Day One of the Rethink Conference is over and it was a really full day. I’m enjoying it, but the pace is really fast. That’s part of what I’m enjoying of the conference, but it’s a challenge to reflect on what you’ve heard because there’s someone else sharing new thoughts 20 minutes later.Maybe the highlight of the day for me was the beginning of the day. Erwin McManus and Robert Schuller (the old one) were co-hosting the event or MC’ing the event. Schuller made a joke about not experiencing temptation since he was over the age of 80. McManus tried not to, but couldn’t help but cracking off, “They have pills for that now.” The two of them then traded viagra jokes back and forth like “Do you experience any side effects?” and whatnot for the next couple of minutes. Pretty funny stuff. I pretty much think all things Viagra are an unlimited resource for humor, but Erwin and Schuller Senior were not the two that I thought I would ever see in that kind of exchange.On a different note, here’s all who spoke in the main sessions today: Bishop Charles Blake of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship, H.B. London from Focus on the Family’s Pastoral Ministry, Mark Kvamme – a venture capitalist in the silicon valley, Dan Kimball of Santa Cruz Bible Church, Chris Seay, Dr. Michael Guillen, Dr. Tim Clinton who is the Pres. of the Amer. Assoc. of Christian Counselors, Dr. Les Parrott who teaches at Seattle Pacific Univ. and also is a big counselor and relationships guy, Jon Gordon who is a motivational speaker and author, Lou Holtz – the former football coaching great, Donna Schuller, Gary Smalley, Kathy Ireland, and Robert Schuller (SR.). That’s a whole lot of speakers for one day.My favorites were Chuck Colson, Mark Kvamme, H.B. London, and Lou Holtz. I really enjoyed Colson actually and a lot of had to do with his message about knowing and embodying the core truths of the Christian faith. Maybe more helpful was the brief interview McManus conducted with him following Colson’s 30 minutes. It was a real helpful discussion on the differences between beliefs and values in the context of the body of Christ.Mark Kvamme was really compelling and had all of us totally engaged. He spoke on the impact of technology on communication (and community). At one point he said, “There can be no communication outside the context of community.” I’ve been chewing on this ever since. It’s interesting to consider to what degree true communication is different from just passing on information with one another. It has me thinking about the degree to which I settle for passing on information or even “asynchronous” communication (email, text, blog) as opposed to true human communication.H.B. London spoke on the issue of character in ministry. He deals with fallen leaders in the church on a daily basis and his heart and compassion for pastors and church leaders really showed through to me. I’ve read some short things by him recently and I’ve been impressed by his ethos, character, and vision within today’s church. I was in a lunch breakout with him too which was good too.Finally, and maybe most surprisingly was Lou Holtz. I don’t know if it’s because he at one point said he was tired of fortunate people “bitchin’ and complainin’” from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral or what. However, he really gave a passionate and powerful message on the need for trust, commitment, and care in building relationships (whatever relationships they happen to be). He was great, insightful, and brought a lot of depth, authenticity, and emotion. I was really surprised and moved by what and how he shared.There were other good presentations, but these stood out the most to me. There was only 1 dud in the group but I won’t mention who that was Now I’m going to bed so I can reload for another all day affair. There’s a lot of great speakers tomorrow, but nobody I’m desperate to hear from. I’m looking forward to seeing who really has some insightful or powerful things to share tomorrow.

Tagged as: funny, leadership, Spirituality