Carey and I stayed after the Origins Experience for Mosaic’s leadership experience called “Ethos”. This may have been better than Origins. It was that good! Alex McManus talked about understanding the future and global trends. It was amazing! Then Erwin came and talked about what he calls the “Character Matrix”. This “chart” is essentially the book “Uprising” (Which is an amazing book if you haven’t read it). What I found interesting is that a huge focus at Mosaic is on character building. Erwin’s warning was not to only develop people’s leadership potential, but instead to focus on building character. Powerful … Read More

Well, the Origins conference just ended (although I’ll be attending the Ethos training tomorrow), but instead of giving a session by session overview, I’ll give some overall impressions: #1 – They aren’t perfect – Mosaic is not a polished community in anything that they do. They use a term that I liked: raw beauty. It fits. They want to let you see the process. It comes off as very authentic. #2 – They are passionate about the big stuff – They are Nazi’s about their core values and are much looser on the rest. I saw this in every staff … Read More

Carey and I are heading out to LA in the morning to attend the Origins conference hosted by Mosaic. I’m looking forward to visiting some churches and stealing some great ideas. If you live out that way, or if you know of some churches that I should visit, please let me know. We’re planning on hitting a few while we’re out there in between trips to In n Out Burger.

Today was completely off the hook! The place was buzzin! The people were excited. The place was packed to the gills! Mark and the band did a great job! I felt good about my message. I did cry when I started talking about my wife, but I can’t help that. She’s just amazing! We did free family portraits and there were over 100 families that got their pictures taken! Some families couldn’t wait that long and had to leave, but were still kind enough to thank me for the gesture. I think some families waited over 2 hours after the … Read More

We took our whole staff through a Myers-Briggs personality test this week and it was amazing! I learned a lot about myself and the people I work with. We had a great time as we talked about our different personalities and how I drive the people I work with crazy! But I also learned a lot about how to schedule my life. I wasn’t surprised to learn that I am naturally an introvert. I’ve always felt bad that I totally feel awkward in social settings where I’m not teaching and I’m around a bunch of strangers. But learning that that … Read More

I relation to my last post, the question that comes up is, “How will I know if I haven’t let go and if everything is flowing through me?” I have found a really simple gauge: Go out of town and see how often your cell phone rings. When I go out with friends of mine who are Pastors, I am always alerted to this. If your staff is constantly calling, that means they don’t feel the freedom to make decisions without you. This is not good. In fact, it drives the best leaders away. When I was at Buzz last … Read More

Last night we held our first Married Life event and it was great. Major props to our staff for making this a great time and for their creativity to make this night interactive and fun. What was amazing to me is that I had nothing to do with this. I was given a topic to speak on and I had no idea what else was going on until I got there. I think for Pastors this speaks a couple of things: #1 – It speaks trust because you aren’t getting your hands into everything. Nothing kills morale like having to … Read More

Well, the Buzz conference is over. I have a bunch of thoughts that I’m going to post, but the biggest highlight for me was getting to connect with some guys that are in the trenches in their area. I think if the conference was on the subject of starting a Taco Bell franchise, I still would have gone just to hang out with these great leaders. So here are my impressions of some of the guys I got to spend time with: Gary Lamb said 3 of the funniest things I think I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately, I can’t repeat them … Read More

Well, the first day of Buzz is in the history books and I had a great time. Mark and I got to have lunch with Gary and Tony. These guys are awesome! Tony is seems laid back, more the thinker type. Gary is on 10. But I love the dude’s passion and energy. We laughed a lot and talked shop throughout lunch from the best pizza place in D.C. (At least that’s what the owner said. Although I do find it suspect that you have to tell people that you have the best pizza in town). The sessions were good. … Read More

It’s Official: We have a space problem! Church was packed on Sunday! Children’s Ministry had a ton of kids. It was great to see so many people come back from Easter. We’re praying as to what God is going to lead us to do. We can’t do a 2nd service in the theatre due to time constraints (We could do an earlier service, but I would be the only one there), so we’re thinking and praying through some alternatives. I’m hoping some of my peeps at Buzz this week will give me some good counsel.