Don’t Waste Na 2008
Jun. 9 2008During New Attitude our editor, Ricky Alcantar, sat down with three singles pastors we like--Isaac Hydoski, Jon Smith, and Joseph Stigora--to talk about how to apply what we learned at the Na 08 conference.
That’s the question I’m going to be asking when I leave the conference, “Where did I feel God’s finger press into my heart?”
In this interview they cover how to make powerful moments you experienced at a conference last, how to not be overwhelmed in application, and how to make weighty talks (like Mohler’s and Dever’s) count in real life.
Read this interview if you really meant to start applying stuff from the conference but...just haven’t had time. It’s never too late.
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Ricky: Okay, say you’re on a plane back home from the conference and you sit next to someone from your ministry. They tell you, “Man, I just heard a ton of messages at Na and I’m kind of overwhelmed. What do I do?” How would you counsel them?
Joseph: Wow, is this like a word problem?
Isaac: I’d just begin by acknowledging that a conference like this can feel like drinking from a firehose.That’s why that phrase from Powlison is so helpful: “One bit of truth to one bit of life.” So I’d just encourage them to ask God what one bit of life God is particularly putting his finger on and then to take one bit truth from of the messages, and in a clear, specific, consistent way apply that bit of truth to that bit of life.
Joseph: The benefit of that is that the way God grows us, the way sanctification works, is that when we do work in one area of our lives our work doesn’t just affect one area. If we work on growing in something like loving God’s word or meditating on God’s Word we’ll find that our progress in that one area begins to affect our whole character. We begin to grow in other aspects of godly character--loving kindness, patience, joy. So by changing one area it’s almost like you’re changing one corner of a triangle. By changing one thing it has a broad effect on the rest of your life.
Ricky: So Jon, what would be an example of what you would do with that principle coming back from this conference?
Jon: Something that C.J. has said in the past on numerous occasions is that we’re a simple people. In my heart I want to think that I’m better that I’m really am and can actually apply all the content from all the messages at the conference at once. But over time I’ve just found that when I come away from conferences and I keep in mind that I’m a simple person and approach application that way, I position myself in humility and for maximum growth.
So for me here’s what that would look like: During the conference I’m just trying to be as sensitive as I can to the Spirit of God and his movement on my life as I listen to all these messages. I know that God is going to speak to me and that he’s going to speak to me on a number of occasions and I just want to be sensitive to his voice. It might come through a sermon and it might come through worship. I’ve just had two incredible encounters with God through worship that literally just left me undone, I almost had to sit down I just couldn’t keep going. I felt his presence and felt like I heard him speaking to me. So I’m going to go away from the conference with that in my mind. But I’m also going to listen for where God might be speaking to me through the rest of the messages we hear. That’s the question I’m going to be asking when I leave the conference, “Where did I feel God’s finger press into my heart?” Then I’ll seek to grow in those specific areas I felt God speaking to me.
Ricky: That’s very helpful Jon. I hadn’t thought about the fact that when I come back from the conference I need to think about those moments that are already on my mind and remember why they were powerful and what I realized in those moments.
Joseph: Yeah, I’m thinking as I flip through my notebook here that if we all just took one quiet time a week for the next eight weeks and just reviewed the notes from one message it would be a good way to review and to be reminded of where God hit you during the conference.
Ricky: That’s helpful. So how would you encourage people to come up with their own plan for how to review and apply?
Jon: Listen to Mohler’s talk about six times. I’ll need to listen to it about twelve.
Isaac: I don’t think there’s any substitute for coming up with a simple plan for deciding when you’ll sit down and review the messages, when you’ll listen to that one message again, when you’ll spend time in prayer. I think it’s as simple as looking at your month on a calendar and deciding, “This day I’m going to set aside three hours to review what God did at New Attitude. Pray about it. Re-read my notes.” And then from there decide where you’ll go and what you’ll do.
I love that at Na this year there’s been this regular emphasis on, “Talk to your friends about what God is showing you.” That’s just another really simple thing to do--just talk about what God was speaking to you with another believer. I think God can also use that to give you more direction for where you should go. Talking to others invites accountability into your life if you’re aware of a step you need to be taking. I know in my life it always helps me remember more if I’m discussing something with a good friend of mine and he’s asking me questions and going over it.
Ricky: So Jon you mentioned how intense Mohler’s Q&A was. How should people deal with some of those information heavy messages? What should be the effect of those messages?
Jon: Well here’s what I would say with the Mohler and Dever talks...I think those are really important for college students and college pastors. I’m a college pastor and I’m going to listen to those a number of times and make them available for all my campus leaders because those guys (Mohler and Dever) answer some crucial questions that my students get on a weekly and daily basis. So I want to burn those talks and have them in people’s dorm rooms so they can give them to people on campus that have questions.
Isaac: Another simple suggestion is to look at what books those guys recommended as they were talking. Go buy the books and actually read them to get a deeper understanding of that subject.
Also, those guys are pastors and they’re taking moments out of all that information to pastor us. So as an example, at the beginning of his message Dever said that, “Our generation is increasingly concerned with this life to the neglect of the the next,” and, “The problem of authority is the biggest issue concerning the church today. It affects everything we do and say.” So as a pastor Dever is clueing us into what the issue is and how we need to think about and interpret the information he’s giving to us. I understand things so much more clearly when I know why someone is telling me something. Re-listen for those moments. They’re already telling you how to apply what they’re saying.
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Look for our interview with singles pastors Isaac Hydoski, Jon Smith, and Joseph Stigora to continue. The pastors will get specific about Bible reading tips for new believers, bored believers, or people seeking to read the Old Testament.
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