It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Monday Mind Dump!
Four years ago today I was loading up my car and heading to Chicago to begin what’s been one of the greatest adventures of my life… serving on staff at Park Community Church and starting a new life in Chicago. At times it seems like yesterday and other times it seems forever ago. Regardless, I’m so thankful for these last four years and expectant for what’s ahead.
Biggest lesson learned: take risks. Usually the things that scare you are the exact things you need to do. I can’t imagine how different my life would be if I hadn’t taken the leap of faith to come here. [That's why it's important to follow those whispers from God!]
Yesterday I went with some friends to check out Urban Village Church, a new church in Chicago. It was a wonderful community of people and within an hour of attending I got a text message from them thanking me for being there… I was impressed!
I’m packing up and headed to California later today for Cultivate! I’m so excited for the conversations, connections, and ideas that will be shared… all to help the Church communicate more effectively.
It’s not too late for you to get to Cultivate! If you are in or near the SoCal area and free Wednesday and Thursday, get there!
I will literally run out the door when Cultivate is over on Thursday and head back on a red eye flight to Chicago. Why? Me and my two best friends are going to the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday! We found a couple of days ago that there was an opportunity for us to go and we’ll be a part of one of her final episodes! I’m pretty stoked!
Have I mentioned how much I love my new job? I seriously love working with Church Solutions Group. It’s an immense honor to work with them and churches all around the country. It’s surreal. I work with some remarkable people and we are serving some remarkable churches.
The Outspoken book project is in its final stages with the design genius of Michael Buckingham, aka Holy Cow Creative. A number of people have been reviewing the book for potential endorsements and I’ve been blown away by their feedback. I’m so, so excited for this project and can’t wait to get it in your hands!
If you haven’t read Do the Work, you need to. Seriously.
If you are stressed, freaking out, unsure about the future, not sure what to do, or just about to lose your mind… take a breath and rest in the fact that God knows!
Well, it’s a somber but happy Monday. On Saturday my Grandpa Schraeder passed away. He was 100 years old and lived an amazingly full life. Our family gathered together in September to celebrate his 100th birthday and that was one of the last times I saw him.
I have so many great memories of him and will always remember how much he treasured and loved his family… I was one of 20 grandchildren!
I’m headed home to Peoria for the week and although it’s a somber trip home, I’m excited to see family and friends and celebrate a life-well lived and rejoice in knowing my grandpa is with Jesus.
Last week I kicked off a series of blogposts around the idea of The Thank You Economy. For obvious reasons that will pick up again next week as I continue the conversation about the role of social media in the Church.
I am so excited for my friend and fellow co-director at the Center for Church Communication, Justin Wise. Justin announced some exciting changes in his life and I’m honored to see what’s ahead.
Outspoken book update: the book is complete, final edits are being made and we are making headway on the layout. Stay tuned for info!
Thanks to all of you who stopped by and have engaged in the conversation around Love Wins by Rob Bell. Interesting stuff. I still haven’t read the book yet to weigh in with my thoughts.
With all of my favorite Borders stores closing I finally broke down and got a Kindle and I LOVE it. Seriously love it. I’m reading more than I have before but the only drawback is how EASY it is to purchase books. I guess it could be worse. I still love an actual book but the Kindle definitely allows me to be mobile and not have to lug a ton of books around.
I love instagram. About 90% of the pictures I take are of coffee. I think I should start a blog with just images of coffee.
Call me crazy but I am a huge fan of the OWN Network – Oprah Winfrey Nework. I’ve been loving Our America and the Master Class. Great stories, images, and ideas… it’s inspiring.
It may be springtime but Chicago is still freezing, hopefully things will be warming up soon.
Also, in case you missed it last week, be sure to get your FREE copy of the great collaborative project, Creative Matters.
Happy Monday! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done a Monday Mind Dump and I’ve literally been living out of a suitcase. Here’s a quick update…
The first leg of my journey was to Nashville speaking with Cynthia Ware at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention on innovation in the church. It was great to connect with friends, meet new ones, and an absolute honor to speak at NRB.
I flew back from Nashville to Chicago for about 16 hours before boarding a flight to Orange County for Catalyst West.
While at CatWest, the Center for Church Communication hosted our first Meet Up! It was great to connect with other church communications leaders from the SoCal area and share more about the heart and story of CFCC.
CFCC founder Brad Abare and my fellow co-director Justin Wise and I met for an afternoon of planning about the future of the Center for Church Communication, and I have to say I’m very excited about what’s ahead.
I made a quick trek back to Chicago before heading BACK to Nashville to hang with my friend Christian do some brand consulting with Oasis Church. There’s some great things going on there and I’m excited to be apart of their journey.
Also, I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Birmingham, Alabama, while I was there to see Hillsong United on their AFTERMATH tour. Having seen the United team a number of times, I have to say this was one of the best. With new songs and fresh mixes of some of their favorites, United led us in an amazing time of worship where God’s presence was so evident.
For some reason I’ve been reading A LOT lately… I’ve recently finished Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment, Poke the Box by Seth Godin and The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuck. I’ll be reviewing all three shortly, but if you want my unbiased opinion, Thank You Economy is a must-read for church communicators. Last year my pick was REWORK, this year it’s Thank You.
I am continually amazed at God’s way of orchestrating things. When Jack Dorsey, co-creator of twitter, spoke at Catalyst West, he said, “It’s not important to be lucky but to cultivate an awareness when fortunate situations arise.” I don’t believe in luck but have faith that we we live our lives in obedience to the Spirit of God’s leading in our lives that God will place us in circumstances and situations that are beyond our comprehension [in a good way!]. I’ve had a few of those moments lately and have decided that there’s no better way to live life but then to be led by the whispers of God… listening for His voice, being led by His Spirit and seeing His presence in our everyday lives. So, back to what Jack said, I think that we need to cultivate an awareness of when God is speaking to us and to be willing to respond. I’m in awe of how God has brought some crazy connections together in my life and am excited to see what happens next.
I missed my Monday Morning Mind Dump so here’s a Tuesday Afternoon Download.
Last week I was able to be a part of the birth of a new startup! My friend Sarah Hatter, formerly of 37signals, just launched a new company, CoSupport, which provides customer support for mobile and web apps. So excited for her and it was awesome to be a part of the launch!
I’m headed to Nashville on Friday and will spend the weekend hanging out with friends and speaking with Cynthia Ware on Monday at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention on the role of new media in the Church. If you are near Nashville or are headed to NRB, hit me up! Let’s connect.
I fly back to Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday morning will turn around and fly to LA to be a part of Catalyst West. I’ll be blogging notes from the main sessions and am excited for the great lineup of speakers including: Andy Stanley, Eugene Peterson, Soledad O’Brien, Christine Caine, Jack Dorsey, Dave Ramsey, Matt Chandler, Judah Smith, John Perkins, Randall Wallace, Britt Merrick, Nancy Ortberg and more!
If you do church communications and are attending Catalyst West or are in the LA/Orange County area, come to our inaugural Center for Church Communication Meetup on Wednesday night. Hang with me, Justin Wise, Brad Abare and other church communicators. Details here.
Remember the Outspoken book project? Well, final content was delivered to our editor and things are moving forward. Watch for an update soon.
There are 2 great learning opportunities for church communication leaders coming up: Church Communications Bootcamp at Exponential, April 26-27 in Orlando and Cultivate, May 4-5 in Huntington Beach, CA. Check them out!
Nearly finished reading Guy Kawasaki’s new book “Enchantement.” I got a pre-release copy and will be interviewing him about it soon on Church Marketing Sucks.
SO EXCITED for ECHO 2011. Check out their site for details. ECHO is one of my favorite conferences each year and it just keeps getting better and better!
Over the weekend I became an official member of the Art Institute of Chicago. I love going to the Art Institute and now I can go whenever I want and enjoy the perks of the members lounge and a sneak peek of new exhibitions. I feel all cultured now.
