Elemental Children's Ministry

Here are the notes from the first part of the general session on second day of Idea Camp. I couldn’t get a wifi signal to live blog it, but here are the notes:

Introducing Dawn Carter, Dawn Nicole and Cynthia Ware to talk about women leadership

Dawn Nicole is with Aspire One… company they help churches communicate their message better

Dawn Carter works for 360Hubs and leads mom’s group at her church

Cynthia Ware is at theDigitalSanctuary.org and has been doing social media for a long time

DawnN: where can we (women) find mentors and connect and make a difference? so looking at ways to help other women leaders

DawnC: Ideas are androgynous. You need to express yourself and creativity regardless of your gender.

DawnN: There aren’t a lot of women mentors out there, so it’s hard to find a woman mentor.

Q: Have you been in situation where male colleague taken credit for you ideas?

DawnN: It happens whatever gender. It’s not about picking on gender… it’s about dealing with ppl stealing ideas

DawnC: as long as it isn’t something that is “mine” then I don’t care… if someone needs to take an idea to feel better about themselves, then it’s up to God

Q: What do you do with ppl who want to keep their convictions about no woman in leadership in the church yet still try and respect you?

Cynthia: don’t get stuck in it… I look at myself as a bride of Christ so I look to him for my authority… we get stuck on the word “leadership” when we should be looking at it more like influence

Cynthia: women are already leaders… we lead in our homes… there are women leading villages in Africa so how can you tell them not to… we’re there already so we need to help ppl struggle through those issues

Cynthia: there isn’t something less interesting than a militant woman trying to make her point

Cynthia: if you’re in a system where it says women can participate but they really can’t then you have a systemic issue that needs to be fixed

Cynthia: even in foursquare that was started by woman, they’ve lost their place in leaadership even there

Cynthia: deborah was a judge, miriam was a prophetess, god pouring out his spirit on sons AND daughters

Cynthia: women are in leadership all over already so we need to deal with it

Charles: we should be thinking kingdom… influence more than leadership… and world is more flat now??? so this conversation becomes more of a kingdom issue

Charles: these women will be in a Q&A later… what about juggling kids and family?

DawnN: got 2 kids… started aspire one to have more balance to have more control over hours working because i am only one who is their mom

DawnC: 3 kids… juggling is a challenge… struggle is to be present when i’m there

Cynthia: 2 kids

Charles: i’m amazed at commonality of supportive husbands, too, to let you be in leadership

DawnN: my husband is only way that i can do what i do because of his support

DawnC: the panel won’t be like The View… funny that there is that assumption with a women’s panel

Wrapping up this discussion

Watching a video about Just One project called Laundry Love

Popularity: 1% [?]

• 9:16 PM henryjz - I couldn’t get a wifi connection for the first part, so here is the second part… I took notes during the first part, which was a panel of women leaders, which I will post a little later
• 9:17 PM henryjz - watching video on Just One project called Laundry Love where they put coins into laundromat machines for ppl to be able to do their laundry in area of working poor
• 9:21 PM henryjz - Intorduce Zach Hunter and Conner Cress
• 9:22 PM henryjz - Zach: founded Loose Change to Loosen Chains at 13.. now 17… to fight slavery… bring awareness of organizations who are fighting slavery
• 9:23 PM henryjz - Conner: organization to help provide clean water called Dry Tears… started small and it grew fast!
• 9:24 PM henryjz - Charles: How did you two meet
• 9:24 PM henryjz - Conner: We met at summer camp
• 9:25 PM henryjz - Charles: tell us about Generation Change
• 9:25 PM henryjz - Zach: that was the second book and third coming out… :)
• 9:27 PM henryjz - Zach: wrote the book because my gen wants to be involved but don’t know how to help and organizations don’t know how to connect with us
• 9:27 PM henryjz - Zach: working on web portal for that
• 9:27 PM henryjz - Charles: If you want to help with that idea, please text and we’ll connect you with Zach
• 9:28 PM henryjz - Q: writing books, speaking and stuff isn’t typical for a kid… don’t you want to be “normal”?
• 9:28 PM henryjz - Zach: Normal?
• 9:29 PM henryjz - Zach: I don’t want to be a part of “typical” teen expectations… there are higher expectations out there for us
• 9:29 PM henryjz - Conner: got passions and supportive family and feel normal but want to make a difference
• 9:31 PM henryjz - Charles: You all have supportive families… what would you say to parents who want to raise their kids to be compassionate
• 9:32 PM henryjz - Zach: Can’t hide us from the ugly in world so don’t be afraid to talk about realities of suffering in age appropriate ways
• 9:32 PM henryjz - Conner: my parents always prayed for me
• 9:32 PM henryjz - Conner: you’ve got to give your children to God and pray a lot for them
• 9:33 PM henryjz - Charles: what’s next with dry tears?
• 9:33 PM henryjz - Conner: I have no idea :) Wherever God wants to take it
• 9:34 PM henryjz - drytears.org
• 9:34 PM henryjz - Conner: other ideas i have: Hydration Nation-there are parts in US that don’t have clean water and want to see that fixed
• 9:34 PM henryjz - Charles: anything else to add?
• 9:34 PM henryjz - Zach: there’s so much!
• 9:35 PM henryjz - Zach: for leaders (adults): encourage you to not be wet blankets on our ideas… believe that God is big for us, too
• 9:36 PM henryjz - Zach: for youth: don’t let ppl look down on you… you are the someone to make change
• 9:36 PM henryjz - Conner: was told that issue of clean water was too big to make a difference… what’s with that?
• 9:37 PM henryjz - Conner: support us
• 9:37 PM henryjz - Charles: ask one person to come up and pray for these guys
• 9:40 PM henryjz - Charles: if you want to help them, please send me email so that these guys can be teenagers and not flooded with ppl… please respect them and keep them from becoming “trophies”… instead let’s pray for them and support them… don’t stalk them
• 9:40 PM henryjz - closing general session to go to lunch

Popularity: 1% [?]

• 7:11 PM henryjz - Can an illiterate Hindu who hears “the gospel” one time and prays the sinners prayer be a Christian?
• 7:12 PM henryjz - Note from henry: I was late… sorry… came into conversation midstream
• 7:13 PM henryjz - When is someone “in”?
• 7:15 PM henryjz - Does he have to “give up” his 4 million other Gods?
• 7:15 PM henryjz - Can he still be “in” while being devout hindu and searching for truth?
• 7:17 PM henryjz - Can you know if your neighbour is “in” by just fitting in a box?
• 7:22 PM henryjz - There is a lot of great conversation going on… hard to put it into notes…
• 7:22 PM henryjz - Shah is reading another story
• 7:23 PM henryjz - Can someone who is gay and professes Christianity still be a Christian?
• 7:37 PM henryjz - Conversion is a process
• 7:44 PM henryjz - We aren’t “there” yet, either so we can’t be so black and white
• 7:45 PM henryjz - We need to be willing to struggle and still be in relationship
• 7:48 PM henryjz - How long does the “process” of being a Christian need to be before you are a Christian?
• 7:51 PM henryjz - Conversion is not a one-shot deal for everyone… it’s a process
• 7:55 PM henryjz - We need to go from “bounded set”… a simple definition of conversion to “center set”
• 7:56 PM henryjz - At the center is Christ… we are either walking towards the center or away from it
• 7:56 PM henryjz - and walking towards Christ isn’t always what we think it is… the point is struggling to walk towards Christ
• 7:58 PM henryjz - a centered set is flexible… but we don’t know if they are in or out… that isn’t the right question… the point is having relationship and helping them towards Christ
• 7:59 PM henryjz - don’t think someone is “in” because they have the right answers and “out” because wrong answers… where is their relationship with Christ…
• 8:00 PM henryjz - What a great conversation!!! Check out the link on the right for Shahshanked Redemption blog to see more of where Shah is coming from.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I think that all-around, today was a pretty good day. You can check out the transcripts of my live blogging here, here, and here. For me, it wasn’t the sessions that I gained anything from. I gained more from the people I met.

I got to share dinner with Shah Afshar, one of the facilitators who will be leading a conversation tomorrow: Conversion and Cognitive Understanding with Shah Afshar-How would one who has no Christian background or understanding see the gospel message upon hearing it for the first time? Given Shah’s Muslim background and subsequent conversion into Christianity from a non-Western perspective, he has much to offer in conversion about how to relationally interact with those who do not have a context for a westernized gospel.

When I first heard about The Idea Camp and looked at the workshops, Shah’s was one that prompted me to want to come out to The Idea Camp. Anyway, it was a nice time of getting to know him better and hear his heart. He asks lots of great questions and strives to challenge “normal Christian” ways of thinking. I am looking forward in participating in his workshop.

Another person that I finally got to meet was Eric Bryant. He’s one of the executive staff at Mosaic in L.A. and author of Peppermint-Filled Piñatas. Hopefully, I will be able to connect with him a little more when I go visit the Mosaic Gathering in Pasadena on Sunday morning.

Another thing that I was able to be a part of today that I didn’t live blog was on a panel with Tony Wood from Crossroads Church in Corona and Zach Hunter (a 17-year old abolitionist). We were part of a Q&A panel on the topic: Reimagining Young Leadership. We fielded questions from those in the audience as well as from those who were watching us via the live stream. That was fun as well.

One day down! One to go!

Popularity: 1% [?]

• 5:29 AM henryjz - just finished watching a Deidox mini documentary
• 5:30 AM henryjz - Erwin will be doing a Q&A… yes, that Erwin
• 5:30 AM henryjz - you can now begin texting questions to 47201 CAMP + question
• 5:30 AM henryjz - also Dave Gibbons will be up
• 5:31 AM henryjz - Deidox guys being interviewed
• 5:31 AM henryjz - Deidox: How do we bring these stories of ppl doing Kingdom work to challenge the church
• 5:32 AM henryjz - charles: what is chronicle project and connection to deidox
• 5:32 AM henryjz - Deidox: Chronicle Project is video production company and produces Deidox
• 5:33 AM henryjz - Deidox: we are hoping to include international stories in the future
• 5:33 AM henryjz - charles: What is your process in developing the story?
• 5:34 AM henryjz - Deidox: Documentary has rawness to it that isn’t in fiction… especially Christian can come off cheesy
• 5:35 AM henryjz - Deidox (sorry guys, I don’t remember their names): spend time with the person we are talking about and how to best tell the story
• 5:36 AM henryjz - Deidox: Hopefully seeing these stories makes those not “on mission” feel left out
• 5:36 AM henryjz - Question: What is the optimal length of digital story
• 5:36 AM henryjz - Deidox: The one shown was 5 minutes… which seems long, especially when asking churches to show it
• 5:37 AM henryjz - Are these stories results of relationships? How pick them?
• 5:37 AM henryjz - Deidox: asked friends for stories and then follow up on them
• 5:37 AM henryjz - Deidox: We are open to suggestions… Don’t want to be in control of what stories…
• 5:38 AM henryjz - Deidox: Films online are “pay as you want”…. How cool is that?
• 5:38 AM henryjz - Deidox: We want the videos out more than being paid
• 5:38 AM henryjz - deidox.com
• 5:39 AM henryjz - Deidox: It’s just a name we made up…. ha… actually dei is for God and dox for documentary so documentaries about what God is doing through ppl
• 5:39 AM henryjz - Charles introducing next guests: Dave Gibbons first and then Eric Bryant
• 5:40 AM henryjz - Dave Gibbons coming onstage with some of his guys
• 5:42 AM henryjz - Dave: 2 aspects of creativity
• 5:42 AM henryjz - Dave: pain and scarcity stir creativity unintentionally
• 5:43 AM henryjz - Dave: What stirs creativity intentionally is focusing on the fringe
• 5:43 AM henryjz - Dave: also focusing on intersectional thinking… cross domain your thinking
• 5:45 AM henryjz - younger generation starts their searches on YouTube
• 5:46 AM henryjz - now ppl are searching on twitter for real time searches
• 5:46 AM henryjz - what does that mean for the church?
• 5:46 AM henryjz - do you have a video presence? do you have a twitter presence
• 5:47 AM henryjz - facebook is now normative way to communicate especially for “next” generation… email is outdated
• 5:48 AM henryjz - there is no differentiation between online and offline for net generation…
• 5:49 AM henryjz - as church, we need to think about how to continue conversation online
• 5:50 AM henryjz - FB isn’t just something out there… it’s normative
• 5:50 AM henryjz - the next big thing is mobile phone being normative
• 5:51 AM henryjz - there are problems that require solutions, solutions looking for problems, and solutions which will position yourself to solve future probs
• 5:51 AM henryjz - for true innovation need 3 things
• 5:51 AM henryjz - 1. need a need
• 5:51 AM henryjz - 2. need solution that is unique and sustainable
• 5:52 AM henryjz - 3. you have to impact market and change it so it becomes more efficient
• 5:52 AM henryjz - You have to do a “market analysis” to find oppotunities for where you can make an impact
• 5:53 AM henryjz - Talk to experts and find out how they do what they do… and you can find out where they need help through “gap analysis”
• 5:53 AM henryjz - ture innovation is when you do something no one else has or can
• 5:54 AM henryjz - start by innovating in a vacuum after getting data so you have a clean slate
• 5:55 AM henryjz - Innovation has to happen fast!
• 5:55 AM henryjz - Release early, release often
• 5:56 AM henryjz - question: what trends out there of churches using technologies
• 5:57 AM henryjz - example: taco truck (with korean twist) twitters where he parks and 300+ show up!
• 5:58 AM henryjz - churces need to learn how to use new communication
• 5:58 AM henryjz - Charles introducing Eric Bryant
• 5:59 AM henryjz - Eric going to treat us to 5 minute standup comedy routine
• 5:59 AM henryjz - Erwin is coming up after Eric with all Q&A so text in your questions!
• 5:59 AM henryjz - 47201 CAMP + question
• 6:01 AM henryjz - listening to Eric Bryant doing his comedy routine… funny
• 6:04 AM henryjz - Erwin coming up now to join Eric for Q&A
• 6:05 AM henryjz - Q: how do churches stay current and helpful?
• 6:06 AM henryjz - Eric: we think that we have no one talented so we can’t be relevant
• 6:06 AM henryjz - Erwin: where does talent reside?
• 6:07 AM henryjz - Erwin: in the people… so if you say there is no talent, then you say there is no ppl
• 6:08 AM henryjz - Erwin: many churches are “mineral rich” but poor in other arenas… don’t neglect your “human resource”… your church is as talented as what you can see in your ppl
• 6:09 AM henryjz - Eric: some of the best church leaders you will have don’t yet know Jesus
• 6:09 AM henryjz - Q: what are some latest trends in min you think will fail?
• 6:09 AM henryjz - Erwin: we’re in a recession of optimism… i don’t think things are “destined” to fail
• 6:10 AM henryjz - Erwin: God can take “bad” ideas and use them to change the world
• 6:10 AM henryjz - Erwin: you need to know what you MUST create
• 6:10 AM henryjz - Q: have you seen creativity go too far
• 6:10 AM henryjz - Erwin: creativity can’t go too far
• 6:11 AM henryjz - Eric: being cool for the sake of being cool isn’t creativity…
• 6:11 AM henryjz - Erwin: creating can’t ever go bad… we were created to be creative
• 6:12 AM henryjz - Q: what books are you re-reading?
• 6:12 AM henryjz - Erwin: the Bible
• 6:12 AM henryjz - Eric: Jesus…
• 6:12 AM henryjz - Erwin: it’s a miracle i read books once :)
• 6:12 AM henryjz - Eric: the starfish and the spider and tipping point
• 6:13 AM henryjz - Q: how is the mega church mentality shaped by American society?
• 6:14 AM henryjz - Erwin: what do you mean by mega church? big church? there are not big churches in US… they’re in South America, Korea…
• 6:14 AM henryjz - Erwin: in El Salvador, there’s a church with 100,000… that’s large…
• 6:15 AM henryjz - Erwin: so few US churches are mega churches so stop worrying about them… we’re just jealous because they have more than us… we can’t deal with the envy…
• 6:16 AM henryjz - Erwin: what i think we don’t like about “megachurch” is view of humans as homogenous, but megachurches didn’t create that… humans did… just look at suburbs
• 6:16 AM henryjz - Erwin: megachurches are reflective of humans who go to them
• 6:16 AM henryjz - Erwin: can’t blame mega church for a human problem
• 6:17 AM henryjz - Erwin: question should be: do we value uniquness and are we helping people off the assembly line?
• 6:17 AM henryjz - Erwin: small churches are far more dogmatic and unchanging
• 6:18 AM henryjz - Erwin: small churches are like walking into ppl making out… it’s intimate for them but you don’t feel like you belong and it’s uncomfortable
• 6:19 AM henryjz - Erwin: if you think mega church is bad, then stop destroying it and create something that is extraordinary
• 6:19 AM henryjz - Q: what skills/values should we instill in next generation of pastors?
• 6:21 AM henryjz - Erwin: we don’t develop leaders, we hire them from other churches
• 6:22 AM henryjz - Erwin: our church culture only attracts ppl who are inclined to following not leading… in fact it extricates them
• 6:22 AM henryjz - Erwin: we need to create space for leaders to emerge and they’ll figure out the skills they need
• 6:22 AM henryjz - Erwin: we need to engage leaders so they come to a compelling faith… leaders bring leaders to faith
• 6:23 AM henryjz - Erwin: need to learn to listen and to be aware
• 6:23 AM henryjz - Erwin: apologetics is sending ppl to hell… we need to stop being right and listen
• 6:25 AM henryjz - Erwin: we need to be aware of things around us to be connected to ppl around us
• 6:26 AM henryjz - Q: thoughts on introducing creativity to older churches
• 6:26 AM henryjz - Eric: our church is old (65 years?)
• 6:26 AM henryjz - Erwin: you don’t introduce creativity… you start a conversation about what matters to God
• 6:27 AM henryjz - Erwin: once you win the conversation about “why” all the other stuff is secondary… talk about what matters… what are the values
• 6:27 AM henryjz - Erwin: we get creative when we have someone we love who needs help
• 6:28 AM henryjz - Erwin: the day the church cares deeply, then it will become creative
• 6:28 AM henryjz - Erwin: out of concern and compassion come creativity
• 6:28 AM henryjz - Q: how would you start a church?
• 6:29 AM henryjz - Erwin: dreaming, listening, having conversations, finding ppl with same desires and dreams
• 6:29 AM henryjz - Q: what do to foster creativity?
• 6:29 AM henryjz - Erwin: that’s Eric’s job :)
• 6:29 AM henryjz - Erwin: we dream, play, laugh and create together
• 6:30 AM henryjz - Eric: we enjoy each other
• 6:31 AM henryjz - Erwin: best way to bring atheist to faith is to help them experience God first… not through apologetics
• 6:33 AM henryjz - Erwin sharing a cool story about talking with an atheist wrestling with encountering God
• 6:36 AM henryjz - Erwin: God is Spirit and we are connected him and when he speaks it is above everything else

Popularity: 1% [?]

• 12:40 AM henryjz - doing intros
• 12:49 AM henryjz - 69% kids leaving church by 19
• 12:50 AM henryjz - Tony: a lot of it is our (church) fault… there’s something intrinsically wrong in the structure
• 12:51 AM henryjz - Tony: philosophically brokenness can be from segmenting of age groups… you graduate from one ministry to the next… one pastor to the next… hoping that kids eventually attach to adult church
• 12:52 AM henryjz - Tony: at Generate, you have your breakouts and age-appropriate groups but then you bring everyone (a generation) together
• 12:53 AM henryjz - Tony: let a generation be a generation and grow up together
• 12:53 AM henryjz - want to have a passionate community of world changers
• 12:54 AM henryjz - Tony: any questions about what we do at Generate?
• 12:54 AM henryjz - what do your breakouts look like? how often do you meet?
• 12:55 AM henryjz - Tony: we meet every week as a generation, but outside of that there are age breakouts
• 12:55 AM henryjz - So what does a service look like?
• 12:56 AM henryjz - Tony: on wednesday when everyone is together, we target 22 year old female; in gen y, if you go after the girl, then guys will follow :)
• 12:56 AM henryjz - Tony: we intentionally use “young adult” to respect the 20 year olds and call junior highers to rise to the occasion
• 12:57 AM henryjz - Where is the break for your ministry? How do kids transition into it?
• 12:58 AM henryjz - Tony: Towards summer months, leaders from “higher up” ministries team teach and transition
• 1:00 AM henryjz - How do you evangelize when ppl are invited to a “generation” service? Are ppl less likely to show up? Do you steer them to the “smaller groups”?
• 1:01 AM henryjz - Do the university students feel juvenile with 11 year olds around?
• 1:01 AM henryjz - “If I see ppl my age around… a group I can connect with, then it is OK to see younger kids around.”
• 1:03 AM henryjz - One church tried this as a social experiment and it morphed into something else that worked for them.
• 1:04 AM henryjz - What’s it like to take existing paradigms and change it?
• 1:04 AM henryjz - You have to sell your boss first!
• 1:04 AM henryjz - The people in the group and parents need to be sold too
• 1:05 AM henryjz - “You attract what your are.”
• 1:07 AM henryjz - If you’re not training your 20 year olds to disciple that 11 year old, you’ve failed as a leader. -Tony
• 1:09 AM henryjz - They have something called an Elisha project where the older ones disciple jr higher students
• 1:10 AM henryjz - What are the big red flags?
• 1:11 AM henryjz - tony: no stuff on sunday for that group so they become part of the church
• 1:12 AM henryjz - what about the extending of adolescence… college students texting 14 year olds…
• 1:13 AM henryjz - could it be a “smaller” church thing?
• 1:14 AM henryjz - ti could be a cultural thing because, in LA, it’s ok for 20 year old to date 16 year old culturally
• 1:14 AM henryjz - so there’s red flags there
• 1:14 AM henryjz - Tony: Is it OK for 20 year old to date 16 year old, if they are “doing it right”?
• 1:15 AM henryjz - If that is not the case, what do you do?
• 1:16 AM henryjz - “Creepers” will always be around… you have to know how to deal with that… security teams, etc.
• 1:17 AM henryjz - Tony-Why do we allow 14/15 year olds to go to secular concerts with negative paradigms and get fearful of church-positive paradigm?
• 1:20 AM henryjz - Tony: What do we do with this generation to balance works with “evangelism”?
• 1:20 AM henryjz - Maybe there was never meant to be two different things
• 1:23 AM henryjz - We don’t just go to “be” Jesus, we also go to find Jesus and minister to him.
• 1:27 AM henryjz - Tony: how are you doing on work ethic and dealing with that?
• 1:28 AM henryjz - Tony: how seriously do you take time to do ministry?
• 1:28 AM henryjz - We need to be strategic
• 1:30 AM henryjz - Question: What contributes to the reality of perceived lack of work ethic?
• 1:35 AM henryjz - it’s not just work ethic… it’s also about values of ministry
• 1:47 AM henryjz -
  What do you do to stay accountable? to stay pure?
• 1:47 AM henryjz - accountability relationships
• 1:48 AM henryjz - counseling
• 1:53 AM henryjz - Tony: What’s the secret to deal with your boss when your boss disagrees with your passion?
• 1:55 AM henryjz - When it isn’t a good fit, then find a fit so God can put someone in that does fit and put you somewhere you fit
• 1:57 AM henryjz - Wrapping it up in prayer

Popularity: 1% [?]

• 11:13 PM henryjz - Worship happening right now
• 11:14 PM henryjz - Charles Lee is doing the intro… great header video.. hopefully they post it on the site (hint, hint)
• 11:15 PM henryjz - Charles: “The next person you meet might be the next friend for life.”
• 11:17 PM henryjz - Thanks to NewSong church for hosting The Idea Camp
• 11:18 PM henryjz - Charles: “We have set aside intentional time for you to network and meet with other people… We want you to CONNECT with other people.”
• 11:19 PM henryjz - Questions can be texted during the general sessions by texting CAMP + your question to 47201… that even applies to those following online… um, so cool!
• 11:20 PM henryjz - Haven’t printed out any schedules… you can see them posted around or go to mobile site m.theideacamp.com
• 11:21 PM henryjz - General sessions being video streamed to theideacamplive.com
• 11:22 PM henryjz - Watching a video about project of putting up park benches and trash cans at bus stops without them
• 11:24 PM henryjz - giftcardgiver.com presneted the video
• 11:26 PM henryjz - Jeff Shinabarger (giftcardgiver.com): was challenged by mentor to do something in his neighbourhood, which led to the park bench project
• 11:27 PM henryjz - Jeff: started a new project with his wife called giftcardgiver.com
• 11:27 PM henryjz - Jeff: collected unused giftcards… more than 10% ($6-$10 billion unused)… they combine them and give them to those who need it
• 11:28 PM henryjz - Jeff: story of family in Atlanta that had everything stolen 2 days before Christmas and were able to replace Xmas gifts and food with giftcards
• 11:29 PM henryjz - Jeff: also supply school supplies to inner city kids and more
• 11:29 PM henryjz - charles: How do you process ideas and bring them to execution?
• 11:30 PM henryjz - Jeff: every project he launches if first a social experiment… try it once… and then do some “community analysis” to see how it worked with the community
• 11:30 PM henryjz - Jeff: giftcardgiver.com took two years to become sustainable
• 11:30 PM henryjz - Jeff: easier to launch an experiment rather than a full-blown campaign
• 11:31 PM henryjz - BTW, you can also check out the twitter feed by searching for #theideacamp (for those of you who know what that means)
• 11:32 PM henryjz - Question: did you get pushback from the city?
• 11:32 PM henryjz - Jeff: communicated with a bunch of city agencies with no response so they just did it, and city likes it :)
• 11:33 PM henryjz - Jeff: property they did the bench project on was owned by a church so they had permission to do it
• 11:33 PM henryjz - Charles: How can ppl get connected with you (Jeff)?
• 11:34 PM henryjz - Jeff: tell your friends about giftcardgiver.com… you can host a gift card giver party at your house… collect cards as ppl come in… send cards in
• 11:34 PM henryjz - Jeff: read my blog for more ideas
• 11:34 PM henryjz - Mike Foster coming up
• 11:35 PM henryjz - Mike: introducing Mel McGowen, president of Visioneering
• 11:35 PM henryjz - Mel is the anti-church anti-architect :)
• 11:37 PM henryjz - Mike: how has using creativity helped your clients and help you grow?
• 11:38 PM henryjz - Mel: There is an old mindset to make things as cheap as possible
• 11:38 PM henryjz - Mel: Not just form following function but telling story through an environment that builds connection
• 11:40 PM henryjz - Mel: virtual community is good but through history, God has used “physical place” to connect
• 11:40 PM henryjz - Mel: virtual doesn’t replace the physical
• 11:40 PM henryjz - Question: what are ways that architecture can reflect christ and help the church
• 11:42 PM henryjz - Mel: Buildings aren’t just toasters for worship… buildings should be reflections of cultural context and not look like a “big toe”… be cultural anthropologist
• 11:44 PM henryjz - Mel: building can be a cultural barrier like the Acropolis… or can be like the Agora (the town square) and be a place where you can do daily life… blurring the sacred and the secular in architecture
• 11:44 PM henryjz - Mel: used the example of Jesus meeting the woman at the well
• 11:46 PM henryjz - Mel: can even make church as a town centre… like the idea of the cathedral in the past
• 11:46 PM henryjz - Mel has a book “Design Like God Gives a Damn”
• 11:47 PM henryjz - Mel: book title helps filter out ppl who don’t fit into his ethos :)
• 11:49 PM henryjz - Mel: old cities always had the church at the centre of town; so trying to “steal” that spot through creative real estate
• 11:50 PM henryjz - We’re taking a pause to pair up with another person for 5 minutes to tell them what sticks out
• 11:59 PM henryjz - Matthew Barnett is pastor at the Dream Center in L.A. son of Tommy Barnett
• 11:59 PM henryjz - Lots of good conversation… met a guy named Daniel who pastors in Pasadena
• 11:59 PM henryjz - Charles inroduced Matthew Barnett
• 12:00 AM henryjz - Matthew: I measured success by the numbers and was ready to retire after a year at 21
• 12:01 AM henryjz - Matthew: If you stay in the battle long enough, you find that the you aren’t holding the dream but the dream is holding you
• 12:02 AM henryjz - Charles: how did you deal with the pressure of being Tommy Barnett’s son… being in the spotlight?
• 12:03 AM henryjz - Matthew: Once you are secure in a call, then there isn’t anything that can stop you
• 12:03 AM henryjz - Matthew: I used to be scared of L.A. but now I love it. If you love something long enough, the fear goes away
• 12:04 AM henryjz - How do you want to finish in L.A.?
• 12:05 AM henryjz - Matthew: I want to change the definition of revival. That we’ve made such tangible positive change as revival… the church being the greatest change in cities
• 12:08 AM henryjz - Matthew: telling the story of Dream Center… wow!
• 12:08 AM henryjz - Matthew: “Provision follows the vision”
• 12:09 AM henryjz - Matthew: There is an economy out there that’s God’s economy and he provides for us to reach out
• 12:11 AM henryjz - Matthew: We give away all our ideas… We don’t copyright anything.
• 12:12 AM henryjz - Matthew: To develop a relationship with another church, you need to sow into their lives… help them with their vision, too
• 12:13 AM henryjz - Matthew: Don’t just wait for them to come to you
• 12:13 AM henryjz - What are your thoughts on technology? Has it helped? You have Twitter now
• 12:14 AM henryjz - Matthew: It can create moments ppl need to have turning point moments… opens channels for information
• 12:14 AM henryjz - Matthew: Yes, I’m addicted to Twitter
• 12:14 AM henryjz - Charels: How do you ground yourself with doing so much?
• 12:15 AM henryjz - Matthew: We need to do all things well whatever it is.
• 12:16 AM henryjz - Matthew: When I am home, nothing interferes with that.
• 12:16 AM henryjz - Matthew: I get my work done at work so I can be home when I’m home… bring our passion to all things
• 12:16 AM henryjz - Matthew: I bring my kids with me to places.
• 12:17 AM henryjz - Charles is talking about the Idea Competition: summarize idea in 150 words and submit by 5 p.m.
• 12:19 AM henryjz - Going to pick 3 finalists and record video of ideas and then tomorrow will be text voting so by Saturday night will highlight the winner and allow The Idea Camp community here and online to help bring that idea to fruition
• 12:19 AM henryjz - Idea Camp Idea competition winner has to be able to be here at NewSong… sorry
• 12:20 AM henryjz - Workshops are formatted for facilitators to have 10 minutes or less to present and then conversation is supposed to happen for the rest of the time… COOL!
• 12:21 AM henryjz - TOMS shoes is here at Idea Camp… watching a video about them
• 12:23 AM henryjz - tomsshoes.com
• 12:24 AM henryjz - ending in song and heading to 1st round of workshops

Popularity: 1% [?]

What an amazing time with some very thoughtful and passionate people! If you have a chance, you can check out the notes I took while live blogging the Tweetup.

BTW, for those of you wondering, “What the heck is a Tweetup?” It’s when you set up a meeting via Twitter to meet people that you interact with on Twitter… but in person! And you thought all this online connecting wasn’t real!

It was funny to see all of us break out our computers and iPhones and Blackberr…ies…ys (which one is it?)! Talk about nerdfest. I took a pic with my phone, but I can’t find it. Sorry. Here’s one from @hardlynormal (just click on the photo for a larger version):

Anyway, if tonight is any indication of what the rest of the conference is going to be like, I cannot wait! It is so refreshing to be a part of a conversation with people who love God, love what they do, and want to share and learn and connect. It was also neat to put flesh and bones to people I’ve been following via Twitter in realtion to The Idea Camp.

Be watching all day Friday (beginning at 1 p.m.) for live blogging from me and live streaming of stuff from http://ideacamplive.com.

Oh! I just found out that we have another Idea Camp Tweetup for breakfast! Heck, yes, I’m going!

Popularity: 1% [?]