What is Next?

In 2009 the "New Attitude" conference became "Next".

It all started in Baltimore back in 1999. A little over a thousand people gathered to worship God and be changed by his word. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the conference we called New Attitude. I suppose we could use this milestone to look back and reminisce. But that's not our plan. We think this moment is an opportunity to recalibrate, clarify and renew the vision that first launched us. One expression of this renewal is a new name for our gathering.

New Attitude is over, this year we're launching NEXT.

Why change the name? Let me share the superficial reason first. How can I put this nicely? New Attitude is cheesy. The only thing bearing that name is a really bad Patti Labelle song from the 1980's and a few cheap nail salons in strip malls. I can say this because I came up with New Attitude. The name was a holdover from a magazine I published many years ago, but it really has no connection with what the conference is about.

But the name change goes deeper than that. We want a fresh start. So much of the heart and mission of this event will be the same, but we want to send a very clear message: this is something new. Over the years New Attitude has come to be thought of as a "singles conference" or a "college event." But what we're about is bigger than an age group or a marital status.

The vision of NEXT is to gather worshipers of Jesus Christ who burn with a passion to see the gospel transferred to the next generation. Yes, that includes college students and singles. But it also includes married couples. And it also includes people like Bob and Marge Merriman who are in their sixties. This couple has been coming every year since the first conference to participate and serve. If you have a desire to see gospel truth clearly proclaimed, faithfully lived and expressed in worship and mission then NEXT is for you.

The name NEXT better captures the vision that's always been at the core of this event. It's always been about passing the gospel on to the next generation. I've viewed it as an opportunity to introduce attendees to the faithful pastors and theologians who have most deeply affected my life. In most cases these are men who are older than me. I love the sight of seeing these men addressing a crowd of people younger than them. There's no generation gap. There's only rapt attention and joy in the glorious gospel that transcends all cultures and ages.

Someone might think the name NEXT is preoccupied with what is new. The latest, or the "next thing". Or even the idea that the "next generation" is more exciting because young is better than old. Actually, it's just the opposite. We're not concerned with what is new. We're not here to innovate. We want to proclaim, understand and faithfully transmit truth from God's word that never changes–truth that is solid and sound and old. And we're not fascinated with the next generation because it's better. We just love Jesus and we want whoever is coming behind us to know him, love him and worship him with us.

If you think about it, the most important thing you and I can do in our life is to know the incredible truth of what Jesus has done for us through his death and resurrection–and then pass that truth on to someone else. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ that should be your ambition–whether you're 18, 35 or 60.

A faithful old pastor named John Stott has taught me much about the gospel and the centrality of the cross of Christ. In writing about Paul's relationship to the younger man Timothy, Stott writes, "A new generation of young Timothys is needed, who will guard the sacred deposit of the gospel, who are determined to proclaim it and are prepared to suffer for it, and who will pass it on pure and uncorrupted to the generation which in due course will rise up and follow them."

I can't think of a better way of summing up the vision of NEXT. If that vision stirs something in your heart, I hope you'll join us.