Something from Nothing

I’ll be the first to admit that there are, in my opinion, far too many church conferences. Leadership. Servanthood. Technology. Creativity. Growth. Church Plants. Mega Churches. They’re all covered, ad nauseum.

I wonder if what we need isn’t another pep rally or just the perspective of one particular church methodology but rather practical, we-can-do-this-too ideas that are not predicated on the DNA, methodology or programs of other churches.

I think I’ve found a group of people who have some of this figured out. They’re a group who created Dirt, a conference that invites us to make something from nothing.

Last week, I spent nearly three days in the company of people like myself who simply wanted to help the “Big-C” Church learn from the collective creativity, processes and experiences of people who are not on the big-time speaking circuits. It was a collection of not-so-average, average people; folks who had done things with next to nothing and were willing to share their successes and failures as adventurers who had been where most of us are today. The results of this collective group of co-adventurers provided us all with truckloads of knowledge and pages of notes that could readily be applied regardless of budget, attendance, venue, position or denomination. It was beautiful.

I had the privilege of being part of the gaggle of people presenting years of experience and encouraging each person to go back and make some necessary changes. The format was simple: a panel of us would answer a set of questions from a moderator and then dive into Q&A with the attendees. I kept my MacBook Pro open with MindManager ready for note-taking and my Bible available to share inspiration as the Lord impressed upon me during each lab. At the end, I have more excellent ideas, solid best-practices and a huge dose of practical inspiration to share with my ministry friends.

Dirt may be the most practical, down-to-earth, encouraging and equipping-focused conference for churches today. With over 500 in attendance during the inaugural conference, I’m sure we’ll see another one in 2010. I, for one, will be there, speaking or not. This is my new favorite conference. I encourage you to reach out to Neil Greathouse, the Technical Director for New Life Church in Little Rock, AR, and share with him your desire to bring your team to next year’s Dirt Conference.

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3 Responses to “Something from Nothing”

1. Jason Kimbrow says:

   November 17, 2009 at 2:12 PM

   Anthony is the man! Thanks for the shout out.

   Reply
2. Rick Bezet says:

   November 17, 2009 at 11:26 PM

   Thanks for your post! I will certainly tell Neil to be open minded! Seriously, it was great having you in at New LIfe Church.

   Rick Bezet

   Reply
3. anthonycoppedge says:

   November 18, 2009 at 4:43 AM

   Thanks, fellas. When you're next preaching at Gateway, I'll be sure to come up and high-five ya, Rick.

   Keep killin' it for the Kingdom!

   Anthony

   Reply

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