It’s Tuesday night at Exponential. I flew in on Sunday afternoon and had a bit of time to connect with our Mosaix team for a few last minute details. Yesterday afternoon we kicked off our Pre-conference Intensive on Planting and Building Healthy Multi-Ethnic churches. Right from the gate we shared the Biblical Mandate for Multi-Ethnic churches (led by Mark DeYmaz) a session on the Sociological perspective of the Multi-ethnic church (led by George Yancey) and the Core Commitments of a Multi-Ethnic church (led by Mark) . Though I have heard these talks several times before, I am always challenged of the need and the call of Christ for His church to be ONE.
This morning George spent some time talking about Assessment tools to evaluate where you are in this entire process and then we heard a great presentation from Ed Lee on the Nuances of the M/E church.  Ed’s presentation was especially challenging as he caused us to think through just where we are at Westbrook. What model or series of models might we fit into?  These two talks coupled together will allow a church, seeking to be M/E in their methodology, to truly evaluate where they are in this process and where they want to be.
The main conference started this afternoon. Some great worship… a little Ed Stetzer… and a lot of Andy Stanley. It’s great to see Mosaix Global Network climbing the ranks in the church planting movement. Kudos to George, Mark and Jim! To top it all of, a bunch of my staff guys from Westbrook are down here with me taking this all in. God is good!

As soon as I finish preaching tomorrow AM, I’ll be jumping in a car and heading to the airport to fly to Orlando, FL.  This week is the National New Church Conference.  Christie and I first attended this conference in 1995 and as we headed for home from being around this amazing church planting group we felt strongly led by God to take a leap of faith and follow others into the crazy world of church planting.  Without a doubt… we are so blessed that we did.  The last 12-13 years have been years of faith, fear and great fun.  The friendships that I have forged through my involvement in church planting have been so rich and blessed.

In 2002 I was asked to be the President of the NNCC.  The conference was held in Indianapolis, IN and my theme was all about Diversity in Church Planting.  My passion for Multi-Ethnic ministry has not waned. There were about 240 people who attended the conference.   Over the last several years however, the conference has taken an amazing slide upwards to where it is now labeled the largest church planting gathering in North America.  To date registrations are topping 2,500.  What a super thing!  My connection with the conference is still very strong and this year I was asked to direct the Multi-Ethnic church planting track.  We’ve got a great slate put together, and I am pumped.

To top it off a bunch of the Westbrook staff guys are going to be joining me this year.  They all fly down Monday afternoon.  Pray for us all.  I think it’s going to be a great week.  If you’d like to read about the Exponential (National New Church Conference) visit www.exponentialconference.org.  I plan to blog a time or two while in Orlando as well.  Please check out what God is up to through this great conference!

So you are seeking to be a Multi-Ethnic church huh?. If that’s the case you have to do more than just talk about it, you have to do some things to facilitate it. Here’s one of a couple of really cool things that are in store for Westbrook and Gente Unida Ministries: GUM is sponsoring a Citizenship Workshop in partnership with World Relief. There are many many people in our area who need assistance with this much desired aspect of their life. However, with these sorts of things come much red tape and even a measure of anxiety for people seeking their citizenship. For more information about how your church can get involved with a great community minded program feel free to visit our Westbrook Church website, call our church office or visit World Relief. How’s that for a great idea? A Citizenship Workshop!

I’m using this Monday afternoon to finalize some plans to attend and be a part of the 2008 Ethnic America Summit in St. Louis, Mo. On Wednesday I’ll be joining with my friends Jim Spoonts and Mark DeYmaz from the Mosaix Global Network to share in a coaching clinic and then the Summit. Please join me in prayer that the exciting work of building multi-cultural churches can be expanded across our nation.

If you have been watching the news or a student of US History then you know that today is a very significant day in the life of our nation. Today is the 40th Anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many people leave imprints on our lives but Dr. King has certainly left a legacy. Because of men like this, men who loved Jesus in amazing ways, we are a freer nation. I really believe that!