Media Outreach

If you would have been in my middle school class, you probably would’ve been one of the many students annoyed by me. I was a total suck up. I wanted so badly for my teachers, coaches and peers to like me that I shaped myself to their approval.

While I was never the smartest or nerdiest in the class, I was definitely one of those that tried the hardest (and got plenty of flack for that).

Thinking back, I realize how much I let my teachers mold me.  I was as polite as could be and knew exactly what ways each teacher could or would be wooed by me.  I knew when to be serious, when to participate and when to joke. I knew when to sit, when to stand and yes, even when to rollover.

In fact, I let my teachers mold me right into a box – a box that tells me exactly how to act in society and a box that dictates how I handle myself in a meeting.  A box that, while helps me in the business world, severely cripples me simultaneously.  When it comes to thinking outside my realm of experience, I get completely stuck.

Take a look at my husband for a minute.  He’s a true artist.  Always thinking outside of that box, we rarely agree on a first design (he’s a graphic artist).  As a kid, his experience at school was much different. While not a trouble maker, he was never the teacher’s pet. His artistic-ness actually hampered his relationship with his superiors because he didn’t “learn the same way as everyone else.”

One thing is for sure, though. When he and I come together on a project, it brings out the best in both of us.  I truly need people with that type of imagination to take things past what I know and bring me to the beauty of the mysterious unknown.

It is for just this reason that I plan on attending STORY this fall. With great remorse for missing the launch of this creative event last year, I vowed I wouldn’t miss it this year.

If you struggle with a box in your ministry, check out STORY to see if it would challenge you and your outreach to a new level of creativity. Our outreach, after all, is all about telling the Ultimate Story by the Author of Creativity.

STORY
Sept 23-24
Chicago, IL

STORY is a conference for the creative class in ministry on September 23-24, 2010 at Park Community Church in downtown Chicago. The purpose is to fuel the church’s artists, writers and producers in communicating the greatest story ever told. You’ll hear from some of the best creative practitioners in both ministry and the marketplace, from filmmakers and authors to actors and musicians. Presenters include:

• Dan Allender - best-selling author, professor at Mars Hill Graduate School
• Charlie Todd - creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City
• Princess Zulu - AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed
• Jason Fried - founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework
• # John Sowers – president of Donald Miller’s The Mentoring Project
• Shauna Niequist - former creative director at Mars Hill, author of Bittersweet
• David Hodges - formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter
• Leonard Sweet - futurist, author of 40 books, professor at Drew University
• David McFadzean - creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne
• Richard Walter - accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA
• Sean Gladding – member of Communality, a new monastic community
• Andrew Klavan - author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels
• Gary Dorsey – founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX
• Music by Vicky Beeching, Kari Jobe and Carlos Whittaker

Seating is limited to just 500 attendees, and the event is scheduled on a Thursday and Friday so you can enjoy the weekend in the city. Following its inaugural event in 2009, STORY is now a two-day, main-stage event with no breakouts or workshops; just an intimate audience with the top creative minds. You’ll be able to ask questions during the event and continue the conversation after it’s over. Visit www.storychicago.com.

Do comment below if you plan to attend. I’d love the opportunity to connect with you personally!

Photo By: kuttibalu