How many truly innovative training offerings are available to church leaders today? In my opinion, not many. There are plenty of conferences each with their own twist. But most likely you'll get motivated from the same pastor-rock-stars that walk the platform year after year after year. Or you can jump into a coaching network driven by either personality again, or perhaps a solid list of twelve or so leadership attributes to work on. Don't get me wrong- I think that much of this stuff is really good. But I constantly wonder if there is a better way.
And I think there is. I have observed leaders longing for more than the next catalytic, adrenaline rush or wheelbarrow full of leadership knowledge or a pseudo-relationship with a big name. And that's why I love what Auxano has created in the Vision co::Lab.
How this for a game-changer: The center of learning is not the platform, not what worked great somewhere else, and not a current trend or hot topic. The center of learning is you, your team, your congregation's culture in your community context. I call it "Textbook You."
If that wasn't enough, the best news is that we spend 24 hours of coaching over 6 months on one topic: vision. It's all about your church and how to lead with better clarity, imagination and future thinking. The [::] in co::Lab represents the [co]ntinuous and [co]llaborative nature of this laboratory with no more eight churches represented.
In the end, we created the co::Lab because:
- We need more time to dream about what our churches could be and do
- It takes real effort and push to articulate your church's true uniqueness
- Vision, is often relegated to glittering generalities on paper
- Even our newer churches become over-programed and under-discipled
- Your team and volunteers want more vision from you, today.
New co::Labs are starting soon and I want to invite you to be a part of one. Next week, I am starting one in Houston, and one virtually. The following month I am starting one in Atlanta in conjunction ChurchPlanters.com Velocity Conference. Following the conference, Sean LoveJoy, David Putnam and John Shepherd will host a co::Lab at Mountain Lake Church. Later in the spring we will be starting co::Labs in Orlando and Dallas.
At this link you can request more info about the co::Lab, and download a PDF brochure.