CLS Day 3.5: Peace & Grace

“Peace and Grace” the CLS greeting. I feel as though I’ve joined a sorority. Yesterday after lunch with Judge Charles Pickering, I went to relax again on the beach. Sabbath afternoon could not have been better – to be alone with my feet covered in sand watching the sunset was just perfect.

So we had the big celebration & fund raising banquet to end the weekend last night. Dinner table conversation centered on the advantages of being Christian at a secular as opposed to Christian law school. I had the opportunity to meet with a few more attorneys before the evening was over. The speaker for the night was Hugh Hewitt who seemed to focus on how as believers we need to be united in the fight for religious freedom, which means we cannot afford to turn against believers of other faiths running for office, aka Mitt Romney.

I’m not sure I agreed with all the political talk of this weekend. I can’t even say I agreed with all the spiritual implications. However, I found a safe place. A place where I can carry my beliefs and my profession hand in hand. A peaceful place, a place of God’s grace.

Next year, CLS goes international and will be taking place in Washington D.C. God willing I’ll have the opportunity to attend and catch up with my new friends.

For now, I’m home again.

CLS Day 2.5: I’m not a Lawyer Who’s Christian

Just back from another day of awesome sessions where lawyers, professors, judges, and even law students shared their faith-based profession. Before we get into that, let’s finish up where we left off last night. Last night we had a nice dinner in the ballroom, and I had to come out of the Seventh-day Adventist closet when another law student asked me, “Are you a Seventh-day Adventist?” We discussed for several minutes a series of questions about why I believe that there are still unclean meats, whether I drink, dance, or wear makeup. All things which are commonly associated with the rigid rules sometimes assigned to the essence of Adventism. I had to clarify that we are Christians and believe in God’s grace. This all started when I was chewing on chicken and trying to explain the church’s stance on vegetarianism.

The whole experience was humbling for me, and I realized that I am not prepared to share my faith when trials come. It is only by the grace of God that He can minister to others through my voice. That’s the point of this conference anyways, and I can see I have a long long way to go. However, I’m content with that, because as one of the speakers said today “One of the things about leadership is that you should hide nothing.”

CLS Day 1.5: Honorary Pepperdine Student

I’m here at the Christian Legal Society National Convention in Sandestin, Florida. The calm yet colorful tropic is only a glimpse of what is taking place here. Arriving about an hour after our schedule flight arrival time, I was unusually ok with being late. There was still plenty of time to get to the hotel, relax a bit, and then get on with the conference. I love attending workshops and conventions, but it’s the meeting new people part that always makes me feel like maybe I should just not go. I’m not one who easily manages chit chat. But that’s what was different about last night, I was at “home.” At the main session, the speaker mentioned that CLS was a big family – a safe place, but long before that I’d seen evidence of that.

I was starved after landing in Fort Walton Beach and so I called the free shuttle to take me up to Baytown Wharf. As I was sitting there waiting in the hotel lobby, I noticed some people who looked like law students gathering in front of the huge revolving doors. After about 10 minutes I managed to introduce myself to one girl who then invited me to join their group for dinner. I’m the sole representative from my school, and so I’ve had no choice but to find dinner-mates. By the end of the evening, I was titled honorary Pepperdine law student.

After dinner we went to the main session where John Lynch spoke. The message was clear and captivating. He compared and contrasted the “Room and Good Intentions” and the “Room of Grace,” to show how sometimes as Christians we try to please God by working our way to heaven, as opposed to trusting God to accept us as we are. This morning he followed up at our morning Bible study with some excellent points on how Christianity relates to the lawyer’s profession. Lawyers are competitive, we see things in black and white, and it’s our job to make clients behave and act a certain way so they look good in court. Sandestin is about “Breaking the Mold,” and removing the masks that we wear as Christians in order “to look good.”