I stepped into Snoop Dogg’s Clothing shop off Prairie Ave in Inglewood and immediately felt out of place. A buzzed haircut, clean shaven, green chinos, white sneakers, and a grey t-shirt with the words God is good all the time promptly displayed across my chest gave me a you’re-not-from-around-here look. In the 1991 comedy, What About Bob?, Bill Murray’s character (Bob) takes a bus out of New York and follows his psychotherapist, Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) and family to their vacation spot at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. In typical Murray fashion, Bob sports a baby blue t-shirt that states in big, yellow letters: DON’T HASSLE ME I’M LOCAL. I felt the comedic juxtaposition that fateful afternoon.
Truth be told, not too many people pay attention to other people in big cities. They haven’t the bandwidth. In Tulare, one can traverse from one end of the city to the next in about 15 minutes. Good luck in LA. The pace is fast, the place is expensive and the people are busy beyond the norms of rural life. The daily pressures are different; thus one has to live a bit different compared to Central California. Which is great. Big cities give us variety and make life interesting in a plethora of ways. So too did this year’s Church of God regional in conjunction with the Misfits Conference at the Center of Hope in the heart of Inglewood, CA.
The aim of this year’s regional (the first of three) was to empower and equip the local church, which I felt was accomplished through the speakers and special guests. Many of their practically filled presentations offered tools for a fuller relationship with Jesus, as well as insights into reaching others. What I was most impressed with was that each speaker practiced what they preached. One can speak theoretically at length on what should and should not be done, but authority on the subject only happens when sufficient experience is pared with the ideas. Jesus spoke with authority because He lived out what He believed. I felt that this year’s speakers followed in our Lord and Savior’s model.
A quick side note: I’m tempted to write about the subject matter of the regional conference, but to be honest I often feel that when one does it looses it’s full effect. So rather than play the middle man and relay my notes and memory of the content back to you, I want to encourage you to either talk to me or venture to one of the other regional conferences. You can find more information on the conferences by visiting jesusisthesubject.org/convention-2024/. Oh, and I am unaware of any recordings from the event. There might be some videos. If there are, my guess is that they would be on Facebook :/
Now, what I really, really want to talk to you about is the Misfits Conference. Pastor Jeremy Dixon of Center of Hope did a fantastic job pulling it together. It is worthy of the Movement’s attention. It didn’t feel like a conference. It felt more like a camp meeting; like, if LA were to put on a camp meeting, this is what it would look and feel like. The culture there is very different compared to what we experience. Which got me thinking . . . maybe we can bridge the two cultures, learn from one another and express the unity and holiness of Christ in love through prayer, discussion and joint projects. I’m thinking so and have a number of ideas. More on that in the near future . . . .
Back to Misfits! The regional conference was pastoral in nature; whereas, Misfits was evangelical, apostolic and innovative in spirit. Both conferences speak to my soul, as they do to most Christians in leadership positions. Many of the speakers at Misfits did a great job equipping the local church (Pastor Rod Stafford comes to mind), yet the overall emphasis revolved around a great sense of freedom and personal connection with Jesus. Pastor Dixon brought a conversational approach, interviewing most of the special guests. It was candid, thoughtful, touching, and spiritual in a Kingdom orientated way. The interview with Derek Luke and Nate Parker is an excellent example. A variety of musicians expressed their faith as well with original songs and compositions. Much like our history, there was a swelling of song and sincere hope in Jesus.
Hopefulness was my greatest takeaway from this year’s regional conference. We are in a time of upheaval and rapid change, which can be stressful and daunting. Frustration and fear can easily sap our hope. But let us not loss heart. If we stay focused on the Kingdom of God, we will then possess the fruit of the Spirit in a vibrant way and be the people of God however He has particularly called us. Whether in a big city or a small town, the mountains or the coast, the farm or the hood, we are called to place our hope in Jesus. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be dismayed or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go” (Joshua 1:9”.
Coming out of the Snoop Dogg Clothing store, I strolled back to my hotel, thinking about the pleasant conversation I had with the armed guard. In my bag was one purchase: a rose scented candle for Melisa. How strange for a guy originally from a small northern mining town in the middle of Canada to walk the streets of Inglewood with a rose scented candle from a rappers clothing store. But then again God works in mysterious ways. Next time I’ll share how God has been working in Visalia.
Jesus is our hope,
-Pastor Aaron