The Zone Gathering

Heather and Mark did a main stage session at Willow Creek’s Group Life conference. You can see video highlights here. Good stuff!

Main Session 5

Description: When community works—when it´s characterized by good health and a supportive environment—it can have a transformative effect on individuals, on churches, and within entire neighborhoods. Miles McPherson details the importance of a community–focused church, and the power of community to impact our entire culture.

Speaker’s Bio: Miles McPherson is the President of Miles Ahead, and is an internationally known speaker whose bold, down-to-earth, and humorous style has become his trademark. His relevant message challenges both the young and young-minded and often compels them to recalibrate their lives in light of the Gospel. McPherson achieved All-American honors in college football and went on to play as a defensive back for the San Diego Chargers. He earned an MDiv and is now Senior Pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, where more than 11,000 people attend one of five weekend services. McPherson is the author of several books and articles, and in 2007 earned an Emmy Award for a documentary on methamphetamine.

Liveblog Notes: How Community Transforms

Main Session 4

Description: Why do some community initiatives fly and others fall flat? Bill Donahue investigates how certain strategies flounder, the missing essentials that can lead to their failure, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes. Or if you´ve made them already, learn how you can get back on your feet.

Speaker’s Bio: Bill Donahue’s passion for helping churches develop leaders through small groups led him to Willow Creek in 1992. Bill is currently the Executive Director of Group Life for the Willow Creek Association. Prior to that, he served on the staff of Willow Creek Community Church for six years, helping launch and develop the church-wide small group ministry. He was also leader of the Couples Ministry, Director of the Willow Creek Institute, and headed the Leadership Training Department. Bill has a Ph.D. in Adult Education from the University of North Texas, a Master’s in Biblical Studies from Dallas Seminary, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Princeton University. He and his wife, Gail, have two children, Ryan and Kinsley.

Bill is the co-author (with Russ Robinson) of Building a Church of Small Groups, The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry and Walking the Small Group Tightrope.

Liveblog Notes: Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Breakout D

Description: Leading leaders can become a lonely calling, but can it be less lonely when pursued within a synergetic team? Discover the Mosaic strategy of coaching and caring for small group leaders through the use of MPAC teams.

Speaker’s Bio: Dave Auda is a Pastor of Developers at Mosaic in Los Angeles, C.A. He has served in this dynamic community of faith, love, and hope for over 30 years. Dave has helped pioneer and champion Small Group communities since 1977. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from California Baptist University, and a Master of Theological Studies from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He is husband to Tamra, and father to four daughters, Sarah, Ruthi, Rebekah, and Deborah. His superhero identity at Mosaic is “Adrenalin”. His ministry and life motto is “Excel still more!”

Liveblog Notes: Real World Coaching at Mosaic

Breakout C

Description: A leader’s ability to ask great questions is key to a small group’s success. It leads to evocative storytelling, dynamic opinions, captivating discussions, and personal transparency. Learn the art of asking great questions, and the importance of listening to the answer.

Speaker’s Bio: Willow Creek’s key evangelism leader since 1992, Garry Poole is an innovator in seeker small groups and an outreach strategist. Passionate about reaching people for Christ, Garry and his team have trained thousands of leaders to launch seeker small groups in their own settings. His award-winning book, Seeker Small Groups, provides a detailed blueprint for facilitating small group discussions that assist spiritual seekers with investigating Christianity. He also wrote The Complete Book of Questions, a collection of 1001 conversation starters, and The Three Habits of Highly Contagious Christians, a small group discussion guide to equip believers in effectively sharing their faith. Garry is the primary author of Tough Questions, a best-selling series of seven study guides, along with a leader’s guide, designed to get small groups discussing answers to major objections to the Christian faith. He authored (with Lee Strobel) Experiencing the Passion of Jesus to accompany Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ. In 2005, it became the first discussion guide ever to receive the prestigious Charles “Kip” Jordon Christian Book of the Year award. Garry lives in suburban Chicago and consults on seeker small groups at churches around the world.

Liveblog Notes: Asking Great Questions

Breakout B

Description: How do people come to Jesus in today’s postmodern culture? Over the last decade, Don Everts and Doug Schaupp have listened to the stories of two thousand postmodern people who have come to follow Jesus. While the stories are diverse and varied, certain common themes emerge, which they describe in their new book, I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus. Come hear Don give an overview of the “Five Thresholds” that most postmodern skeptics cross on their way to faith in Jesus.

Speaker’s Bio: Don Everts recently began serving as Minister of Outreach at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, after working with university students for over 14 years as a campus staff worker and Area Director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. A poet and preacher at heart, Don speaks at conferences and churches across the country inviting skeptics and believers alike to gaze at the person of Jesus and be thrilled. Don has written nine books, including Jesus with Dirty Feet, God in the Flesh, and the One Guy’s Head Series of postmodern apologetics. His latest book, co-authored with Doug Schaupp, is I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus.

My deepest hope for our time together is that I might be the bearer of stories of people who were once jaded and far from God but now know Jesus.

Liveblog Notes: The Postmodern Skeptic’s Path to Faith

Breakout A

Description: This generation doesn’t play church. Shattered and broken, this generation responds only to the unfiltered love of Jesus, delivered with authenticity via communities on mission. Willow’s Axis Community has seen more than 100 postmoderns come to faith in Christ over the last two year. Join a dialogue and gain insight on the breakthroughs that facilitated those transformations.

Speaker’s Bio: Jon Peacock has been on staff at Willow Creek Community Church for 4 years, first as a division leader with the Sports Ministry, then as a Community Pastor in Neighborhood Life. In the fall of 2006 Jon was hand-picked to lead the re-vitalized Axis Ministry. With the role Ministry Director of the Axis Community Jon provides strategic oversight, teaching, and the development of his staff. Jon was raised in the Chicago suburbs. His college experience included playing Division One baseball at both the University of Kentucky and Illinois State, where he excelled on the field and not so much in the classroom. He’s addicted to Americano’s and wakeboarding in the summer. Jon is married to Kelly Peacock, and as most say “he’s completely out-kicked his coverage”, Jon emphatically agrees.

Liveblog Notes: Reaching Postmoderns with Unfiltered Reality