GULF COAST GETAWAY AND ARRIVING

One of my favorite events to lead worship at every year has to be Gulf Coast Getaway. 2,000 college students come to gather one cold January weekend in Panama City Beach, FL. They come from Christian student centers, Christian colleges, and even college ministries at church. Chris Seidman, Randy Harris, and Watershed for a whole weekend- whew! John Ross also painted 4 paintings simultaneously- one for each side of the stage. This conference always pushes us to bring new worship music too- in a good way. There’s no singing “I Will Call Upon The Lord” here! Instead, we sing songs like “Be Lifted High”, “Let God Arise”, and “At The Cross”. But what really makes this event different from others has to be the PASSION from those students. You can walk into the conference center and feel a spirit there that isn’t at other places.

You see, at a lot of youth rallies and conferences we go to, many teens are made to attend or only go because of the cute girls they may meet, etc., etc. And though that may happen at Gulf Coast- I can’t say that that is the main reason they go. College students go because they WANT to be there. It is obvious. The worship is always AWESOME- and not because I’m up there on stage at all. All we do is gently nudge the ball toward the hill, and they take it from there. THEY SING THEIR FACES OFF!

And I always love to glean more understanding from the “wise monk”, Randy Harris. In my opinion, he’s the best we have in the COC. He impresses me because it’s obvious, as he shares stories, that he is still on a journey to draw closer to God. He is open and honest with his struggles as he finds his way through faith. I think people love him so much because they identify with that. We often hear preachers and gifted speakers telling us how to live better, what to do, and what to say. But sometimes, it’s more powerful not to have an answer for everything, but be confessional in the their triumphs, their stumbles, their doubts, their own walk of faith.

It is my firm belief that if we ever feel like we have “arrived” spiritually, then we have lost our way.

Peace,

-chris