Conference Time

P: In Washington, 10,000 boys and girls from every state but Alaska and Nevada --as well as from Europe, Singapore, Jamaica and Brazil--assembled under the auspices of Youth for Christ for a three-day "Capital Teen Convention" at the National Guard Armory, under the bannered slogan: TEENS TELLING TEENS IN THE WORLD'S DECADE OF DESTINY. Layman Ted W. Engstrom of the Evangelical Free Church, president of Youth for Christ International, urged his plaid-shirted and bobby-soxed audience to write down the motto: "Christ Constantly in Command, Christ Completely in Control," and to put it into practice at school, at home, "and in parked cars on dates." Evangelist Billy Graham, a onetime Youth for Christ member, exhorted them to "turn your life over to Christ"--minds, eyes, ears ("Do you listen to dirty jokes?") and sex life ("The sex instinct in you is the strongest now it will ever be . . . Give your sex life to Christ").

P: In Baltimore, Methodists celebrated the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Methodist Church in America. At the Lovely Lane Church, named after the "meeting house" where the historic "Christmas Conference" took place, 289 Methodist pastors and wives assembled for a week-long reenactment of the founding. All were under 35, in commemoration of the youthfulness of the 83 circuit-riding preachers who organized the Methodist Church under Francis Asbury.

Baltimore's Bishop Edgar A. Love warned the young pastors against trying to "major" in both church and civic affairs--one must "major in one and minor in the other, and there is no question as to which must be the major field of operation." Bishop Love also urged them not to be too popular. "You may preach a spineless, conforming-to-things-as-they-are sort of Gospel that may not cost you anything. If you do, you may please the people and have a comfortable existence, but you will not have peace of mind."

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