New York, New York
Lora and I thoroughly enjoyed the train ride to New York. Pretty convenient having an office half a block from the Union Station. We just hopped over to the station, hopped on the train, and hopped off in New York.
You can feel the energy when you come out of Penn Station onto W 34th Street. New York has such a unique vibe. Walked from Penn Station, through Times Square, to our hotel. Not easy navigating those sidewalks in rush hour with a suitcase :) After checking in, our first stop was Carnegie Deli. Enough said.
The opening sessions of Ethos were amazing.
Their artisans did a performance called Scribble that was as good as anything you'd see on Broadway. The dancing and singing and humor added up to a cool celebration of uniqueness. Loved the way they used the scribble metaphor to validate drawing outside the lines. Also made me reevaluate the way we preach. There will always be a place for traditional teaching but we also need new ways of communicating ancient truths. I think I saw one tonight.
Here are a few of my random takeaways from Erwin's session:
Mosaic has a unique name for everything! They take naming seriously! Even their staff members have superhero names! For what it's worth, I think the number of nicknames on a staff is a good barometer of culture! Even Jesus had nicknames for his disciples--The Rock, Sons of Thunder, etc.
I also love the way their teams are called tribes. And from what I can gather, they have an artisan tribe that consists of music and art; a futurist tribe that is their kids ministry; and a connection tribe that does assimilation. I honestly love the way they rename positions and ministries. Renaming is one way of personalizing something.
I love the way Erwin frames the church--a movement of dreamers and visionaries. And he made an interesting distinction that made me think: "You can't change history. You can only create the future."
Erwin talked about I Chronicles 11 where King David conquers Jerusalem and he gave his men a litmus test. He said that whoever led the attack would get to command his troops. In other words, whoever takes the biggest risk gets to lead. What if we put people into leadership positions using the same litmus test? We don't just need leaders who know. We need leaders who do. Authority based on action!
I also found it interesting that Mosaic doesn't pay its artists to perform. He said they couldn't afford them! He said they pay people to identify, develop, and unleash talent.
So impressed with their focus on helping people identify their God-ordained passions and pursue them! And its so much more than taking people through a spiritual gift assessment. Mosaic seems to live, eat, and breath this stuff. They have created what this conference is about--an Ethos that celebrates the unique gifts and passions of each individual.
You can feel the energy when you come out of Penn Station onto W 34th Street. New York has such a unique vibe. Walked from Penn Station, through Times Square, to our hotel. Not easy navigating those sidewalks in rush hour with a suitcase :) After checking in, our first stop was Carnegie Deli. Enough said.
The opening sessions of Ethos were amazing.
Their artisans did a performance called Scribble that was as good as anything you'd see on Broadway. The dancing and singing and humor added up to a cool celebration of uniqueness. Loved the way they used the scribble metaphor to validate drawing outside the lines. Also made me reevaluate the way we preach. There will always be a place for traditional teaching but we also need new ways of communicating ancient truths. I think I saw one tonight.
Here are a few of my random takeaways from Erwin's session:
Mosaic has a unique name for everything! They take naming seriously! Even their staff members have superhero names! For what it's worth, I think the number of nicknames on a staff is a good barometer of culture! Even Jesus had nicknames for his disciples--The Rock, Sons of Thunder, etc.
I also love the way their teams are called tribes. And from what I can gather, they have an artisan tribe that consists of music and art; a futurist tribe that is their kids ministry; and a connection tribe that does assimilation. I honestly love the way they rename positions and ministries. Renaming is one way of personalizing something.
I love the way Erwin frames the church--a movement of dreamers and visionaries. And he made an interesting distinction that made me think: "You can't change history. You can only create the future."
Erwin talked about I Chronicles 11 where King David conquers Jerusalem and he gave his men a litmus test. He said that whoever led the attack would get to command his troops. In other words, whoever takes the biggest risk gets to lead. What if we put people into leadership positions using the same litmus test? We don't just need leaders who know. We need leaders who do. Authority based on action!
I also found it interesting that Mosaic doesn't pay its artists to perform. He said they couldn't afford them! He said they pay people to identify, develop, and unleash talent.
So impressed with their focus on helping people identify their God-ordained passions and pursue them! And its so much more than taking people through a spiritual gift assessment. Mosaic seems to live, eat, and breath this stuff. They have created what this conference is about--an Ethos that celebrates the unique gifts and passions of each individual.
1 Comments:
life (and ministry) goes so much better when each person can focus on their strengths, gifts, and talents; I think Mosaic accelerates that in a very energetic and creative way, embracing the arts along the way (instead of being like some traditional churches that tend to marginalize the arts and artists)
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