An evening at the Mad Pizza Co.

I made the trek back to Arkansas earlier this month to attend the annual session of the Arkansas Annual Conference. I try to do that every year, as a way to renew friendships and participate directly in the life of the church back home. And of course, this year there was added interest because of the debate over the proposed amendments to the United Methodist Church's Constitution.

But while I enjoyed all the happenings in the convention center where annual conference was held, perhaps the most significant part of the week for occurred one evening at the Mad Pizza Co. in Rogers, Ark. I tell the story in my recent United Methodist Reporter column.

For the past five years, the young adult clergy & lay delegates have gathered for a supper together at some point during annual conference. We've tried different approaches to how to structure the evening - sometimes a round table discussion over a specific topic, and sometimes a more free-flowing invitation to gather in groups and talk about whatever comes up. But we always make sure to break bread together and open in prayer.

The evening at the Mad Pizza Co. was especially enjoyable, as our annual group has grown to more than 50 people. Conversations were on a bunch of different issues, naturally. But from where I was sitting it seemed like everybody took advantage of the chance to engage each other on matters of real importance: the nature of annual conference, the ordination process, the structure of the church, and how to carry out a faithful gospel ministry.

In fact, the evening ended with the last group of people gathered in a circle and three of the young adult elders - all of them church planters - sharing their experiences of growing churches from the ground up.

It was exactly what conference is supposed to be about. That gathering offers a perfect example of what we mean when we say our church is a connection.

If your annual conference doesn't have a group like this every year, start one. You'll be glad you did. And so will the rest of the young adults you're serving with.