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In this episode of Balancing the Christian Life , I

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talk about learning from experience . Welcome

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to Balancing the Christian Life . I'm Dr Kenny

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Embry . Join me as we discover how to

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be better Christians and people in

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the digital age . So

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it's late Monday afternoon and we're

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in the car coming home from spending a couple days

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at an Orlando amusement park

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. We left the house after

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church on Sunday and stayed in a

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local hotel . A few months

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ago my wife , Katie , suggested

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it might be nice if we got some annual pass

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holder tickets to one of the theme parks

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around here . What are the benefits of

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living in Central Florida ? It's

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pretty easy for us to get to places

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people often spend years planning to spend

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vacation time . We've been

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pass holders in the past of many

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of the local franchises , but

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Universal Studios is not one we've

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been to in a while , and to some place

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the kids wanted to go . The

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park was running a deal , so I

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pulled the trigger . I planned

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to take my family right after I finished

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my responsibilities with this year's

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Balancing the Christian Life conference

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. I knew I had been

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pushing some of my attention away

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from my family for a few days to

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get stuff done for the conference

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. I also knew it

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would be a good idea to reconnect

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and see what was going

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on in their lives . Abby

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, my 13-year-old daughter , discovered

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she really likes roller

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coasters . She discovered the mummy

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and some roller coaster in the Harry Potter

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themed area , Can't ? My

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15-year-old son decided he probably

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wasn't into roller coasters

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. As a parent , this doesn't surprise

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me at all . All of my kids

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are different and this is me

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learning that again . I

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also got to see my wife laugh

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and smile a lot . We

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held hands and enjoyed seeing Central Florida

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through our kids' eyes . The

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secret to going to theme parks is to

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abandon your dream of riding

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every ride and seeing every show

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but instead focus

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on the people you're with

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and what they want to do . For

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Abby , it was discovering

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if roller coasters are scarier fun

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. Can she embrace fear

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and develop courage ? For

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Kent , it was seeing if

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he had outgrown some interests he had

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as a kid . I was thrilled

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when he figured out one of the rides he enjoyed

2:37

several years ago in those simulators

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that beat you around wasn't

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nearly as good as he remembered

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. He found a lot of clarity

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and even decided he wasn't

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really missing out on some things he

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thought he might be . In other

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words , sometimes not doing

2:55

something is better . One

2:58

found courage , one

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found confirmation . It's

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fun to see that in my kids . When

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I was at the park I was able to put some perspective

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to the conference we had just concluded

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. I learned a ton

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from that . I'm not

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surprised . A lot of things I learned

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from that are reflected in my time

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with my own family , because , well

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, I had just spent some

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time with spiritual family

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. So let me tell

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you some of what I learned and

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maybe you can see how these things translate

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everywhere . First

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, I'm impressed

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with my spiritual family , who

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know how to pull together . In

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the sessions I went to , I

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loved chatting with a few people I

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knew and learning people I

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didn't . When

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we look at the epistles in the New Testament

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, we often get confused about some

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of the endings of Paul's letters . Most

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famously , Romans 16

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seems to be Paul just saying hey to some

4:05

people he really loved . Yes

4:07

, his epistles are about important

4:10

ideas and the theology

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that saves us , but

4:14

they were also letters to

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people Paul knew and

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loved . I've said

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many times , the purpose of the conference

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isn't just hearing some very impressive

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speakers , and let me emphasize

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that for a second . I heard some

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of the best teaching at the event and

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the ability to ask questions

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and have conversations about

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the ideas after they were given

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was incredible . They

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often elaborate on confusing

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points , which was great

4:46

, but the part I can't

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quantify is meeting

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the people in that digital

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room . In one of the later

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sessions I remember myself , Hal

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Hammons and four others of us talking

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about the advantages and dangers of

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using social media . It

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went from a formal presentation to

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something that is really exciting

5:10

an exchange of

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ideas and figuring

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out what we think

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. That's something

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you can do when you are in conversation

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and dialogue and

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not just one person talking

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. In our own spiritual walks

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, some of us have the luxury

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of choosing among several congregations

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to attend , and there's a

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real danger in that . It's

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easy to minimize the relationships

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you have with your church

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family to a few hours

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on Sunday and or Wednesday

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and then not think about

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them until the next week . We

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end up seeing each other a handful of hours

5:56

and the conversations all

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tend to be repeated spiritual

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small talk . How are you feeling

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? How are you kids ? What's

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going on this week ? See you next

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week . Let

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me be clear I'm often guilty

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of this , but when

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you have the opportunity to

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not just listen but

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interact with other Christians for

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more time and not just

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everyone sitting on benches and looking

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the same direction to listen to one

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person , but instead getting

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some coffee or going to lunch or

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even getting in an online

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conference and

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talking things out . The

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conversation changes . You

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start talking about things you have

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legitimate questions

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about . In my

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own family , some of

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the most important spiritual conversations

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I've ever had with my kids were

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on the way to the grocery to get some forgotten

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milk or going to the mechanic

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to get our oil changed . In

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those unguarded moments , my

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kids ask about the parts of Christianity

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that are hard or

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embarrassing to ask in a Bible class

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where nobody should judge you

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for the questions you ask , but often

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do . Yet we all

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know many are simply

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grateful for the questions that were asked

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because they

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had a similar one . Relationships

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are often forged in

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moments of boredom and

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routine . We

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often ask questions that

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matter while we

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are doing things that don't , and

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characters often forged in the

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habits we center in the

7:49

mundane . Something

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I loved hearing from my kids

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all weekend were

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two magic words I hear them say

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often Thank

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you . That's a big

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deal . Second

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, like my kids , I

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realized how grateful I am . I've

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spoken about the power of gratitude

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before on the podcast and I

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keep having to relearn its importance

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. During the conference

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, I worked with some truly amazing

8:24

people Jennifer Ackett

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, Mark McCrary , Sean Hyfill

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, Steve Wolfgang , Hal Hammons and

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Jared Bolman organized and oversaw

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six tracks . The

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speakers they chose were all

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excellent , willing to spend

8:40

some time making content for

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you guys to talk about . I

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think I counted 51

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speakers . That's

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amazing . Then

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my good friends Keith Stonehardt and Edwin

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Crozier agreed to put together a couple

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keynote presentations and again

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talk about their ideas

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after they presented them . I've

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had good friends like Chris Emerson , Jacob

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Hudgens and Hoover , Mark

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Roberts and even people

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I met through organizing , like

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Jay Horsley , Hunter Davis and Tim

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Beyer , promoted on social

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media . I've had several

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pick up slack when I didn't have

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time , like Ann Hoover or

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Greg Prince , and

9:26

then three people Mike

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Wilkes , Julie Adams

9:30

and Chris Osborn all

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stepped up to help pay

9:34

for the stuff we needed to

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make this happen . That's

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huge . And

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then 36

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additional donors also

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stepped in to help financially

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make this possible . Again

9:52

, these may or may not be

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names that mean something to you , but

9:58

, just like Paul at the end of Romans

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, these are people

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who have come to mean something

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to me because I'm

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grateful . In

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your life , it's important

10:12

to recognize those who

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help you , and these

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people did , but

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they are far from alone . I'm

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also grateful for

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the 462 people who

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signed up to attend . Last

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year I was floored because 143

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people were interested in talking

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about spiritual topics with a bunch of strangers

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they may or may not know . This

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year , we over tripled

10:42

that number . Thank

10:45

you , I

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am humbled and grateful

10:49

, but I am also

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simply impressed by how many

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are interested in talking

10:55

about God for

10:58

three days . I'm

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reminded of the story of the Ten Leppers in

11:03

Luke 17 , who were miraculously

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healed by Jesus , yet

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only one came back to say thank

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you . Gratitude

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is nice for the person you're thanking

11:13

, but in the end , gratitude

11:17

makes you better . You're

11:20

able to see how much others

11:22

care for you or

11:25

care for your cause . My

11:28

kids saying thank you doesn't change

11:30

if I feed them or not , but it

11:32

makes them better because it makes

11:35

them recognize they are cared

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for and loved by

11:39

parents who do both . Third

11:42

, I am blown away

11:44

by how digital

11:46

tools can really honestly

11:49

be used to do good

11:52

stuff . Yes

11:54

, I know there are terrible

11:56

websites . People fritter

11:59

away too much time on screens , following

12:01

both the trivial and the destructive

12:04

. These are trying

12:06

to addict you to content

12:08

through algorithms , psychological games

12:10

and manipulation . Agreed , it

12:13

can be overdone and often is

12:15

, and that includes me . But

12:17

part of my criticism of those who

12:20

dismiss digital media out

12:22

of hand is they are using the

12:24

same criticisms the ancient

12:26

Greeks had of writing , the Renaissance

12:29

had of books , the intelligentsia

12:31

had of newspapers , a largely

12:34

farm-based economy had of movies

12:36

and radio and the generation

12:39

before me had of television

12:41

. The criticisms are usually

12:44

warranted and true . Most

12:46

books are useless , Most radio

12:48

is trash , Most movies

12:51

are wastes of time . But

12:53

the answer isn't to outlaw

12:55

books , radio or movies or

12:58

even digital stuff , as if

13:00

we could . The answer

13:03

is to make

13:05

stuff worth consuming

13:07

, and what I saw

13:09

was and

13:12

is worth your

13:15

time . We

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live in an incredible age where

13:20

we have finally seen the ability

13:22

of people to create

13:24

and then distribute globally

13:27

stuff worth

13:30

paying attention to from

13:32

tools available in almost

13:34

every pocket in the world . The

13:38

criticism I do resonate with

13:40

most is that online

13:42

is a poor substitute

13:45

for face-to-face relationships . I

13:48

agree you

13:50

need to have good relationships

13:52

with those physically close

13:55

to you , but

13:57

that doesn't mean you can't also

14:00

meet people around the world

14:02

through an amazing tool

14:04

that introduces you . Some

14:07

of you know I made a missionary trip with my

14:09

friend , Mark McCrary , to the Philippine island

14:12

of Palawan . I

14:14

didn't know anybody there . I

14:16

met with 16 different congregations

14:19

where I preached 16 different

14:21

sermons and watched 106

14:23

people choose to get into a relationship

14:25

with Christ through baptism

14:27

. That was very

14:30

cool , but what's

14:32

even cooler is

14:34

I now keep up with

14:36

a handful of those people . I

14:40

did meet them face-to-face , but

14:43

our relationship is

14:46

now online . Thank

14:49

God for tools that let us

14:52

do that . Finally

14:54

, I am impressed

14:56

by God's growth . A

14:59

lot of people made this possible

15:01

. I owe great debt to

15:03

them , but a handful of people

15:05

reminded me that success isn't

15:08

in my hands . If

15:11

God wants this to fail , it will . My

15:14

job is to seek His will , do

15:17

my best and then

15:19

be content with

15:21

what happens . I

15:24

surrounded myself with people who

15:26

could do what needed to get done , but

15:29

ultimately , if this succeeds

15:32

or fails , it's in

15:34

God's hands . I

15:36

must admit that it is unnerving

15:39

, but it is the truth

15:41

. I hope I'm

15:43

reading this right . I hope God is pleased

15:46

. I hope what we've done has

15:48

served you with something that makes you better

15:51

and connects you more

15:53

with God . A

15:55

few weeks before I opened up the website , I had

15:57

the fear nobody would show up . I

16:00

felt like last year was a fluke . I

16:03

felt like this would end up being one huge letdown

16:05

, but that

16:08

isn't what happened at all . At least

16:10

from what I can see . It

16:12

seems to have worked Again

16:14

. I'm grateful , but

16:18

I hope you were better , because

16:20

we did it . I

16:23

hope we've done something on the podcast that

16:25

makes you think about God deeper . I

16:28

hope the efforts that have gone into this have

16:32

helped you to be good

16:34

and do good , because

16:38

I think that's something that truly matters . But

16:42

ultimately , if you

16:44

seek after God , he's

16:47

promised to be there for you

16:49

. As

16:52

I'm driving home , I'm

16:54

looking at 15-year-old Kent and 13-year-old

16:57

Abby in the rearview mirror . My

16:59

two older kids , Emma 21

17:02

, and Jake , 20 , are

17:04

in the process of leaving the nest . They

17:07

don't take these kinds of trips with us very often because

17:11

, well , in large

17:13

part , they have their own lives . They're

17:16

getting into the business of supporting themselves , setting

17:19

up relationships that matter and making

17:22

their relationship with God themselves , and I'm seeing them

17:24

do that . I'm seeing them do that . That's

17:28

kind of cool . Emma's

17:30

planning a wedding , but Katie

17:32

and I both know the more

17:34

important bit of that is

17:37

launching a marriage . Jake

17:39

is trying on some career fields in college

17:41

. Katie and I know

17:43

they'll both have problems , but

17:46

the same God who takes care of us will

17:49

make them grow as well if

17:51

they will choose to trust him . I

17:55

hope we've taught them that I

17:57

think we have , but

18:00

as long as I can I'll

18:03

try to point them that way . I'm

18:06

just glad God lets us

18:08

learn so much from

18:11

stuff that just happens on

18:13

the way home . As

18:16

for the good thing I'm thinking about , I've

18:20

overcome with so many kindnesses and

18:23

good teaching and Godly people

18:25

. I'm just going to have

18:27

to go with that . If you weren't able

18:29

to attend the conference , let

18:32

me answer the number one question I've gotten . Yes

18:34

, there will be videos you can see in case you missed or

18:38

want to see a session again . No

18:40

, there's no charge . The

18:43

content server that I

18:45

used in order to create the conference generates a mailing list

18:47

from the registrants . If you registered for

18:49

the conference , you'll

18:51

get those links as soon as they're available

18:53

. If you weren't able to attend at all , make

18:59

sure you go to wwwbalancingthecristenlifecom and

19:02

sign up for the newsletter . I'll

19:04

take the mailing list from Hoover and

19:06

the mailing list that I get from the website , combine

19:12

those and send it out to those

19:14

people . Second , Adam

19:17

Schenks and I are working on a conference book

19:19

composed of material written by the presenters

19:21

. I'll make an announcement in

19:23

about a month or so about

19:26

its availability . Yes , that

19:28

will not be free , because it takes

19:30

some time and it takes some expense . We're

19:33

new to the book publishing thing , or at least I

19:35

am , so we'll

19:37

be learning it , but

19:39

we'll also get it out there . Finally

19:42

, yes , we're going to do

19:44

it all again . If

19:46

you attended the conference , I planned to have

19:48

a survey to see what you thought . Yes

19:51

, Jay , I got your excellent suggestions

19:54

and planned to implement several

19:56

of them , but I've heard informally

19:59

from many of you and I can't wait to start

20:01

working on the next one . Speaking

20:03

of that , it will again

20:05

be at the end of July . The

20:08

theme of this one will be heaven

20:11

citizens , and at least

20:13

one keynote speaker will be Hal

20:15

Hammons . There will

20:17

be more details coming , but this

20:20

week I just want to

20:22

focus on what we can

20:24

do to improve the next one . So

20:27

until next time , let's

20:30

be good and do good .