by David Docusen | April 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
Really enjoyed the beginning of the ARC All Access Conference today. First of all, it’s just great to get away with Dara. Our life is utterly dominated by our four kids these days, so any time away is refreshing for us. (Special thanks to my mom for coming from Orlando to watch the kids this week!)
We got to hear from the president of the ARC, Billy Hornsby, tonight. It is so great to be a part of a greater initiative than our own. The ARC has raised $50 million dollars for church planting in the past 8 years. Absolutely amazing.
One of the most thought-provoking quotes came when Billy said, “Waiting for the church planter is a post-Christian nation with disdain for the local church.” At first glance, that might not seem too inspiring. Once you sink your teeth into it, though, it is filled with inspiration.
We are called to a nation that has seen so much coming from the Christian world and has decided it’s not for them. They have seen things that have pushed them away. Judgement, bickering, hurtfulness, etc. Our role as a new generation of church planters is to re-establish a relationship based upon the Biblical principles of love and servanthood with our community. When we establish these things, the hurt and pain from the past begin to melt away as Christ is represented in the way that he has been all along. Loving. Caring. Relationship-centered.
Matt Fry (lead pastor of C3 Church) then gave a great talk on the topic of healthy hearts. The premise of this talk was the fact that healthy hearts produce healthy churches. If we as pastors have healthy hearts, our churches will follow suit. Great night. Looking forward to tomorrow.
by David Docusen | April 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
I just watched a video feed from the Q Conference about Blake Mycoskie at Toms Shoes. He had an idea and ran with it with all of his heart. While on a trip to Argentina, Blake saw the huge need for kids to have a simple, yet vital provision: shoes. He dreamed up a company that would give one pair of shoes away for every pair of shoes he sold.
In the past year, Tom’s Shoes has completely exploded. Each pair of shoes comes with a story. When people wear these shoes, they are compelled to share the story that another pair of shoes went to Argentina. The message of service and servanthood is spreading like wildfire. His shoes are now featured in Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom’s, Vogue and GQ. Tom’s was also the center of this AT&T commercial.
I love the way he closed out his talk at the Q Conference. He said that he wants people to be “conscious consumers”. The idea here is to actually think about what we are buying. If there are two choices and one product helps other people, pick the product that helps people.
So many new ideas as entrepreneurs are starting to let their faith infiltrate their passion for creating new companies. There are more ideas out there. There are more businesses and ideas that will in turn change the destiny of people around the world.
What’s your idea?
by David Docusen | April 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
Dara and I are headed to the ARC All Access Conference today. It’s so great to get away with our Hope Church team for a couple of days. We also love connecting with friends from around the country. Looking forward to what God has in store over the next couple of days!
by David Docusen | April 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
I am a dreamer. Always have been. I believe that my greatest strength can be my greatest weakness when not properly harnessed. However, God is the author of our dreams, so I allow myself the liberty to really have faith to believe for huge, ridiculous, amazing things. I had one of those dreams over a year ago when we decided to leave an awesome job in my home town to come to Charlotte with no guarantees. It’s worked out quite nicely 🙂
One of the biggest things that I have found is that realizing your dream comes at a huge cost. There is so much behind the scenes work that make dreams become a reality. I have realized how much I have learned in the past couple of years while I have been working toward the dreams he has placed in my heart. If he would have just handed me the dream A-Z, I would have never learned about trust, faith, diligence, tenacity, provision, etc. All of these things come through the process of perspiration. I am so grateful for the process.
I am convinced that working toward a God-given dream helps us to appreciate the outcome even more. I like to think of the dreams God places in our hearts like the proverbial carrot in front of the donkey. The dream keeps us going in the right direction. God gives me a partial glimpse of what the end will look like to keep us motivated today.
Let God birth a dream in your heart. Be willing to work. Be willing to work hard. He will make all the dreams of your heart come true, and you might learn a thing or two along the way.
by David Docusen | April 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
Dara and I took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge on Friday and Saturday for their grand opening celebration. There was lots of energy, great food, some guy from Hannah Montana named Mitch singing in the lobby, an awesome hotel room and an AMAZING indoor water park.
All of this for free thanks to some great friends that hooked us up! So much fun to spend the night with the kids, wrestle, laugh, not sleep much, eat Dunkin Donuts in the morning and then play all day in the water.
Dara put it best yesterday when she said that we are creating memories that the kids will remember for the rest of their lives. We will too 🙂
