BUZZ CONFERENCE

Next week Rory and I fly to Washington DC to attend the Buzz Conference. I am pretty excited about this conference because the speakers are serious innovators that I read and follow regularly.

I have the opportunity to go to conferences weekly if I want. It seems everybody is doing their thing, but I strategically choose the conferences I attend. Here's how:

1. The conference has to have a theme that is pertinent to something I deal with on a daily basis.

2. The majoirty of the conference speakers must already impact my life. The only exception would be if a very trusted friend recommended that I go to a conference I knew nothing about.

3. The conference has to be over by the weekend. I can't miss Sunday church for a conference. I prefer conferences that are Thursday and Friday.

4. The conference has to have a fee. When it comes to conferences I live by the old adage "you get what you pay for."

5. The conference has to be put upon my heart by the Holy Spirit. Seriously, I get solicitations to go to conferences every week and I pray about each one. Those that stick are the ones I think about day after day; eventually, I tell Staci to book the tickets and register.

Which conferences have I attended recently: Pastor's Summit, Wendell and Gini, MFI Regional Conference, in Kirkland, WA; Prosperity with a Purpose Conference, The City Church; Creative Church Conference, Dallas, TX; Mitosis Conference, we hosted it.

Which conferences will I be attending by the end of '07, Buzz Conference, DC; Pastors Summit, Maui (tough duty there); Catalyst, Atlanta; Prosperity with a Purpose Conference, The City Church.

No doubt about it, conferences charge my batteries, but I am intentionally strategic with where and when I go.