We’re home from So. Cal after wrapping up a massive programming meeting with Doug, Josh, Rick, Tim, Kurt Johnston, and Jeff MacGuire (from Mariner’s) We went through the entire conference schedule (made a few great tweaks), and walked through the morning and evening general sessions in detail. It’s all looking awesome–Rick went through his plan for the mornings,  Josh presented plans for pre-show and evenings, and Doug massaged it all together with his special loving Doug-touch.

For a creative meeting with a bunch of passionate people, it flowed suprsingly smoothly. I enjoyed actually NOT being the most talkative person in the room, and kicked back to absorb the dynamics as these guys integrated their gifts:  Rick’s passion for deep Jesus-centered thinking and interaction, Josh’s radiant energy and humor, and Doug’s profound insights, experience and vision for staying true to the message we’re trying to communicate in each session.

It was a great day–productive, powerful and humbling.

Tim and I headed home on a late-night flight to CO. He slept, and I worked through conference details and logistics in my head. Honestly, I’m struggling with it all right now. Normally a fearless champion of optimistic move-it-forward action, I’m beginning to get overwhelmed with the responsibility associated with executing these great ideas without letting someone down. Karen, Sherri and I have been sprinting so hard through the last few months, and I feel like we all just rounded the home stretch and there’s a mountain to scale before we cross the finish line.

 I’m really tired right now. I think the team is tired. We need to catch our breath and get a second wind.