Four days ago I stood up and welcomed hundreds of pastors and leaders to Quest Community Church for The Uprising. It wasn’t five minutes into my talk that our hearts began to break over the American Church in crisis. It’s still hard to quantify what happened in our hours together. We had an unforgettable day…the Holy Spirit had room to work, people came ready to learn and grow, and they left wrecked and unhinged.
As I’ve taken some time to reflect, I wanted to share with you some of my personal highlights from the day (in no particular order)…
1. Hundreds of Questers served as volunteers for The Uprising, and you guys were REMARKABLE. You went all out. One of the top comments we’ve received from pastors was how clear it is that our volunteers know they’re already living in the Uprising, and how gorgeously they served out of the overflow of what we live in all the time. I couldn’t agree more. Thank you!
2. This was our first year hosting The Uprising and we had no idea what to expect. When more than 860 pastors and leaders stepped forward to join us, we were blown away. We asked the LORD to bring us the people He determined…and you CAME! Really thankful for His blessing.
3. I loved seeing our new facility do what it was made to do. So many people (including Perry Noble, Pete Wilson & Shaun King) pulled me aside to tell me how much they loved the facility and what a great place it is to do ministry. I agree. Seeing groups huddling up, discussing what they learned…people spending time with Jesus and with each other out on the plaza, under the portico, in the landing, by the fireplaces…it was great. (If you need any reason push through to be faithful to fulfill your Imagine2 Commitment, you saw it at the Uprising!)
4. The worship and the arts were great. I particularly loved This is Our God which kind of became a theme song of the conference. We taught it in the first session and by the last session, the whole room was blaring it out. God really anointed it.
5. I loved meeting pastors and their teams. Our team loved cheering on people who went all out to get here to help their churches step forward and make a difference in this dark world. I especially loved the guest reception Wednesday night and the senior and lead pastor dessert on Thursday. In one conversation, I was talking with pastors from Kenya and Peru. I was blown away, and it reminded me of the scope of what we’re doing. This is a God-sized endeavor!
6. I was ridiculously proud of Quest staffers…Sharon, Justin, Helen, Billy, Dave, Amber, Brad and Jim. Your workshops and breakouts were great. You live in constant awe of what God is doing in this place and you went all out to help Uprisers see it for themselves – just unbelievable! Thank you for pouring your lives into God’s Acts 2 dream here and helping others see it and experience it for themselves. I’ll sit and listen to you guys teach any day of the week!
7. Thanks to our guest speakers and presenters Perry Noble, Shaun King & Pete Wilson who hit it out of the park. Perry was funny (as always), and he did an amazing job leading us from the main stage. Pete’s authenticity and heart-feltness was evident in every conversation. And Shaun’s optimism and focus on small churches and social media breathed hope into so many pastors. I’m so grateful for all of these guys. They are real friends and partners in ministry, and they were blown away to be here. Their teams fell in love with what God is doing here…and with Questers. They’re still processing what they saw and experienced – what we live in all the time, but never want to get used to. I loved that these guys and hundreds of other pastors and leaders got to experience this incredible community for themselves! Really in awe.
8. Among my private highlights of the day were the constant conversations I was in with pastors who were wrecked. Over and over again I heard pastors telling me, “We will not do it the same. We have got to reconsider the way we do church.” Go for it. It’s time for an Uprising! Not minor tweaks or adjustments. God has more for your lives, hearts and ministries. Almost every pastor I spoke to mentioned stories, baptisms, and/or the Pendletons. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Over and over again they asked me, “Where in the world do you get stories like these?” (Questers, they really are gorgeous, and…they’re all over the place. Pastors and leaders really were catching the vision of the Uprising through you! Thank you!)
9. A huge thanks to our Uprising Leadership Team. This team of volunteers and staff members sat with me from the beginning and met with me for hours nearly every week for six months. I loved going through the hundreds and hundreds of surveys with you after the conference. They were so outstanding that they looked rigged. Way to go, leaders! (And thanks for your kind words, pastors!)
10. Probably the thing I loved most from the whole day was lighting the beacon and looking out at faces of men and women of God who want to serve and see the church become. You guys listened like there was a test. Your hearts were soft…sometimes you mouths dropped open…your eyes lit up. And you received the word that it’s not too late…we can do this together. We can light the beacon. You just believed it. (Praying for you like you can’t imagine, Uprisers!)
p.s. One of my favorite things was getting to announce The Uprising 2011! We’ll be together again next year on April 14th with Erwin McManus as one of our main stage speakers. We’ve extended the conference rate through the end of this week, and we’ve already had around 100 people get their tickets. Take advantage of this crazy conference rate asap. (When we restart registration, the price will jump by $20!)
p.p.s. You cannot believe the steady flow of tweets, Facebook posts, messages & emails about The Uprising. Over and over again people are saying, “Everything is changed – I see the world, friends differently.” You can go to www.theuprising.net to tell your story and read the stories of others. We’d LOVE to hear from you! (Don’t miss the survey on the main page of this blog, too. Thanks!)
