his raquetball buddy, but by their senior year, they barely talked to one another. Anderson looked him up on the web last year, found him, and called him. Now, his athiest friend has found a cult, a "religion". It is not a Christian faith.
- If you don't have God in your life, something else will fill that void.
- If we invent something instead of, or alongside God, you make an idol. We allow idols to creep into our heart.

- What do England, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Russia, Greece, Ethiopia, Syria, Israel, Algeria, the Czech Republic, and France all have in common? They all used to have a very strong Christian-religious presence in the public spectrum. But those societies have turned away from god, and towards idols.
- Idolatry, by it's definition, fills the godless void. Man tries to bring God down to his level, and everyday things are used to make idols.
- Some are even so obsessed with being happy, that happiness becomes their idol. But we don't have a guarantee that we'll have happiness in our lives!
- God is not impressed with our own deeds. It is through righteousness that God accepts us.
- What is the cure: Keep coming to Jesus Christ. We must flee from idolatry.
END OF SESSION.

- Watched Team Zion play basketball. They amazingly enough won one game, but lost the second. Oddly enough, they won the game I watched, but lost when I wasn't there. Hhhmm....
- Storm clouds kept rolling in. There are systems in every direction. No one shall be spared!
- We had our SONSet group. We talked about our favoritist workshops, and other stuff. A discussion on dating popped up (out of the ground. It just... popped up!). But then the group meeting kinda ended early, due to thunder and lightning.

But the leaders continued to talk, and I stayed for the conversation. One member of the group earlier had raised concerns about having so many blasted rules, and what's the difference between courting and dating, ecetera. So the leaders talked about the need FOR rules. Of course, no other student was there, so it couldn't affect anyone, but it was still a great discussion. It's starting to rain now... But we keep talking. Later, one of the students (not the one who objected) came out, and joined the conversation. They asked him about the rules in his relationship with his girlfriend, and we continued to talk until it kinda started raining really, really hard, then we ended the conversation. And they were about to lock the dorms for the night.

End of Tuesday, July 26, 2005.