I know, I know. I have been missing from the blogosphere and twitterverse lately.

Do I have excuses? Yep, you know it!

Last week I was in TX for five days spending time with my family and celebrating my sister’s graduation from High School! On Monday, I finished packing up my apartment (because I had to be out of it the next day) at 12:30 PM and my flight left at 1:36 PM. Thankfully, the airport is like 10 minutes from my house and our flight had several delays.

One of my highlights of the trip, was my sister’s graduation speech. It involved the wave and the robot. You can watch it below via YouTube:

I am finishing up a lot of large projects at work, I cannot believe my last day is already only one week away! Everyone here has been so supportive in so many ways! It has been especially helpful because although the time is winding down, I have stayed very busy.

I like lists and am a big fan of Tim Schraeder’s Monday Mind Dump and Ben Arment’s Wednesday Morning Rundown, so here is my version. I may or may not do it ever again but I thought, why not?

• I had the chance to speak in both of our services on Sunday. You can catch it on our Internet Campus today at 7 PM (EST) by clicking here.
• I have decided that one of my favorite snacks ever is the Cliff Bar. The blueberry one is my current flavor of the week.
• Have you ever noticed that Reader’s Digests can be read years later and still be relevant? I have. And I dig it. Even if it makes me seem old.
• Our Lead Pastor and some other friends of mine are in Africa right now, and they are video blogging along the way at TheCreativePunk.com
• I am currently reading Radical and Holy Discontent. I think that Radical is by far, the style of writing I prefer to read, but it isn’t all over yet.
• Remember how it seemed that everyone got mad at Rob Bell? That was so bizarre how all of that went down…
• I bought what I call, “Cheap Bull” (aka cans of Diet Mountain Dew) at Wal-Mart. I got 24 for $6. That is like, 3 Red Bulls. Score!
• I have started being honest and have told several people this week the truth; I am only fake allergic to American Cheese.
• I am still trying to find a permanent home for my cat. A really cool family I know is temporarily keeping her (and spoiling her), let me know if you want a free, gray cat that is awesome.
• Can you believe it has been a year since LOST ended? Me neither.

(I know, I am almost intentionally trying to create really long titles that are social network unfriendly)

If you were at Whitboard Sessions, tuned in via my blog or have been to a similiar conference – you have probably asked yourself this question. Well, I have been thinking about it for a little while now and I have created a list (I told you before that I loved list) of seven helpful tips for post-conference processing.

Tip #1: Review your notes. What if you didn’t take notes? Tada! That is what I am here for and let me just tell you, I took a lot of notes. Yet, taking notes is the stupidest and most time-wasting activity if we never come back to them. And I will be honest, I make that mistake all too often.

Tip #2: Think application. This can start when you are initially taking notes but as you review your notes, begin to think how point a could impact your life and ministry. Whether you write it down again or put a note beside it, start asking the question, “So what?”.

Tip #3: Ask God. I’m being serious with this one and for a conference that was very speaker, speaker, speaker, – there were several moments in the worship sets in which we were encouraged to make sure that we didn’t leave God out, that we asked Him what he wanted to show us. I think this is so clutch.

Tip #4: Realize that applying everything isn’t realistic. Seriously, it is not going to happen. No way, Jose!

Tip #5: Focus on principles. Sometimes, especially in the church world, we can focus on methods and models yet when we apply those, we can also risk losing touch of our unique ministry callings and settings. And that is just not good.

Tip #6: Get a second opinion. Whether is a friend, coworker or spouse, share with them a few of your personal takeaways and just talk through it. Although elementary, it is the first step of collaboration.

Tip #7: Forget about it. If a talk sparks something in you that leads you to want to make a huge organizational change, just forget about it. At least for a bit. Pray over it, talk with someone over it and really see if it is the best solution for you. If something hits you personally, especially if it is convicting, feel free to make a change. It’s hard but try not to be “that guy” who comes back from a conference each year with a new model, mindset and revelation that is put in place the day you get back.

(Is that not one of the longest blog titles you have ever seen?)

I am a fan of lists and so I thought I would create the Top 5 biggest takeaways that I had at Whiteboard Sessions.

So, without further adeu (hold the drumroll, no need for too much pomp and circumstance):

My Top 5 Takeaways

5. Collaboration costs, but it’s worth it. Charles Lee talked about this and specifically said that collaboration takes resources, sacrifice and the risk of fear. Yet, despite that, it is worth it and if we want to create incredible things, it is a requirement.

4. “Could it be that when we are praying for God to make us more productive, he wants to make us more healthy?” This was a quote from Travis Mason’s talk on ‘leadership is building’ and I think it is one of those quotes that I couldn’t shake if I wanted to.

3. “Great causes are laid upon social movements”. This was a quote from Ben Arment’s talk on Causes & Social Movements that really reinforced his idea that ‘no one cares about your cause’ and as he walked us through the stories of people who have led successful causes, it was always with a social movement. For me, this means cultivating a social movement has to take priority over organizing a cause.

2. Your heart is the most valuable leadership tool you have, yet it is either healthy or unhealthy and it is always going to be under attack. This was a great reminder from Michael Hyatt about what leadership should be and how the current emotional state of a leader drastically effects their influence. He encouraged solitude as medicine for an unhealthy heart, which is uncommon yet I am sure, helpful advice.

1. “So often, everything we talk about is what we do. But if you read the Bible, it is so much more about who we are. It’s about being.” This has been on my heart recently and couldn’t have been said better. Buddy Hoffman talked about the importance of rest and really challenged us to check ourselves in this area, as it is so important, it is a commandment (the Sabbath).

My 5 Favorite Talks

So of course all of the talks that I listed above had a huge impact of me. In fact, I was impressed with the lineup as a whole – it was so solid and diverse.

Just for fun, I thought I would list my five favorite talks, from content to style – these presenters brought it.

5. Travis Mason’s talk on “Leadership is Building” was passionate, challenging and had tons of flair.

4. Jenni Catron’s talk on “Much is Given/Much is Required” reminded me why I dig her blog so much. As an executive female leader in the church world, she brings it to the next level. I was challenged by her point that young leaders should be giving back too.

3. Shaun King’s talk on “A Demographic Ignored” was provocative, unique and reinforced my believe that Shaun is the man.

2. Michael Hyatt’s talk on “Leading from the Heart” was so powerful, convicting and simply biblical – it was legit.

1. Buddy Hoffman’s talk on “Sharpening a Dull Blade” with a huge focus on rest and Sabbath hit me in the face.

Were you at Whiteboard Sessions? If so, tell me about your personal takeaways and favorite talks…

At Whiteboard Sessions, I found myself eating lunch at the same table as Charles Lee, Ben Arment and Travis Mason. Well, Travis works at Google. So, let’s just say it was a touch intimidating. Yet, I was able to muster the courage to ask Charles a couple questions and I wanted to share them with you. Charles is a former pastor, leads the Idea Camp and Ideation Consulting. Here’s our brief conversation:

BLANE I really enjoyed your talk at Echo last year. And I love it when speakers give some really practical nuggets with their talk. You mentioned Gift Card Giver, which gathers gift cards and then donates them to non-profits. Our church actually used them in a project last year, so thanks for that!

CHARLES I am glad that it worked out for y’all.

BLANE I know you speak at a lot of conferences, but I want to know, what is your favorite topic to talk about?

CHARLES That is a really good question. I think that any time I can talk about ideas, the ideation process and collaboration, that is really my passion.

BLANE You were a part of a great panel that answered questions at Echo (along with Carlos Whittaker and Kem Meyer). Y’all are some big hitters, how did you feel that aspect of the conference went?

CHARLES I thought it went well. I think that anytime the moderator can ask followup questions and be super prepared with their material, that always helps that environment succeed.

Big thanks to Charles for answering a couple questions while eating some Chick-Fil-A. And of course, big thanks to Travis Mason for working at Google – that is certainly a trump card. Seriously, he is so humble and gracious, I can’t wait to get to know him since he lives in DC.  You can follow Charles on twitter at @charlestlee as well as check out his blog – he is brilliant. Seriously, reading his stuff will make your brain hurt.