citizens of humanity.

to be honest, i'm not a huge fan of christian conferences, especially the over the top ones. i understand they are tool to pump up believers and ignite the fire of faith but is all the glitz really necessary?? anyway, with my skeptism in tow, stephen and i went to the fusion conference at the dc-area token mega church (needless to say, another pet peeve). in essence, it addressed our generation's need for purpose - how can we significantly impact our friends, our community, the world, through our faith...?

truly though, the line-up was quite impressive. donald miller, author of blue like jazz, kicked us off with a remarkable oratorical journey into the world of story-telling. he recounted his 3 day seminar session with story-construct guru robert mckee and applied its principles to how we orchestrate our lives. really, what kind of story are we telling? is it dynamic or dull? this quote by mckee, surprisingly, hit the heart of the matter: “the final cause of the decline of story runs very deep, values, the positive/ negative charges of life, are at the soul of our art…this erosion of values has brought with it a corresponding erosion of story.” what a great perspective.

friday night ended with a "mini concert" by the beloved band, caedmon's call. it's been forever since i have last heard their music, let alone see them in concert, so to me, it was the most refreshing way to end the evening. there is something about their music, their lyrics that just brings me home. the song, well the whole ablum, "40 acres," certainly does the trick. from the first days of faith back in the homeland of texas, never have i missed the lone-star so much.

however i think most powerful moment of the entire conference, came saturday morning as we broke out in the various "breakout sessions." my friend kim and i had been wanting to see the northern uganda documentary - invisible children - for months now, and we got our chance. seriously, if you have yet to see this, you must. it is life changing. in the middle of their 2007 world tour, there are free available screenings pretty much everywhere. but here's a quick clip of the 2006 global night commute...just to whet your interest.

fortunately, through heightened awareness and various social justice organizations, such as my fave, international justice mission, this battle for these children is being slowly won. what i find most tragic is that fact that it has taken the world 20+ years to recognize this unseen war that has ravaged this country and destroyed their livelihood. the lack of international attention up till now is truly unnerving. it definitely makes one evalute - what part are we each playing as citizens of humanity?

i guess it all comes back to a decision....our chosen life story.