Magyar Egyház, 1970 (49. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1970-10-01 / 10. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 17 REPORT ON THE 31st ANNUAL B.Y.F. CONFERENCE Hosted by the Perth Amboy Youth Group Do you want to know how the BYF Conference was this year? Well, let’s eavesdrop in on this conversation .... “Say Steve,” Joan said to her boyfriend, “There’s Linda and Henry. Let’s go over and talk to them.” “Hi guys,” greeted Steve, “we missed you last Labor Day weekend, where did you go?” “Linda and I went to the B.Y.F. Conference at Camp Minisink in Stillwater, N. J.”, replied Henry. “There must have been at least 130 people there,” added Linda, “and the guest speaker, May Dooley, gosh, she was great, spoke on ‘How to be a Christian Without Being Religious’ using the book of the same name by Fritz Ridenour.” “Well, what are we waiting for,” said Joan quickly. “Let’s get a booth at the coffee shop and you guys can tell us all about it.” After finding a place in the coffee shop, Henry began. “I think it all started on the very first day. When everybody came, it was like a big happy family getting together with GOD and with Jesus Christ, both at the head. On Thursday night, the ‘Sing Thing’ really set a mood of togetherness that was to continue for the rest of the weekend and hopefully forever.” “Something new was started this year called ‘Quiet Time,’” said Linda, “where you can go off to some place alone to meditate.” “What did you meditate about during ‘Quiet Time,’ Linda?”, Steve asked. “I thought about how funny the topic sounded”, Linda answered. “Like how could you be a Christian without being religious? That sounded ridiculous. So I thought about my attitudes and reasons for coming to the conference and I completely shut them out and I accepted whatever GOD wanted me to accept. I had faith in HIM.” “Didn’t you think the topic sounded contradictory and doesn’t anyone have a choice of what to accept and what not to accept?” asked Joan. “It does sound contradictory,” answered Linda, “but the Bible is full of contradictions, like by being Jesus Christ’s slave you will be free. We do have a choice of what to accept and what not to accept. We count as an individual and when GOD invites each one of us to his family, we must make the decision whether to enter or not.” “How was the speaker,” asked Steve. “What did she have to say about this?” “I think she was the difference between a good conference and a great conference, and a great one it was,” Henry said. “You could really tell that through knowledge, understanding, and love, she has found GOD. And by letting Him come into her life, GOD is directing the purpose for her life. In her lectures she transmitted this to us, and for the first time in my life I began to wonder, ‘Who Am I’ and ‘What Is The Purpose For My Being Here On Earth,’ and ‘What Does GOD Want Me To Do With My Life’?” “I’ll have to agree with you, Henry,” said Linda. “At first I thought success and materialistic gains were important, but there was always a sense of frustration and emptiness with this and I finally realized that there was something more important but I didn’t quite know what it was. It wasn’t until I went to the conference that I found GOD and let Him be the center of my life for whatever purpose he has for me. This attitude was so strange, yet so natural that I really blew my mind!” “Why didn’t GOD come into your life sooner,” asked Joan. “Why did he wait till the B.Y.F. conference?” “I think it’s because GOD has silences for a purpose,” answered Linda. “The time may not be right and He waits. But if we remember that GOD loves us, the Holy Spirit will surely enter us, but it takes time. GOD is after the change in the inside, the heart and mind. GOD is interested in the living of the day to day life. What counts is the relationship one has with GOD and Jesus Christ. This relationship shouldn’t be like castor oil, it shouldn’t spoil your fun. GOD can help you see your life.” “I know what you mean about the emptiness and frustration,” said Steve. “I feel the same way. I simply have no purpose to my life, and it frightens me that I might turn to booze or drugs.” “If you do that,” remarked Henry, “you’re just trying to escape from your problems and from life itself. Skip the booze, skip the drugs, let’s get high on GOD.” “You know, we’ve learned so much on how to live with people,” added Linda. “We learned why opposite temperaments attract in marriage. The extrovert attracts the introvert, the thinking person attracts the emotional type and the intuitive type attracts the common sense type of person. In this way, we are seeking fulfillment in the one who personifies what we lack, and long for.” “Don’t forget what May said in one of her lectures,” said Henry, “that marriage is not all ‘peaches and cream’. There will always be problems, but if we have GOD as the center with the intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual factors around Him, the problems in marriage can be worked out. A big question that must be answered before anyone gets married is ‘Do I love this person just to have love or just to get married for marriage’s sake, or do I love this person as he or she is for his or her own best interest”? “That’s why,” explained Linda, “Henry and I put off our engagement. We felt that we have to grow more inside and search for answers for the purpose in our lives.” But we have faith in GOD,” Henry added, “we will accept whatever GOD wants for us, whether marriage to each other or not.” “What did the book, ‘How to be a Christian Without Being Religious’ have to say, Linda?” asked Joan. “I think the book talked in circles, but it did bring out many good points. Like, the book said many people play a game called ‘Church’ and they misuse the church for their own selfish reasons. Then there are some that go for no reason at all, they just go because that’s what they’ve been doing for most of their lives. I never knew why I went to church. But at the BYF conference I found a reason why I should go to church. I don’t think anyone can grow into a good Christian unless he has the church for fellowship, for relating to other people, for sharing the love of GOD with other Christians. This kind of church should actually he 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, for everyone instead of only an hour on Sunday mornings.” “Wow, this really sounds groovy!” exclaimed Steve. “But how did you find the reason for going to church, Linda?” “Well, when I began to see myself and to look at how I’ve been living, I realized that everyone at the conference was helping me, that they all accepted me for what I really am, because we’re all in the same thing together, we’ve all sinned during our lives. We all need the same things, love,
