The theme for Epic Conference this year was Illuminate. Conference started Friday night and ended after the morning session on Monday. We had Monday off school because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The schedule for the weekend was pretty packed, so the only time we got to really socialize was at night or during meals. There was a main meeting during the mornings and nights, and the afternoons were different each day. Saturday afternoon we went to two seminars, and we went outreaching on Sunday afternoon.
Although I barely had any sleep during the whole weekend and was half asleep in some of the sessions, I still learned a lot during it. I learned a lot more about myself and realized things I have not thought of before. I also got to meet many other Asian Americans who were part of Epic in different schools. From here I will summarize sessions by copying off notes I wrote down.
Saturday morning, We talked about how we should not present ourselves as perfect and should allow ourselves to be human. Jesus showed emotion which is something many Christians tend to try and not show.
Emotional Health and Spiritual Maturity are Inseparable. It is not possible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.The speaker also talked about the "Emotional Jug". We feel a plethora of emotions, but we put a "lid of indifference". As a result, we start leaking all over the place. We think we need to ignore to love, but that is not how it works. Asians tend to be passive-aggressive. We feel like it's better to stay silent because we don't know how to handle our emotions. Since we contain our emotions, we leak until we blow up. The speaker then says how we would rather keep the peace when in reality we are living lies. Instead of hiding our emotions, we need to learn to manage them. While to persevere is a virtuous task, doing it without emotions is more harmful than good. Usually it's harder for men to embrace their feelings. One final thing he said that morning that stuck out to me was that we tend to be dishonest with God.
During the afternoon we had seminars. I had to pick two out of a plethora of good ones, so I ended up going to "Changing in Him" and "Healthy Relationships". During "Changing in Him", the speaker talked about becoming our true selves which is a topic I believe I discussed earlier in this blog. God is the prime reality and we need to live in both grace and truth, People tend to live in one or the other. Growth comes from both truth and grace, and it needs time. Without love, there is no growth. Bonding is the first and foremost stage to growth. When we attack and judge, it describes what's going on in us. The speaker tells us we need to begin to believe in ourselves. He also said obedience does not necessarily mean honoring...or was it respecting. I was half asleep so I didn't really get that.
During the "Healthy Relationships" seminar, we talked about how we need to connect with both God and people. "God made us to have a longing for the longing." We can't grow without grace, and healthy relationships is not an optional thing. Some things required in a healthy relationship is mutuality, trust, addressing our emotions, and other things. When it comes to mutuality, they talked about support and equality. It is about two complete people, not just one. Relationships are not to complete you. Complementary relationships are fun and healthy while completing is looking for people to take care of our own immaturity. We all need to become competent in areas we are weak in. After covering mutuality, we talked about how we need to address our emotions. A relationship is not someone taking care of you; it's taking responsibility. You need to take ownership of yourself. Growing in relationships involve risk. You have to invite risk, change, and growth for a healthy relationship. It is not healthy if you feel like you are stuck in one you need to be in and have no freedom. If you feel like you'll fall apart if you lose a relationship, something is wrong. They are fun if you can choose to be in them. "If there is no conflict in a relationship, one person isn't needed or one person is eating a lot of dirt." Having a relationship involves living with differences that aren't comfortable.
Saturday night related Jesus' life to Israel. It also talked about II Corinthians 5:21 and its implications: that we are fully loved, fully accepted, have nothing to hide, nothing to prove, and nothing to fear. It is not based on what I've done, but based on Christ's love. Sunday morning talked about how it's Jesus who triumphs in our weakness, not us. We have to realize how much we have been forgiven. Sunday night talked about how 1 Peter is a book about minorities. It references a bunch of old testament books, and we are called to be chosen people of God. We are His inheritance. The speaker then talked about how our heritage is a gift from God to be used for His gospel to the world. We are called to be Royal Priesthood. We also talked about Holiness in community.
Finally, Monday morning talked about how we are in God's family and how we aren't second class. We are the heir of God the King and we own everything He owns. We are called to declare God's praises to the nations or the world. God provides Himself as a source of strength. We have our own identity and our own voice. We aren't defined as Asians or as Americans, but we are defined as God's children.
Now that I'm done summarizing notes, I will write my thoughts on conference. It was definitely interesting meeting a whole bunch of Asian American Christians in one place. We all came from different backgrounds, and we each have our own stories. However, I loved how I can relate to some of the topics covered during conference. I was reminded that honoring my parents does not necessarily mean obeying them in everything. I definitely learned more about identifying myself as an Asian-American. It was also interesting to meet non-Christians who decided to attend the conference. I was curious about what they thought of the whole thing. Of course, it was also fun hanging out with people in the middle of the night after the night session. Overall, it was an awesome experience being able to attend the conference. I'm now too tired to write more on what I've learned during conference, so I'll end on this note.
Until next time!
Kenneth
