Shopping for General Conference
 

I saw something on Facebook a couple days ago that made me laugh, and then it made me mad.

So this lady was talking about having a full day of shopping and named the numerous cities she had been to and yet just wasn't coming up with anything. I was wondering what in the world it was that had her looking all over the state.

Tada.....General Conference.

Can I just ask? Why in the world do you people go spend thousands on clothes for a conference where no one has seen what you've been wearing anyway? If Sis. Alvear wants to gripe, she could go after the people that max out their cards for clothes for conference. What a waste. Do you really need to impress people that badly???

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

Some people really need to.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

That's why I was so shocked and amazed when I went to my first Vineyard conference back in the late eighties. I dressed up in my best suits and heels, and got there and everyone was in jeans and flipflops. No one was concerned with looks - everyone was desperately seeking God. It was a mind blowing thing to me. Literally no one was milling around in the halls or restrooms, unless absolutely necessary - everyone was trying hard to get a front seat. It was my first clue that someone outside of my little box MIGHT be saved.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

From one of the UPCI's pastors and evangelist kids' Facebook:

Life in the Bubble.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

Vineyard in the 80's = Scary! :toofunny

jk... kind of.

You make a good point though. This playing dress-up competition stuff is certainly a UPC bubble thing.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

I made the same mistake when I went to a conference at Willow. I had already, by that time, stopped wearing dress shirts and ties, but I still figured I should wear a suit and crew neck shirt underneath. Boy, was I wrong. Talk about a sore thumb. I was the ONLY PERSON in the entire building with anything that resembled a suit.

It was pretty incredible because it just didn't matter what people were wearing. It was the first large church atmosphere I'd ever been in where I really believed that God was only looking at the heart.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

Life is stranger than fiction ...

But they'll be hootin' and hollerin' about modesty and moderation ...
:bliss

It's all as plastic as the cards it's charged on.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

There's nothing wrong with a $300 pair of shoes... unless you're wearing them while looking down at the brother next to you who could only wear his half worn out $20 pair, or jealous of the one with the $400 pair sitting on the next row.

Of course, I do think there are much better things that my money can be spent on than shoes, clothes, and hairspray, but hey, what do I know? Me, in my Goodwill clothes, never did compare with most ladies at conference. But I wasn't jealous. Not of their dry cleaning bill or their credit card statement. (Or their clothes, either, most of the time. I prefer comfort to style.) Of course, I do seem to remember a verse somewhere about wisdom and not comparing ourselves amongst ourselves. Nah, surely not. :winkgrin

Seriously, though (and most of the above was TIC), I was always surprised at conferences. People would spend the money and take off work to go, and then spend several hours getting ready for morning service. Not in prayer and Bible study, but getting dressed. Then they'd get back from service, crash in the room for an hour or hit the mall, come back several hours before service and start getting ready for that service. Whole new outfit, different hairstyle, a couple people doing a bunch of ladies' hair for what seemed to me to be hours on end... coming into church either right before service started or late for church, a couple more hours of church, and when altar call would start, hang out a few minutes and then sneak everyone out (before anyone was dismissed), rush to the restaurant before everyone else got there, eating and talking til all hours of the night, up the next morning early getting dressed again, and complaining that they were so tired and wondering why they couldn't have a few less services, young people begging to stay in the hotel room rather than making the morning service... and me going stir crazy because I wanted to get to the prayer room. They'd send me with stacks of Bibles to save their seats and come wandering in at the last minute, look at the first 5-7 rows where I had invariably tried to save them seats and tell me that they didn't want to sit in front (with an eww in their voice). I often wondered what they had really come for.

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

it is easy to preach whatever in a little airconditioned bubble....try the hot jungle paths...the shantytowns, the little churches in 115 degrees weather with not evan a fan...people crammed in like sardines...tears streaming down faces that are weather worn by life in 3rd world countries...and no I am not a bitter old missionary...however far too long has the church majored on minors and minored on majors....

I stood outside a certain place and watched pastors wifes get out suitcase after suitcase of clothes for a 3 day conference and I thought, God, is there something wrong with them or is it me??????

Yes, we should be neat and clean and look nice but when we become lifeless and plastic something is wrong...OH! God send us all a life changing revival...

Re: Shopping for General Conference
 

and no I do not spend my time watching others....I happened to be waiting for my husband that certain day...Just sad we all often get out of focus.