scotthodge.org: Orlando...Austin...Atlanta.....and next, Uganda.

Ok, I'm diving back in to the blog. It's been way too long. My lame excuse: I've been running 200MPH since a few weeks before Easter with writing, travel, etc... and blogging just hasn't been that high on my priority list. Sorry faithful folks.

So anyway... Rather than try to knock out a bunch of amazing blog posts, I thought I'd throw out a few random thoughts of what's been happening over these past few weeks. Here we go:

Easter. This year's Easter weekend The Orchard was a record-breaking weekend! Our teams did an amazing job and I think my head is still spinning after a HUGELY successful Helicopter Easter Egg Drop. All I can say is WOW. If you missed the video review, click here.
Orlando. Had a great time at Exponential in Orlando. Exponential is sort of a like a big family reunion (but without the weird uncle and the funky potato salad). This is actually the largest church planting conference in North America and one that I would definitely encourage all church planters to attend in 2010. Had fun teaching a session with Gary Lamb (did he really say "wanker"??) and then participating in some great conversations in the Exponential Lounge with guys like Erwin McManus, Francis Chan, Dave Ferguson, Craig Groeschel, Matt Chandler, and others.
Austin. After a couple of days home I found myself in the amazing city of Austin, TX to be a part of Q. Q is one of my favorite gatherings of the year. It's small and all about influencing and changing culture. Think TED format. Loved connecting with a bunch of friends - both new and old. People like Kem Meyer, Mike Foster, Jeff Shinabarger, Tim Stevens, Alan Hirsch, Kyle Zimmerman, John Burke, Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, Gabe Lyons, Mel McGowan, Charles Lee, and a bunch of other amazing people. Next year, Q will be here - in Chicago!
Austin II. All I can say is - what a cool city. And with a slogan that's all about keeping it "weird" what do you expect?? Check out a few photos I posted in Facebook.
Jackie Huba. Writer, Author, Speaker, Blogger, Marketing Guru-ess, co-founder of the Society for Word of Mouth. Forbes calls her work "the word of mouth gospel." Anyway.... Had a chance to grab lunch with Jackie while in Austin. That was worth the trip alone. If you don't follow her twitter you need to.
Atlanta. Orange. It's THE premier and the BEST family ministry conference in the flippin' universe. Loved being a part of this and having the opportunity to share The Orchard's story and some thoughts/ideas on the topic of navigating change with a room full of Lead Pastors and Senior Leaders. Just wish I could have stuck around for more than a few hours, but was glad to be able to hang with a few of our staff who were attending and introduce them to some killer Korean BBQ.
Uganda. In a couple of weeks. More on this later, but looking forward to getting my heart messed up by this trip.
Study. It's what I should be doing right now. So I'm done. Hopefully back in the groove of blogging. We'll see. Thanks for the encouragement folks.