Externally Focused Leadership Community 6.1 Day 1

Today was a blast! Leaders from 12 churches crowded into Leadership Network's facilitation space for a 2pm start. We opened by talking about the difference between entering this process with "expectations" and "expectancy"--and there is a big difference. Anne Lammot says, "Expectations lay the groundwork for disappointment." Expectancy on the other hand is entering with anticipation of what God will do at the unexpected intersections of life. We also talked about building on the ideas of others rather than just using our "critical thinking skills" to say what is wrong with the suggestion. So we pulled out a "yes, but" jar. Folks who were guily of saying "yes-but" had to put in a buck. We'll have a drawing for the money before we leave.

After the orientation each church shares thier current models of externally focused ministry. They did a great job--concise and crisp. The rest of the afternoon was spent in various exercises that help us think outside the box regarding what externally focused ministry could be. There was a ton of energy in the room and it just got stronger as the day went on. We ended the day with an incredible catered Texas barbecue. Here are a few pictures from today.