Heading to Willow Creek

John Ortberg speaks of the benefits of, among other spiritual practices involving our time, taking an annual "pilgrimage," where we leave daily life and go to a place where we can connect more deeply with God for an extended period of time. For me, this annual trip finds its depth in the Willow Creek Arts Conference outside of Chicago each June, and next week I will once again make the trek to South Barrington for "Wonder 09."

I have attended a few Willow Arts conferences, and never been disappointed. The worship is wonderful, and it's always a bonus for those who lead worship on a weekly basis to stand under the leadership of others and simply worship, without having to do the heavy lifting. And worship at Willow has NEVER disappointed. This summer promises to be great with Hillsong United's team from Australia leading worship on Wednesday and Charlie Hall on Thursday night. Darlene Zschech and Joel Houston from Hillsong will also share learning experiences with us.

In addition, some exceptional folks will be presenting in other sessions: Phil Vischer of Veggie Tales fame; Chip Heath and Dan Heath, of the great "Made to Stick" book and contributors to Fast Company magazine; and of course Nancy Beach, who always inspires and motivates me!

At this conference I will be leading a Conversation entitled "Reclaiming the Mystery: Liturgy in Contemporary Worship" that I am very excited about. I've been thinking hard on this topic for these past two years while working at a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, and even trying out many of these ideas in worship services. It will be great to hear from other likeminded folks.

I'll be Twittering throughout the conference (Twitter: @johncomposer) and blogging as much as I can.