I thought you were taller

Here is what you have all been waiting for (ok, I am the only one excited about it). It is a picture of me and ANDY STANLEY (I am the taller, buff one on the right).

I must admit, I thought Andy was taller than he is. I guess it's because I always see him on my computer and when I did see him live, he was up on a stage so I was looking up at him... whatever.

Andy is a giant in my eyes. He is one of the best communicators I have ever heard. I listen to his messages online and I have never heard a "clunker". Everything they do is done with excellence and it not a mystery why they are one of the most influential churches in the nation.

It was very cool getting to meet Andy. I believe someday - someone will be writing a similar blog of admiration about Konan. He is a gifted communicator with a passion to see lives changed.

Drive 08 was the best conference I have been to and it was topped off with meeting the man behind the dream. I am sure there is no chance he reads this blog but I just want to say "thank you Andy for the model of church, commitment to excellence and your passion to see people grow in their relationship with Jesus."

My point: Excellence is contagious but so is mediocrity. Excellence attracts excellence but so does mediocrity. We attract who we are. Everyone wants to invest in a winner but no one wants to bail out a loser. Don't beg for volunteers, do things with excellence and you won't even have to ask for help - you will attract it.

If you are surrounded by idiots - well, you figure it out.

bikini wax in church

Drive 08 is amazing. Today we had 3 sessions then went to one of North Point's site campuses. When we got there Konan and I beat everyone we played in cornhole (full disclosure:one team did win 1 game of a best of 3 series), then got to see Jeff Foxworthy live.

Jeff Foxworthy goes to North Point Church and is a friend of Andy Stanley. Jeff was absolutely HILARIOUS! I laughed so hard I think I peed a little. He did some new stuff and some Bible comedy along with his standard "redneck" stuff. He even talked about his wife getting a bikini wax. That's right, he talked about that IN CHURCH!!!

Jeff talked about his love for God and Jesus. It was a great experience. I am so pleased to see that there are Christian people that can have fun in church. They love Jesus and they love to have fun. I knew it was possible!!!

My point: *if you are not having fun being a Christian - you are doing it wrong. We should have more fun than anyone because we should have a passion for life and seeing lives changed. If we want to attract people to Jesus, we need to show them that it is a GREAT way of life. It isn't always easy, but it is always nice knowing that the God of the universe is in control.

If YOU are the only way someone could ever hear about or see Jesus, would others even want to follow Him?

*I stole this quote from Andy Warren (another really cool "Andy")

shut up and "drive"

We are in Atlanta GA at Andy Stanley's "Drive 08" conference. If you follow my twitter, you have all the updates. (see last post to see how to follow me on "twitter")

I can only say this is absolutely amazing. The commitment to excellence is noticeable and appreciated.

I think sometimes we get caught up in "good enough/ not that bad / they didn't notice / it was ok..." - the bottom line is that we settle for less than the best we can do. Good is the enemy of Great.

My point: if we are doing the best we can with what we have - great. If not we are not being trustworthy with what God has blessed us with. Striving for excellence is a moving target. We can do a few things with excellence or we can do a bunch of stuff ok. I believe God has gifted us with certain gifts that we are to combine with others (can you say "church" or body of Christ) to have a passion to see lives changed for Jesus Christ - why???? BECAUSE HE IS WORTH IT!!!

If you are not doing the best you can with what you have - why should God bless you with more?

This conference is amazing. Next year I hope you "shut up and drive"... 09