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The last day of Drive was probably the best….for me.  I had some great conversations with people from other church plants and learned a lot about what they’re doing well and what they’re struggling with.  One thing is for sure, planting in the north east is nothing like planting in most other places.  Only people who have been a part of it seem to get that. 

I went to a breakout on Preschool Q & A and a breakout on church planting.  The preschool one was really helpful but the church planting one was over-run with questions that weren’t relevant to where CCC is right now.  The last main session was the best.  They used their video opener from Easter and it was much better than just seeing online (which you can do here). 

Andy decided to not do the talk he planned to do (Making Vision Stick), and instead went with "Recent Random Thoughts on Church & Leadership".  When we got there and I saw that Making Vision Stick was one of the main sessions I was disappointed.  Not because I don’t like the talk (it’s awesome and extremely helpful), but because I’ve heard it 4 times and read the book twice.  Andy said that when he reads or hears a quote that has a major impact on him, he prints it and keeps it on display in his study.  So, he grabbed 5 of those quotes and shared them, along with his thoughts on them.  Here they are:

• "To reach people no one else is reaching we must do what no one else is doing" – Craig Groeschel
  Andy said we should become preoccupied with who we haven’t reached rather than with who we have reached
• "The next generation product almost never comes form the previous generation" – Al Ries
  Since the next generation is going to come up with most of the new ideas, older generations should fund them, not fight them.
  You can be so cautious you’re irrelevant
  Be a student, not a critic
• "What do I believe is impossible to do in my field, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business." – Joel Barker
  Pay attention to the people who are breaking the rules
• "If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what would he do?  Why shouldn’t we just walk out the front door, come back in and do it ourselves." – Andy Grove
  Acknowledge what’s not working and own up to why you aren’t willing to do anything about it.  Andy also said they’re asking 2 questions at North Point currently:
  What’s in decline? 
  Where are we manufacturing energy? (Where is something bad and we’re trying to make it look good?)
• "When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near" – unknown
  If the vision isn’t driving it, the past will
  "Success breeds complacency.  Complacency breeds failure." Andy Grove
  A vision is born out of a burden and a burden reflects a broken heart.

And the best of all……Andy was talking about when some churches ask North Point to take them over to help them restart – "You have to have both hands up and a blindfold on if we’re taking over."  He said that based on the fact that most churches aren’t willing to lose people in the process of changing to become more effective at reaching the unchurched.  Churches all say the right thing but won’t act on it. 

Well, today was a long day.  I attended breakouts about healthy staff cultures, recruiting and retaining leaders, and church planting.  In Main Session 2 Andy talked about what it takes to become a great staff.  Here are some takeaways:

• To lead, we must serve (Mark 10)
• The goal is a staff culture characterized by mutual submission
• Ask the people you serve/lead – how can I help you?
• What’s more important, creating a great organization or creating a name for yourself?
• What’s rewarded is repeated

Then we all drove up to Browns Bridge and had dinner on outside and enjoyed a surprise show by Jeff Foxworthy.  I laughed harder than I can ever remember.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped by Bruster’s for some ice cream and conversation.  Tonight was a lot of fun and we all had a great time. 

The opening session of Drive was excellent.  I have no idea why, but I love super-wide projection screens when used as a backdrop and that’s what you see in the middle here:

There’s also the really cool buildings, like cityscapes, across the stage.  I borrowed that image from Adam Flynt, I hope he’s cool with that.  Andy talked about the importance of team members trusting each other and being trustworthy.  Here are some points:

• Trusting someone is a choice
• The local church should be the best organization to work for in your city
• People know our attitudes towards others in the organization whether we specifically talk about them or not
• Christians have confused sensitivity with dishonesty (not telling someone the truth because it might seem insensitive)
• The consequences of confrontation are far less severe than the consequences of concealment
• Our success in carrying out God’s mission does not depend on us being perfect

After the session Jennifer and I attended a blogger gathering that Carlos organized.  Jennifer and I are both very introverted so attending this gathering of people that we’ve never met was a bit like the first day of middle school.  But, Carlos was very welcoming and helped us feel comfortable.  Unfortunately the music at the restaurant made it hard for us to hear everyone introduce themselves but it was fun anyhow. 

I can’t wait for day 2…