Are you going to the Discipleshift Coference?

Conferences are excuses to get more time with your disciplemaking friends.

Tweet that baby.

I'm going. Deveraux and his wife are going. Jesse Bartz is in. My friend Shane Stacey from the Evangelical Free Church of America and some of the guys he's multiplying DLCs across the country with are going. Dave and Rennie Garda from Cadre are going too. It's all going down 4/22-25/13.

How about you?

If you are, let's plan on getting some time together while there. Complete details about the conference are here and note the deadline for early registration is 8/7/13.


This particular conference is going to take a look at five shifts—click the image below to enlarge for reading:

Yeah, I know.

It's like we're all reading from the same Gospels or something.

And yes. It is ironic that they're having a conference about disciplemaking... because you'll never make disciples like Jesus by going to a conference... or running a program.

That's why the first thing I said in this post is:

"Conferences are excuses to get more time with your disciplemaking friends." 

 So what do you say friend? Can you join us?

Clarifications for PALC Ongoing Next Thursday

Just some quick clarifications for PALC Ongoing, Thursday, August 23rd... in order of importance:

1. Can't find someone from your ministry to come with you? Come by yourself anyway!
The nature of PALC Ongoing this August 23rd is such that it would be ideal if you could bring some others from your ministry with you.

However, if you've tried your best to find someone from your ministry to join you but have not had any success, please read this next part very carefully: I still want you to feel free to be a part of PALC Ongoing on August 23rd.

You coming by yourself isn't ideal... but it is still very good.

PALC Ongoing is your community... these relationships are your relationships... these are your disciplemaking friends. I hope these disciplemaking friendships by themselves are enough to make you want to be a part of PALCO. I can honestly say they are for me. It's not WHAT we're doing at PALCO, it's WHO we get to be with.

2. Want to bring more than one or two with you? Do it!
Several of you have already registered groups of four. We'll make it work if you want to bring more than one or two others with you.

3. Do you care about healthy snacks? Here's your chance.
Jesse Bartz is brining some goodies to munch (thanks Jesse!). Pheaney said he was going to get the coffee (thanks Pheaney!). We still need someone to bring some healthy type stuff. Is it you? Let me know.

4. Have you registered yet? Here's how you can register and secure your spots.

* To register online now for yourself, go here.

* To register online now for guests, go here.

* To register via regular mail, send a check to: Cadre Ministries, PO Box 264, Mossville, IL 61552 and include a note that the check is for PALCO. If you choose this option, send me a quick email to let me know you're coming—so Pheaney brings enough coffee.

5. How can you prepare for our day together? Here's the scoop:
Each person should read 2 Chronicles chapters 29-31 and write down every leadership lesson you can find in those chapters. Do this individually. Make sure everyone you bring does this. Everyone should bring their findings with them on August 23rd. We'll share our learnings with each other then.

Complete details for August 23rd's PALC Ongoing are here.

Can't wait for time with you on August 23rd!

Why You Should Come to PALCO August 23rd and Bring a Friend or Two

I’ve never really appreciated 1,000 piece puzzles. To my pragmatic mind, such trivial pursuits are a waste of time, money, and energy. (In other words, I lack the patience, persistence, and creativity to put one together!) My mother, however, regularly undertakes the task of constructing the most difficult puzzles and—through sheer moxie and fastidiousness—puts every single piece in its proper place until the puzzle is completed.

I’ve noticed that my mom always starts a puzzle project by placing the box cover of the puzzle in plain view so she can continually consult it. Why? Because the cover has the picture of what the completed puzzle will look like in the end. Throughout the entire process, the big picture on the box cover is her constant guide and compass. Eventually, my mom puts the last puzzle piece in its place and ends up with the finished product. She knows she is finished; there are no pieces left over, and the completed puzzle looks exactly like the picture on the cover of the box.

As a ministry leader, you are in the process of putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle called “your ministry.” Isn’t it time you tried to figure out specifically what God wants the box cover of your ministry to look like?

Ah, but taking the time and energy to determine what God wants the big picture of your ministry to look like sounds like a lot of work… doesn’t it?

If you DON’T take the time to figure out what God wants the box cover of your ministry puzzle to look like, you will continue to labor every week not knowing if you’re making any progress. Sure, you’ll conduct a lot of activities in your “program”—but there’s a huge difference between keeping people busy in programmatic activities and making progress toward God’s vision for your ministry.

Here’s a thought: BEFORE you re-launch your ministry this fall, why not try to clearly define what you think God wants you to accomplish through your ministry? (Hint: Can you say, "making disciplemakers"?) Like I said, it’s just a thought. And it IS work.

However, the alternative to doing some God-directed strategic planning for your ministry is to continue doing good—but random—activities and hope that your hodgepodge approach of putting a piece of the ministry puzzle here and a piece there will, in the end, produce a picture that is complete and beautiful.

Yeah… right.

This is exactly why you should come to PALCO on August 23rd and bring a friend or two with you. Why not register RIGHT NOW? Complete details are here. (After you click, scroll down to previous post.)