So I just spent a few days in Malibu taking in the 2011 Pepperdine Bible Lectures.
Airiel and I had a good time as did our children. One of the neat things about Pepperdine’s program is the emphasis they place on quality content not only for mom and dad, but also for the little ones. It brings a smile to my face to hear my kids talk about how much fun they’re having in their classes.
The PBLs and Tulsa Workshop are the only lectureships I attend regularly. If you don’t know what a lectureship is, it’s basically a big convention for people in ministry or church members who dig excellent preaching and vibrant worship. The fellowship I’m apart of (Churches of Christ) offers several lectureships every year, each one independent of the other. Since there’s not an overseeing governing board leading all Churches of Christ, there’s not one big convention we all go to (there are pros and cons to that), and since there are so many different conventions, we’re left with the option of choosing which we’d like to attend or not attend.
That leads me to my question: if you choose to attend a lectureship, how do you make the decision which to go to? What motivates you to sacrifice the time and expense involved? Have you ever attended a lectureship and gone away from it disappointed? Why? What has been your best lectureship experience, and why do you say so? Which lectureship is consistently the best one to attend, and why?
As a new Christian and young minister-in-training, lecture programs (particularly the Tulsa Workshop) positively shaped me by exposing me to great Bible teaching. Nowadays in attending lectures I still enjoy good Bible teaching, but love more than anything the fellowship with friends and family I do not get to see often, and get more out of being exposed to practical ministry ideas/strategies from effective leaders God has blessed than anything else (unfortunately most lecture programs do not place a great emphasis on ministry practicum – this really should change).
What about you?
