ARCing day 2

This conference has been explosive so far (well I guess for me it's over since I'm posting this from Houston's Hobby Airport enroute to San Antonio for a men's conference I'm speaking at), and I'm totally inspired by the humility, transparency and passion displayed by all the speakers I've heard. Brian Houston looked and sounded like he'd had too many cans of Red Bull, but other than that he was fun to listen to. Greg Surratt, Dino Rizzo and Stovall Weems (in the photo with me) all had great stuff to share. Here are the highlights:

• Feeding off Chris Hodges message on opening night, Greg Surratt informed us that not only had he had to contend with the "kings" that attack church planters and pastors, but he'd had to deal with an alliance between the king of discouragement and the king of rejection.
• he has lived through four waves of God's move in America namely, the thirst for revival wave; the performance wave; the purpose driven participation wave; the experiential wave.
• The current wave which is the experiential wave has demonstrated, based on a survey, that the unchurched would attend church if they knew they would experience God.
• God wants us to respond to His love in a physical way.
• Dino Rizzo inspired us with a video of the last fifteen years since the inception of Healing Place Church (HPC) and 750 plus Sunday sermons, by reminding us that most things will change over time and the course of ministry as you grow and learn. He told us that there were four key things that have not changed for him and that never will in order that he remain faithful to his purpose. These four things are: relational servanthood leadership; acknowledge, honor and celebrate what others have accomplished; protect his intimacy and passion for Jesus; enjoy life.
• Stovall Weems, speaking on diversity in the church said, "You will not have diversity in your pews unless you have it in your heart."
• Diversity in your church must be a core value for you if it is to happen.
• Diversity must first be reflected in our leadership, our staff and our "sound."
• In fifteen years there will be few if any uni-cultural environments or neighborhoods in the USA.

What are your thoughts on these different issues?