Why the Idea Camp is just what I have been waiting for.

 I recently attended a conference that gathered youth leaders and pastors from around southern California.  Usually with these types of conferences the best part is the opportunity to connect with friends you never get to see; chat in the hall ways, go out to lunch, catch up on the highlights and the not so highlights of the past year.  If you know me, I love this kind of stuff; any opportunity to share a forum for discussion and conversation with people who love Jesus with all of their being, especially that common passion for teenagers.

            The second day’s session had a “break out” that focused on reaching youth.  To be honest, I don’t remember what the name of the session was, but I took some good notes I guess.  What I do remember is looking around the room, noticing the faces of people who have really spoken deeply into my life and thinking, “there are a lot of brilliant minds in here.  A lot of people with tons of experience who could all really bring a lot to the table when it comes to youth ministry.”

            To make a long story short, I went out to IN N OUT afterward for lunch with some of my pastor friends and had a more impacting conversation than the entire conference combined.  I do not say this to knock conferences- both were good, like I said, I took some good notes! But I personally responded better to the discussion afterward.  And maybe this is true of you or someone you know. J

            All this to say, there is a sweet get together of going down for the first time with people I admire and whom I would love to share a DOUBLE DOUBLE.  Its called the IDEA CAMP.  Its FREE and its this weekend.  The format is refreshingly original so I included an excerpt from the website. http://theideacamp.ning.com/

ABOUT:

The Idea Camp is a FREE, open source hybrid conference designed to help people move from the realm of ideas to implementation.

We are gathering some of the most innovative and creative leaders from around the country (this means YOU!) to share ideas, intentionally network, and move collaboratively into idea-making. Whether your passion is church leadership, non-profit work, social entrepreneurialism, technology, media, creativity, culture making, church planting, spiritual formation, compassionate justice, etc., this is the conference for YOU.

The focus of this conference will be on the participants (yes, You!) and not on keynote speakers. We function under the belief that the crowd is always smarter and wiser than any one speaker. In fact, you are invited to create and refine some of the major components of the conference prior to the gathering itself via our web interface. You are welcome to suggest specific topics for our workshops (called Idea Sessions), leave comments, ask questions, share case scenarios for discussion, and even volunteer yourself to facilitate one of our Idea Sessions.

We desire the Idea Camp to be a conference for friends by friends. If you are interested in submitting a proposal to facilitate an Idea Session workshop, please email charles@theideacamp.com.

During the Idea Camp, there will be NO booths, banners, and mascots in funny suits pushing products. If you REALLY want to connect with people and sponsors of the conference, you can always visit our sponsors page (see tab above).

We will have a few general sessions that will highlight the work of some phenomenal creatives from around the world in hopes that these examples will inspire us to stay committed to our dreams. The catch??? We just won’t tell you who will all be there. ☺ You’ll just have to come and see. (Maybe we’ll just call you up on stage to share!) We promise that you won’t be disappointed.

All we ask is that you come with the following posture:

o Be Open & Listen to Others

o Be Communal & Share What You Know

o Be Intentional & Collaboratively Invest in Each Other

o Be Optimistic & Don’t Be a Jerk ☺

For more information about the concept of an unconference (The Idea Camp is an adapted/hybrid version of an “unconference”.), check out the following helpful ideas:

o http://www.digital-web.com/articles/understanding_the_unconference/

o http://scripting.wordpress.com/2006/03/05/what-is-an-unconference/

So, what are you waiting for? Simply register for the Idea Camp by creating a profile here on our network!