GGC EM BLOG: TGC '13

It has been a week since TGC '13 and I figured that it will be nice to write down my experiences, especially because I do not trust my long term memory. I remember things better when they are written.

DAY 1

I remember being extremely tired, sleepy, and hungry on the first day. I guess I am to blame feeling such way since I decided not to sleep during the plane ride (I got carried away watching CNN on Rick Warren's son suicide, psy's interview, and north korea affair on nuclear testing, and The Office). I don't have a good excuse like others who had kids kicking their seats.
Regardless how I felt, when we arrived to TGC that was held at Rosen Shingle Creek, I was amazed how huge this place was. I think my jaw might have dropped a little but I'm not too sure. I guess I was imagining the event to be held at a little more of a humble abode. But then again, I might have been just overreacting since this was my first time attending TGC.
After we checked-in, Ben, James, Jay, Sunny, Hanna, Ann, and I had breakfast downstairs while PJulian was taking a nap in the room (we should have done that too). Afterwards, girls went upstairs to take a shower while, I believe, the guys were waiting for John to join as well.
We all assembled, I think, at 10 am to check in for the conference. I don't remember what we did afterwards (probably visited the bookstore). Anyway, while we were waiting for the first plenary speaker, John Piper, I was looking around the conference room and was amazed how diverse it was. There were people from all ages, ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, and etc... I just felt like I had a glimpse of heaven.

The theme for TGC '13 was on the gospel of Luke. The first speaker was John Piper! I was feeling a little giddy inside because I was in the same room as him!! Anyway, he spoke on Luke 1 and having the certainty of the gospel. He taught us one term, "aspheliam" (I don't how to spell it), which means peace and security, having the immovable reality of Jesus and what he has done for us. When we hold this truth, our natural response is to rejoice and this great joy that we have is by the work of the Holy Spirit. Does the Holy Spirit live in you, producing joy?
His sermon was a great reminder not to underestimate and mediocrely accept the truth that has been told/taught. The Gospel is ultimately about God. So, instead of underestimating and belittling the nature of God, I should have a child-like faith, reliance, on the Almighty God.

The second speaker was Colin Smith and he spoke on distinguishing marks of Jesus' preaching. By the time for the second speaker, my body just gave in and I did not realize that I was sleeping until some stranger accidently tapped me on my knee. Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!

The third speaker, Crawford Loritts, noticed that the room was feeling a little run-down so he woke everyone up with his powerful voice and message. He spoke on Luke 8 and Jesus' power on the afflicted and those who are desperate. There was a lot he said but I'll just focus on one thing that resonated with me (this post is getting way too long). He said that brokenness does not equal worthlessness, but permanent sense of God leading-ness. This was encouraging because many times when I think about how sinful, unworthy, inadequate I am, I feel hesitant to do God's work, BUT that shouldn't be the case! It is true that I am sinful, unworthy, and inadequate compared to His glory, which is why I need God all the more to lead my life, for His works to be done through me. There is a sense of joy and freedom knowing that God is in control. It was never about me. It was and is always about God.

I forgot where we had dinner, but I remember knocking out at 9pm. 9 hours later....

DAY 2!

I got a little carried away with day 1 so I'll try to keep day 2 and 3 brief.
We had breakfast buffet downstairs (thank you jay!) and it was great except for the pineapple-tasting mangoes. Anyway, Kevin Deyoung was the first speaker for day 2. One of the points he made was to be mindful of the need of both relationship and repentance. Jesus associated himself with sinners, but that did not hinder him to talk about repentance and he was not passive about confronting sin. I think this is always hard with people we are close with. Building relationship is always easy, but it always seem to be difficult to find the courage to lead the people into repentance. It's the struggle between not wanting to offend and offending them, but in reality, we do more harm to them by not leading them into repentance.

During lunch, I got an email from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for a second round interview. I was ecstatic because it is one of the hospitals I wanted to work at! However, my happiness was short-lived when I saw the date of the interview. It was on Thursday, April 11. I talked with the recruiter on the phone and he told me that I had to reapply if I can't make it. I guess it's not too bad but I still felt bummed out. In this competitive world of getting jobs, I just declined the offer that most people would die to get. I had to remind myself that God has a plan for all things.

After lunch, it was perfect that Stephen Um spoke on the theology of money because I was idolizing finding a job and its financial security it may give. However, money is not our security, master, and lover, but God is. God needs to become our object of our devotion and affection. God plans our future and we live accordingly with the hope of "already, not yet."

After the second plenary speaker, we separated to our own workshops. I can talk about all of my three workshops that I attended, but that will take forever, so I just say one thing that I learned from all three. If I can summarize the three workshops into one word, it would be "discipleship." I took workshops on urban ministry, youth ministry and biblical theology of revival. Basically, all three workshops entails us being a disciple and creating disciples. To say the least, I came out encouraged and convicted.

Afterwards, we all assembled for the dinner buffet downstairs. It was nice and encouraging to fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters and talk about what we learned from the workshops we attended. It was also during this time when I checked my email again and I received an email from White Memorial Medical Center that I send in a pre-interview screening essay answering their 10 questions. The first thing that came into my head when reading this email was, "why are all these hospitals contacting me when I'm out of town???"Anyway, I worked on my essay after dinner. It took me a while, but I turned it in! Each day was a constant reminder that God is sovereign.

DAY 3 - Last day

Gary Miller and Tim Keller spoke on the last day of the conference. I thought the ending was perfect with Tim Keller speaking on Christ's resurrection. One of the things he said was that the resurrection is a powerful message to the world because it is personal, certain, and unimaginably wonderful. Christ's resurrection gives hope for the future because we already know the ending and it restores of what we lost. It is a powerful message of redemption, eternal fellowship with the Lord, and restoration. By having Christ's resurrection in mind, there is no reason to dwell on the suffering and struggles in this world. When we have Christ's resurrection in mind, we can be bold in our faith and not be so caught up with what offends people.

Although the conference ended, we stayed a little longer for the post-conference, which was on biblical theology of work. It was good, but I think I was feeling a little tired by the end.

For dinner, we had a fancy meal at Charley's steakhouse. Steak was really good for the first few bites but it felt really heavy the last few bites. All in all, it was a very delectable meal and thank you jay!

ANYWAY,
Sorry that this post doesn't seem so cohesive. There is just so much to say about the conference and my mind is scattered. It was a blessing to have had attended TGC and I'm looking forward to future conferences! I left earlier to leave for Georgia, but that had its own story that I can tell during some other time. That is all for TGC.

p.s. I wish I had a pond full of turtles. I can stare at them all day long. If I can choose to be any animal, I would want to be a turtle.

p.p.s. I read the excerpt from Follow Me by David Platt and it was really good (I think only pastors were allowed to get the full copy)!! I was wondering if we can read that after we read Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller for bible study.

p.p.p.s. This post became really long. Longer than I intended it to be so if you are reading this, props to you!

p.p.p.p.s. I have few pictures from TGC