Anyone who knows me well will be aware that I like things to be both relational and to be professional.

However, it can often be difficult to achieve both of these goals at the same time. Sometimes this is due to restrictions by the venue. Sometimes it's due to the need to have a tight schedule or production script.

I have felt this tension throughout the evolution of the TWIST Music Ministry Conference.

In 2003 we launched an informal music training weekend at Youthworks' Blue Gum Lodge Centre. The year after, we moved to Port Hacking, and we filled all of the 350 beds with people passionate about church music, with experienced musos willing to offer training and nurture.

We had a good sound system, but didn't worry much about lighting or staging.

We weren't sloppy, but we didn't really focus on production values. People spent lots of time informally 'jamming' or chatting. We had great talks from Mike Raiter, and Colin Buchanan inspired our imagination. The residential nature of the event meant that people lived together as they joined for meals, and shared their lives with new friends.

The year after, in our pursuit of professionalism, and the need for more space, we moved from a residential conference to a weekend day-only conference in a school auditorium. Over the years we have grown in professionalism, but have never captured the same community that we enjoyed in our residential conference.

So, in 2009 we have given up trying to achieve both professionalism and community.

Instead, we have re-visioned TWIST, creating two new events. The first, 'TWIST-Away', is a weekend-long residential training event at Port Hacking from 12 to 14 June, where participants can bring their musical instruments along and learn and grow in community. The second, 'TWIST Conference', is a one-day event at the Angel Place Recital Hall on 24 October, featuring international guest musician Keith Getty, composer of 'In Christ Alone', and his wife Kristyn, with talks from Justin Moffatt.

We're hoping that the one-day event will achieve a level of professionalism and production values unrivalled by any other conference. It's unlikely people will make life-long musical buddies at the one-day event, but we're aiming high in professionalism. Likewise, the event at Port Hacking won't win prizes for technical and production brilliance, but the intimacy of community, and the opportunity for small-group training and discussion should tick every relational box.

Have we finally woken up to the fact that you can't be slick and cosy at the same time, or have we given up too easily?

For details of the TWIST events, visit [url=http://www.twistconference.com]http://www.twistconference.com[/url].