One of the more original ideas for a pastor’s conference that I’ve seen. And not a bad one at that…
According to their website, the idea for this conference came from two sources: A blog post from J.R. Briggs, a pastor at Renew Community in Lansdale, Pa and the wildly popular site www.epicfail.com.
A few dangerous questions were asked:
-What if we offered a space that is gutsy, hopeful, courageously vulnerable for pastors to let go of the burden to be a Super Pastor?
-What if we could hold an event that was free from the thrills and frills of other pastors conferences?
-What if we came together as epic failures and sought not successful models or how-do’s but instead celebrated faithfulness in ministry because of the reality of Jesus?
-What if we were reminded that we’re not responsible for being ‘successful’ in ministry, but we are responsible for being faithful to the calling that God has laid out for us – regardless of the outcome?
-What if we had a conference that was not led not by famous pastors who are household names, but by scandalously ordinary ministers and leaders who are faithfully attempting to join with God – even in the midst of glaring obscurity and anonymity?
That post attracted more hits than any other post that J.R. had written in seven years. People from all over the world began contacting J.R. through the blog, email, phone and text messages saying, ‘I’m in! Where do I sign up?†We knew we had struck a nerve. We were on to something significant.
This excited us and freaked us out.
The result: The Epic Fail Pastor’s Conference. Check it out!
via Epic Fail Pastors Conference :: April 14-16, 2011.
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Is Ted Haggard the keynote speaker? Seems he has something to say (see yesterday’s posts) about those who failed in ministry being restored.
Um…Ted Haggard restored HIMSELF.
Frankly, I feel like to much of a failure to attend…
What a great idea. Sometimes after leaving conferences with big speakers I feel excited, overwhelmed and a little depressed all at once. Ministry is hard work. So are a lot of jobs. But I’m in ministry and I think it’s hard. I like the idea of being around other people who share the same challenges. I think we can learn a lot from each other. I’ve learned a lot in my first 7 years of ministry and I’m always learning more. I’d love to share and learn from others as well.
I think there is a significant difference between not taking yourself too seriously and celebrating failure. I believe this crosses that line.
Another thing that bugs me: why is the church more worried about copying someones ideas so much and not defined by our own creativity. If I ran epicfail.com I’d be forcing them to license the name. Too weird for me.
I have not attended one of those big, flashy, motivational gatherings in years because I know they are illogical, guilt and shame inducing showboats that lead people to ape things that cannot be done and are unbiblical.
The fact that there are no examples of discipleship in modern church events shows us all that they are killing Jesus’ vision of Matt 28. Church growth is usually tied to exotic ideas like multiple campuses on TV or music style not in depth mentoring and growth. If Epic could find one or two people that are actually disciple making, coaching and building I might go support him/her.