Reflections on 2011
This year, attending the MICN conference involved only a 2 hour drive from my home in Abu Dhabi to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. I didn’t even need my passport. It was a “local” conference for me. But the conference was truly “glocal” (a word introduced to us by our speaker, combining global and local) in the truest sense of that term. Big ideas that span the globe were shared and discussed with other international pastors from over a dozen different countries and nearly 20 different churches.
What is true discipleship? Is our goal to simply grow our churches or to transform our cities? What are the “domains” of society and how can understanding and utilizing them mobilize our people for greater kingdom impact? These were only a few ideas that the keynote speaker, Bob Roberts, Jr. from NorthWood Church in Texas used to challenge us. What would it take to spawn a global church planting movement? And what part might international churches play in making it happen?
The conference ended 4 days ago, and the ideas are still pouncing around in my head like ping pong balls. My vision has been expanded, as has my vocabulary. I am wrestling with new paradigms. I am asking new questions and dreaming new dreams.
The conference was also a great time to connect with friends, both new and old; to encourage and be encouraged. There were pastors who are new to international church ministry as well as veterans. It was good to hear firsthand how the recent unrest in the Middle East has impacted the international congregations in Egypt and Bahrain and to be able to pray more specifically for our brothers and sisters in those countries. The conversations and discussions before and after the sessions and during meals were just as stimulating as the sessions themselves. There was time for fun as well, with a desert safari and a taste of “dune bashing” one night, and a dinner cruise along the Dubai Creek on the final evening.
The conference is over, but the memories remain. I have already marked my calendar for April 16-20, 2012 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
By Cam Arensen
