DGCon Day 1b
Friday, September 29th, 2006
I was very excited to attend this first session. I arrived at the main doors of the auditorium early, probably one of the first 50 people inside. I really wanted to get a seat in the very front, but unfortunately, I followed some people to the right and got trapped behind this “media” wall. So I had to settle for some seats in the back, but fortunately, not in the balcony. As a result, I did not take any pictures of David Wells during this first session.
There were about 3,130 people at this conference.
I knew that there would be at least three bloggers attending this conference, bloggers whose blogs I read regularly, that is. And as we were waiting for the session to start, I started panning the crowd looking for a couple of bloggers in particular. I did not have to look very far since we were seated behind the “media” bar. I found live blogger Tim Challies right away. I snuck a picture of him and during the break after the first session, I introduced myself. He seems like a quiet guy and was a little uncomfortable when I shook his hand. But then again, he must get people coming up to him all the time at these conferences since thousands of people like myself read his blog every day. All in all, he’s a nice guy and I’ll probably see him at other conferences that he blogs about. I would like to attend DG each year God willing.
The first session began at 7:15 PM. Though hymns are not my favorite style of worship, the voices were good. I like the traditional words a lot. I am more open tolerant about styles of worship music than when I was younger. I realize that God draws people into worship through a person’s musical tastes.
I did not finish reading Wells’ book before this conference (since it was his book that inspired the theme for the conference). However, I don’t think I missed out by not reading it ahead of time because Wells’ talk provided the introduction and the background for all the subsequent talks. And because I read the first hundred pages or so, Mr. Wells’ talk tonight was easier to follow, which is probably why I was able to get more out of it.
Although I did not think Mr. Wells was the most dynamic speaker, I did find him very interesting because he is an intellectual, and older person, and a well-respected author. Because I am currently reading his book, I already knew what kind of tone to expect for his talk. John, on the other hand, was critical, which was not a good attitude for the start of this conference. Criticizing the worship music and the first speaker was definitely not my idea of seeking what good can be gotten from participating in the first session. Honestly, after the first day, I began to wish that I had attended this conference alone or with somebody else.
After the first session and before the evening speaker panel, I think I pretty much was the most insulted I have been in a long time. I commented on why there was a shrieking baby at the conference and how inappropriate that was. The comment back to me was: “Wise words coming from someone who has never had children.”
Well, I am certain the other 3,129 people attending this conference would prefer to listen and participate in these sessions without have to filter out the sounds of a crying hysterical, shrieking child. I won’t bother going into more detail nor the two decades experience I have had working with children almost every day, as well as other parenting experiences here at home. Depositing sperm can make one a father, but it certainly takes more to be a dad. Suffice it to say, I don’t think I will ever be traveling with “close” friends ever again. I think there’s just too much similarity of personalities between good friends that it adds an additional stress to being around each other all the time.
Tags: absolutes, Blogging, conference, culture, David-Wells, Desiring-God, Friends, postmodern, Reflection, Sermons, Spiritual, truth, Worship
