Amazing Grace 360: Whole Gospel. Whole Life. Whole World.

Our denomination just announced that we will be holding an international women in the church conference next October:

The last time they held an international conference, Samaralara and I got to go and it was really something else—4,000 women gathered together to receive great preaching, teaching, and encouragement. We had a wonderful time and I hope you’ll consider marking your calendar (October 7-9, 2011) and joining us in Atlanta!

I’m truly thrilled that I can go again this year because they have invited me to teach two pre-conference sessions and one main conference seminar. That’s actually why I’m writing this blog post … I need to get my titles and descriptive paragraphs to my event host and I’d really love your counsel on them. This is what I’ve come up with so far, after already seeking advice from some close friends:

Teens & Relationships: Is Real Friendship Even Possible in a VIRTUAL World?
In a world of laptops and iPhones, social networking and texting, where relationships are as easy as clicking ‘Like’ or ‘Hide,’ is real friendship even possible? It’s so easy to un-friend someone (and be un-friended!), should we even put ourselves out there in real life and risk rejection? The Bible says a resounding, ‘Yes!’ So let’s get together and talk about how. (Specifically directed at teens, all ages are welcome.)

‘Just Don’t Ask Me To Work With Teenagers!’
 When our teenagers begin to express doubts and confusion about the big questions in life (Who am I? Why am I even here? Do I believe this Christian faith that I’ve been raised in?), it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by their argumentativeness and devastated over their sinful choices. Rather than patiently and prayerfully persevering with them in love, we can be tempted to avoid teens and judge them from afar, confront them too strongly with graceless legalism, or fail to ever confront them because we fear their rejection. In response, many of our teens are duplicitous (they act one way around us and an entirely different way around their peer groups) and apostate (73% of the portion of 18 to 29 year olds who claim ‘no religion’ come from religious homes). It doesn’t have to be this way! In this seminar, we will discuss why so many of us struggle in our relationships with teenagers, and then we will search God’s Word to see how he is calling us to enter into their lives with authentic relationship, thoughtful discussion, and covenantal love.

(I’ve also asked if I could teach a pre-conference workshop on the Peacemaker Ministries core principles and they graciously said, “Yes!” But I don’t think I need you to proof that paragraph since I’ve taught on that topic a time or two already … 🙂 )

My goal is to send off my final versions by the end of this holiday weekend, so if you’d like to share your thoughts, I’m all ears! (You are also welcome to email me directly if you prefer to share your counsel in a non-public forum.)

Thanks, friends! And happy thanksgiving eve to you!

Yours,
Tara B.