Just experienced Drive Conference '09, Day 1. And, yes, experienced is the right verb. Wow. Excellence at every level. Typography (modern, sans serif, all caps), color scheme (aqua, black, white)(even taffy and mints in the lobby were matched), smooth admin, teaching (it's Andy Stanley. And even he was more honest and vulnerable than usual), media (informative, hilarious, and looked good), music, and really, experiential worship (I was balling during communion as they led you through the Last Supper, crucifixion, and resurrection with a full orchestra). It reminded me of why I am doing what I do.I will include my random notes from Andy's first talk. But some takeaways for me included the fact that despite the fact that I am in charge of media at a small church..media is just a tool. I need to be strengthening my spiritual man if I am going to be able to feed and lead others. I love, love, love media stuff so much that sometimes I think I focus too much on technique (learning the next effect in photoshop or motion or whatever) and don't continue to nourish my soul so I have things to say. My wife wisely pointed out tonight that perhaps this is due to the fact that the technique is tangible. If I create a cool graphic, I can immediately see it. Ministry, building something spiritual, is much more slippery and often takes years to see fruit bud above ground. It brought to mind and inspired me to re-read Eugene Peterson's Under the Unpredictable Plant...which is what half of Andy's message was tonite....uncertainty.
Anyways, enough drivel. Here are the notes. :)
FLEXIBILITY
no one knows what to do. not even the president. he’s just a person.
i will always be uncertain. i’m certain of it. (made us repeat 3x)
uncertainty
a leader is sometimes the only person who has an idea
i don’t have all the answers, but i’m going to pray hard and lead hard.
all the stories that happen in the Scriptures deal with uncertainty
Jesus’ death was very uncertain
God, what are you doing?!
I’m redeeming the world. Be quiet.
You don’t grow spiritually when things are going incredibly
When do you learn? During your greatest challenge and God showed up
We should THRIVE on uncertainty
This is where God does His greatest work
CLARITY
we can afford to be uncertain. we can’t be unclear.
what has God called us to do?
clarity around vision is key
andy (now the leader of a large church) struggled to get things going at first. when they were meeting in a high school gym, a couple said to andy: “this is a great thing here. when you get things going, we’ll come back.”
we don’t need you when we get things going. we need you now...he told them...and admitted bitterness still to this day if he doesn't watch it
andy felt God say to him....would you have done this if the noncomittals didn’t come? would you still WANT to do this? yes.
what do you want to do? what are we doing? what has God called to do locally?
in spite of the uncertainty, this is what God has called us to do
tell your people...this is what we are doing
inside “steve jobs mind
steve jobs: we create computers that are simple to operate
clarity will allow you to stay focused
plans change. vision remains the same.
plan is how. vision is what.
plans change ALL the time.
since the plan isn’t working out, it doesn’t mean the vision is bad
it’s very dangerous to attach God’s name to your PLAN
you can get more done in times of uncertainty
this is the time to rethink stuff b/c people are flexible b/c of the economy
leverage uncertainty for the vision
clarity. flexibility.
clarity. flexibility.
clarity. flexibility.
lead confidently but don’t fake it.
express confidently
i don’t know right now. but we’re gonna figure it out.
i don’t know for sure. but this is the direction i believe God is pointing us
seek counsel
leadership is not about making decisions on your own. it’s about owning decisions once they are made.
you’ve got to pray like crazy
pray for clarity. pray for vision.
north point’s vision: create a church for unchurched people
when you lead in the face of uncertainty, you need grace
Lord, would you take us back to that time and place when we were just starting out and everything was uncertain? When we had no resources, no people, just a call.
