Unified Underground 2007

Just imagine it... punks, goths and hardcore kids from all over the country, all gathering in one place for three days, all sharing the same belief systems and—as Leroy from War of Ages put it—all committed to changing the world. Speakers from the various cultures opened their hearts and spoke their minds to the rest of us, teaching us and encouraging us by pointing to the Word, and bands led our worship in their own styles ranging from punk rock to gothic-industrial to electronic to metalcore. This was UNIFIED UNDERGROUND 2007.

I'm going to be honest: I didn't know how well it was going to work. I didn't know if the kind of fellowship we were aiming for was possible, but I knew that God had a plan for this weekend. And His plan came to fruition by His grace! His children, no matter what they looked like, got to know each other and built lasting friendships that will persist long after everyone arrives back home in their respective states. All of the social walls were completely obliterated, and we shared our time in worship, growth, learning, discipleship and even recreation. Every time I looked around, I saw people talking and introducing themselves, rather than sticking with the groups that they had come to the conference with. Real, enduring UNITY was achieved this weekend, and that unity is only going to continue to grow and strengthen as the spirit of this weekend "trickles down" through all of the people who participated as they share their experiences this weekend with others.

I am still collecting my thoughts and reflecting over this weekend, but I think I can safely speak for everyone in attendance and say that it was a life-changing event for all of us. Every person with whom I've spoken has said that they grew through the events of the weekend, and are committed to being there next year and every year after.

Over the next few days and weeks, we'll be collecting photos and testimonies to share with all of you that couldn't make it! If you were there, please email me with any testimonies or weblogs that you kept for the event, and links to any photos you may have taken.

We've got less than a year until UNIFIED UNDERGROUND 2008, featuring our amazing friends in Flatfoot 56. We're shooting for the first weekend in October (Oct. 3-5, '08), so mark your calendars and start making your plans now! God bless!