The 2016 Torrey Conference kicked off tonight with the longest line I have ever seen. By different accounts, the line for tonight’s first credit opportunity stretched all the way to Emerson. Despite the long line, experiencing the opening event outweighed the grueling wait. An amazing group of diverse and brilliant artists unravelled Torrey’s theme during tonight’s event called Prayer Through Poetry, which stood as a beautiful expression of knowing God in many differing circumstances.

Tonight’s pieces all had the theme of shame. Each piece performed stayed in line with the theme of shame, mixing with the bigger Torrey theme of being known.The theme gave rise to poetry and songs about the shame of bondage; bondage to self-loathing, bondage to addictions, bondage to sin. Artists shared their personal battles with the sins that held them in bondage. Many of the performers found themselves on the verge of tears, but pulled through to deliver their piece.

In the end, the artists’ poems, songs and acapella rap pieces conveyed how the revelation of God knowing them salvaged them from shame. These brave and talented individuals displayed how being found in the midst of their sin freed them to know themselves. Through beautiful art, these artists displayed how wonderful they are and how they themselves are wonderful works of art made by the Creator’s hand.

For the audience, we saw goodness, truth and beauty presented to us by our phenomenally talented peers. They did not perform these pieces as a way for them to defend their shame to us, but instead arm us with spiritual weapons to take on the enemy. I thank these peers for their expression and showcase of wonderful wordplay.