I came back to RBC just RAVING about the conference! It was the best one ever. Everyone was terrific—what a team! Bob

Featured Guests

Todd Wager

Todd is the Senior Pastor of Watermark Community Church in Dallas.  He will speak from a recent event in the church which became national news, “Care & Correction: When Your Church Issues Go National.”

The newspapers screamed headlines such as “Is Public Shaming by the Church Legal?” and “Church, ex-member battle over discipline.” The story ran from coast to coast and was fodder in blog discussions, hallway chatter, legal circles and church meetings. A seminal event in dealing with a church member had been captured by the national media. In the past, churches has been accused of being “too soft” on members who stray from the path, but now a church was attacked as being strident and invading personal privacy. ABC News said:

A female member of the Watermark Community Church, a non-denominational evangelical church in Dallas, Texas, reached out to her pastor after her husband had an alleged affair with another woman.   But when the husband, identified only as “John Doe,” failed to reconcile with his wife, he said the church’s minister, Todd Wagner, shamed him from the pulpit.

Mike Buster

Mike is the Executive Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.  Many churches considering a building project and in the midst of a new building.  Mike has reams of experience in building projects at Prestonwood, as well as advising many churches in how to best shape their new buildings.  Mike will speak on “Buster on Buildings: So Many Churches are Building.”

Milfred Minatrea

Milfred is an author and missional church specialist.  He will speak on the Minister Function: The Nine Cultural Checkpoints of Missional Churches.  Milfred Minatrea is the author of Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches.

Ron Moore & Bill Northrop

Ron is the Senior Pastor and Bill is the Executive Pastor of South Hills Bible Chapel Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  They just finished a new building … and they thought the work was over with the construction. Church growth issues, staff issues, governing board issues. So many people want to build a bigger worship center, but the cost is far more than the building. What is the complete price of a new building for your congregation?

Bill Egner

Bill is the Executive Pastor of Christ Chapel in Fort Worth presents Case Study #4, Seemingly Little Decisions with Huge Implications—Three Options for Outreach.

Toby Slough & Jim Kuykendall

Toby is the Senior Pastor of CrossTimber Church of Argyle, Texas.  Many churches are growing by adding a video venue or a church acquisition.  Toby will speak on “”Catching the Wave of Multi-Site: One Church, Three Campuses, Four Locations, Seven Services.”  As one person saw the video venue experienced:

I walked in the darkened auditorium and saw Toby Slough pacing a sixteen foot path on the stage. On two side screens, I saw close-ups of Toby. There was a blink and Toby disappeared from center stage—then I realized that the life-size Toby was an image projected on a screen.

As the Founding and Senior Pastor of Cross Timbers Community Church, Toby Slough in just 5 years has seen the church go from birth to over 4000 in weekly worship. Part of the spiritual DNA of Cross Timbers is Toby infusing an alarming degree of authenticity into his sermons.

Sponsors

For the third year as a sponsor, thanks to our friends at Generis Partners. True giving is a deeply transformative act. At Generis, we believe it’s less about raising capital and more about raising the spiritual consciousness ofpeople. It’s about meeting churches where they are and helping them achieve their own true vision according to their unique culture. Whether that entails a video venue, multi-campus site, or raising a daunting amount of capital, Generis consultants are ready to share the Leadership’s risk- because they understand it.Brad Leeperand his counterpart, Gerald Farley haveboth served inchurch leadershiproles and have real-lifeexperiences to offer far beyond that of most industryconsultants. Also, thanks to the help that Brad Leeper from Generis gives during the conference. These folks have a great servant spirit-get to know them!

For the third year as a sponsor, thanks to our friends at MinisterSearch. Many have met David Lyons, their president, at the 2005 & 2006 XP-Seminars. MinisterSearch empowers churches to have access to a larger, more qualified pool of candidates. They also help reduce the time spent searching for qualified and competent staff and increase the retention rate among pastors and ministers. David Lyons, the founder of MinisterSearch says, “As church leaders, it is critical to utilize all available resources as quickly as possible when filling a pastoral staff position. I have talked with countless pastors and lay leaders who, after months of searching for one or multiple positions, recognize that there must be a better way.” Whether you desire to fill a ministry position or find a new place of ministry, MinisterSearch can help.

We welcome the Evangelical Christian Credit Union as a sponsor. The Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU) is a trusted banking resource that shares your passion for kingdom impact.

With ECCU’s wisdom gained from more than 40 years of experience serving evangelical ministries, we are helping churches in all 50 states increase their effectiveness through biblically based banking, financing, and investing services.

We welcome GuideStone as a sponsor. GuideStone Financial Resources is one of the leading providers of retirement, life and health, investment management and executive planning services to the evangelical Christian community. Since 1918, we have enhanced the financial security of more than 180,000 individuals and reported $9.4 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2006. GuideStone offers its clients access to Christian-based, socially-screened investment funds for retirement, endowment and operational assets. GuideStone’s insurance products offer rate stability, the largest network of health care providers in the U.S. and a comprehensive suite of plan options providing quality care and protection for our participants and their families. For more information about GuideStone, visit their web site at www.GuideStone.org.

We welcome Leadership Transformations as a sponsor. LTi is a non-profit ministry which exists to encourage the spiritual formation of leaders and equip leadership teams to discern God’s unique will for their life and ministry. It offers leadership development, strategic planning, soul care, and assessments for church and ministry teams.

LTI is introducing the Church Health Assessment Tool (CHAT). CHAT is a convenient, affordable, user-friendly online survey that allows you to get an accurate measurement of your church’s health in as little as 30 days. This 72-question assessment covers the cross-denominationally applicable church health principles outlined in Becoming a Healthy Church (Stephen A. Macchia, Baker Books, 2006). The report is designed to help you frame your strategic decision making for increased ministry effectiveness. It’s principle-based not program-based, so it won’t interfere with any of your current ministry programming. See more at www.HealthyChurch.net.

We welcome ServiceU as a sponsor. ServiceU specializes in web-based, event management solutions designed specifically for churches, nonprofits, schools, universities, festivals, and theaters. ServiceU offers three core products, EventU: Scheduling of events and resources by providing an online calendar, TransactU: Online donations, online payments, and online event registrations, and TicketU: Online ticketing and box office management. Founded in 1997, ServiceU is a trusted provider of online event management software to the nonprofit market.

Promotional Sponsors

For the third year as a sponsor, thanks to our friends at ChurchExecutive magazine. ChurchExecutive is a monthly how-to business information resource for 18,000 hands-on business administrators, executives and managers of the largest Christian traditional and contemporary churches, parachurches and megachurches-throughout the United States.

For the second year, we welcome Leadership Network as a sponsor. Leadership Network brings together entrepreneurial leaders who are focused on similar ministry initiatives. The ensuing collaboration-often across denominational lines-provides a strong base from which individual leaders can better analyze and refine their individual strategies.

Peer-to-peer interaction, dialogue and sharing inevitably accelerate participants’ own innovations and ideas. Leadership Network further enhances this process through the development and distribution of highly targeted ministry tools and resources-including audio and video programs, special reports, e-publications and online downloads. In addition, Leadership Network partners with two important publishers, Jossey-Bass and Zondervan to give leaders access to the thought leadership and best practices of effective 21st century churches.