WFX Day 1 Wrap-Up

WFX Long Beach opened today, and I felt like a pair of bookends. My presentation "Developing a Creation Care Audit" was one of the first presentations of the day, and "Puttin' on the Ritz: Creating WOW! Experiences at Your Church was one of the last. Here are a few highlights of some of the in-between action.

Michael Trent, aka The Church Bartender, spoke on "Redefining Third Places".

• I have faith that the human instinct for community will prevail


• Successful third places connect people, develop leaders, and fund causes


• When filtering your plans for a third place, consider genetics vs. generics; time vs. money; and investment vs. expense

Craig Janssen and Vance Breshears of Accoustic Dimensions spoke on Integrated Design Approach

• Mission-> Activity-> Facility


• Integration of Team, with mission (of the project) at the core


• Triangle of communication - presentational, responsive, community

Larry Osborne, North Coast Community Church delivered a good keynote: Death of the One Size Fits All Ministry

• Big boxes (stores or churches) grow by offering quality and ability to provide options, BUT can only keep people through personalization


• Implications include decline in big buildings, need for sticky relationships, mindset to reach tribes must offer ministry in their language and ambiance/environment


• Not bowing a knee to consumerism, but thinking missionally

Mel McGowan, Visioneering Studios, talked about "From the Magic Kingdom to God's Kingdom

• Brief history of Walt Disney


• Placemaking lessons


• Disney's thirst for community


• God's passion for community

After the conclusion of my final session of the day, I took a walk outside the hotel toward the beach, with this as my view:

That's the Queen Mary, permanently dry docked as a hotel and restaurant. The weather was pleasant; I met a participant from my Ritz presentation, and we had supper together. After a brief browsing session at Borders, it was back to my room for the evening. Tomorrow, Day 2.