Hey Chris,

Thanks so much for the request.

I was able to get to Orange the past two years, and I took a MONSTER amount of notes. We're taking a year off of the large-scale training schedule, so I'm looking forward to reading your posts.

This is what I would find helpful:

-- bullet-points and "quotables" for the main sessions
-- any worship songs that are new to you or just "rock your world" -- I love being able to integrate these into our worship sets
-- your general impression of what's going on -- what intangibles contribute (or don't) to your total experience

Thanks again! I can't wait to read the posts.

--Joe

Good post Chris.

One of the best (among many great things) I've heard Nancy Ortberg say is, "Your greatest allegiance is to the team you report to, not the team you lead." Keeping in mind that my primary role in building the church should be supporting and following the Senior Pastor, rather than jockeying for my department, is helpful.

That kind of support will go a long way toward keeping the relationship aligned as well.

Great post Doug.

The face-to-face time just can't be replaced by anything else. One of the reasons I was so quick to "sign on" a couple of years ago at New Life is that I knew they were a "church of teams". I can't tell you how many times our Tuesday Staff Meeting has served as an "airing out" session for us as teammates. It's not always about ministry either. Sometimes we need to talk about our kids or our family, and the trust we've built from "being known", as you put it, gives us the freedom to do that.

I can't imagine working without this dynamic present. I know from past experience that isolation in ministry, and the absence of a team I can be attached to and report to, only leads to my eventual burnout.

I also can't agree enough that the Senior Pastor needs to be viewed as a team member. We need to extend them the same compassion, grace and understanding that we would hope to be given. The truth of the matter is that there's a burden of responsibility that only the Leader of the ministry feels. And like we see in Scripture, with that responsibility comes authority. Giving our leaders the benefit of the doubt, rather than just our obligatory compliance, is the first step toward healthy "followership", and qualifies us to lead in our areas of ministry.