Every year for the past seven years, I have been coming to the Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church in Southern California. I can remember my first conference when I was but a baby in Christ. I kept looking around and saw all these men who had dedicated their lives to Christ in a special way as a pastor and I was in awe of them. I could never be like them. I really didn’t know how to fellowship with them; because I was not like them. I was a sinful man in the midst of these wonderful servants and saints!
I have to say that my time would have been more difficult; but for the first time all the men gathered together! It was incredible! All these men loved and worshipped the Maker. This was true worship; I have to admit that I didn’t know what that meant completely. We sang hymns, some of which I had never heard, and the voices of 4000 men was sweet and deafening at the same time. To top it all off, I experienced true Christian service for the first time as the entire campus came alive with wonderful saints whose only desire was to show the love of Christ in their service to the men in attendance. It was an incredible time for me.
The books were incredible! I will never forget the first time the publishers showed up to give away books. I was dumbfounded…the generosity that was shown was beyond my wildest imagination. This kind of thing never happened in my sinful world!
Over the years, I have grown as a Christian; but my awe has not gone away. Tomorrow, I will be there again. I will again hear those 4000 sweet baritone voices ringing through the massive room as they sing unto their Lord. I will again be able to experience the sweetness of Christ in service. Even better, I will be able to truly enjoy fellowship in Christ with other men.
You know…it is not as if I have grown so much as I realized that the man that first visited this conference was in need of a Savior along with the other 3999 men singing and worshipping with me! I was just like them after all!
I will endeavor to post everyday while I am here to give a sense of my heart while attending the conference this year.
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