Details about the 2024 Conference

Speaker 1: In this episode of Balancing the Christian Life I talk about the upcoming Balancing the Christian Life conference. Welcome to Balancing the Christian Life. I'm Dr Kenny Embry. Join me as we discover how to be better Christians and people in the digital age. So the summer is winding down and I've had several people ask me when the conference is going to be. Hal Hammons has been overseeing most of the development since I've been busy doing other things and I'm thrilled he has. Hal is a very good guy. If you're interested in the details of the conference, I'll save that for the last few minutes. To kill the suspense, I've moved it to October 10th through 12th. I'll explain why we shifted a little later, but I want to tell you why we'll have one at all. I suspect you know several problems of the internet. If you can't think of any, then let me help you. The internet often helps lonely people feel more lonely. It gives people the illusion of having friends without sacrifice. It allows people the opportunity to look virtuous by writing a comment supporting a cause without having to do anything more than type something on a keyboard or clicking, like Some people have called this virtue signaling, and I get it when you are able to align yourself with a popular cause without actually having to do anything. Well, that's a very popular thing to do. Likewise, when you have access to the world's knowledge in your pocket, you might feel like you know more than you do. The internet is great at illusions it gives you the illusion of having friends, the illusion of being loved, the illusion of being smart and the illusion of getting something done without costing anything. So in many ways, it is the ultimate in virtual experiences, with nothing to show for it. You can watch someone make a delicious meal. You just can't eat it because, well, you didn't make it. You can visit the wonders of the world without having to meet all those pesky people or getting tired along the way. I've called these legitimate criticisms of the internet the loss of context. An old student of mine, ryan Cummings, showed me a recent meme that I think perfectly summarizes the problem. It says we are drowning in information while we are starving for wisdom. In short, there's too much stuff and not enough direction. I think that's all true. The content on the internet is addictive like any drug. It invites abuse because the amount of content is endless. Most businesses on the internet make money when you give them your attention. Facebook, google, instagram, youtube, linkedin are all free because you and your attention are the product. If all that is true and I think it is should we simply ditch our smartphones and computers? Should we warn others to stay away because some bad actors are not looking out for you? Well, no, first of all, if you find yourself spending too much time on social media, then limit your exposure to social media. I have, and I'm glad that I am. But the drug analogy is helpful . Some drugs help us when taken the right way, hurt us if we consume too much and force us to needlessly suffer if we abandon them altogether. My consistent advice has been the online tools need to be intentionally used to help us. It's easy to criticize and difficult to build. The idea behind the conference is to build a community that uses the advantages of online stuff. Not a church, not an online congregation, but a way to make connections, which are, frankly, impossible any other way. I think there are at least three defenses we have for doing a conference like this. First, it allows us to talk about spiritual things with more people. I'm not looking for masses of people, but I am interested in looking for more than a half a dozen people around me that might be interested in participating. Before Jesus ascended to heaven , he told his disciples they would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth in the first chapter of Acts. Well, the internet gives us access to so many more people. Second, I think the conference is optimistic. It takes no creativity to tear down with criticism, but it takes courage to make something. If God decides to bless it, that's up to Him, but to me, this is worth it. The first chapter of James tells us to not merely be hearers of the Word, but doers. This is me trying something for a third time. I'm trying to build something I think builds each other up and allows us to get to know God better. I think that's a worthwhile cause and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Third, the online conference gives us an opportunity to use these tools for their advantages . Online communication is, first of all, permanent. The content you make lives forever yes, I've heard that said in a sinister way, because there's always a way to see if you've changed your mind. But it's permanent is also an advantage. We can share a message and then watch it again, see if you understand something better the second time. It's ultimately a smart way to see if you understood something, if it bears repeating or if it's something that you would just like to hear again because it encourages you. It's also accessible. In a way, only online communication is no matter where you live, whether you talk in real time or watch the content after the fact. You can get access to this from your computer. You can watch it while you're listening on a walk or folding laundry. It's there when you want it to be. It can be shared with many or as few people as you wish. It's not like a physical book you check out of the library and have to wait until someone returns it. Digital tools can be watched by a few or by millions, with no pre-planning at all. Finally, online tools allow us to make friends, learn what others think and to talk to them directly. As I said, the conference has changed from early August to October 10th through 12th. The reason for that was primarily me. This year. I didn't have time to organize the conference as early as I needed to Further the platform I used for the first two conferences. Hoova is excellent software, but its price went up considerably for the first two years and I simply couldn't afford to continue with them, which meant I had to choose a new software platform. I still love Hoova and they were really good to us, but I'm just too small for them. I'm using new software this year called AirMeet. I'll have details about that next week as well as how to sign up for the conference, but I think AirMeet is simpler software and I think it will be a better experience for you. Airmeet isn't free and I'm going to ask for your help to find sponsors. The first year of the conference, I cleared a little money to pay for the second year . The second year I lost money and this year I hope not to, which is why I want to get some sponsors. So if you know someone who would like to sponsor a track, please let me know. I am happy to talk about sponsorship with anyone interested. Like last year, I plan to have an option for people to financially support the conference by donation, but I also plan to allow anyone to attend the conference without charge. You will need to sign up for the conference prior to attending, but if you'd like to donate $50, that would be much appreciated and welcome. The theme for this year is Citizens of Heaven and corresponds with Hal Hammond's podcast. By the way, hal is our featured keynote speaker for the first day on Thursday. As of right now, we have nine tracks each with about eight speakers. Yes, that's a lot of speakers. The people heading up the tracks include Mark McCrary, cindy Dunnigan, mark Dunnigan, hal Hammond, sean Highfill, steve Wolfgang and Miles Hester. One of the tracks new this year is a Spanish-speaking track. This was a recommendation from Sean Highfill and I was happy to try it out. This year, steve Wolfgang is putting together discussions about Galatians and I know he will have excellent material because he's got some excellent speakers like John Weaver, nathan Ward and even my father-in-law, dan Petty. The speaker grid should be available next week, as well as a website to sign up for the conference, but for right now, you need to know the date has changed. Another change from last year is something I need to apologize for. We had three tiers last year, two of which included a conference book. Well, the conference book ended up being a bigger problem than I anticipated. In short, I dropped the ball on that. I've reached out to those who paid for a conference book at both levels and I have refunded what they paid. If you were one of those and didn't receive a refund, please contact me immediately and I'll refund you immediately. There were four of you I could not contact. Because of that. I'm not going to try a conference book for this year. Putting this together isn't easy , but I want you to hear this from me directly. As long as I am able to do the conference, I will. I was talking to a friend and he asked me if I should just hand it over to someone else. I'm not against that, but I also don't know anybody who wants to take it on. Let me be clear I couldn't do this alone. I never have. Good friends have done hard work to make this work. For example, this year, the efforts of Hal Hammons have been largely responsible for getting this started again, and he has been incredibly instrumental in the first two years as well. But because I'm not doing this for a congregation, as a preacher, because I'm not a college or an institution, I don't feel like there's any conflict of interest or any blurring of lines. I'm a guy with a microphone and a podcast who wants to build a community of Christians interested in talking about spiritual things. For a few days, I'm trying to illustrate what using online stuff well can look like, like everything I've done for the podcast. I hope this is helpful for you and it helps you live a better, balanced Christian life. I am happy to support anybody who has a similar interest and a similar goal. So that's what we know about the conference at this point. It will be October 10th, 11th and 12th. I have a website where you can sign up for it next week, as well as an overview of all the speakers that should be speaking at this conference. The thinking behind the conference is it is both presentations that you'll watch and listen to conferences. It is both presentations that you'll watch and listen to, but also an opportunity to talk with other people and to make friends. I remember as a child going to the Florida College lectures and there was a large part of the reason that you went was to hear the content and a larger reason to go and meet the people and see people that you know and love, and a larger reason to go and meet the people and see people that you know and love. That's what I want this to be, as well as for next week. I had a recent conversation with Andrew Roberts about why we focus on acapella music. I thought it was a great conversation. I also plan to talk to organizers of the conference. So you know what we plan and what will happen this year. So until next time, let's be good and do good.