History in the Making

Scandalously Biblical

There's a great guy who works at the Paramount Theater who attends a Vineyard church in Aurora, IL. He said they meet in a house on Sundays because they don't want to grow...

gasp.

ack... right?

Until he explains that they want to grow outward. They want to send people out to start things... to be on mission... to plant new churches.

That's so New Testament, it's almost unrecognizable.

Love that.

The 35-Year Sweet Spot

There's lots of talk about sweet spots.
How we finally have to get there.
How we should've been there long ago.
How it's a shame we toiled elsewhere for so long.

But I don't think the sweet spot even exists without years and years of aimless work. I think our sweet spot is the result of countless attempts to discover our gifts, sharpen our skills, and not screw up.

It never even existed until we worked for at least 30 years outside of it.

Headed to Baltimore, Hun

Flying to Baltimore today to spend some time consulting with my friend Tally Wilgis and the team from Captivate Church. For as long as I've known Tally - what, eight years - he's been talking about helping to reach Baltimore. Now he's finally thrown down the megaphone and grabbed a plow.

Special place in my heart for Baltimore - it's where I graduated from high school.

What I'm Reading

Finding that I read different books at different times of day.

For mornings, I accompany devotions with Falwell's Building Dynamic Faith. You have no idea where your faith stands until you try something audacious.

For quick reading in airports, right now, it's 100 Great Businesses. Great insights into some of the best brands out there.

And for nightstand reading, I just got The E-Myth Enterprise. I read anything Michael Gerber writes. Excited to see this on the new release shelf.

Story Workshop Presenters, Pt.15

The 15th presenter at the follow-up day of STORY Workshops is Michael Buckingham.

Michael is the founder of Holy Cow Creative and part of the Center for Church Communication. He's got a huge heart for the church and writes a lot for ChurchMarketingSucks.com.

Besides doing unbelievable work, Michael is getting tons of props in the secular design community. He's speaking at the HOW Design Conference this year, among other things.

You can follow his blog [here].

Don't forget to register by June 30 for the best rate.

"Best Rate" for STORY Ends Tomorrow

Just one more day until the Best Rate of $149 expires for STORY. You have until the end of tomorrow - June 30 - before it goes up, so don't wait!

STORY is an event designed for communicators in ministry (preachers, teachers, ministry leaders, authors and artists). The goal is to help us improve our communication of the greatest story ever told!

Here are just a few things you'll come away with:

• How to craft message experiences, not just messages
• How to communicate more effectively to this generation
• How to bring the scriptures to life
• How to communicate cross-culturally

Register here.

Shmoozing with Presidents

My friend @JaysonTeagle who runs Maximum Impact Club sent me a few photos from my interview with Disney Resorts president Al Weiss last month. Of all my experiences at Catalyst, this ranks as one of the best. Such an amazing leader, strong believer, and champion of church planting. I'd show you the interview, but then they'd have to kill me.

Media Social

Entrepreneur Mike Foster just launched Media Social - a tool that combines Facebook community with live streaming events. Makes me want to be on Facebook. Well...

Story Workshop Presenters, Pt.14

The 14th presenter at the follow-up day of Workshops at STORY is Brad Abare.

Brad is the director of communications for the Foursquare denomination, founder of the Center for Church Communication and president of a consultancy for start-ups. In 2004, Brad started Church Marketing Sucks, which is read by over 40,000 people each month.

I first saw him speak at Buzz Conference many moons ago and struck up an e-friendship with him not long after. Soo excited to have Brad on-board.

Best rate for STORY ends June 30. Register here.

Photos from STORY Creative Meeting

Had an awesome Brainstorming Meeting last week in Aurora with some of Chicago's finest creatives. The Ballydoyle was the perfect setting for dreaming up epic ideas.

Gathered some amazing thinkers from Granger, Willow Creek, Park Community, The Orchard, Gurney Community, Doxa Fellowship, Redeemer Fellowship, and Community Christian to dream up ideas for the event.

Here are some teasers - shot by Brian Malcolm - but you can find the rest on STORY's Flickr account.

Stuff I'm Thinking

• @JarrettStevens turned me onto Accidental Creative.
• I'm surfing the web for free right now on my laptop at Starbucks - no password, no nothing. I feel like I found a wormhole to goodness.
• Photos from our STORY creative meeting in Chicago to come! Tomorrow in fact...
• Found out Reach Records (a la Lecrae and Ben Washer) are moving HQ to Atlanta from Memphis.
• Version 3.0 on the iPhone is fishy. I like the cut and paste function. But fishy. Ya know?
• I think it's a tragedy when our most potent use of the Gospel is correcting other churches' bad ecclesiology rather than using itto alter people's eternities.
• Going to the DMV almost makes moving not worth it.
• We're trying to fix a bug on the STORY site - people using Safari 4.0 can't register right now.
• Watched Land of the Lost with Ainsley on a date this past Sunday. We should've skipped it and just made out for a few hours instead. Awful movie. I'll never get those two hours back again.
• Two therapeutic activities in my life right now: 1. Picnic dinners at the beach, 2. Mowing the lawn for the first time in at least a decade. Mowers start so much easier these days.
• The more you fly, the more airline problems you experience.
• Brenton Balvin pointed out that the best CEOs are Storytellers.

Weekend Pics

Great weekend with the fam.
Got back from Chicago in one piece.
Surprise visit from wonderful relatives.
Beach time.
Great Father's Day date with Ainsley.
Now back to work...

Introducing the Street Team

I've been blown away at the excitement over STORY. And I'd love to get more of these glorious, 32" posters into the hands of people like you. I still have a few hundred left.

So what about a "street team"? Here's a proposal...

If you'll hand-out 24 posters to your friends in ministry - people who are likely to come - I'll send you a box of 25 limited edition posters. I'm looking for "STORY evangelists" here, some serious trend-setters.

Just e-mail me your name, address, and phone number, and I'll send you a box in a couple of weeks.

Sound good?

The Zen of Presentation

Gearing up to speak at Echo this next month.

No more than 7 slides.
People remember pictures more than bullet points.
Keep it simple, stupid
Make it unforgettable.

And for this, I'm turning to the incredible artist Promise Tangeman, who happened to have a two day window in her impenetrable schedule this month.

O'Creative Meeting Today

Really excited about a huge creative meeting for STORY today with some remarkable people in Chicago. Couldn't hold it any other place than an Irish tavern. It's the closest I could get to the Eagle & Child for inspirational surroundings. =)

The Road to STORY

This may be a timely post.

My life was radically impacted by some great conferences. I believe in live experiences to shape the church's future. And STORY is going to be one of those landmark events.

But just in case cost is a factor for you, here are some thoughts and recommendations.

1. We made STORY a one-day event to keep the price down... and added the Workshops as an optional second-day. As it turns out, most people are registering for both.

2. Register early. The incentives go to the early-birds. The first deadline is June 30.

3. Come with a group and enjoy the discount. Even if you're paying separately, register as a group for the break.

4. Share a hotel room with friends. Aurora has highly affordable hotels.

5. Flying to Chicago is cheaper because it's a major hub. Book early for better rates. Roadtrip? Even better.

Let me know if you have Q's. I'm looking forward to seeing you in October!

Wisdom in Unlikely Places

"We get ourselves in trouble because it's a cheap way to get attention. Trouble is a faux form of fame. It's easier to get busted in the bedroom... than it is to finish [well]."

~The War of Art

This is Your Life

I've got four weeks to verify the stories in my forthcoming book before it gets sent to the typesetter. So I've been spending time on the phone with old friends and newsmakers discussing the past.

I offer the questions, "Is that how you remember it?" and "Is that fair to say?" with bated breath, hoping my particular memory wasn't concocted. By God's grace, the stories are not only proving to be true... but I'm hearing fresh insights and stirred emotions that only come from the objectivity of passing time.

Some stories need to be captured for future church leaders and I'm thrilled to be the scribe.

Four Months to Live

Had coffee with my friend Steve Swisher yesterday, who took the reins of a struggling church plant here in Virginia Beach several years ago.

The church was hobbling along, functioning in survival mode, when his bookkeeper told him, "This church has just four months to live. Then we run out of cash, and it's all over."

Rather than cut his losses, Steve asked himself, "What would I do if I had nothing to lose? What decisions would I make if I had only four months to live?"

He immediately shut-down the church's old way of doing things... said goodbye to some divisive and uncommitted people... and then relaunched the church.

He crafted a new image, changed the church's name, rented a new location, and hired a new worship leader. The most committed people enthusiastically poured themselves into the restart.

The church is turning around with 150 people and climbing...

Amazing story in the making.

Bring on the Chi-Town

Headed to Chicago tomorrow morning for a big creative planning meeting for STORY. Some of the most amazing artists, thinkers and leaders are gathering at an old Irish tavern for a "working lunch" to dream up an unforgettable experience in October.

We'll be photo-documenting the gathering and posting pics on STORY's Flickr page. I'll be shooting a little flip video action as well. Stay tuned...