NEXT

I really don’t have a long or tedious biography. I was born, read books, had the shortest Tee Ball career in history, read more books, and went to college where I got a degree in reading books.

Here at thisisNext.org I’m responsible for a diverse range of tasks I sum up in my official title: “Words and things.” I make the Webzine and Blog happen every month and leave typos on the other Next webpages for people to find.

I also serve as a pastoral intern at Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, TX where I get the ridiculous privilege of going to church six days a week. In November I married Jenn—the best girl in the world. Jenn and I love shopping at Savers, listening to NPR, eating international foods, and dreaming about buying Mountain Bikes.

If you’ve got a comment or suggestion about the website let me know at ricky-at-newattitude.org. If you have a really mean comment please e-mail me at someone-at-somewhere.

So we know that you are all dying to tell your friends about Next. We know that you simply cannot wait to get a bunch of Next brochure/posters and pass them out in your church, on your campus, or wherever you may go. Conveniently, these are also things we would love for you to do. Isn’t it nice how these things work out?

In the future we are going to have a promotional section on this website, at which you can request such promotional materials as brochures and stickers, but why wait? We’d like to get these materials in your hands as soon as possible. So if you want to receive a promotional packet (and we definitely want you to receive a promotional packet), send me an e-mail at bwhalen-at-sovgracemin.org with your name and address. Then promote away.

If you don’t know me – and why would you? – I’m the old guy on the team. The old eccentric Englishman. I have a grand title at Sovereign Grace Ministries: Director of Event Planning; but all that really means is that others decide what should happen at Next, WorshipGod09, Together for the Gospel, The Clash, etc, and I make it happen. It’s a responsible job: I’m responsible for everything that goes wrong.
What’s my role with Next? Well, we have a bunch of gifted individuals working on Next, I coordinate with them, and on May 23rd Next happens… hopefully (sorry, D.V., Deo volente, God willing).

Hey fellow Next-ers! My name is Jennifer Lightfoot. I live in Orlando, FL which is pretty much the best place EVER. Here’s a quick run-down on me:

_ i’m the oldest of five kiddos and came to Christ when i was about four but really began to own my faith when i was about 17

_i wrecked my first car in 2006
_2008 highlight: coordinating the yes2marriage campaign for my county so that we could pass the marriage amendment in florida…and pass, it did – with 62% of the vote!

_2008 highlight #2 (am i allowed to have two?):  learned to like seafood! this is a really big deal. i mean a really big deal. i think salmon is my fave but i’m open to suggestions!

_my “do hard thing” for 2009: study mandarin
_my fave things to do: sit at Starbucks with my friends, going to worship team rehearsal, babysitting, surf facebook (don’t mock me - you know you do, too! =), doing a photo shoot of friends, going on mission trips to cuba, critiquing movies, blogging, working on our region’s conferences and going to conferences like Next!

_my least fave things to do: confront others about a sin issue, jog or run (bleh!), wake up early, go a day without coffee, be sick and have to miss work

_current spiritual disciplines focus: memorize a passage of Scripture a day with john piper’s fighter verses 

_occupation: i have had the super amazing privilege of working for my church for the past eight years. i currently serve two of the pastors on staff – danny jones and benny phillips.


So, there you go! In the next few months you’ll be hearing from me about random stuff as well as ways we’re gonna be promo-ing the conference to people here in O-town. Feel free to share your ideas, too!


Hello, my name is Grant Layman and I am a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I have had the privilege of serving in that role for the past 25 years (I feel really old writing that!). I am married to the woman of my dreams, Karin (pronounced car-in), and we have 4 wonderful children - Brett (21), Brittany (19), Brielle (14), and Brian (11).

My job with Next is to help Josh run the conference by implementing the vision he has provided to see a passion for the gospel transferred to the next generation. I have served as a Community Group leader for all of the previous conferences with the exception of one, so I am very familiar with what this conference is about and absolutely love it! That is why, when Josh approached me several months ago about the possibility of coming alongside him to lead this conference, I was so eager to participate. I have the joy of serving Josh in a very similar way at Covenant Life, where he is the senior pastor, so taking on this role for Next seemed to be a good fit. It’s important for you to know that I could not have taken on this responsibility without the outstanding team of people who have come together to serve you, beginning with Paul Medler who is ‘The Man’ when it comes to putting on conferences.

On the personal side? I love being with my wife and kids, celebrating their interests, serving the members of CLC, playing and watching sports (more watching these days!), and vacationing in the white beaches of Sarasota, Florida, where I grew up.

Hi, I’m Latricia, and I think my title is Main Sessions Director (at least that’s what Ricky called me, so that’s what we’ll go with.)

I agreed to take on this role last spring when Michelle, our previous Main Sessions Director, needed to step down to go save the world. I’m really excited about getting involved with the conference this year, and I’m really hoping that my undergraduate degree in theatre and my current job working for the Production Department of Covenant Life Church will come in handy. By God’s grace, I get to see a little snippet of what goes into making events like Next happen each week. I serve the superservants who make all of the lights, sound, and video happen at each event Covenant Life puts on. It’s such a joy (I love my job!) and it causes me to look forward with anticipation to what God is going to do at the conference this year. I’ve been tasked with organizing, pushing forward and helping to carry out all of the details relating to the main sessions. What does that mean? I’m still trying to figure it all out, but I’ll try to keep you updated as I do.

This is kind of cool.  In a sort of BTF (Back to the Future) twist, I’m writing a blog post to people of the future.  Right now, it’s 9:11 pm on Sunday, January 25th.  However, you won’t be reading this until at least January 28th.  So, to quote Donetello, “The past returns”*.

I’m David Altrogge and I make movies.  Right now, my business partner, Mike Hartnett and I are in the throes of shooting the Next Promo video.  It’s a 4-day shoot and thus far we’re having a stellar time. We started shooting in my hometown of Indiana Pennsylvania on Friday. Indiana is the birthplace of famed Thespian Jimmy Stewart in addition to being the Christmas tree capital of the world. So if you’re looking for a new holiday tradition, come to Indiana and cut down a Christmas tree while watching It’s a Wonderful Life*. After two awesome days of filming (the Lord has provided us with a stellar cast and crew) we packed up and headed south. Tomorrow and Tuesday we’ll be continuing our filming in the streets of Baltimore. On Wednesday, when you’re reading this post, we’ll be wrapping up at Sovereign Grace Studios, recording the video’s narration.

God has been so kind to us these first two days, and we’re excited to see how he provides in the next two.  We can’t wait to show you the video and hope is gets you pumped about what God is going to do at Next.  Please be praying that the Lord helps us as we edit the video.

* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze; Scene 26b; New Line Cinema; 1992.

** Note: This shouldn’t be done while operating heavy machinery.

Hello.

My name is Brian Whalen and I’m the new guy, the intern, the coffee-fetcher. Or so I thought. I arrived on scene at the events department of Sovereign Grace Ministries a few weeks ago and I have yet to fetch any coffee.

I am a student on leave from Georgia State University in Atlanta, working here as part of my degree in hospitality administration. Quite simply, I’m going to school to learn how to plan events like Next. My main job here is to do what I’m told, and so far I have been told to head up promotions, to make sure people hear about us. I’ve also been told to blog a lot, so you can expect to hear from me frequently as I keep you updated on what’s going down here at Next headquarters. Well, “headquarters,” really. That’s what I like to call it.

A little about me? I love my job, hammered dulcimers, cemeteries, and the sound of the wind in the wheat.

Hello world, it’s us—the Next bloggers.

Our blogger team is made up of people working on Next—the guys shooting the videos, the girl directing main sessions, the intern in charge of marketing, the pastor directing community groups. We’ll tell you what’s going on with Next each week. (And we may even drop hints about what to expect at the conference…) And we’ll try to keep it brief. Really brief. Under 300 words brief.

We’ll also highlight ways you can help with the conference. We’ll post prayer requests, ask for volunteers, list ways you can promote Next on campus or in your church and ask for your input. And, of course, we’d love to hear from you. The blog is a great place to comment on the world of Next.

But first, since you don’t know us and we don’t know we thought we should introduce ourselves. Over the next few days we’ll all say hello. Feel free to say hi back, ask a question, or make fun of our hobbies.