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“meet my friend, carolyn from the rock in north carolina.” this is how carlos would introduce me to his staff. it made me smile. it made me thankful for the body of christ.

i have always had a little bit of a hang up about the whole process of developing your inner leader. going to conferences and meeting people and churches that you can learn from who have been through more or are responsible for more than you is a huge part of stretching and learning. but, without fail this process evokes memories of the old amway crowd rallying hard and then flocking around the ruby and emerald leaders… trying to get near the diamonds with hope that “it” will just rub off on them. (yes, in our younger days we were recruited heavily for amway…. ernie and i were real magnets for the, “i have my own business that i should tell you about it sometime,” guys.) anyway, the process for me is a little uncomfortable. but i do it. because i have something in me that has been placed there by god. and that requires me to allow myself to become uncomfortable.

knowing about someone from what you read in their blog is very different from knowing someone personally. and traveling 7 hours to meet someone you have only read about can’t help but be just a little awkward. but one of the things i love about the christian leaders’ blogosphere (sorry, i thought really hard but could not think of a better way to describe it), is that in spite of differences in our methods, our churches, our communities… there is a very solid commonality. jesus christ. and, generally speaking there is a common need to learn from one another and an unspoken acknowledgment that the things god places in us are open source. i think that is awesome.

carlos, brad and their teams were so great. they understood why i was there. they were kind, friendly, knowledgeable and they patiently answered all my questions and filled my eyes and ears with what god has entrusted them with. and while the atmosphere was relaxed and inviting, they graciously allowed me to forgo the, “getting to know you.” stage to remain focused on my goal of observation. i worked very hard not to be intrusive and they made sure that i was included. we had a few get to know you type conversations but for the most part it was all about the learning process. because of this, i learned so much. really. i didn’t know fully on the front end of this trip what i would glean from it. i just knew that there were things that carlos and his team were responsible for that had not seen. but i can honestly say god poured plenty into my spirit that applies to my life and my church.

meet my friend, carlos from buckhead church in atlanta. i wanted a picture with him not so i could have a picture of me with “ragamuffin the blog rock star”. i took the picture to remember my friend from a distance who is also my brother in god’s family. he has a heart like mine… to make a difference. carlos, your team is amazing. thank you for allowing me to hang out and learn from them.

i have a whole lot more to blog about from my trip.
it’s coming. i have much to process.
until then, what are you doing to
stretch out of your comfort zone?

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