10 Surprises at Wesleyan General Conference 2012

As you may or may not know, I participated in the 2012 Wesleyan General Conference in Lexington, KY as part of the Techology Show.  We oversaw a chat room during all the rallies and business sessions, hosted a round table discussion after each session, conducted interviews with leaders, speakers, and authors, and live streamed the pre-conference events.  This was my first time attending a Wesleyan General Conference and I’ve spoken before about changes I’d like to see in our denomination.  There were a few things that surprised me.  These are in no particular order.

10.  Non-delegates could purchase Delegate packets for $20.  Everything they had was available for all to see.  This only magnified the unofficial theme of “Transparency.”  This made it easy for guests to follow along with all the business proceedings.

9.  I had no idea I would be sitting next to and chatting with the next Wesleyan HQ chief of staff all week in David Drury.

8.  I underestimated Dr. Keith Drury’s knowledge and insight of Wesleyan Church policies, politics, and personalities.  Shame on me because the guy literally co-wrote the book on it.

7.  I needed a 15 minute break after interviewing Kevin Myers and Dr. Jim Garlow back to back.  I was intimidated to say the least to be talking to these 2 great pastors, but they were both warm, friendly, and accessible.  It was a pinch me moment for sure.  In almost every interview I was blessed to conduct my thought was,”I can not believe this person is talking to me.”

6.  Those wishing to speak during business sessions were required to hold up an orange card to be recognized and directed to a microphone to speak.  There was more than one “coaches challenge” joke in the Techology booth and calls for instant replay.  With over 300 delegates, this works better than having people raise their hands.  A signed one is going for big bucks on Ebay.

5.  We brought in a parliamentarian from a sister denomination to oversee all the business meetings to insure proper form and decorum was followed.  Unfortunately, he did not wear a referee shirt.

4.  Keeping up with every memorial, amendment, amendments to amendments, and comma placements is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining.  I’m still not sure how Stevan Sheets paid close enough attention to live blog every minute of #gencon12.

3.  I was supposed to bring a gift to the retiring/transitioning General Officers reception.  My bad, folks.

2.  There were lots of young delegates and over 50% of all delegates were first timers.  Fresh faces and fresh voices will carry our denomination into the future.

1.  I went expecting a business meeting and a revival broke out.  I literally had trouble crossing the barrier from the exhibit hall to the main hall.  The Holy Spirit was palpable.  I cried so much during the times of worship and reflection.  Anyone who can watch the flags of 93 nations march in and share communion with a world wide group of pastors and laymen without being overwhelmed with emotion needs to have their tear ducts examined.  There were tears of conviction, joy, and expectation shared in The Techology Show booth over the course of the week.  I know, for me, they were watering seeds of hope, faith, and love for a community that I love and a Church that has earned my loyalty and respect.