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CTC young people share their EXPLORATION 2009 experiences

Written: 11/20/2009

My experience at EXPLORATION 2009

By Ethan Gregory, SLT President, Senior, FUMC Mineral Wells

I arrived at the Sheraton in Dallas at about 2:30 in the afternoon. I went into the room where we were registering and was greeted by several familiar people from the CTC. I hung out for a while as more and more people arrived. Soon our CTC group was there and we had great conversations. Bishop Lowry joined us for the Friday evening events.

     The first worship service was very upbeat and exciting. The theme of the service was Hear as we focused on the story of Moses and the burning bush. After the service we progressed to our small groups. I really enjoyed my small group during the weekend, you could feel the presence of The Holy Spirit when we gathered and heard about each other’s calls to ministry. Although with that many future pastors, the conversations did last quite a while.

     Saturday was a very fun and full day. We started off the morning with worship and small groups where we talked about Esther (I tweeted this interesting fun fact: John Wesley only preached once on the book of Esther) and discerning. The middle of the day was occupied by workshops that covered a wide range of ministry topics and opportunities. The three I chose were: I’m Still in High School and Thinking About College and Seminary, What Does It Mean To Be An Elder, and The Candidacy Process.

All three workshops were great, but my favorite was the last one I attended, The Candidacy Process. This workshop was presented by the Director of Candidacy who works in Nashville. The competency of this lady took away all confusion about the process, which I am beginning right now. Saturday night concluded with worship and small groups. In this service of word and table, the focus was Respond and we heard a great message from Bishop Sally Dyck.

     Sunday was a short day, but just as great as the other two. We concluded Exploration with small groups and worship. The theme for the day was Go and we talked about the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.

     I walked into Exploration positive of my call to ordained ministry.  I came out even more positive and with the knowledge that I am not alone. There are plenty of young leaders for our church now and in the future.

     Follow me on Twitter @ethan_7 or www.ethangregory.wordpress.com <http://www.ethangregory.wordpress.com/>

My experience at EXPLORATION 2009

By Katie Lewis, SLT Member, CTCYM Advisory Council, Senior, FUMC Euless

Something great occurs when speakers from various backgrounds and nationalities are able to speak about a calling. Something even greater takes place when 800 people from across the nation gather together to sing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." And yet, something even greater takes place when small groups circle together in prayer to support and lift each other up for the trials they will face ahead.

For those who are wondering what Exploration is, it is a weekend designed to educate and help young people between the ages of 16 and 24 discern their calling. The weekend is filled with an abundance of food (as all Methodist events), various styles of worship, small groups, workshops, and a time of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ.

Exploration 2009 was more than just a conference about pursuing the call to ordained ministry. For me, the weekend was a great encouragement to see so many fellow students in the same situation and with the same burning passion for Christ as I had. This weekend silenced my doubts of becoming a female pastor and was quite life changing in that it led to a heart-felt desire and commitment to ministry. For me, there wasn’t a specific entity or part that made the experience unforgettable; rather, it was the whole event, it was the fact that we all came together and realized we were apart of something bigger.

Furthermore, brothers and sisters, I bring you joyous news- the future of the United Methodist Church is in good hands. I am confident of this because the students of today and leaders of tomorrow have illuminating passions for Christ and His people, as well as the call to ordained ministry. Such students are ready to fulfill Bishop Sally Dyke’s challenge, “Now is the time, this is the place, we are the ones.” 
 

My experience at EXPLORATION 2009

By Kathryn Gaarz, Assistant Youth Director at Acton UMC

This past weekend I attended a conference. I called it a "business" trip.  Because before I went, that's what it was for me. Simply a business trip. Prior to the trip, I just knew it was going to be an informational slew about ordained ministry and different seminaries. Little did I know that it would change my life.

In fact, before I went, I was almost bitter. Well, I was bitter. It was my best friend's birthday and I was missing out on dinner with her and other friends. I was missing out on Rob Bell, whom I really wanted to see live again. Basically, I was missing out on a bunch of fun, exciting events that I had deemed "better" than spending a weekend with a bunch of people I didn't know. I mean, I had the mindset that I didn't want to make ANY friends here, and that I was NOT going to make any, and that everyone was going to be a holy-rollin, bible thumpin, southern set-in-your-ways, hypocritical, stereotypical run of the mill church kid, and I was REALLY not looking forward to it. I was also positive that I had decided I was NOT going to go to seminary, therefore I would learn nothing this weekend about anything that would interest me. But God pushed me and pushed me. And so I went.  After I checked in, I went to eat dinner.  We were assigned to tables so thankfully I didn't have to be the lone ranger wandering around trying to find someone to sit and eat with. Lo and behold, I made friends at my table. Friends from Texas who were pretty much just like me, give or take a few years.

Then the worship service happened. And I was moved.

There was wonderful spiritual music, and dancing, and moving words. It was not your average worship service.  Afterwards came the scary part. Small groups. I was nervous because I would actually be faced with a group of strangers who were going to judge me because I have tattoos, and I don't read the Bible every day. I just knew it was coming. So I get to my small group ... and my small group leader had a tattoo. And there were people with piercings. And we get into our group, and I realized ... I'm not alone. And each member of my group was from a different state, with the exception of one Texas girl. And I actually opened up in the first ten minutes! It was like I was surrounded by people I knew.

My attitude had officially changed, and I was stoked to be there. So I met 7 new people who were just like me and just different enough. And we all just clicked. We talked about our lives, and about our faith, and our struggles. It was probably my favorite small group I've ever been in. Fast forward through the night and the next morning at breakfast, I again, made NEW friends. Then there was another worship service.  Again, there were incredible sermons, and lessons learned, and information acquired. I mean, I took notes! I, the worst student ever, took notes during worship. And then we had workshops, and I learned more and more about what I was doing and why I was there.

And there were more meals and more making of new friends. Then more worship. So I went down to the ballroom-turned-worship-center, and I found a chair amidst the crowd by myself. And low and behold, a girl came and sat by me. And not long after that, another girl and her friend sat on the other side of me. The cool thing was that the second girl was a someone I'd spoken to earlier. She's a recruiter for Boston University seminary. So worship begins, and the music is just ... I'm not even sure how to describe it. It was incredible. And then we hear messages from people. And this feeling began to wash over me. And I KNEW that at that moment, I was not supposed to be anywhere else in the world but in that room, in that chair, listening to that music and that message. Mind you, I'd previously had a reserved ticket to go see Rob Bell, and I was quite bitter that I missed out. Until worship began, of course.  And I looked around the room, and a true sense of unity is what I saw. Red, Brown, Yellow, Black, White, Green, Blue, Purple... God's children of the world were in that room.

And I was just in such awe as I watched us all worship our God together. Where color was not seen on the surface of one's skin. But love was ever-present all around us. Love took over. And peace and joy filled me. I was overcome by this feeling of joy that just rose up in me. And I began to laugh. I laughed out loud, uncontrollably, and I laughed until I cried.  No one looked at me or gave me strange looks. And as we sang our closing song, EVERYONE in the room began to join hands, and cross aisles, and praise in a UNITED form. It was just ... amazing. Words cannot describe my gratitude. So we finish, and the woman I had sat next to, the first one, (Anastasia) turned to me and said "My gosh you have the most beautiful voice!" and I laughed and said "Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I'm sick actually, and that means a lot to me. So thank you." And it was odd because as I began to think about it, my voice was not my own as I sang. The joy that had filled me, and bubbled over, needed somewhere to go, and it released through my singing. I HAD sang beautifully, and in a way that I had never sang before. And it was from my joy. :-). And then... there was the highlight of my weekend.

I began to look at some of the seminary booths. I chose this particular time at night, because during the day, those recruiters are like a car salesman. You take one look at their booth, and they are on you like bee to a beehive. I didn't like that, because I have no clue where or what I want to do about seminary and so I don't want to answer questions about it. So I was browsing booths and information, and I heard this heavenly music. Just calm and serene, and then I realized ... it was in a language I did not recognize. So of course, I went to find out what it was. I found these beautiful people singing in a circle. And I'm not sure what the expression on my face was, but it was apparently that of intrigue and desire to join them, because a guy turned around and said "Hey, would you like to join us?" So I join this circle and later find out that these people are Tongan. They are orginally from the South Pacific, but this group is from the San Francisco Bay area. They actually consisted of 2 separate groups from that area. So we began to sing together. And then they began to share their stories. Some of them come from very hard and difficult backgrounds, others from not so hard, others just as confused as I, and others with a sense of gratitude for this opportunity.

And then one man stood up and, this is how his story went.

"When I got here and we checked in, they told me my name tag would show which small group I was supposed to be in. I looked at my name tag, and I didn't have a small group number. They said 'oh yeah, you're an adult this weekend' and handed me a list of adult workshops. As I ventured to the area and rooms for the adult workshops, I began to realize... I'm the youngest adult in here. I mean, the age gap is very apparent and obvious. And I just felt so alone. As if I didn't belong. So I thought, hey the young adult workshops are upstairs, I'll go check them out. So I did, and I was the OLDEST adult up there. And I felt so alone. And both times I began to question God. And then tonight in worship, I walked in and couldn't find my group, and sat down, and again, I felt so alone. And then they told the story of Peter and how he denied God three times, but still told him he loved him, and I began to relate to Peter. I decided Peter was so alone. But as worship began, and we worshipped as one body of Christ, I felt at ease. For I knew the Lord was with me" And his story continued, but I just started to CRY! I cried and cried, and I was doing it very discreetly. I mean, tears were just rolling down my face, but I didn't make any sound, and I kept my head down. And I couldn't even see anything because my tears were so many. And out of nowhere, a handful of what I recognized as tissues appeared in front of me, and I just though "Oh gosh people know I'm crying." and then I heard a quiet, muffled chorus of "aww"s and I felt so silly. Here I am, this strange, new girl in this group of people just bawling. They probably think I'm crazy. And then I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked over, and this boy who had invited me to the circle just nodded at me, and told me it was okay without saying any words. And as I looked around, these people were not judging me, or criticizing me, but they were relating to me. They understood. They had such welcoming looks on their faces. They did not see my white skin, or my blue eyes, or anything that would set them apart from me or me apart from them. They just saw me as their sister in Christ. And when we were finished, we got up, and IMMEDIATELY everyone rushed to me and thanked ME for being a part of their group.  I thought “No no thank YOU. Thank YOU for allowing me to be here' and I again shared my gratitude. And the women were just so loving and welcoming and excited that I was there. But we exchanged information, and phone numbers, and they ALL again welcomed me to come see them. And I formed bonds and friendships with these people that I'd never met before yet belonged with so well.

But amidst all of this, I learned about myself, too. I am passionate about this faith. I'm passionate about being a Methodist, and about other cultures. There is a form of ministry called cross cultural ministry, and I think that my goal, if I were to go into ministry, would be to have a congregation comprised of many cultures.  I know there would be a language barrier in many cases, but I think I would love it. I love having those cross cultural relationships in my life. I love being immersed in someone else’s world that is so different than my own. 
My weekend was spent surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ. Not by different colors, or states, or races, or cultures, or religions, or ages. But simply - my brothers and sisters in Christ. I learned a lot about love, and about grace, and about myself and other people. I learned that I am not alone in my walk.  But I learned that as Christians, we walk together. Hand in hand. We are the next generation of Christianity. And it is up to us to make a difference. 
Thank you again to all of you who made this weekend what it was for me. To my small group, to Jared, to all of my new friends, to Kevin for getting me to go, and to those who have come before to help mold and shape my faith into what it is today. Thanks be to God for each of you and the difference you've made in my life.