I'm back...

What's good family? Thanks for the love while I was gone. I had a wonderful time in Nashville, Tennessee. Special thanks to summer m. for posting that message for me. As usual, I waited until the very last moment to pack and take care of things, so I didn't get a chance to post something myself.

When I got home and read her post about an Arrested Development quiz, I thought to myself, just like a substitute teacher, always trying to make folks work!!! No worries, I know y'all are some serious heads...y'all got that Tennessee joint covered!

But anyway...I went to Nashville to attend a Christian education conference for United Methodist pastors, deacons, christian education directors, Sunday school teachers, lay members and volunteers. And it could not have been held in a better place than Nashville, Tennessee, right in the heart of the Bible Belt!

In case you aren't familiar with the Bible Belt, check it out:
Although exact boundaries do not exist, it (the Bible Belt) is generally considered to cover much of the area stretching from Texas north to Kansas, east to Virginia, and south to northern Florida. (absoluteastrononmy.com)

The conference was amazing! Close to 800 United Methodists from around the world attended the conference, which was held at one of the largest United Methodist Churches in the area. I mean this church was so huge...it reminded me of a college campus and the membership is close to 6,000 people. That's considerably larger than my undergrad, weighing in at less than 900 students!

The conference was so well organized, I know black folks couldn't have been in charge of the planning or arrangements! I ain't hating on my peoples, but seriously, we wasn't running that! I've never seen anything so massive not have one visible glitch! They held it down forreal! I mean the workshops were insightful, full of great resources and well worth the trip down south. I had an all around good old christian time!

It was definitely an experience I'll never forget, especially considering the numerous reservations I had about going. For starters, I knew that the conference would be predominantly white, which, if I haven't said it before, let me say it now...white people scare me most of the time. And by scared I don't mean punk out of a fight, I mean, trouble and/or worry; and I will qualify that even further by saying, white people that I don't know scare me! Mutliple that by 800 people! Now you see what I mean?

Interestingly, I've spent the vast majority of my education at predominantly white insitutions, so one would think that I wouldn't feel this way, but it is precisely because of the experiences I've had in these environments that I do feel this way!

As I suspected, of the close to 800 people in attendance, about 30 of us were black, and I'm sure we all met each other. And let me add, Chitown represented something fierce in that place! I met at least 6 other black Chicagoans there!

Secondly, I had reservations about attending because I would be taking part in a "christian" gathering (e.g. outside of church service) and this scares me just as much as white folks! I'm sure you might be thinking that's highly problematic, but guess what...welcome to my life! I'm sure many of you reading and who have been reading over the past year, had no idea that I'm a christian. Obviously, I'm to blame for that, the content on this site from day to day, is rather unchristian-like, but I have some definite views of myself and my faith that I'm sure would make most devout christians shake there head and my pastor cringe! But I'm human and I find it most difficult to turn a blind eye to the goings on of the world around me!

Third, I was concerned that considering the targeted audience for the conference, which I am apart of as a volunteer, there would be noone there in my age group! Was I right? Absolutely! Well sort of; Jesus looked out for a sista. One of the black women from Chicago was 27 and seriously cool. It was nice to have another young black woman to sit next to and snicker at folks with. Oops, I mean chit chat with! :-) We were 2 of at least 5 other young twentysomethings in attendance, as I far as I could tell!

Fourth, as much as I have always loved me some southern hospitality in my extensive travels throughout the south, the very thought of that region conjures up some rather unsettling history with many unpleasant images. Now I know I wasn't alive during that era, and even if I were, I would not have been in this country, the thoughts are still there. Take a look at my pic...my ass can't pass for anything other than black!

Lastly, I had a few reservations about attending this conference because I just knew that there wouldn't be any black men there. Now, I know that sounds a bit trifling, but read me out. I'm 25, very single and would like to be very not single with some children in the near future. The clock is ticking and every moment is precious. I need to be doing all I can to seal the deal on my future! :-) Was I right about black male attendance? Of course; I think I met about 6 black men at the event and 3 were hotel/church shuttle employees! Not much opportunity there!

So, you put all of those factors together and maybe you can understand why I was a bit apprehensive. However, I worked through those issues and managed to have incredible experience. I recommend any and all United Methodists out there to attend the next one in 2009!

P.S. What is the deal with praise dancers?

There was worship services each of the four days of the conference. On the third night, a black woman preacher and former missionary presented an inspiring and thought-provoking sermon on peace! Her sermon was preceded by some praise dancers. Now, I don't know if y'all are familiar with praise dancing or not; it seems to be a rather recent phenomenon as far as I can tell. Well, this particular group of primary girls (5 of them) got up and did there little dance as best they could, however some of there moves were a bit questionable. The smallest one, who happened to be positioned in the center started the set as if she was jukin' to some Detroit booty music or twirkin' to some Miami crunk, but either way, it seemed a bit inappropriate. I kept thinking, is it me or what's the deal with this? I am seeing praise dancers appear more and more!

Can someone hip me to the historical root of this as apart of a church service?