Comments on: success story

By: Ben Arment

Ben Arment — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:13:54 +0000

I’m a little late to the party, but thanks for the feedback.

For the record, however, I want to point out that I have a much longer string of failures. =)

By: steve carr

steve carr — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:43:14 +0000

I was thinking the same thing earlier this week when “Story” became the main topic of pastors’ blogs and Twitter feeds. I’ve read Ben’s blog for a few years now and really enjoy his concise ideas. Through this platform he’s developed an amazing network of ministry connections. It’s exactly what is necessary to enable the word of mouth marketing campaign needed to sell out the conference.

That said, I find it difficult to imagine that this conference will be any different than most others; sure, the marketing presentation has a movie feel to it, but I don’t necessarily find it any more compelling. To prove the point, look at the list of speakers: it’s the same group that’s assembled at every other conference around the country.

I believe our generation has exhausted our allotment of hype. As Koheleth reminds us, it’s all been done.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:44:00 +0000

As my brother would say, I smell what you’re steppin’ in. In other words, I tend to agree. There will always be conferences because we will always value the opportunity to hear the wise and/or well-known among us in person rather than just on video. But I do think the trend is toward fewer events, not more, and shorter (therefore theoretically less expensive) rather than longer.

To the bigger point of your rant, my take is the pendulum is always swinging–in church circles, in popular culture, even in our own lives. To quote another family member (dad this time), “Balance is an elusive goal.” I sense a BIG time return among our churches to so-called “simplicity” that has been helped along by the recession but started before that. I think people are weary of the megachurch show, the 50,000 programs, the spiritually shallow, the entertaining but ineffective. Already there has been a big return to cutting things away (a la “Simple Church”), “getting back to essentials,” unapologetic exegetical preaching, hymns and a few instruments, liturgy, fasting and other spiritual disciplines, service, etc. I predict we’ll see more and more of this, because the pendulum is swinging. Where it swings back to in 15 more years in anyone’s guess.

By: indulf

indulf — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:54:19 +0000

im not a church staffer, so take this with a grain of salt.

why do we need so many church conferences?

all my friends twitter, and many of them aren’t staffers either. they get excited about these conferences and take time off from work to attend.

it all comes off like a popularity contest. pastors and high powered members of “cool” churches name drop conferences all the time. they retweet cliche tidbits of knowledge and say AMAZINGG!!!!! or LIFE-CHANGING!!!!!1991! afterward. i just don’t quite get it.

part of what bugs me is the money spent and where it could go. but i have a house payment and a car payment etc so i’m guilty too. i better keep my mouth shut

another part of what bugs me is that most of these conferences are centered upon creativity or freedom or how to freshen things up. is it fresh if you walk into any megachurch in america and they’re using the same ripped off idea as every other megachurch that sent someone to the PURPLEALCHEMYMANUSCRIPTPHOTO conference.

is that really what it’s all about? it seems like the conferences and conventions have people fooled into putting more stock into the ideas presented there than they put into what God himself said about community, caring for others and how we should live and interact.

barton stone and alexander campbell make more sense to me every day.

sorry for the rant