i2 Innovative Impact

I just returned with two staff members and one of our support staff from Innovative Impact Conference held at the Fellowship of The Woodlands in the greater Houston area.  this church is a remarkable church, having grown from a handful of members to over 12,000 in attendance in about 11 years.

The staff and church was extremely gracious and kind, sharing information and wonderful food for the body as well as the soul.  The church campus is gorgeous, with waterfalls, ponds and lots of greenery and trees surrounding it.  It seems like a peaceful retreat nestled among the bustle of a major urban area.

There was much to learn from the speakers and breakout conferences, but I think that the greatest value comes in "takeaways" from the conference.  Each of us was exposed to areas of ministry and fresh ideas for our ministries.  I told the team on the way home that I wasn't interested in getting another notebook full of notes as I was in translating those notes into actions item.  This is precisely what happened on the way home today as we began to think creatively as a team.  This creative team thinking will serve us well as we serve our church together.

One thought that has intrigued me is how Kerry Shook, senior pastor of FOTW, Ed Young, Jr. of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX, and Joel Osteen of Lakewood church are all from Houston, all are pastor's sons, all are roughly from the same generation, and all have built churches and ministries arguably greater than their father's.  I was itching to know exactly how three young men from the same hometown could do so well simultaneously.

When I caught up with pastor Shook as he relaxed between events, I told him I wanted to ask him a question that had no answer.  I then proceeded to ask how three PK's from the same town would all build ministries that make impacts beyond their own fathers'.  His answer was, as he is, very gracious.  Hey, I'm just glad he'd give me the time of day.

Kerry noted that his father had built into his life a strong foundation- the kind that he wanted to build into his own sons' lives.  He, too, remarked these facts concerning him, Joel Osteen, and Ed Young, Jr. were quite unusual and seemed a bit taken by them as he reflected.  These young men were very fortunate indeed to have had fathers who not only served the flock of God well, but also shepherded their own families.

I pray that I will build the same strong foundation into lives of my own sons.

I left the conference with the same conflicting thoughts I have had for many similar events:  

"I don't want to ever go again; I can't wait until next time!"