I am writing this on the plane heading home from Hawaii after our 10th International Conference. Wow, some 200 leaders from 25 nations just had a week together. When we held our first conference here in 1993 there were just 25 people!
We hosted four days of meetings before the conference. The first two days with the International Leadership Team meeting had myself and the six Regional Coordinators check in personally about our walk with God and others, as well as assess our core strategies and future. There are many challenges ahead and God has laid on my heart the words of 'Succession' (getting ready for the next generation), 'Multiplication' (helping pioneering local missions turn into national movements), 'Traction' (what new platforms may we need in the coming nations that are restricted or strongly post-Christian) and 'Sustainability' (what does it mean to finance and resource our international movement).
Over the course of a few days people began to dribble in from all over the world to our 'rustic charmer' conference centre. Think 1950's campsite complete with mission brown trim. Who cares, it was 10m from the ocean and when the swell boosted we had to close our room window because the salt spray blew in! The overflow spilled out to tents under pine trees, and it never rained.
The board of directors met with the ILT for a day on Friday, plus we had further meetings that afternoon with more of our key leaders. Thank God for the North Shore Christian Fellowship and The Mission church who hosted that day and we ate so well! There was spirited discussion about creative fundraising, the ethics of ministry in closed countries and what it means to transfer leadership. Saturday was a full day with the international representative council who only get to meet face-to-face every two years. We had 40 in the meeting, our largest ever. The Council were able to discuss the strategic plan and approve our board members and the budget. Equally important was the chance to hang out as key leaders with a meal and even a surf in free time.
The swell boosted and an early check at Sunset Beach showed solid 8-10' sets and the guys preparing for the HIC Pro event. I got to buy a 7'4" for a mate in Australia and promtly creased it in some big waves nearby. There were waves spread out all over the coast with deep channels making access possible. The tradewinds kicked in each day, leaving our stretch of coast only surfable in the mornings.
The conference was launched with a traditional Hawaiian welcome and story to help us all appreciate the culture. There was hula dancing, a mixing of the sands we all brought along, aloha greetings and welcome by our hosts. By Monday a north swell had peaked and Laniakea was 8-12' on the sets and as good as we were going to see. Triple overhead offshore waves with big men on big boards dominated and we were happy to take whatever leftovers were on offer. The protected corner at Punnai Point allowed everyone to get wet.
The next four days had us convicted by our keynote speaker Dann Spader challenging us to ministry as Jesus modelled around building disciples who in turn would disciple others. There was hilarious cultural presentations by shameless Aussies, Americans, Brits and Kiwis as well as some authentic talent by our Latin Americans. The worship in our open air tent meeting was a taste of heaven with the nations worshipping God and encouraging one another. We were inspired by reports from our regions of God at work, along with many challenges. Each mealtime was an inspirational opportunity to meet someone from another country and hear their story. Both tears and laughter were shared.
Thursday saw the Groundswell book launch and presentations by partner missions and our wider community invited. It was special to be interviewed around the book and testify to God's faithfulness despite my ordinariness. Friday is always chaotic with people heading for airports, stuff to be packed up and farewells made. We announced the location for the 2014 conference...drum roll...Costa Rica and new CSCR national director Damian Boza gave us a warm welcome.
Myself, Gill and India hung out with others for a few days then a final day in Waikiki to take in the slightly more tacky side of Hawaii, but it's hard not to enjoy it all. We even did some tandem surfing with the girls out front.
And here I am with 2 hours to landing in Sydney. We want to see our boys, pat Calvin our dog, sleep in our own bed, unpack shopping treats, give a few gifts, wander around our garden and reflect on what we are to do with all we experienced this last two weeks. I'm tired, feeling a bit numb, but happy. Thanks to all who helped make this conference possible.
If you didn't get to see the blog with photos, video, etc., it is online at http://csigroundswell2012.tumblr.com with more coming.
