Drive 05

I really enjoyed the Drive conference. It was a good time of worship, encouragement, challenge, and affirmation. It’s a huge blessing to be a strategic partner!

Some of the things I’m hoping to takeaway from this are:

Changing
The local church is to be about the great commission which is highly evangelistic
Incremental change rarely gets us to where we want to be – we need the courage to act boldly and make the changes that really need to be made.
Reggie said the only thing that’s sacred is the mission. This made me ask if our strategy and values are sacred.
We need to regularly tell unbelievers “we built this place for you.”
We can’t let the fear of losing people and $ keep us from doing what needs to be done

Relevant Environments
We measure the relevance of an environment by whether or not it’s an appealing context, with engaging presentations and helpful content.
The context of ministry should be shaped by culture! Culture isn’t our enemy, it’s the context in which we live. People are open to learning when they’re comfortable. Does our target audience find this context appealing?

Engaging presentation – how do I create tension so that they are begging me to answer the question? It’s a mistake to deliver content before we’ve made them hungry to hear it.
We have the answers to what is ailing people (sin, sorrow, and death) yet they drive by us on the way to the lake. Why is this?
To blame people is to abdicate leadership. If the learner hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught. If they aren’t engaged, it’s my fault.
With food we can either eat chicken, meat, or fish. However, there are some places we would much rather eat than others. Why is this? The way it’s prepared and presented makes a huge difference!
Information doesn’t engage people, presentations do.
Note – you don’t have to be the talker to be the leader

Content – this determines interest. CD sales/.mp3 downloads show whether or not our stuff is helpful.
? How many CD’s does NP sell on an avg week?
People are on happiness quests, not truth quests.
Action - I need help in the content area.

We can’t create a program for every need b/c there are as many needs as there are people.

Preaching
The goal of preaching should be to teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible.
What do they need to know? Why do they need to know it?
What do they need to do? Why do they need to do it?
How can I help them remember it?

Momentum
New triggers momentum, improved sustains it for the short term, and improving sustains it for the long term.
The business community has learned that you must keep getting better or you get left behind. The church has learned to live with mediocrity.
Momentum will follow the interests of the leader.


Quotes
Don’t take notes on how to do things from people/places that are unsuccessful
We need to be a church of people who haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be lost
Applying a little is better than knowing a lot.
Submission is an invitation to lead.
You rarely gain momentum by doing what you did to create it in the first place.