World Changers Developed...

Hello, friends! 

As promised, today is the first post of many that are going to give a more in depth look at the past month since I wasn't posting much.  We are going to be doing things chronologically, starting with National Staff Conference, January 6-11. 

InterVarsity employs over 1400 staff all over the US, including field staff (like me), folk who work at our various camps, the good people of InterVarsity Press, and the administrators who make everything go.  Once every 3 years we come together as a movement to reconnect and revision with one another.  In 2008, at my first NSC, we began going through our vision statement, focusing on Students and Faculty transformed, Campuses Renewed, and this year, World Changers Developed.  It was a great time to recapture the vision, reconnect with old friends, and think about the future of our movement.  Here are a few thoughts about my time there. 

- InterVarsity has a lot going for it.  It was such a blessing to see staff from all over the country come together and be reminded of what our movement is all about.  We heard testimonies from alumni who have changed the world in a number of ways.  Some are working in the inner city.  Others are working globally.  InterVarsity alumni are not just participants in the world; they are agents of change.  I loved hearing the stories and being reminded that students are the future world leaders.

- InterVarsity still has a ways to go.  No organization is perfect and as much as I love the movement, NSC was a reminder that we are a movement made up of people and that means that we are not perfect.  One of the days at NSC was a training day where the entire staff movement learned the same discipleship strategy across the board.  The hope was that we would be able to move our discipleship from the "sit down and tell me about your life" side of things to the "let's go do mission together so it can bring up your stuff and make you a better follower of Jesus" side of things.  To say that it was met with resistance would be an accurate assessment.  At our root, I believe that as people, we don't like change and we definitely don't like it coming from anyone other than us.  I was reminded of that fact at NSC. 

- Saying goodbye is hard.  One of the hard things about working for InterVarsity is that our job appears to be transient by nature.  The average tenure of an InterVarsity staff is about 7 years.  This staff conference it was sobering to see a number of staff who were going to be leaving soon and not seeing a number of staff who have already left since the last NSC.  Since our job is relational more than anything, I think it is harder saying goodbye to coworkers than in other fields.  Still, I suppose it is a part of life. 

- NSC as a married person is tough too.  This was the first NSC where Megan and I were there as a married couple.  In 2011 we had just started dating so this was new territory for us.  As you get older and more experienced in InterVarsity, you get asked to do more things.  As you get asked to do more things, more and more of your time is taken up to do those things.  As more and more of your time is taken up to do those things, less and less of your time can be devoted to your wife.  I definitely think that I stretched myself out a bit much during NSC.  I'll have to remember that for next time. 

Ultimately, NSC was a ridiculously good time.  I am so thankful to have such a great job, working with such great people, and doing such great work.  We'll see you all (or at least most of you) in 2017! 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam