Examples of Destiny In Bloom

I’ve been inspired by some incredible ladies. What makes them incredible is that, from the outside looking in, they’re completely normal; but they write with utter abandon, complete transparency and total authenticity. This is a group of women who are leading through the reflection of Jesus in their lives. My own bride is one of these lady bloggers and I couldn’t be more proud.

As a man, I’m inspired to live my life more fully for Jesus. Now to learn to open up – even more – on my own blog.

Thanks for the leadership, ladies. You truly are examples of Destiny In Bloom.

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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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Personal Coaching Network for Technical Artists

I’ve been consulting for over six years as Anthony Coppedge Consulting and made time for hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails helping church creative and technical artists. As can be expected, there are logistical limitations on my time and availability and I’ve not had the chance to help many of these churches through an on-going basis. That’s what led me to discussions with several of my clients and friends in ministry about creating a personal coaching network.

I’ve seen how Tony Morgan, Kem Meyer, Tim Stevens and Carlos Whittaker have all done something along these lines. I liked Carlos’ approach to a limited group and low cost of entry with extremely high value, so I’ve created a similar paradigm to his. If fact, after chatting with him, I think this is a solid compliment to the creative coaching he’s doing with the worship arts folks.

Here’s how my personal coaching network works:

• Only 10 people will be in a group in order to keep things focused and intimate.

• The group will be comprised of technical arts people from growing churches across the US. Some are very large (well beyond ‘Mega church’), some small, very rapid growth churches seriously engaging their audiences & communities.

• I will spend up to one hour per week with each person via phone, Skype or Tokbox. During these times I will be providing personal coaching and mentoring for their growth & development. I will provide weekly goals for them to achieve by the following week’s meeting. This coaching will focus on increasing their relational effectiveness with staff and volunteers, developing better leadership & management skills and encouraging a deeper spiritual walk. Additionally, I will use part of this time to provide consulting on technical & organizational issues specific to their situation.

• Every fourth week, we will spend our one hour as a group, bringing all of the individuals together for an online round-table discussion using TokBox or WebEx. This will provide both peer-to-peer networking that provides helpful connections as well as creating a large accountability group for sharing successes, challenges and prayer requests.

• The cost is low, but the commitment is high. At only $200 per month, this is a very strong value. However, I do require that each individual take this seriously, as I’m limiting the group to a maximum of 10 people. Obviously, this forces me to choose carefully who is included. Therefore, missing more than one session removes that person from the group, upon which a new person is added.

• Finally, I will open up a new six-month commitment to a limited number of members from the previous group, based upon their growth, commitment to the group and my own prayerful consideration.

I’m opening up applications as of today, August 31st. The first group already has just over half a dozen people signed up, based on my personal invitation. I’m now extending the offer to apply to you.

The application process is simple: Tell me about yourself. Explain why you want to be a part of a group and how you want to encourage and equip your peers in the group. Let me know how your church is impacting your members, visitors and community. Show me that you’re willing to commit your energy & time to this group of peers.

Simply email me: anthony AT anthonycoppedge DOT com

I look forward to hearing from each of you!

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