Countdown to Codelife 2010
Some thoughts from Joe on the upcoming conference …
I am unique. No really, I am. Not because I’m a Joe, with an ‘e’, when in fact I’m a Joanne, not a Joseph (sorry to those of you for whom this is a surprise, it’s a source of great amusement in the CVM office when I am called Mr, mate, esq etc!), but because I am the only woman in a country of 32(ish) million women to have the CVM conference in September permanently etched in my diary, and to have the great privilege of actually being there.
I probably spend more time thinking about, planning for and answering questions about it than anyone else…. just one weekend of the year that takes over a year to organise, but the truth is, I love the conference. I do, despite the fact that I’m so tired by Saturday night that I would kill for a few minutes in a comfy chair with a gin and tonic, but in reality, there is nowhere else I would rather be.
It’s not about the worship (which is brilliant), or talks (inspired), or food (mountainous and delicious), but about being in a place with hundreds of guys who believe the same thing. It’s about something bigger than a bunch of men meeting up, it’s about a coherence of vision and purpose. We’re there not just because we follow an all powerful, gracious, faithful, magnificent God, but because we recognise the utter hopelessness of those who don’t know him, and the ongoing crisis that faces a church where men are not a priority.
Well, from the 10-12 September this year, men are the priority. Why not come… hang out with other guys, hear what God wants to say, even bring your mates who don’t believe yet – there’s room for them too. It could change your life!
