It starts tomorrow morning. Shelley Arredondo and I get to spend the day with a room full of people who drove, flew, and got up early to explore the whys and hows of making their churches more welcoming to guests who are seeking Jesus. This workshop invigorates me: I always meet people who inspire me with better ideas than I've had. I'm always encouraged by the bold steps leaders and pastors are willing to take for the sake of people who matter and for the honor of the God who created them.
Then, Thursday and Friday mark red-letter days on my calendar. The INNOVATE conference will bring 800 plus pastors and church leaders - paid and unpaid - from across the continent to our campus in little Michiana. The purpose is not to create a bunch of GCCites. It's not to re-make churches into who and what we are. We are who and what we are because of a unique call on our church, a unique leader and his team, a unique collection of God-SHAPEd people, and a unique demographic surrounding our church region. Another church cannot possilby be GCC.
Innovation is about tapping the original and reinventing the familiar. Innovation is about creating, but it's more than being creative. Innovation is about bringing 100% of who we are to the Kingdom table and expecting God to do something crazy explosive with it, well beyond our meager 100%. Innovation is about team, risk, thinking, rethinking, getting practical and moving. Innovation is about connecting real life with a real God in real time.
It's going to be a radical few days of inspiration, connections, and kingdom-building.
See you there.
