I was really proud of Todd Wagner yesterday. He was on a panel to talk about how to embed the Bible. He had some great things to say but the most powerful part was the way he quoted Scripture incessantly as he talked about leadership in the church – this really was the best way to communicate the message and challenge the pastors in the room.

Gateway Community Church in South Lake led worship in the morning - crazy powerful. I wasn’t sure why people were flocking there, without having visited I now understand why.
The first session was an interview with Robert Morris about Sunday morning experiences. In a way that is hard for me to comprehend they expect God to show up and really feel like they are interacting with God on Sunday morning. There is a “ministry time” each week which gives people a chance to consummate what God had done in them.
Empowering People to be the church
3 Keys Empowering people, Equipping to Succeed, Hold People Accountable
David Bish. Tri-County Church. Du Bois, Pennsylvania. Branding throughout the church “I don’t go to church…I am the church” Great stories of service in the community. Jesus told us to love our neighbor which is manageable he didn’t tell us to love the world. Struggling with a new metric – not counting numbers but touches.
Tim Gray. The Bridge Community Church. Ludington, Missouri. Start fully functional  mini churches.  Members sign 9 covenants and one of them is to be mentored. Emphasis on training leaders. Importance of setting a high bar. Exercising church discipline when people don’t live up to their the standards they agree to.
Bruce Sofia. Gloucester County Community Church. Washington Township, New Jersey.  We saw a flaw in the disciple we were making. Importance of small group. Stopped other functions of Church for 6 weeks and asked everyone to get into small groups.  “Through the gate in 2008” we turn in names, exchange them, and pray for people they wanted to see come or return to Christ each year – every week someone will come forward that his been prayed for. One service giving people money and asked them to

Pastoring Your Local Community
3 Keys. Set the Bar high for Serving the Church and Community Needs,  Building bridges in the local community, make serving a platform for the gospel
Steve Gallimore. Tennessee Valley Community Church. Paris, Tennessee. Tell people right away they don’t come to sit they come to serve. Tell the church “We have to pay for your seat, if you aren’t going to serve there are several other churches that would be glad to have you.”
Roger. Harbor Light. Freemont, California. God will birth ministry out of the design of his people. Very involved in the city – we were not going to outsource the needs of our city. City asked them to serve the non-profits. They set up an office to act as a clearing house for volunteers for local non-profits and asked churches to consider giving locally instead of just internationally.
John and Barbra Sullivan. Spirit of God Fellowship. South Holland, Illinois. John is a full time dentist.  Having bible studies in state drug rehab and opening up 2 half way houses in Harvey – a really rough area next to their town.