History in the Making

Today, Howard Shultz and His $4 Lattes Are my Friends

Was up at 4:30 am this morning to catch a flight to L.A. No doubt, I've swigged all the coffee I can handle by the moment this time-released blog post will fire... and I've got 3 more hours to go before sundown catches up. Excited to see the west coast and experience Erwin McManus' Awaken conference. But not so excited to leave my boys and Ains behind...

Whiteboard Discount Ends Tonight

The Early Bird Deadline for Whiteboard ends tonight at midnight. Starting tomorrow, it's the regular rate... By the way, I'm out of good whiteboard photos, so it's onto the blackboard family. =)

And The New Position is...

It's official.

Starting this summer, I'll be Event Director at Catalyst, working under VP Brad Lomenick to continue making Catalyst the most impactful, innovative and unforgettable leadership experience on the planet.

This includes helping to launch Catalyst Los Angeles in 2009, along with some regional, one-day proto-events all across the country.

I've spent quality time with the amazing Catalyst team in Atlanta and can't wait to start working with them. It's a great fit for my passions and gifts, and I couldn't come up with a better dream job!

Weekend

Two Things Happening Monday...

1. I'm announcing my new job, which will require a move for my family...

2. Early bird rate for The Whiteboard Sessions ends Monday at midnight.

More Everything Whiteboard

Kris Sorenson sent me this link: the writeable whiteboard t-shirt. I'd totally get these for our volunteers if they weren't $60 a pop. =)

Parting Words to My People

Attended my last state-wide Church Planters' Network for the SBCV yesterday. Was sentimental for me because it's been 6 years. Had the chance to talk about Whiteboard, but took a moment to say thanks for the memories... until I realized only one other church planter had been attending for so long. =)

The SBCV is sending all 100 of their planters to WiBo which is incredible. Their leaders right now are some of the most missional thinkers I've seen in our denomination and have really come behind us. This would have never happened 3 years ago.

But I implored the church planters to show their support for events like Whiteboard by coming out en masse and bringing their apprentices with them. This is the first chance they've had to hear other speakers besides the stock SBC statesmen... and this is quite possibly a turning point for them... if they make the most of it.

You're Living Somebody's Dream, Might as well Be Your's

Was meeting with a church leader the other day who ended our brainstorming conversation with "I've gotta go capture some of these ideas." The mental image of fluttering ideas scurrying away from him struck me funny.

Another friend was recently describing a young entrepreneur in L.A. who said his primary focus was "harvesting his creativity." Such a great image.

I love that God created our minds to produce ripe little creations that can be harvested and developed. Just like peach trees produce luscious fruit, God created our minds to be dream makers.

Question is ~ how's your production? Are you excited about what's coming to mind? Or are you going through the motions, living off somebody else's dreams and ideas?

Funny WiBo Story

So many leaders' leaders are coming to WiBo... from Willow staff to the team at Leadership Network. But I got a call the other day from a 69 year old lady named Happi who runs a truck-stop chapel at exit 97 between Georgia in Florida. Somehow she heard about Whiteboard and has registered to come. She told me some amazing stories of leading truckers to Christ and said that she's familiar with almost all of the Whiteboard speakers. In fact, she's leading a small group through Mark Batterson's book In a Pit right now... amazing. Watch out if you see a 30-foot RV pull up to the Hyatt. =)

You Gotta Write it Down

I've noticed something about influential ministry leaders. Most all of them are writers. They share their convictions through writing, not just speaking. They lay it down on paper.

Someone told me that Chris Tomlin loved Mark Batterson's In a Pit so much that he recently put it on Louie Giglio's desk the same day someone else gave him a copy. I can't imagine being in ministry and not knowing about NCC's faith story, but Mark's greatest influence comes from writing. Think about it - how many Catalyst speakers are not writers?

I feel like I've got a book in me wanting to come out... but I'm going into late-term pregnancy. This is going to be an ugly baby! =) In the meantime, I'm taking every opportunity I can get to hone the skills. I just wrote an article for COLLIDE, Exponential Conference's notebook, and Threads Media. And I'm working on a self-published short book this month called The Strategically Located Church Plant.

You gotta get it out.

Whiteboard Update

Whiteboard is filling-up fast and the Early Bird deadline ends this Monday, March 31, at midnight. If you're looking for an affordable hotel, just search "Reston, Va" on Hotwire.com, and you'll see some great deals. Also, my wife Ainsley's women's lunch at the exclusive Paolo's in Reston Town Center has about 25 spaces left.

The Tragedies that Propel you to Greatness

Let me ask you a question. Would you rather be well-adjusted and marginally successful... or emotionally wounded and highly successful? I've noticed a strong correlation between successful leaders and dark pasts.

Some of the most successful men and women have experienced traumatic childhoods that propel them to become high-achievers. The early loss of a mother, the neglect of a father, abandonment, abuse...

Just listened to Steve Jobs describe how his single mother gave him up for adoption to another couple that she made promise would put him through college. Imagine the pain. He ended up dropping out of school and the rest is history...

I've heard similar stories about successful pastors and church planters. What often drives them to greatness is the motivation of escaping or redeeming their dark past. Righteous or not, it stirs up a great force within them that seeks wholeness, satisfaction.

Diary of a Conference Organizer

More and more ministry events are moving away from the "conference" name. North Point is building-in more discussion time at Drive; Mark Batterson is careful to say that Unplugged is "less conference, more conversation"; and Rick Warren is floating around the idea of an invitation-only un-conference this spring.

There is no doubt an oversaturation in the conference field. Whiteboard started out as my reaction to being over-conferenced. I wanted just one day; 30 minute talks; big ideas; and as many keynotes as possible.

WiBo has evidently struck a chord with other ministry leaders who want the same thing...

Another Personal Announcement

When I stepped down as pastor of RCC on February 10, I had no idea where God would lead Ainsley and me next. It was a total plunge into God's providence. Thanks to the generosity of my church, I'm able to pour into Whiteboard until May 22 to make it a world-class event.

By God's grace, I had 13 job offers or conversations -- only three of which were church staff positions. For me, this confirmed that God was leading me into new waters. I needed to move into my sweet spot, where my gifts, passions, and calling all came together.

The best fit for me turned out to be an incredible position with an amazing organization. It'll require an out-of-state move for my family at the end of May, and I'm sure this blog will change quite a bit starting summmer. The ink's not totally dry though, so I'll wait to announce exactly what it is on Monday.

Whiteboarding is now a verb

Aaron pointed me to Sketchcast, where you can share your whiteboard-like diagrams with others in real motion... nice.

How Do You Brainstorm?

One of the first conferences I attended in northern Virginia was Frontline's Emerge Conference. At this two-day event, Ken Baugh used dry erase markers to illustrate Mclean Bible Church's ministry process. Those images never left my mind. They were conceptual; they were raw; they were half-baked. And I loved it. Here are just a few whiteboard uses from mainstream media...

• In A Beautiful Mind, John Nash turns windows into whiteboards using a bar of soap.
• In the TV show House, Dr. House's team uses a whiteboard to solve rare medical mysteries.
• The FBI in Without a Trace uses a whiteboard to chart clues and relationships related to missing persons.
• Tim Russert uses a hand-held whiteboard on election-nights to report voting results.
• In Numb3rs, Charlie Eppes solves murders by scribbling math formulas on windows and whiteboards.

I don't know what the Whiteboard speakers will say. But I'm hoping they'll share the rawest, most conceptual, even half-baked ideas that keep them up at night. I want inside the minds of ministry's most influential leaders. I don't want the same content as last month's conference. Sure, I'm organizing this event. But I'm very much coming as an attender.

Your Vision on a Napkin

Love the concept behind this new book by Dan Roam: The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. I think in diagrams and have napkins stuffed into my Moleskin from table-top brainstorming.

I think every church needs a graphical mission that can fit on a napkin. At RCC, I used the guest lodge, the climbing teams and the sherpas to illustrate our mission of making disciples who can make disciples of Jesus Christ.

You lose the diagram, you lose your ability to communicate clearly with people the vision of your church.

The Savageness of Spring

Last night, I went running for the first time this spring. Four miles. Hacked a lung. Every year, I face the same conditioning hurdles where my lungs have to exand and my leg muscles need to stretch before running can become a joy again. When I finally break through the wall mounted up by winter's inactivity, it's totally worth it. But for now, it's an exercise in brutality.

[Nike art]

The church is not in any trouble...

Recently heard a leading church wonk say the church is "decimated" in Europe. Heard another well-known pastor say the American church is just 20 years away from disappearing if we don't do something about it.

Just wanted to say that Jesus made it clear there's a supernatural assurance of the church's survivability. Anybody remember "I will build my church..."? It's not going anywhere. I don't think we're seeing the "decimation" and "disappearance" of authentic faith communities. I think we're seeing the end of religion under the Christian label.

The movement of Christianity is never more authentic and powerful than when its pounded into obscurity by persecution and oppression. The end of outward, consumeristic Christianity is always the beginning of a stealth-like, underground band of believers who are willing to die for their faith. One day, we'll be surprised at what was genuine and what was artificial in the church.

Revelation 21-22 gives us the actual size dimensions of Heaven: 1,400 miles cubed. That's Denver to NYC by Canada to Florida. That's just not that big. What a sobering reality check on the authenticity of faith in the church throughout the ages.

Improvements to the iPhone

After 6 months of iPhone use, I've got a laundry list of improvement requests to send to Mr. Jobs:

1. GPS
2. Video camera
3. Photo text messaging
4. Cut & paste capability
5. iTunes downloading off the data network