We also had the opportunity this year to sell tickets with all funds going directly to our good friend Alece Ronzino (pictured below with myself and Spence Smith) and her amazing ministry Thrive Africa.

Alece is an unsung ministry hero, bravely pushing on when many others would have quit and walked away. Her story has inspired so many people and I was thrilled that we were able to raise a little extra money for her and introduce her ministry to some new people (by the way, if you didn’t get a chance to give to Thrive that evening, you can do so here).

And, as usual, everyone walked away with a couple goodies including the new CD by The Afters (thanks to INO Records) and Anne Jackson’s amazing new book Permission To Speak Freely (thanks to Thomas Nelson).

It’s always fun meeting new friends and connecting with old ones. The Bloggers Meetup combined with Catalyst make the beginning of October one of my favorite times of the year. This was our biggest Bloggers meetup yet with 105 tickets sold and even more people who showed up throughout the night!

Here’s a few more pictures from the evening (thanks so much Amy Beckey for taking and sharing these!).

You can view these photos and more tag yourself in our Facebook Photo album. Also, for those of you who asked about the Twitter name tags, you can find them at www.ImAt.me.

Thanks again to everyone who showed up and made this another amazing Bloggers Meetup! See you next year!

A few changes this year…

New Location

First of all, the Loafing Leprechaun – a restaurant we had come to love in the two brief years we were there – has closed up shop. Fortunately though, we have a new location that is almost as close. This year we will be meeting at The Arena Tavern which is still within walking distance for those who are coming from the Catalyst Labs.

Benefiting Thrive Africa!

We also decided to change one more thing this year. I know many of you enjoyed the swag bags you got last year at the Meetup (and we’re so thankful for all the publishers and record labels who provided them) but isn’t it “more blessed to give than receive?” Of course it is! That’s why this year we’re charging $5 per person with 100% of the ticket price going to my dear friend Alece Ronzino (@GritAndGlory) and her amazing ministry Thrive Africa. I’m so excited to be able to partner with Thrive and help them in their mission – all while having an enjoyable evening with other bloggers!

RSVP & Facebook Event Page

Every year so far we’ve had such an overwhelming response to this meetup that we’ve had to turn people away once we filled up. All of the details are on the  BloggersMeetup.org web page including a page to purchase your tickets for this years Meetup before we run out of spots! To officially RSVP and see who else is coming, go to our Facebook Event Page.

Here are a few pictures from last year’s meetup.

Hope you can make it! Remember, RSVP on our Facebook Page and go to BloggersMeetup.org to get your tickets before they’re all gone!

I’m officially returning to the blogosphere today after a social-media break that ended up lasting 7 weeks. I signed off of Twitter, Facebook and blogging (both reading and writing) to take a break, freshen up and get some perspective. The forest can be difficult to see and appreciate when you’re surrounded by trees.

I’ll admit, I didn’t think I was going to be off for a month-and-a-half. I really didn’t have a set time frame in mind when I started. As it often happens with these things, the time flew by on the one hand but felt like an eternity on the other.

Some things were easier than others. I was surprised how easy it was to keep my Tweetdeck closed and ignore the steady stream of what’s happening in the lives of everyone I follow. I suppose it’s kind of like missing a couple of issues of People magazine or US Weekly…you don’t really miss much. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy keeping up with what’s happening and no, I’m not giving up on Twitter. It’s just good to be reminded that we all got along just fine before we started getting 140 character updates on everyone.

I had a harder time not pulling up some of my favorite blogs in my RSS reader. I’ve really come to enjoy reading some blogs and learning from what God is teaching others. I’m anxious to spend a few hours in the coming days to catch up.

As far as my writing…the biggest surprise for me was that I didn’t have a “Eureka!” moment of inspiration. I didn’t jot down ideas for my next 500 posts. I didn’t receive some amazing revelation that has transformed my life.

What I did learn is that rest is as much of a discipline as our labors. Sabbath won’t happen unless we make it happen.

There’s a lot more in my head that I can’t find the words for yet – yes, I’m feeling a little rusty – but I’m sure those thoughts will find voice in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, thanks for reading. Thanks for writing and sharing what you’re learning. Thanks for taking this journey with me.

It’s good to be back.

Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure – Henri Nouwen

Be back soon!

We took a last-minute trip with the girls on Sunday afternoon to go hiking in Turkey Run State park and ended up spending the night so I was offline most of the day yesterday. I planned on writing a post to share about the Vietnam school project this morning but when I went to check on the progress I was blown away. The $30,000 needed to build the school was raised in 18 hours! I was out just one day and I missed the opportunity to be a part of that outreach.

Online communities like SCL are changing the game. People are organizing behind causes wherever they find it – through their church, city or even blogs that they follow. When vision is cast and people believe in a cause they get behind it in a big way. So big in fact, that if you don’t jump on the train early you’ll get left at the station.

Some of us were barely making it through the Monday blues and were complaining about the start of another week while others were giving $5, $10 or $20 to build a school in Vietnam.

I’m so excited to know that there are online communities like SCL that are using their resources to change the world. I may have missed the boat yesterday but I’m still going to give anyway.

Don’t underestimate the incredible resources that are available to you through your online network of friends.

** Update: SCL is working on raising another $30,000 to build a second school in Vietnam. Read more about it here and donate towards it here.

I’ve gotten to know some pretty awesome people and taken part in some amazing opportunities because of this community. We’ve discussed some pretty deep topics, spotlighted some great social justice issues and had a little fun along the way.

This Is Where You Come In

Occasionally opportunities arise to help grow this community. Recently this blog was nominated as one of the Top 50 Blogs in Indiana (and yes, Indiana does have some pretty amazing bloggers in case you were wondering). This year the top blogs are chosen by how many votes they receive. If you enjoy reading this blog, would you consider voting for it?

After you’ve voted, I’d love to know why you’re a reader! What makes you keep coming back for more?

Which brings us to the social media experiment part. Yesterday as part of the kick-off to the conference Lanny asked the question, what could social media accomplish if thousands of people Tweeted a single hashtag and web site? Could it get someone on The Jay Leno Show? After making his pitch tens of thousands of people began to Tweet the hashtag #LannyOnLeno and the web site LannyOnLeno.com making it a top trending topic on Twitter for most of the day. We’ve been told by Leno’s camp that if enough people Tweet this hashtag over the next 96 hours Lanny will in fact be invited to make a guest appearance on Leno.

So here’s where you come in. Just for fun would you consider Tweeting about this over the next few days and trying to get as many people to ReTweet it as possible? There’s 3 things you can do:

3 Ways You Can Help Get Lanny On Leno

1. Tweet this from your Twitter account: #LannyOnLeno a 48-hr Twitter experiment 2 get @LannyDonoho on Leno http://LannyOnLeno.com (Pls RT)
2. Update your Facebook status to Help me get Lanny Donoho on the Jay Leno Show – post this status on your facebook & tell your friends http://lannyonleno.com
3. Email your friends and tell them about it (be sure to email them the link to this post)

I’ll keep you posted right here about the results of this social media experiment as it unfolds.

Last year’s meetup was a blast. Over 75 bloggers that either lived in Atlanta or were in town for Catalyst showed up to meet people they had previously only known through blogging and Twitter. I myself met people there that I’ve become good friends with since. I’ve always believed and said that blogging and social media is only valuable if it leads to actual face-to-face interaction.

[photos: Ryan Detzel / Scott Fillmer]

This year we’ll be meeting on Wednesday, October 7 at 7 PM at the Loafing Leprechaun, which some of you remember who were there last year. Because of space this event is limited to the first 100 people who sign up.

So head over to BloggersMeetup.org for details or to sign up. We’ll be Tweeting about it using the hashtag #BloggersMeetup. And if you feel like letting your blog readers know I’ve made a couple of sidebar graphics (300px & 125px).

I can’t wait to see you there!

I’m not afraid to throw out a controversial topic and let the chips fall where they may. I’ve stood on my fair share of soapboxes. Healthy discussion is good and helps you look at an issue from different perspectives. But at what point does a healthy conversation turn into something less…healthy.

I had a post written last week that would have been guaranteed to stir up some heated discussion. It was a well-written post if I do say so myself and I was looking forward to reading the comments it generated. I was ready to publish when Lisa challenged me to get an outside opinion (if you remember, one of my rules is to never publish anything she’s not comfortable with).

So I emailed the post to a few people to see what they would say about it. Not surprisingly I got several replies from fellow bloggers telling me to hit that publish button and let the conversation begin (us bloggers are always ready to push the envelope and open up a good conversation).

I also sent the post in question to a couple fellow church planter friends to see what he would say. One in particular I was meeting for coffee the next day. During our conversation over coffee God used him to help me define my personal standard for blogging.

Malcolm X or Martin Luther King?

Anyone can stir up controversy or start an argument, my friend said. People have been standing on their soapboxes for as long as there have been issues to shout about. But no matter how important the issue may be, there is always two ways to approach it.

In the 1950s and 60s civil rights were a huge hotbed issue as African Americans faced injustice and discrimination at the hands of racist individuals. After years of slavery, lynchings, beatings and discrimination many African Americans were ready to put an end to this injustice.

Two notable leaders emerged in the civil rights movement.

One was a muslim minister named Malcolm X. He spoke out against racism and encouraged African Americans to take “whatever means necessary” to end the injustice. His talks were filled with anger and fueled violence among his followers.

The second leader was a clergyman named Martin Luther King Jr. He spoke out against the same issues of racism and civil rights but encouraged a non-violent approach. His famous “I have a Dream” speech set the tone for the civil rights movement of his day.

Both civil rights leaders spoke out about the same issues but one spoke out of his own anger and bitterness while the other encouraged peace and restoration. Malcom X’s angst spread to his followers who got caught up in rallying behind their shared bitterness. Martin Luther King said,

In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred

Anger vs. Peace.
Violence vs. Restoration.
Rebellion vs. Redemption.

Is It Redemptive?

As we talked over coffee my friend asked me this simple question: Is it redemptive?

Are you writing controversial things that encourage others to get caught up in your own animosity? Or do your words bring restoration and redemption?

There is a time and place for righteous anger. Even Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple. But his goal was always to redeem and restore that which was broken.

As I look back on some of the soapboxes I’ve stood on I can’t honestly say that restoration was my goal. In most cases I was angry or frustrated and wanted other people to be angry with me.

It’s a lot easier to be Malcolm X than it is to be Martin Luther King.

So starting today I’m going to set a new qualification for every post I write. My goal is to follow in Christ’s footsteps (Lk 4:18-19) and seek restoration and redemption. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing about controversial or unpopular topics. Quite the contrary. Jesus was a very controversial figure in his day.

What will change for me is the motivation behind what I write. If I can’t write about something in such a way that encourages redemption and restoration, I simply won’t write it.

Think about how asking yourself this simple question would change how you write and speak…

Is it redemptive?