Well, maybe that's a little far fetched, but if I had to choose between streets of gold and the ocean-side setting of Pepperdine, well, let's just say I'd be packing my sunscreen. Each year I wrangle and twist, persuade and promise, even beg and plead, and yet I fail repeatedly to get many (if any) young families to go to the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. Maybe it's the title? What if I invited people to a week of "Dialogue and Relationship Building"... would that work? How about, "A Time of Rejuvenation and Rest?" Maybe I should focus on the kids and say, Pepperdine offers "The Ultimate Enrichment Program for your Children;" is that the way I should go. I could try to approach it from a long-term view and say, "Can you remember what you did the first week of May last year?" and then follow it up with "I can and it had a tremendous impact on my life...how about you?" I could contrast the present and say, "what will you do next Wednesday through Friday? Will it expand your understanding of Christendom, deepen your love, broaden your horizons, increase your faith, deepen your relationships and be just plain awesome?"To be honest, I'm not sure any of these tactics or re-labelings would work. If they do, great, see you there. I can assure you that from my experience, and the experience of others, these are all accurate statements. But in the end, I'm struck by how much this sounds like all the things we say and do to encourage young families to be more committed to "church" and its various activities and programs. Not helpful.
So this year, I'm just going to say this: "have a great week." If I see you at Pepperdine, let me know what you think. If you can't make it, and I know some of you want to and can't, have a great week. If you're on the fence, well, I will just say this: "have you ever struggled before about whether to do something and, in the end, after having done it, wondered why you hadn't done it before? Pepperdine is that thing." Whatever you choose to do next week, enjoy it!
