fun friday

Evidently they didn’t own a lapel or boom mic.  Amazing.

unleash

A group of us from Freedom went to Unleash yesterday at NewSpring Church in Anderson.  To say it was awesome would be an understatement.  Every experience was not only positive, but went beyond expectations.

Having spent some time attending and volunteering at NewSpring, I have a pretty good idea of the volunteer culture they try to create and it was done extremely well yesterday.

NewSpring doesn’t just try to meet expectations, but seeks to go well beyond them.  Here are just a few examples.  Some of these may seem a little trivial, but it all goes together to create the experience.

• At least 15 people welcomed me BEFORE I ever stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the building.  This does not include the 10 or so people waving and welcoming me while I was driving to my parking space.
• There was mouthwash in the bathrooms.
• I got a water bottle out of one of the large ice buckets and someone wiped it off for me.
• I received a handwritten note (so did the rest of the 3500 people) from a volunteer thanking me for coming.
• There were volunteers EVERYWHERE.  I’m not sure what the ratio was, but it was much higher than any other conference I’ve ever attended.

Had only the minimum been done, it would have been a good experience.  But because of the mindset of taking the expectation at least one step further, it quickly became a great experience.

(FYI…these specific things are not necessarily taught or told to the volunteers.  They are just encouraged to take the expectation further and create a great experience.)

That set the tone for the day (and should every Sunday in our churches).  A potentially scary experience of a new place, the unknown of what to expect, etc. was quickly squelched by people who were genuinely friendly and excited about us being there.

Don’t get me wrong – the music, speaking, sessions were PHENOMENAL.  But those things were somewhat expected.  The volunteers made the difference.  Read that again:  the volunteers made the difference.

In your church (and ours), are the volunteers setting the stage for a great day?  Are they making the difference?  If not, how can we shift that?  What are some ideas you have?  Let us know.

birthday girl

Today is my wife’s birthday.  As we talked the other day, we realized we have been together for almost 18 years.  She knows pretty much everything there is to know about me – my likes, dislikes, quirks, emotional shifts…everything.  And she STILL loves me!

I’m not going to tell you how old she is today (I’m not THAT dumb), but I can tell you she doesn’t look nearly as old as her birth certificate says she is.  I’m lucky to be loved by her and to get to spend my life with her.  She is an incredible woman.  If you see her or catch her on Twitter or Facebook, tell her “Happy Birthday.”

Happy birthday, sweetheart!  I love you!