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Churchplanters.com Evolve Conference Recap – Day 1

I’m still processing the first day of the Evolve Conference.  It wasn’t filled with new paradigms, tricks, or templates for church planting. In fact, if I were to sum it up, I would say it was about heart.

It began when I walked into Mountain Lake Church for the conference.  Along with my name tag and conference book was a book for church planting wives called, “My Husband Wants to be a Church Planter…So What Will That Make Me?”  The fact that this was the free resource given really says something.   It was about heart.

The first speaker was Shawn Lovejoy and he really hit home with me.  He talked about being a healthy leader spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally.  Frankly, I was convicted of several areas of my life that I need to be more disciplined about. Some areas are obvious, others are subtle- but all are critical.  What made this message so powerful was the fact that Shawn displayed raw authenticity as he shared about his life.  That was such a huge reminder that people respond to real stories about other people.   Thanks Shawn. Here are my three favorite quotes from Lovejoy:

  1. “Show me a great leader and I’ll show you a someone who’s healthy.”
  2. “Discipline is the grossest word in the English vocabulary.”
  3. “Playstation saved my life.”

Next up, I attended a breakout session by Gary Lamb.  I love this dude.  He lays it all out there and doesn’t give a rip about what other people think.   He talked about how portability shouldn’t be used as an excuse for churches.  And while I went there to learn more about portability, I walked out more passionate about being a leader.  Gary- you rock dude. Here are my three favorite thoughts from Gary:

  1. “The end result isn’t a building, it’s to reach people who are far from God.”
  2. “If you have portability issues, you have vision issues.”
  3. “I’d swing a KJV, wear a suit, sing hymns, and close out service with “Just As I Am” if that’s what it took to reach those far from God.”

Finally, the day ended with Steven Furtick.  All I have to say is, “Wow!”  He talked about being an audacious leader with the backdrop of Joshua 10.  Really powerful stuff that just floored me.  The worst part was he couldn’t preach longer.   Here are my three favorite quotes from Furtick.

  1. “Courageous leadership is not the product of cut & paste- it must be born from the inside out.”
  2. “I’m sick and tired of Mr. Potato head ministries.”
  3. “The difference between a day-dream and a burning vision is the audacity to act.”

Looking forward to Bill Cornelius, Darrin Patrick, and Mark Batterson tomorrow.

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