The gathering of ourselves together

I went to a youth conference yesterday. It was a new experience for several reasons. First, since Straitgate doesn't have a youth group, I never really went to such conferences when I was a teen (ouch, it's sad to me to think that I've been a non-teen for over a year now. Life is too short!). Second, the "youth groups" here are not the typical "teen groups" consisting of middle school and high school students, like you find in the States. For instance, the age range of the youth who come regularly in my church is about 16-26. I guess it's mainly composed of the single young people. So it was a little strange for me to be going to a youth conference on the youth side of it, but that didn't keep God from using it in my heart. Here's part of the group from my church:



The day started with some lively worship music. I don't necessarily like taking photos during worship time, but here's part of the band getting ready:

The music was really good! A lot of the songs were new to me, but it was good as always to be able to praise the Lord with other Christians. The guy on the left is and has been the youth pastor of the church where the confraternidad was for 11 or 12 years now. More on that later. I bring up the music for a couple reasons, actually. First, I think when talking about--and more importantly, while singing--music used in worship to God, it's important that God is the one in focus. The musicians, while they should certainly play and sing with all their heart, shouldn't be the primary focus. And whether a musician is rocking out on the organ or the guitar, in my mind the principle is the same; I don't really see it as a traditional/contemporary distinction. In practice, I'm not sure exactly how that always plays out. You're always going to have someone leading music and playing instruments, unless you go without music or sing a capella (and there you still need a leader). I think a lot of times that's an issue of the individual's heart. As a musician, are you playing to God or to the crowd? As a part of the congregation, are you admiring the music, or are you worshipping God? The second reason I mention the music is because it was really good! The musicians were extremely talented--guitarists, bassist, drummer, the keyboardist, and the singers too. I'd say they were better than some professional bands that I've seen in concert. As a firm believer in excellence in what one does, especially for the Lord, I appreciate that, even though it's not the most important thing. It's also kind of cool to see a guy who can play a mean guitar solo, but who also can preach a challenging message that glorifies Christ. It makes it even clearer that his goal is glorifying Christ, not himself.

There's definitely more I want to write about the conference, specifically about how God used it to challenge me in my walk with Him, but I will keep you all in suspense until the next entry. :D