scotthodge.org

The Idea Camp

It's been a while since I've been as excited as I am about being a part of a conference-type event like the one I'm going to be at later this week in Irvine, CA called THE IDEA CAMP.   

The Idea Camp is a free, "open source, hybrid conference" whose focus is more on the participants than on keynote speakers.  The only requirements to attend are that people arrive with a posture to:

o Be Open & Listen to Others
o Be Communal & Share What You Know
o Be Intentional & Collaboratively Invest in Each Other
o Be Optimistic & Don’t Be a Jerk ☺

Here's a list of facilitators who'll be sparking some great discussion. 

I'm also excited to be a part of a couple Q&A panels with Eugene Cho, Dave Gibbons, Mike Foster, and Greg Atkinson on topics such as creativity and church leadership.  I'll also be sparking some conversation on the topic of "traditional to missional church transition".  Can't wait!

You can learn more about Idea Camp here.  Also check out the dreamer behind it all, Charles Lee.  He's got a great blog!

Oh, and by the way....  I just went to Charles' blog and saw that a few last minute "guests" have confirmed that they'll be a part of this event:

• Erwin McManus - Author and Cultural Architect of Mosaic (www.erwinmcmanus.com and www.mosaic.org)
• Matthew Barnett - Author and Pastor of the Dream Center (www.dreamcenter.org)
• Scott Harrison - Founder of Charity: Water (www.charityis.org)
• John Park - Projects Manager at Google

Ummm.  So yeah.  This should be pretty good.

Wanna join us?  It's not too late!

Did I mention that it's FREE?

Leadership Learnings

I'm excited about a new eBook for leaders that has been put together by our friends at the Exponential Network.  I'm thrilled and honored to have been included in the project along with posts from:

Ben Arment
Mark Batterson
Chris Elrod
Dave Ferguson
Mike Foster
Seth Godin
Craig Groeschel
Alan Hirsch
Scott Hodge
Michael Hyatt
Gary Lamb
Brad Lomenick
Shawn Lovejoy
Will Mancini
Tony Morgan
Perry Noble
Bob Roberts, Jr.
Ed Stetzer
Tim Stevens
Tullian Tchividjian
Jud Wilhite
Jared Wilson

UPDATED VERSION WITH LINKS. (.pdf)  Please spread the word about this project!

Also...  Don't forget about the Exponential Conference happening in Orlando on April 20-23.  Exponential is the largest gathering of church planters in North America.  This year's speaker lineup includes: Erwin McManus, Mark Batterson, Matt Chandler, Tim Keller, Alan Hirsch, Francis Chan, Craig Groeschel, Ed Stetzer, Dave Ferguson, and more. 

Missional Renaissance

I get a ton of books sent to me on a regular basis for free from publishers and authors who are hoping I'll take time to read their books and write a review or recommend them to other leaders or our church community. 

But I have to be honest...  I end up reading very few of them.  It's not to say they're not good books, but I just don't have time to read every book that shows up on my desk.  I have to be selective.

With that said, a couple weeks ago, a book showed up on my desk that, on the surface, didn't necessarily excite me all that much.  The book is called Missional Renaissance.  The author is Reggie McNeal. 

Now I don't know Reggie.....I've read a lot of books on "missional" church...It's obviously becoming quite a buzz word in the churchianity....  So I wasn't sure this was one I wanted to pour my time into.  But I decided to give it a chance.  So I opened it up, started reading....and within two or three pages, I could hardly put it down!

Bottom line?  This is a GREAT book.

The overall idea is that the church today needs a new scorecard when it comes to defining its "success" or effectiveness - especially if it's desire is to make a missional impact in our world. 

Reggie talks about three major shifts that need to occur if this is going to happen.  They are these:

Missional Shift 1: From an Internal to an External Focus

• Shifting from a "member culture" to a "missionary culture."
• Refocusing & reallocating resources (prayer, people, calendar/time, finances, facilities, and technology) for missional impact.

Missional Shift 2: From Program Development to People Development

• "God is not more interested in developing people inside the church than those outside it."
• "Loving God and loving our neighbors cannot be fulfilled at church.  Being salt and light can not be experienced in a faith huddle."
• "The missional church assumes that service to others is the first step, not some latter expression of spirituality."
• A GREAT chapter on how we develop missional followers of Jesus.

Missional Shift 3: From Church-Based to Kingdom-Based Leadership

• Super practical...dealing with the leader's paradigm issues (how the leader sees the world), microskill development (compentencies the leaders needs), resource management (what the leader has to work with), and personal growth (the leader as a person.)

Most of the ideas in the book are not necessarily NEW ideas to me in theory.  But Reggie does an outstanding job of bringing them down to a level that's easy to digest (although very convicting...) and apply.  It's the kind of book that I would like to see end up in the hands of every pastor who senses the need for a change and shift into becoming a missional movement. 

I'm ordering it today for our lead team.  You should too. 

Book Arrangement (a.k.a. I'm a nerd post)

How do you arrange your books? 

I actually can't believe I just typed that question.  I'm a nerd. 

But see, I'm sort of anal about my books and how they're displayed/organized.  (Perhaps I should get a job at Barnes & Noble?)  SIDE NOTE: I'm also a bit anal about loaning my books out to people.  But we'll save that for another post where I will share tips about by elaborate check out system, late fees, and other librarian-esque techniques I've picked up over the years. 

(I now give you official permission to stop reading my blog forever after this post if you want to.)

But anyway. 

I have two libraries.  One in my office at The Orchard (see photo) and another one in my study at home.  The one at home is a mess because I've ran out of space and books are crammed together, laying on top of each other, sideways, under the book shelf, on top, etc...  It's perverse. 

My library at The Orchard is a little better.  It's at least organized by topic: leadership, Christian living, study resources, finance, relationships, etc...  It's not where it needs to be, but it's getting there.  (btw - did I mention the dozens of boxes full of books in my basement?)

What got me thinking about this was an article in the Jan/Feb edition of Communication Arts about.......yeah, you guessed it - book arrangement.  Which not only made me feel better about my own nerdness, but also intrigued me a bit.  Bottom line?  Everyone has their own approach.  Some utilize Feng Shui principles to organize.  Some organize by color.  Some are just downright messy.  And some don't give a flying flip.

How about you?  How do you organize your books?  By topic?  Color?  Size?

Comment away!  And include a link to a photo of YOUR library! 

Ok, I'm done now.

Thanks Jarbyco!

As most of you know, last weekend we partnered with our friends at Jarbyco to do a live Q&A in our weekend services.  It was all done utilizing text messaging and it was awesome!  We can't wait to do it again.

Following our Saturday night service, we recorded a quick post-service interview with Keith Baldwin - fellow Orchard member and co-founder of Jarbyco.  Here it is!

Leading From The Back of the Room

They often times go unrecognized, yet they hold one of the most critical roles in the room during our weekend gatherings at The Orchard.  And this weekend was no exception as we partnered with our friends at Jarbyco to offer live text messaging during our Saturday night and two Sunday morning services. 

So I want to throw out a HUGE PROPS to a great group of people who make it happen, in an unbelievable way, each weekend at The Orchard!

I'm telling you...  I am BLOWN AWAY at how great of a job these guys do.  Whether it's the audio mix, lighting, video, screens, etc....  They do it all with EXCELLENCE.  And when that excellence is mixed with the authenticity coming from the stage during our worship and teaching times, it truly creates one of the most amazing worship experiences I've ever been a part of! 

Thank you to our Creative Arts Director, Mike Jones.  I love being on the journey with you.  You're a great leader and you've put together such an amazing team!

Here's a couple of photos of what was happening up at the front of the room (click for larger image):