I’m spending this week at Catalyst West. It’s a Christian conference for next generation leaders. Conferences like this feel a lot like junior high because they always remind of how nerdy and uncool I really am. Here are a few reasons why.
I have lame hair. There are a lot of people with much cooler hair than me. It doesn’t matter if their hair is long or short, spiky or flowy, or manicured or untamed; however their hair is, it is cooler than mine. It’s not that I don’t like my hair. I have a great stylist and my haircut looks good but it doesn’t look cool. And you don’t make the conference video without cool hair.
I also have lame clothes. A lot of the people at the conference look like they’re models for Urban Outfitters or American Apparel. I look like a model from Costco. That’s not even a joke. I was happily wearing my Kirkland Signature white tee shirt until I saw everyone else in their flannels and vintage tees; my shirt was put to shame. It was like junior high all over again when I came to school in my JCPenny Arizona jeans and everyone else was wearing Levis. The embarrassment was compounded because I had to find my jeans in the husky section.
I’m also terribly uncool because I don’t have a MacBook. Almost every computer I saw today was a MacBook. I didn’t have my computer out, partially because I didn’t need it, but also because I didn’t want to draw any scorn or ridicule. Having a PC at this conference is like being in the model United Nations in high school. And not even a cool nation like Brazil, but an obscure nation like Luxembourg. Honestly, I don’t even know how I expect to have an impact on the next generation without a MacBook. At least I have an iPhone to partially make up for my tragically unhip computer.
I’m comfortable with being a nerd. It’s a role I’ve grown accustomed to over the years. It is always a little unsettling, though, when I end up in an environment that reminds me of a time when I wasn’t so comfortable with who I am.
It doesn’t matter, though, if I’m a nerd among a bunch of people much cooler than me. Regardless of social status or encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek, we’ve all gathered together for a common purpose. Everyone at Catalyst West wants to see God’s kingdom expanded and God is willing to use anyone for that work.
Even if they have boring hair, husky jeans and a Dell desktop.
When have you felt like a fish out of water?
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