1) Ohhh, Dallas. Ohhh, Texas. Ohhh, memories of my days in the SBC... Enough said.
2) The unexpected:
(a) So much gray hair. Since the AMiA churches in which I have been involved have been largely powered by students coming out of more typical evangelical church backgrounds, I was taken aback by the number of older people involved in the convention, many of whom had been staunch members of the Episcopal church for years and years. These are the people who stood by their convictions and took action - it takes a lot of courage to leave family, friends, social ties, and beautiful buildings in search of orthodoxy.
(b) So many southern accents. Granted, you would think that the fact the conference was being held in Dallas would have tipped me off... but who knew that and Anglican denomination had so
many southern roots (apart from the Global South, that is)?
(c) Twinges of evangelical bland. Now, forgive me, but I am mightily prejudiced when it comes to worship styles - an unfortunate side-effect of co-leading worship at my own church and experiencing worship that reaches me as worship in "typical" evangelical churches rarely can. Since my own experience of worship in AMiA churches (here, I am thinking particularly, though not accurate theologically speaking, of music) has been extra-ordinary, I was not expecting the corporate worship at the conference to feel more "EFCA" than AMiA. Like I said, non-judging me is surprisingly opinionated when it comes to worship...
(d) Small fish, bigger pond. At the conference, I realized that I am not used to feeling overlooked as a Christian. In my own circles, right now I am a person that most everybody knows and respects; and it was a shock to go to conference and realize that most everybody there would probably look at me and see a young, short blond-ish girl, never expecting her to show signs of intellectual, spiritual, even emotional depth. It was good for me to swim in a bigger pond for awhile and to remember that God has given me a ministry that matters, and this is a wonderful thing!, but he has also called many, many people to bigger things than I can even imagine. Ah, that devious, creeping pride...
3) The narrow view:
(a) Good roommate times. One of my roommates was also at the conference, and we had an awesome time together of discussion, fun, and observation of awkwardness. It was one of those special times of getting to know a good friend even better and being privileged to see inner beauty and be affirmed in return. Plus, we got to, umm, imbibe (ah, the goodness of the Scotch!) with the rest of the staff at a "family establishment" called the Idle Rich. And, we got to see Juno after my bedtime.
(b) Personal clarity. In recent months, I have been wrestling with issues of calling and vocation. After being at conference, I am 99% sure that I am called to stay at Redeemer until "further notice." I long to dive into ministry, pour into people, learn to build a community; I see God working in my life and in my church, and I cannot walk away from that. PhD? Someday, perhaps, but in the meantime I believe I am ready (and called, and placed in my communities specifically) for action!
(c) Denominational clarity. I finally have a decent sense of what AMiA is, and what it means to be Anglican. If anyone is interested, I am more than happy to post Bishop John Roger's excellent synthesis of Anglicanism. After hearing him speak in a workshop, I realized that yes, I am Anglican! Good thing...
4) The far-beyond myself:
(a) Rwanda. I love, love, love the fact that we are under the authority of the bishops of Rwanda. I loved, loved, loved seeing and hearing from the bishops at the conference, especially in the final consecration ceremony when all the bishops were gathered on stage, lined up in a row as they laid hands on the new bishops, a brilliant wall of red in their vestments. I love the justice of Americans finally recognizing the value, indeed in many ways the greater spiritual maturity of Global Christianity.
(b) God at work. After being at the conference, I am absolutely convinced that AMiA is God's project. I believe that we are in the middle of something big, something exciting, something utterly of the Spirit. Now, I tend to be cautious when I feel this way, since I never want to confuse my own intuition with recognition prompted by the Spirit, but at this point I can see the vision of AMiA, the commitment of the AMiA leaders, and the unique combination of factors that is fundamental to AMiA, and it leaves me breathless with gratitude that the Lord has allowed me to be a part of His work. I can't explain it fully -- I just watch, wait, respond, and pray.
Pray for AMiA. Pray for the church in America. Pray for revival from the Spirit. Pray for faithful leaders. Watch and pray, watch and pray.
BTW: the photos above are from an online article about the conference, by David W. Virtue. Check it out at http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7561
Amen, sister, amen.
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