New Wilmington Mission Conference

I am a delegate and attended this year and TONY CAMPOLO ROCKED!!!!!!! I heard my calling for missions/preaching when he spoke!

I heard his talk and I love how he spoke of change for the first 10 minutes.  He brought me to my knees as I listened to him.  I thought, this guy gets it.  He understands our world.  Our times.  Times of change-if we have the courage.  It was like a message you might have heard from the 60's...but then he shifted gears and from the Teddy story forward he sounded like one long string of tired e-mails.  He drowned out his own message of change with so many words.
I think he was waiting for a response from the often silent crowd.  I don't think he's used to the church mice presbyterians...we're pretty quiet.  It's hard for a guy like him to know if he's made a connection with those listening unless the crowd talks back.  Please understand that I wasn't there, but from what I could tell on the podcast, the crowd left with Tony's message of "I 've spoken and I can't just stop" more than a cry for change.  

Peaceful soldier,

Whoa, whoa, whoa! You weren't even there? That definitley seems pretty critical for someone who wasnt even at conference to hear him speak. I thought that Tony Campolo brought it all three times that he spoke. His stories made sense and brought clarity and real life examples to what he was already saying. I would argue that the crowd was into waht he was saying. Now, admittedly, I was in the front row, but the students were definitley into it. Tony Campolo said a lot of things that many people in the church today are thinking, but are too afraid to say out loud.

I agree with Rob.  I heard all that Tony had to say from multiple spots within the crowd each night and think Tony was awesome from the first 10 seconds to the last.  I suppose this goes to show that while a podcast is great, being there in person to feel the electricity makes the moment that much more powerful.  The kids were certainly more into it than the others...but then again, conference is  primarily a youth centered conference.  Of course, noise aside, we had counselors driving elderly New Wilmington residents to the services to hear him speak.  Everyone got something out of Tony, in their mind and in their hearts.  We all react differently.  

I would have to agree with the latter two.  I think that to get a true sense of the power of the evening, you would have had to be there, or at least purchase the high quality audio from Rising Son.  The 36kps podcast doesn't even begin to capture the mood of the evening.  It's hard enough to make out what Tony is saying let alone to hear to subtle responses from the crowd.  (I should point out that this is in no way a slam on the new site's podcasting.  I think it is truly awesome, and good enough for what it is trying to acheive.  If you want the better quality, it is fair to purchase it from Rising Son).

Admittedly, the largely Presbyterian crowd was far more reserved than crowd's Tony is used to, but to suggest that they didn't react at all, or that they reacted negatively is simply not what happened.  This was the first speaker in a while that I wanted to go long.  He truly got what the conference was about, speaking directly TO THE KIDS.  This in no way made it less effective for the adults, but instead ends up including everyone (a tactic that would not have worked were it the other way around).

The only real criticism that I would give him would be that he laid the Presbyterian jokes on a bit thick.  I think they were all funny, but took up a bit too much time (especially after the first night).

It's funny, I was just talking to someone that was not at conference about Tony and explained that it was so great because he spoke - at held everyone's attention- for 30 minutes.  My point was that if you are good enough you don't have to be done speaking in 15 minutes to be effective.  Tony was really good, better than I was expecting and I was expecting good stuff.

My dad has heard Tony speak before and had told me to expect good things from him. I am 19 years old and I wasn't really expecting to like what Tony had to say. So when I went into the meetings that he was speaking at I was, to be completely honest, expecting someone to TALK TO ME. Not someone who came down to my level and spoke to us - the HS delegates and YA Delegates - like we were a big part of everything. I enjoyed his lessons and have listened to them all on the podcast. I am glad that he was able to hold our attention longer than some.  

Hey everyone,

I started a thread in the Tony Campolo forum to continue this discussion.  Check it out at

http://nwmcmission.org/forums/thread/138.aspx

Sorry, but I can't create a link in this post.

Man, creating that thread just put this conversation in a tailspin.  I say, if you have something to say why not keep it going in here?

Yeah,  I sometimes have that problem.  Don't let me get in they way.

Looks like I nudged the conversation right off the site . . .  I'll try to let go of my compulsive need to keep this site organized.  My apologies . . .

No worries.  If anyone else has a thought about Tony, fire away.  

You know, I have heard Tony before and I really did enjoy him.  Great stuff to say and obviously very talented speaker. Unfortunately I think once you have heard him, the second time isn't nearly as good.  He really didn't have anything new for me.  Compollo's stories are great, and his points were well done.  He certainly kept me going throughout the whole talk.  I think his biggest flaw in my opinion was how every story seemed to come back to himself in someway showing how great he is.  Whether it was the great work he did here or the generous donation he gave there...much of the self proclamation wasn't needed and made me wonder if he was selling us his work or God's work.  McConnell on the other hand I thought was actually went more deeply in each talk and had greater points.  I felt like Compollo was a great warm up for McConnell who had good stories with great biblical points in them.  I think conference did a great job this year of bringing two good speakers, but if you want my opinion, I got much more from McConnell.  He was good in '94 and was great this year.  Just my $.02, and that is about all it is worth...:)

McConnel was good, but you must be crazy. Tony is the man. I think his stories were great and kept most people interested, especially the students. I also think Tony brought it right from the beginning and never let up. He said a lot of things that went by really fast. But they were definitely good. His stories tend to be sensational, but I relaly believe they work.  

You may have a point, but remember, most of the kids at this youth focused conference have not heard him speak before...and most probably got the intended point he meant to drive home.  Judging by their reactions, I think they did.  For the adults, I still think they hit home, but I would be remiss if i didn't admit to thinking something similar at some point.  Regardless, Tony was exceptional and McConnell was rock solid also.  Big props to the person that lined up the speakers this year.  

I could be crazy... no question about that.  Perhaps I need to listen to the Tony messages again.  I remember the stories, but don't remember the points as well.  On the other side, I don't remember McConnell's stories as well as I remember his points.  Which I felt were powerful and God inspired.  Like I said, if you have heard Tony preach, it was the same sermons he has given before.  I remember thinking the same thing as you when I first heard him too.  I am also very tainted by the way he came back to making himself look good in every story... I really didn't like that at all.  It really disappoints me when pastors don't give God the glory for the ministry they do. Maybe I am reading way too much into it.  I will totally admit that.  I will listen to the Tony Podcasts again this weekend and see if I was just out of it. Won't be the first time. I will write again after I listen again.  I really loved McConnell though.  He was very good.  Either way...Conference had two great speakers this year and God moved through both of them in different ways.  

This was not the first time I heard him speak. i have actually heard Tony speak on three other occassions.

I have heard Tony talk on a number of occasions as well, and I didn't have any problem with some of the stories being familiar.  If a story works there is no need to fix it.  Star Wars doesn't get less good because I know that the Death Star is going to get blowed up each time.

As for the claim that Tony made himself out to be a good guy and didn't give glory to God:  What?  I didn't get that at all.  I thought that the whole point was about God.  Tony himself was the illustration at times, but there were just as many examples of him being a jerk (making fun of the kid, leaving the starving baby at the airport).  The message was about Jesus, and I felt that his illustrations gave a personal insight as to how he himself has been able to struggle with doing what it is that God has in store for us.

If we're going to talk about speakers who just talk about themselves all the time, there are several far better examples of NWMC speakers who do that far more than Tony did...

The best thing about Tony, though, was, as Chip said, the fact that he spoke to the youth.  Awesome.  That's what the speakers should do.

Awesome.

Having heard Tony C. speak over a longer time span than most of you there is some validity to the stories being the same....and if you've read many of his books, there are some times that I could have provided his next line in the talk... but Tyler's point about knowing what's coming doesn't detract from the storyline is also valid....but it does allow for reflection on other things you might not have noticed the first several times.  Perhaps like the return to statements about himself.  My take on that is somewhat different, I felt he was aligning himself with all of "fallen mankind" so to speak.  But I get where Matt is coming from.  Tony did engage and speak to youth and it's great to have had the opportunity to have him at conference.  Truth being...the message IS timeless and the good news is always the good news!
        I would have to agree with Matt on McConnell's talks though.  I think they were powerful, well thought out and delivered.  I've read most of them since returning (being a reader I may respond more that way) but really found even more info that spoke to my soul.  There aren't many people who could have followed Tony C. and done it well.
       I

I thought the speakers were amazingly good at capturing evryones attention this year... I heard from someone that there 8-11 year old kids were taking sermon notes because they thought it was that good... Tony Campolo was definately my favorite and think he should be brought back in years to come... Steve McConnel had a very down to earth point on things which I thought was really great!! well enough said from me....

Jen

I enjoyed both speakers; however, I felt McConnell did a better job because he actually referenced the Bible to preach and not just life stories.  I understand that life stories are crucial to youth in understanding and relating to a message, but I feel strongly that we need to also spend time digging into the Word and relating to it during messages.  
I guess my point is the 2 men are very different speakers with very different goals - one being mort of an alter-call speaker and one being more of a "Bible-study" speaker.
Regardless of what we all think, they are using the talents God bestowed upon them to further His kingdom on earth.  We should appreciate that and be grateful they are willing to step up to the plate when called.

I enjoyed both speakers; however, I felt McConnell did a better job because he actually referenced the Bible to preach and not just life stories.  I understand that life stories are crucial to youth in understanding and relating to a message, but I feel strongly that we need to also spend time digging into the Word and relating to it during messages.  
I guess my point is the 2 men are very different speakers with very different goals - one being more of an alter-call speaker and one being more of a "Bible-study" speaker.
Regardless of what we all think, they are using the talents God bestowed upon them to further His kingdom on earth.  We should appreciate that and be grateful they are willing to step up to the plate when called.

I thought both speakers did well; however, we need to remember they have very different goals.  One is an "altar-call" speaker and one is a "Bible-study" speaker.  Although I believe life stories are crucial when connecting with youth, I see way too many speakers at conferences today using that approach.  I believe there needs to be a better mix of life stories and Bible passages which are taken apart and studied.  Youth definitely need to relate to the speaker, but they also need to realize reading the Word, studying the Word, and discussing the Word are just as important.
Regardless of what we think, we should be thankful God has blessed these two men with such great talents.  We should also be grateful they have stepped up to their calls in life and are willing to use their talents to further God's kingdom on earth.