Pieces of Shift

All 6 of us headed to Chicago this week for the "Shift Conference" hosted by the Willow Creek Association. With two-thirds of the conference under our belts, here are my initial observations from the experience...

• Willow Creek’s architecture and finish out feel very plain & dated.
• Sarahbeth would call registration an “organizational dream”. It was very smooth.
  
• The volunteers at Willow are phenomenal. Lots of them. All serving and smiling.
  
• The emcees (Wes & Margaret) are very personable and funny.
• The main session program displayed a surprising lack of creativity (staging, video, transitions, giveaways, lights, backs, etc.)
  
• Two of the three main session speakers had very loose connections to the student ministry world. Their messages were good but lacked clear student ministry specific application points.
• Mark Yaconelli is very funny and hit a homerun speaking from an authentic heart.
• Chicago is super cool. The people at Improv Olympics were funny (obviously) and really nice.
• Kurt Johnston would be great at a press conference. He handled the Q & A at his breakout like a pro. He listened to questions and quickly and concisely picked up on and addressed the heart of the issue. I wish I could do that.
• Brandon Grissom is legit. His team (Sarah Mailloux and Aaron & Nate - the guitar boys) is also legit. They were very kind, accommodating, and helpful with questions.
• Jason Raitz is authentic and genuinely passionate about communicating to kids. I would like for him to speak to our kids.
• Matt Wilkinson is one smart Canadian. He had cool bracelets and I hope he accepts my friend request on Facebook.