Innovation3 Day One

I've let the thoughts simmer all night on Innovation3. With a conference like this so much is thrown at you so fast. I'm going to change up my format here a little. I'm going to leave some of my thoughts and also some thoughts from other attendees.

Here are some thoughts from Day One:

• Loved the format of the main session. Each speaker had 20 minutes and when their clock ended they were done.
• So much information happened so fast. I was twittering as much as possible as fast as possible. Sometimes I would get half way through typing and a new thought would come out.
• It was pretty much been a twitter-fest. The awesome thing is that I felt I knew so many people. You walk in and already have people who you have talked to or follow what you write.
• Mad because I forgot my camera...I never forget it. Thankfully DJ Chuang loaned me one...you're da man DJ.
• Two videos I already have up from #I3 are here and here.
  
• First main session really made me think. I love the thought of failing forward.
• Most overheard comment in lobby, "I follow you on twitter."
• Two favorite speakers of the day were John Jenkins and Stacy Spencer.
• Funny - Stacy Spencer saying they were the hoochie momma church.
• Great to meet Troy Gramling of Flamingo...been following them for a long time.
• Hung with my new buddy Josh Chapman for most of the day.
• Loved that they streamed it live even though we came. Still glad I was there but my wife got to watch a whole lot.
  
• This day really taught me that we should push forward...not fearing but embracing failure.
• Innovation is awesome but no matter what it still should all be about the Kingdom.
• This world has and is constantly changing and the church is not keeping up.
• It starts with us as leaders.
• My nagging thought was that many pastors may be going back home to a bunch of people who really don't want change.
  

Here are some thoughts from others that attended:

1. brettaljets I felt as though I was drinking from a firehose @ #I3. The caliber of speakers & relevance unlike anything I've experienced.
2. dawnnicole #i3 Day 1 = Fast-paced/energizing, filled w/great conversatns & teaching. Bummed I never met @lindastanley
3. cameyg Spirit was alive & visual just as much where I was at than if I had been sitting beside you... or across the room! #i3
4. Rick_Smith that u are just as good looking in person as you are in your twitter picture! #i3

Twitter Response: Leadership Tip

Read the twitter comments of my friends on Twitter who share with you one leadership tip/principal they would want you to know? Here were their responses

1. @Rick_Smith We are to led by example. Christ did this. We don't just tell people things, we model people things..(so to speak):
2. @LeadershipNow Think of leadership IN, not leadership OF. It's not position.
3. @maczter Never underestimate the value of these two little words: "Thank you."
4. @BJHewitt Where ever God calls you to serve, serve one another with a joyful heart even If it looks and feels uncomfortable.
5. @CPKIII To lead is to serve. To show you will do whatever to get the job done. Lead from the bowl of water kneeling at dirty feet
6. @Yochanan Lead by example and fiercely fight for your people.
7. @tonymccollum Move with the movers.
8. @CyndiAKADisneyq you can't lead where you are not willing to go yourself. Not to mention the fact t/you have to allow others to use their gifts
9. @VoteMikeJones "Innovation is being positive and solution oriented" got that from @randycoleman
10. @jimalexander leadership is serving those you lead while managing expectations-yours, your team's, your peers, and those who lead you.
11. @robbiespeaks Learn to recognize Momentum & how to ride it & make it stretch. If you don't know how to make ole' "MO" your friend you lose!
12. @comeandsee Knowing your peoples strengths and weaknesses, and how to use them correctly
13. @joshchapman you are most valuable to the team when you are working yourself out of a job
14. @Dougrea "If I have to do it for you - I don't need you"
15. @foecuspastor Balance is integral in leadership! Keep all things balanced (time, money, theology, family, personal time!) Learned from my Sr.
16. @jonferguson One word: Apprenticeships.
17. @garethgilpin "Leaders get what they inspect, not what they expect."
18. @BertDecker The effectiveness of a leader's communications determines the effectiveness of his organization.
19. @johncatkinson Never hire a smart elic campus pastor (Jason Curlee) that has three times your twitter followers and reminds you daily.
20. @johncatkinson You can teach a good leader almost anything, except character, that they better already have.
21. @nanpalmero practice what you preach and think before reacting.
22. @jasonarredondo u better be smoking what ur sellin
23. @louicanchola Know your VISION, speak your VISION, teach your VISION, live your VISION. Vision, vision, vision!
24. @garylamb You can never teach or cast vision to much
25. @ministrymonkey Always give people a second chance! Don't let their past determine their future! Love them as you serve them!
26. @NickHempsey don't be afraid to pass the torch or else you'll get burned out
27. @billshazzar a few more words than @jonferguson, but he's employing the principle: always leave them wanting more.

Innovation3 First Night

I'm going to be posting thoughts, notes and hopefully everything else from The Innovation3 Gathering.

First Night Thoughts:

• Pastor John, Dave Cothem and I made the trip up from Dallas today. We watched the temp drop all the way up from Corpus.
• We picked up Cathy Harwick in Belton and ate some good bar-b-que.
• This being the first night we had a blast with some of the staff from Bent Tree Bible Church where the conference is being held. The church was simply first class. I'm so depressed that I forgot my camera to catalog all of this.
  
• We got the back stage tour from Greg Atkinson who took us into the video control room where we met some very cool twitter-ers.
• Got to meet Camron Ware the genius behind www.visualworshiper.com who has some simply stunning stage designs using images with projectors. Check out the picture galleries on his blog.
• After the tour we went over to a Mexican restraraunt called Mena's and ate and hung out with some conference attendees and the guys from Bent Tree. If you ever eat there I would highly recommend the Chipotle Brisket Taco's.
  
• We had a lot of fun and spontaneously dubbed ourselves the "BackTweet Boys" for the first unofficial Tweet Up at the conference. Check out the pic.
• I'm Blue Steel the drummer of the band by the way.
• Looking forward to the first official Tweet Up with DJ Chuang tomorrow.
• Have to say though that I'm missing the wife and kiddo's.

Stay Tuned

I'll be blogging here and twittering from the Innovation3 Conference this week. Tuesday and Wednesday.

Silent Blogging

What I've been up to over the past few days that has kept me so silent on here:

• Meetings - Production Night, Children's Night, Shopping, well shopping is not really a meeting but just about every night this week we've been out doing something for the campus.
• First Impressions - We mailed out to two zip codes, well over 10,000 mailers this past week, so we have been working really hard to put some finishing touches to our lobby and lighting. We put out pictures, furniture, new sink/mirror in bathroom, rugs, and then reworking our lighting. It added a spark today.

That not only covered my evenings but most of Friday and Saturday. Cool Thing???? I love it! Just since December we have added so many touches to our campus. And we are also building some great relationships with some new people out there.

My Blog Content Sux

So....what question or topic do you most want to hear?????

Yeah, I said it sux...right now that is how I feel...I hate to tell you that because you already agree but just didn't want to say it. You have already been close to unsubscribing but your holding on. Waiting.

The time is now for me to kick it up. To start bringing the content.

Curious...What do you want to know? Are there any ministry questions? How we do stuff on our campus? Multi-Site? Youth Ministry? Leadership?

In our next Tokbox we are doing a q & a session, so why not do it here.

And sorry, I'm not going to get into some deep theological what does this scripture mean...for those that still follow you know that's not me.

I would like some ideas since I do write this partly for you.

So I ask one more time....what question or topic do you most want to hear?????

Multi-Site Church TokBox - Buy In

John Atkinson, our Bay Area Fellowship Multi-Site Pastor, and I will be hosting a Multi-Site Ministry Tokbox for churches and campus pastors on Wednesday, January 21st. Time will be 12 p.m Central time. That's 10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, and 1pm Eastern. Changing up the time a little so that eastern time zone is not always stuck doing it at lunch.

Our topic of discussion will be creating buy-in and commitment on the campus.

At or around that time go to >>>>> TokBox Live <<<<<< When participating please use headphones to minimize echo/feedback. And when not talking try and stay on mute.

Crazy Enough

Am I crazy enough to believe that:

• we'll have over 100 people at our prayer meeting Wednesday, Jan. 21st @ 6:30. That is more than half our Sunday attendance.
• we'll double in size over this next series. Am I that crazy? Buckle Up 5 Points
• marriages and relationships will be restored during this series.
• lives will be changed during this series.

Yeah...I'm crazy enough.

Church Leadership Podcasts

Are you the leader of a church or a leader in a church? Today I want to point you in the direction of some great resources. It is called Podcasting. If you don't know what a podcast is check out the wikipedia podcast entry.

To listen to these you need to download itunes which is a free program. Once downloaded and you are subscribed to them, itunes will gather them whenever a new one is posted.

Andy Stanley's Leadership Podcast - A relatively new podcast from Andy Stanley where he shares some of the best leadership topics designed to grow you.

Potential Podcast - Hosted by the guys and gals at Flamingo Road Church...this weekly podcast is a mixture of fun and content. Leading you through what Flamingo is learning this podcast is power packed with content.

Catalyst Podcast - Delivering some of the best interviews of church leaders, the catalyst podcast is sure to stretch your leadership as well as inspire you.

Church Leader Insights - Nelson Searcy brings some great content to pastors/church planters on many of the lessons learned in leading a church.

Increasing Commitment

Out of a great conversation I wanted to give you a couple of points on how to develop commitment to your church from those that attend.

This is probably an area that many churches struggle with. It is how to get more people to step up and commit to serving, giving, etc...

Here are three ways you can get more commitment:

Cast Vision
Vision is one of the biggest keys. It is vital to continually cast the vision for what you want. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Celebrate
When you do make a difference, celebrate it. Celebrate often when you get the wins. People do want to be on the winning team...and when others see where you are getting it done they will gravitate to participate.

Ask and Expect
I asked my wife this one, she led our children's area and still oversees our family ministries. I asked her how she is able to staff our areas each Sunday...her answer, "Ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, & ask." Basically you keep asking until you get a yes. She felt you almost need to get five no's before you get one yes. I might also add that you in your asking...add in expectation. Expect to hear a yes...mix some faith with your asking.

Caption Please

For a little light-heartedness on Tuesday....what would your caption be for this picture?

Sunday The 11th Through My Window

Here is a look into my world for Sunday 1-11-09:

• We had our third biggest attendance for Sunday Mornings. I really believe that the vision for what we are doing is catching.
• We cut the songs to three today due to the length of the message. It is awesome knowing a week ahead what we need to do.
• Our hazer didn't seem to be working well. So we were pretty much haze free today. That makes some of our lights not very effective due to the style of light.
  
• We have been a week behind on our messages and from what I gather from people is that it doesn't matter. It still works. Today we had one person commit to begin a relationship with Christ. God knows what they need and when.
• It has been awesome to see the progression of our music from day one. It takes time to build a team from scratch. The team has responded and are working it now.
• I still feel that as a team we need to click a little bit overall at the campus. The next three months are about connecting and building community. I'm pushing our team to really step out and connect with others.
• We had our membership class today with eight people attending and becoming members. That's what I'm talking about.
• Looking forward to 2009 and the possibilities.
  

Here are some pics from our 1-11-09 Sunday Experience


Tonight we had our First Element Student Ministry Night:
19 teens showed up to a night were we just had a time of hanging out.
10 adults showed up to help.
Looking forward to what is going to happen out here.

Making Difference Makers Challenge Part 1

Let me take you through a little Jason Curlee personal health/fitness history. After quitting college football in 1989 I went full into bodybuilding. Even worked in a gym for 3 years. I'm talking about hardcore bodybuilding...up on stage...tiny little suit...yep...here's a little picture to prove it.

When I started college football in 1988 I weighed 205. For my first bodybuilding show I cut from 215 down to 185 to make the middleweight cut. BTW that is where the picture is from. After that show I took my weight up to 225 and cut down to 203 for my second bodybuilding show.

That second show was a top level amateur show and was a wake up call for me as a bodybuilder. Since I competed naturally against several guys who competed with drugs I knew I would need to take about two years to really get my weight up to where I could come in cut at 225.

Over that process I got my weight up to 275 and was pretty big. Sure it was off-season and not a shredded 275 but I was meeting my goals. I was pretty confident that at my next show I would hit my 225/230 mark.

That was in 1994 and life changed for me. I took a new direction in my life and ended my bodybuilding quest and with that...the workouts ceased. 15 years later and I have to say at 39 I am not pleased. I probably weigh around 255/260 and am in the worse shape of my life....obviously...THINGS NEED TO CHANGE!!!!!

I tell you all that to prepare you for a challenge. Obviously if I'm doing to be a difference maker there needs to be some things that I get straight in my life...my health and fitness are going to be an area that I'm going to target.

I'm challenging any of my readers...I'm a competitive person and one way that is going to drive me in this is a competition. If you are like me and are sick and tired of being where you are health/fitness/body....then lets do something about it.

Plus...probably the only way I will do it is if someone steps up and challenges me.

The challenge will begin next week and if any of you are willing to step up I'll give you the details towards mid-week. Is there a prize? You bet...mostly bragging rights...BUT...the real prize is the gift we will give to our families and our self. If your willing to possibly challenge me read more on the details of what we will do and let me know you will be in with me by leaving me a comment.

Campus Pastor Week

Would love to know what your week is like if you are a campus pastor at a multi-site church?

What are some of the things you do in a week? What are your daily responsibilities?

Feel free to elaborate as much as you want....I really want to know.

Late Night Look

This seems to be my look every night from 9 to 1 am....I need sleep but I'm not sleepy.

Crazy Challenge

I've been thinking of a crazy challenge....it's about time...I'm still mulling it over. Details to come next week.

Multi-Site Church TokBox

John Atkinson, our Bay Area Fellowship Multi-Site Pastor, and I will be hosting a Multi-Site Ministry Tokbox for churches and campus pastors on Wednesday, January 7th. Time will be 11 a.m Central time. That's 9am Pacific, 10am Mountain, and 12pm Eastern.

At or around that time go to >>>>> TokBox Live <<<<<<

We are trying to limit this only to churches doing Multi-Site or are really interested in doing Multi-Site. This first one is kind of a meet and greet and ask questions. Future ones may become more exclusive and be content specific.

When participating please use headphones to minimize echo/feedback. And when not talking try and stay on mute.

BAF Blog Links

I thought I would give all of you some links to some staff blogs at Bay Area Fellowship. You can get some great insight from their blogs.

Bil Cornelius - Senior Pastor
John Atkinson - Multi-Site Pastor
Joey Davila - Multi-Site Director of Worship

BAF Multi-Site: What We Do 1

Every now and them I'm going to post some info on what we do or how we do multi-site at Bay Area Fellowship.

To start Bay Area Fellowship is just fixing to hit it's 11th year....we have four campuses...Our Corpus Campus which is the original, initial campus....Our Kingsville Campus which was our first multi-site campus....our Padre Island which launched in 2008....and our 5 Points which also launched in 2008.

Distance from the Corpus Campus:

Kingsville Campus - 37 miles
Padre Island Campus - 22 miles
5 Points Campus - 23 miles

Sunday The 4th Through My Window

Here is a look into my world for January 4th, 2009.

• First, Sunday Experience for 2009. Great day at the campus.
• Attendance showed a bounce back from the holidays.
• I was on the microphone today with the message. I did it with a 11 minute video intro and then followed it up live.
• Video was a mixture of me talking and review the start and first five months of our campus.
• It is so awesome to think how we jumped out of the box and did some crazy things as a campus starting out.
• Our church is unique as a multi-site. I really believe it is an example of many future sites we do in that we didn't really send out a launch team.
• We got a text from our Multi-Site Worship Director who was at the campus who felt the music was the best he has heard out there. Way to go band!!!!!
• My message was called "The Time Is Now". I intersected Esther 4:12-16 and where we are.
• There points were: 1) Recognize The Opportunity 2) Seek God 3) Commit To Action
• I felt my talk in first experience had a better flow than the second. Seemed to not flow right in the message in the second.
  
• THE TIME IS NOW
  
• I so feel our campus is ready to just take off.
• Told everyone we are beginning soft launch of Element Student Ministries next week.
• Juno Garcia did a great job doing all the other elements since I did the message.
• Numbers in both were almost identical...five person difference.
• One person committed to begin a relationship with God this morning. That is one reason I love our campus. Whether video or live...God moves on the hearts of people.
• Check out the pictures below:

TokBox Live

At 10:30 pm central, I'm having a live integration of TokBox.com on my blog below. I've put out the invitation as a pastor/ministry. You can add me as a friend on Tokbox at http://www.tokbox.com/jasoncurlee

To help everyone that is in, please hit mute on your microphone when you aren't talking and use headphones to eliminate the echo.

*****UPDATE***** Great time with people all over the country on our first TokBox....We had a max of 15-16 people on the screen that was live...and also had people jumping in from all over. Plans are to do many more.

***2nd UPDATE*** Another good session on TokBox...had around 15 people and had in inpromptu discussion on using Secular Songs in Worship.

Twitter Flow: Noise

I have tried something new on Twitter. It is taking about 10 to 15 lines of Twitter and continuously write out my thoughts as they are coming. The purpose is to hopefully stir up some conversation. Below is the stream that came out....for those that don't know how to read Twitter you start from the bottom and read up:

• So what are your thoughts?????? Are you adding noise...or are you adding value???? Not trying to change your game...just your thoughts?
  
• That's it....The FLOW is done....The SHOW is over....and now back to your regularly scheduled TWEETS....
  
• I guess in the end here....I don't know that I solved anything....I guess I'm just gonna be me....maybe just not as LOUD!!!!!!
  
• I'm still going to keep connecting....and probably having fun with some great people out there.
  
• I'm still going to participate in the conversation....I'm still gonna add my stuff...BUT....I want it to add value
  
• maybe time will tell...I would have to say that I need a balance....I'm going to resolve to have more of a balance. with my tweets.
  
• or am I just creating a stream of muddled non-sense???????
  
• am I adding value to others...am I helping others make more of a difference in their life...
  
• I mean is there anything constructive coming out of here....I mean my tweets....not just on twitter.
  
• But is that conversation healthy...or is it just adding more noise to the internet...and to my life?????????
  
• of course they never will cause my twitter is one big conversation.....
  
• I'm sure some of my friends would say yes....in fact they tell me "I can't ever understand what your talking about"
  
• I have realized this last year especially as I went into the last part of the year....is that what I'm doing with Twitter
  
• I would blog on just about anything...I would blog 3 to 10 times a day....and there wasn't no theme either
  
• So in 2008 I believe that I kind of overused twitter...Kind of like my initial venture into blogging
  
• Ok....here comes a Twitter Flow....let's see how it goes.
  

Here are a few thoughts from others as they hit my twitter box right after:

	Cheeze73 @jasoncurlee Read this. I think this may add to your conversation. http://tinyurl.com/6bkdkl about 1 hour ago from twhirl in reply to jasoncurlee
	lilacave @jasoncurlee I would say tweet all you want if you find it satifying. Some things strike people when they least expect it. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to jasoncurlee
	3amjosh @jasoncurlee I like conversation and I LOVE getting relevant links from people I have similar likes. Twitter is my Human RSS. about 1 hour ago from Tweetie in reply to jasoncurlee
	churchpunkmom @jasoncurlee lol... I think I add mostly just noise. ;) about 1 hour ago from web in reply to jasoncurlee
	treasurefield @jasoncurlee Hey there! I think it's the connecting that counts. JMHO ^_^ about 1 hour ago from web in reply to jasoncurlee
	churchpunkmom @jasoncurlee not sure.. but i have realized that Twitter tends to make me even more socially inept IRL than i already am.. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to jasoncurlee
	johnincolorado @jasoncurlee constructive? that's up to you. what you put into it is what you get out of it. about 1 hour ago from twhirl in reply to jasoncurlee

Now it's your turn.....you add to the conversation....do you twitter? is what you doing adding to the noise or the conversation? Is it adding value??? Do you even care???? Hit that comment button and let my know your thoughts and don't forget to leave your twitter address or blog if you don't twitter.

Breaking The Status Quo

Is there any real reason to stay in the status quo. Many of us are creating resolutions or goals in an effort to move forward. To try to reach the true potential that is in all of us.

How many of us will find ourselves shrinking back in six, three or even a month? Has that been you each year?

You envision a new future, a new you, only to find yourself back in the same place you were. You must smash through that wall. When the push is to go back to the status quo you must push through.

Resolve this year to not shrink back...to go through...that you are coming out the other side not only better but as a new you. The new you is so much worth getting.

Looking Ahead

I'm looking forward to 2009 for a couple of reasons:

• I get to do our campus full time. With that comes a lot of responsibility. I'm cool with that.
• I get to pour into developing leaders at our campus. Time is free and there are now no excuses.
• Building a community on our campus.
• Finding more ways to serve our community like we did this past year.
• Revitalizing my blog. I'm looking to do some more series that can help pastors and churches out there.
• Our Bay Area Fellowship Multi-Site initiative. I feel God is going to do something special in '09. And I'm pumped that we are going to start even more.
  
• Networking with like minded leaders across the country. I get to go to Innovation3 and to C3 Conference. I'll finally get to meet some peeps face to face.
  
• Deepening some new friendships.
• Raising my level of leadership.
• Continuing to grow my relationship with God.
• Being a better dad and husband.
  
• Living the adventure with God.