John Maxwell, legit leadership guru, has a new book coming out. It’s called Everyone Communicates Few Connect. I haven’t read it (it’s not out yet), but I anticipate it will sell well and be a good read.

But a few of my fellow Cultivators noticed something that I posit to you. Could it be that Maxwell’s design team “borrowed heavily” from the Cultivate 09 imaging? You decide:

What do you think? Creative coincidence or design doppelgangery?

Cultivate/STORY were a lot of fun. I even have proof.

Below are a few videos I collected from the week. They roll as follows:

1. A walk from the back of the Paramount Theatre to the front during the opening session of STORY.
2. This is short clip from the session I facilitated. I prayed that three people would show up. They did … And then some.
3. We found a bag of weed. Yes, that weed.

Enjoy.

Phew. That was quite a week.

Cultivate was one of the most innovative, refreshing and challenging “conferences” I’ve been to in awhile. I had the chance to present on a topic I love. I got to meet some online friends “IRL” (in real life). A great day.

STORY was phenomenal. From the hidden book search to the accordion players to the speakers, it was a “top-notch” event. Ben Arment couldn’t have done it any better. Life-changing, for realz.

I live-blogged as much as I could. My fingers got a sweet work out–all for the sake of you, the BeDeviant.com readership. You can find my notes for Cultivate here and my notes for STORY here.

Dig in. Dive deep. Let God breathe!

(Image: Anthony Barlich)

Somehow, I have found myself amongst a virtual (ha) “who’s who” of online movers and shakers that are the Cultivate 09 facilitators. (I’m still wondering just how I got on board with this amazing crew!) I’ll be facilitating a discussion at Cultivate entitled “What Would Luther Do?” Intrigued? Here’s the description:

Leveraging technology to further God’s kingdom. How a problem, a pastor and the printing press changed the face of Christianity.

Interested? Then make sure you shake on down to Cultivate next Tuesday and join me for the discussion. (I secretly confided to another facilitator that I fear

no one will show up to my session! It is the communicator’s version of dreaming that you’re in math class with nothing more than your undies!)

Either way, I have so enjoyed researching what God can do through a little bit of “positive deviancy”–even through a little German monk named Martin Luther! I can’t wait to share it.

This next week will be a blitzkrieg of creative communication within the church:

• Monday we’re headed to Chicago to get ready for Cultivate…
• Tuesday Cultivate goes live. You should be there. For realz.
• Wednesday it’s off to Aurora, IL for STORY hosted by the one, the only Ben Arment.
• Thursday it’s STORY workshops with so many talented creatives it will make your head spin.
• Friday I scrape my brain off the floor and hash through all the cool stuff I learned.

I truly hope to see you there. I will have a chance to meet face-to-face with so many friends that I’ve met online. That, alone, will be worth the whole trip. It will be a case study on whether online community “counts” as true community. (My bet is that it will. Just a hunch.)

So I hope to see some of you there. Martin Luther does to. His prophetic voice still echoes today. How? Well, you’ll just have to come to Cultivate and find out.

Call it dumb luck, but I’ll be joining the team of incredible communicators that will be facilitating at Cultivate 09.

I’ll be facilitating a talk called, “What Would Luther Do?” Here’s how I described it earlier:

The printing press was invented in 1440 and a young pastor/theologian asked the question, “What would happen if all of God’s people could read his Word?” So, Luther set out to translate the Bible into a language the everyday man or woman could understand. What was previously an unreadable piece of dogmatic literature to so many became alive and active and changed the way an entire people group saw God. In the 21st century, we must ask ourselves the same questions Luther did: Where is church polity becoming a stumbling block to people encountering God? How can we leverage cutting-edge technology in order to further God’s Kingdom? What does that look like and what are the implications?

I am seriously so amped to be a part of this. I really hope you can make it (and add your voice to my session as well!) If that’s not a good enough reason, head on over to the Cultivate site and check out the raw talent that will be a part of the event.

As I tweeted yesterday, this conference is probably not like most of the ones you’ve gone to in the past:

• Proceeds from the conference are going to help people. Big time.
• Everyone involved is coming for the main reason to be involved; i.e. no “big budget” speakers, no prima donnas allowed!
• You get to participate. This conference breaks down the fourth wall between presenter and attender!

So hop on the train–and for the love of all things good and holy, come to my session!

I don’t know what’s more impressive about Cultivate 09: The list of facilitators or the fact that the proceeds of the conference are, for the most part, being given away.

I first heard about Cultivate through my “e-friend”, Tim Schraeder (thanks to Mr. Dan Bryan for the introdcution!). We had a quick phone conversation a few months ago and after I hung up, I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve: “PRESENTS!”

It’s been a long time since I’ve been genuinely excited about a conference or convergence of leaders in the ministry world. Not because people don’t have something valuable to say, but because everyone seems to be saying it in the exact same way.

Enter Cultivate.

The brainpower behind this conference will blow ya’ mind, but the short list includes the aforementioned Tim Schraeder, Matt Knisley, Rhett Smith, John Saddington, Cynthia Ware, Tony Steward, and one of the most under-the-radar creatives this side of the Mississippi, Brad Ruggles.

You should go. Seriously. I’ll be there … I may even bring an autograph pad because a lot of the people who I really respect and learn from will be there as well.

In the words of a wise friend, “How do you tell a story to people who have already heard it?” You cultivate creativity. That’s how.