History in the Making

Whiteboard Speaker Intro

You can watch one of Barton Damer's speaker intro videos from Whiteboard [here].

NonBlogging

Struggling to blog consistently as we're settling into the new place. But I've been Twittering for about a week now to see whether I like it. Got my name back from from the saboteur thanks to the kind people at Twitter.

Give up Your Good Christian Life and Follow Christ

I'm pretty sure the greatest deterrent to following God's leading or most of us is not disobedience, but rather the deep sadness that comes with moving hundreds of miles away from family and loved ones... the paralyzing fear of risking financial security... and the pant-soiling faith-leap of trying something new. But consider the alternative...

Whiteboard DVD Available For Sale

The Whiteboard DVD is now available at www.whiteboarddvd.com. Dave Daniels of Churchy Media is producing them and will be shipping them by end of June. They're coming, so hold your horses. =)

10 Hours on the Road Overnight

Ainsley and I drove to Atlanta last night starting at 8:30 PM so that our boys would sleep the entire way. At 6:30 AM, ten hours later, I pulled into a hotel near the Gwinnett Arena to sleep off a buzzing headache. It feels exciting and scary to be in a new home with big audacious challenges ahead. Got one speeding ticket from the nicest officer I've ever met in North Carolina ~ he reminded me of Andy Griffith. =) But we're here safe and sound.

You've got to read this about Whiteboard...

Steve sent me this link from 9Marks. I'm posting it because I was actually getting uncomfortable with all the strictly positive feedback about Whiteboard. =)

Something to understand... Mark Dever was the very first speaker I invited to WiBo. I really wanted him here because he has such a unique perspective on church ministry. It was exciting to put him on a stage with largely church-growth oriented speakers. A little dangerous even. I actually printed out his speaking itinerary and scheduled WiBo to fit one of the gaps in his schedule. And he did such a fantastic job at the event. He was so gracious.

And know this, I met the author of this critique, Matt Schmucker, at Dever's weekender a few months ago and was thoroughly impressed with him. He's such a nice man, has a lovely family and is highly professional. In fact, he gave me the warmest greeting while he was setting up the free booth we gave them. It's just a shame he decided to play umpire instead of enjoy the game. So even though this write-up is a bit steamy, don't doubt the goodness of this man.

With a name like Schmucker, he has to be good. =)

To Be Continued...

I may be on a bit of a blog hiatus because of our move to ATL. See you on the south side...

A Weekend of "Lasts"

I'm sorry... but you're going to get a lot of sentimental crap on the blog this week. The moving truck arrives on Tuesday for Georgia, so Ains and I have been doing the last "everything we love to do" in northern Virginia. Like two prisoners ordering their "last meal" we've been taking in movies at Reston Town Center, shopping at Tyson's Corner mall, spending ungodly amounts of money on our favorite restaurants. Everything is our "last time," so it feels justified. =)

The mother-load of Whiteboard photos.

Our Lady of Peace

The moving truck arrives on Tuesday morning whether we're ready or not. We're leaving behind 7 years of the most incredible experiences for a new life in Atlanta. Every Starbucks, every shopping center, every landmark carries such huge significance for me because of the conversations and interactions I've had with people here. 

When Ainsley and I did recon on northern Virginia back in 2001 with the dream of planting a church, we didn't know a soul here. It was an idealistic parachute drop into spiritually infertile community. We spent years pushing a plow through tough soil, preparing it for seeds of the Gospel. To me, the church that is now thriving and reaching people in Reston Town Center is nothing short of a miracle...

Whew-Bo

It's over, and I just slept for 12 hours. =) This is the first of a series of reflective posts about the event. Had an incredible time, and I think it's safe to say it was a great experience for everyone. I was monitoring Twitter and blog feeds through most of the talks and didn't see a single negative thing about it -- except for someone who wanted more downtime to connect with others. But thanks to Twitter, I actually got to see inside people's heads throughout every session. Amazing.

Here are the only two pics I took of the event, which say it all about Whiteboard. First one is Perry Noble taking notes during Vince's hilarious-yet-powerfully-moving talk. And the second is Mark Dever having fun with Tim Stevens -- quite possibly the most polar-opposite speakers of the bunch.

The Day Before Whiteboard

Here's an update before the big day tomorrow...

• Only a few more seats left at the big event. The women's lunch has sold out, and the bloggers lunch has sold out ~ has a waiting list.
• There is a FREE parking garage at the Hyatt and plenty of FREE parking garages surrounding the Town Center. Do some recon on your spot at www.restontowncenter.com.
• If you want to get the best parking and beat traffic, come early to Starbucks or Panera in the Town Center and reeelax.
• If you registered successfully, we have your name on a list, and that's all you and your team needs to get in. But you'll get in muuuuch faster if you bring the e-mail receipt you automatically received upon registering.
• We are shooting a high def DVD of the event ~ available for $59 at the event, and $69 here.
• We have only 80 limited edition tees left. You can order them today on the website for $20, or get one tomorrow at the event for $25.
• This is not an event where you'll agree with everyone on-stage. You're not supposed to. We've built healthy tension into the speaker line-up. Besides the Gospel and the authority of Scriptures, these guys minister by different ecclesiologies.
• It's going to be fun. Come prepared to meet people and have a good time.

Evolution of a Boy

Wyatt was born on the same weekend as the annual Reston Art Show four years ago. So each year, I drag him over to the festivities to take his picture in the Town Center. Here is the evolution of our boy year after year...

I think... uh... well... uh...

Todd Wilson interviewed me about WiBo at the Hyatt on ConferenceChannel.org. ugh. But hey, anything for the fans. =)

The 'Why' Behind the WiBo Speakers, pt 8

Five years ago, a nearby pastor-friend told me I needed to meet Mark Batterson. This was long before his blog. So my buddy drove me down to NCC's rowhouse office in DC [again, long before Ebeneezer's] to meet the crew that was making waves in the church world. No idea who Mark was, but he had more ecclectic books than I'd ever seen in any pastor's office... not to mention the coolest phone before the iPhone. =)

Mark spoke with passion about their vision ~ to multiply church campuses in movie theaters and metro stops all over DC. He mentioned the idea of a coffeehouse, book ideas, web innovations. I'd never seen anyone have such clarity on God's vision and such assurance that it would happen. What's even more amazing is that for the next four years, I got to watch it all become reality.

Mark took me to my first Catalyst Conference with his staff and even gave me spending money. He purchased all the signage for our church's own launch in a movie theater, and became one of the biggest givers to our One Hundred Project to raise $25,000 in 6 weeks. (In fact, many NCC attenders gave too!)

And now, he's speaking at Whiteboard for me ~ in fact, he was the first to sign-on. But enough gushing...

Experience WiBo on the Web if You're Not Coming

It's still not too late to register for WiBo, but if you just can't make it, we've got the next best thing. Here's an overview of our live ConferenceChannel coverage throughout the day...

• Live interviews of the other 7 speakers by Ed Stetzer
• VIP room interviews by MMIBlog's Todd Rhoades
• Live footage from the Main Auditorium and Hallways during breaks. 
• At least 4 video cameras shooting throughout the day.
• Fresh pics uploaded at least hourly by a photographer.
• Live blog feeds on one site.
• Twitter feed from a few gurus, including Ron Sylvia.
• Updated weblinks based on the speakers' content.

Happy Birthday

My creative, compassionate and courageous son Wyatt turns four today. Love this little guy more than life itself...

Muxtape of the WiBo Soundtrack

And the MUXTAPE of the WiBo Hotel Soundtrack:

Whiteboard Hotel Soundtrack

Before our DJ from ATL came on-board, I asked pastor and music aficionado Steve McCoy to help me create a soundtrack for WiBo's unique environment at the Reston Hyatt. Although Steve's a great pastor and blogger, I think he would make an exceptional vibe director at any Hard Rock Hotel. Each of these songs has a piece of Whiteboard in them, from the romantic hotel ambiance [for those bringing spouses =]... to Vince Antonucci's Lousy T-Shirt book... to the northern Virginia traffic... and a tip of the hat to Mark Dever. Here's the iMix on iTunes as the T-minus-7-day event approacheth.

The 'Why' Behind the WiBo Speakers, pt 7

I plan to blog a behind-the-scenes look at WiBo after the event is over. You wouldn't believe the stories that went into the making of Whiteboard. But first, another 'Why' behind the speakers...

From an outsider's perspective, Granger Community Church's approach had always looked uncomfortably edgy to me, even over-the-top. I admit, I'd built-up some biases. But when I heard Tim Stevens speak at Buzz Conference a few years ago, I saw the huge heart behind what they did. It was the same compassion that prompted God's incarnational, culture-leaping plan to redeem me.

Tim made me a believer in culturally relevant churches. Since then, we've shared a solid blog-friendship. I knew at the outset of plannig WiBo that Tim was a "must get." He just released his terrific book Pop Goes The Church and from what I hear... has a killer presentation lined-up.