Planet Wisdom 2012

I'm currently taking advantage of some rare and much needed alone time at the Planet Wisdom Student Conference in Santa Ana, California and it has been an awesome conference. The theme is simply 24/7/66, learning to live life in and with the Bible, the Word of God. It has been very focused, very practical, and my students along with the hundreds of others here are gonna be taking home some very simple and practical tools for reading, studying, and applying the Bible. Mark Matlock and E.J. Swanson are great communicators and Dutton, the worship band, have helped my students truly connect and tune their hearts with the heart of God. ...not to mention the Skit Guys are hilarious.

If you know me, you know that I'm a strange hybrid and that usually my theology doesn't line up perfectly with mainstream evangelicalism (that's probably an understatement) but I find that evangelical churches and events--and there's no denying that Planet Wisdom is very evangelical--do an amazing job of keeping some of the most important things, such as commitment to reading the scripture and commitment to following Jesus, very simple and accessible for students. Perhaps mainliners, in their sensitivity to the real complexity of the issues and the theological spectrum that evangelicals often take for granted, lose some of the heart behind the gospel.

So as long as Mark Matlock and the Planet Wisdom team keeps pouring into students, drawing them to the heart of God and the reality of Jesus Christ the way they have until now, I am a fan.