This blog is about the preparation, surviving and recouping from the 2012 General Conference. For those who are unfamiliar with General Conference in the United Methodist Church it is a time when delegates (lay and clergy members of the church who are elected from their respective regions of the world that have UM churches) can speak on behalf of the church. General Conference is the only time that statements or decision can be made on behalf of and with the official seal of United Methodism.
As of today (Feb 25) there are exactly 60 days until all the official event begins. That means that for those who are attending this epic event, it is time to begin training.
How does one train for two weeks of legislative dialogue, inspiring international worship, listening to committee and commission report and the most rigorous networking meals imaginable? Well that has taken a lot of soul searching to decide on the best strategy, and it begins with a very basic rule: study for 1-3 hours a day.
One must commit and record their study time daily (now the real goal each day is the three hour mark but as a seminary student with a job I am being realistic). If one completes three hours of study they can sleep happy and will commended by their allies. If one does not study they will feel the stress of unknown knowledge begin to overwhelm them as the 60 days until the conference turns to 50, 40, 30, 10, 2 days.
Additional points can be given for learning an activity that you can do while sitting through the plenary session (when the reports are given and votes happen). Also credit goes to people who work on their skill of speed walking, and sitting for long periods of times. A mastery of Robert's Rules of Order gains you the role of head of your metho-decathlon team (and most nerdy points).
I am sure that over the next 60 prep days the scoring will get flushed out. For now know that 1-3 hours a day is the goal. You can check back here to see here if I am achieving this goal, and to hear about any strange things that happen to me in my preparation.
Next Post: Meet the Players.
