There is a pronounced rift between conservative churches of Christ and liberal churches of Christ. As one might expect, the liberals tend to try to be innovative, somewhat pushing the envelope. Conservatives seem unwilling to change, but at the same time grounded in the truth.
Nowhere is this rift seems so apparent is during winter in Gatlinburg. On one viewpoint there’s the liberal Winterfest, while at the otherside of the spectrum, there is the CYC – Challenge Youth Conference.
Originally Winterfest was the only youth rally sponsored by the Churches of Christ. I attended Winterfest during my college years… My role was halfway between a student and a chaperone…possibly a bit more of the former. I don’t remember much of it, except it was all a bit emotional. During one session we were told of a young man who lost his life before he was able to become a Christian. During that point I was emotional myself. Yet now I look back at it and it seems so trival because we have all heard that same story over and over before.
CYC arose from Winterfest’s liberalism. Conservative churches wanted a youth rally in Gatlinburg, but didn’t want the liberalism that Winterfest had become.
Since in recent years the church I attend had pushed CYC and did not mention Winterfest at all, I had assumed that Winterfest had all but died out. Not so. Today I got an email sent to the church’s email address from a representative from my alma mater sent to area churches inquiring about Winterfest and giving the opportunity to receive goodies…as in beanies for the kids. Winterfest is sponsored by the more liberal Lipscomb University…among other sponsors, while CYC is sponsored by the conservative Freed-Hardeman, Southern Christian and Faulkner Universities.
So now one must have to image what the storekeepers in Gatlinburg think when there are seemlingly two large youth rallies among the churches of Christ within (sometimes) consecutive weekends in Feburary.