Nancy Beach is executive vice-president of the Arts for the Willow Creek Association and a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church. A champion for the arts and artists in the church, she is the author of An Hour on Sunday: Creating Moments of Transformation and Wonder and Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church.

-Story Chicago

• The greatest stories are rooted in redemption and the goodness of God’s grace.
• Passages from Frederick Buechner’s writings
• The stories we tell from the pulpit or from the arts need to be rooted in the darkness and the light.
• The tragedy and the comedy. Darkness and light. Absence and presence.
• The joy of Easter would have no real power without the agony of Good Friday.
• Jesus said, “I will open my mouth in parables… I will utter what has –Psalm 76”
• Are we, in the big picture of things, being truthful in how we portray the gospel?
• We have swung the pendulum too far.
• We’ve jumped too quickly to the light.
• We’re uncomfortable in the darkness.
• Our offerings of grace come across as naive, out of touch, and premature and not nearly as wonderful when we jump to the light too quickly.
• There’s a child lurking in everyone of us. Even those who have been beaten down by the recklessness of life.
• How has God been with you in the past year?
• The very best stories awaken our faith in God. They remind us we’re not alone, they remind us that our stories intersect, and they bring us hope.

Nancy gave up some of her speaking time so that another woman could read an incredible story that she wrote. I’m sorry but I cannot remember the name of the guest reader. The story was beautiful though! If anyone has any information on her please let me know in the comments. Thank you.

[Image by: storychicago]

Dave Gibbons leads the Newsong Global Alliance, which catalyzes new churches all over the world. He serves on the Board of World Vision US and is the Chief Vision Officer of Xealot, an organization that develops leaders of movements. Dave is the author of The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for Third Culture Leaders. He has been married to his wife Rebecca for 25 years and is the father of four children.

- Story Chicago

• People have a desire to connect in a true meaningful conversation
• We’ve defined success for our churches by size and the strength of our budgets (60-80% of our budgets are in buildings and staff)
• When the eastern world looks at how the western world handles our elderly, they look at us as barbarians.
• “Isaiah 6” – The stump will be a Holy sea that will grow again. When there is a personal revelation of your weakness, it releases a Holy side to your mission.
• The way we do spiritual formation shows how we don’t understand how to deal with pain.
• Do you think that everyone you interview can serve in your church?
• The most important things in an assessment is listening to the narratives to the person’s story.
• It’s pain that leads to focus
• We’re not listening to the people’s story, and we’re not intersecting God’s voice with that. We’re just getting them through so we can get them in the volunteer lines.
• You have to hear with that Holy Spirit is doing for an individual and then you customize something for them.
• Let’s reassess our assessment process
• Train people to listen to people’s stories
• Let’s develop a theology of suffering and discomfort
• What should people feel uncomfortable about? Walking through that discomfort can actually birth the Holy seed.
• Your pain will guide you
• It’s not about your feelings… love’s a choice. Do you think Jesus wanted to go to the cross?
• Start confessing your sin. Deal with honestly the issues going on in your church.
• Deal with brokenness… the Holy Spirit will be released in your midst.

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Ed Young is the founding pastor of Fellowship Church, which has four campuses in the greater Dallas area and one in Miami. ed has written numerous books and provides resources for church leaders through CreativePastors.com and the Creative Church Conference (C3). Ed Young Television can be seen on major networks throughout the US, Europe and the Far East. He and his wife Lisa have been married for 26 years and have four children.

-Story Chicago

• The ring is the thing
• The hope is the rope
• Church work is “brutiful”
• The main thing in church work is souls
• Yacht clubs started as rescue societies… has the church made the same shift?
• How many churches are baptizing adults?
• If I had to choose between small groups and volunteers, I’d much rather have people volunteering.
• Pull so the house will be full.
• Remember to leverage your passion for a purpose.

“RESCUSES”

• Sheeple excuse – are we reaching people or are we shuffling sheeple?
• Safety excuse – I wanna play it safe, If I change it’ll cause conflict.
• Depth excuse – I’m looking for something deeper. All rescues happen in the deep water! Be active in sharing your faith!
• God in a box excuse – thinking that you’ve got God all figured out. Being complacent in ministry is a dangerous place to be.
• Knowledge excuse – If I knew more I’d share. We need to encourage people to share their rescues. You gain more knowledge by sharing with others.
• We need to pray about it – We have a culture in crisis, and a cause that’s commanded. We have to tell the story! That’s all there is to it.

Questions to ask church staff members

• Who are you reaching?
• What are you doing?

[Image by: storychicago]