Today is a “Mass Blogging Day” for those of us who are meeting in Los Angeles at Biola University on September 11 – 12 for the Christian Web Conference. If you have any interest in the dialog about online faith communities (can digital be incarnational?), this will be the place to have your questions explored.

One of the highlights of the conference is a debate on the virtual church taking place between Andrew Jones (Tall Skinny Kiwi) and Matthew Anderson of  Mere Orthodoxy.

Since I’m never one for debate, thank you Andrew for representing the affirmative argument.

But The Great Debate is only the beginning….  check out this who’s who of a speaker list and their topics!  It’s gonna be incredible:

• Tim Challies: Tweeting the Truth with Love
• John Mark Reynolds: Christian Ideas in a Hostile Environment
• Jon Acuff: Three Ways Satire is Changing We Talk About Faith Online
• Charles Lee: New Media and the Development of Compassionate Justice
• Joe Carter: Medium-Sizing the Message
• Abraham Piper: Serving Your Audience by Getting Out of Your Own Ideas
• Mel McGowan’s walking tour: Walking in Walt’s Footsteps
• Drew Goodmanson: Internet Strategy: What does the gospel have to do with Social Media?
• Anne Jackson: Changing the World One Blog at a Time
• Marcus Goodyear: New Ways to Listen?
• Rhett Smith: Twitter: Collaborate, Connect, and Resource via Your Story
• Paul Watson: What will it take to plant the Gospel in every population segment represented online?
• Dr. Dave Bourgeois: Developing a Philosophy for New Media Ministry
• John Carley: Seven Successful Strategies for Web 3.0
• Yours Truly: Envisioning the Future of Faith Online

And here’s a partial sponsor list:

• Torrey Honors Institute
• High Calling
• Desiring God
• VOXBIBLIA
• Monk Development
• Internet Evangelism Day

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Anne Jackson’s FB page.  After a season of contemplation, Anne, known to the blogsphere as FlowerDust.net, has pulled the plug on her facebook page – well actually deleted her account completely.  You can read her entry here.

Fortunately for Anne’s community of followers, it doesn’t really matter.  She’s present in so many ways online that she will still be connected and reachable.  You can find her on twitter (@flowerdust) and at her blogsite FlowerDust.net.

In fact, Anne, whose blog has 2 key features – a large readership and an engaged, connected community – will still be considered a leader in online community ministry.  As you may know, she’s an experienced wired fundraiser who’s been known to ask for support and raise $1800 in 18 hours, $800 in 15 minutes for Compassion International’s Global Food Crisis, etc.  Oh, no wait, …that’s her online community.  Anne just acts as a conduit for the generosity of her readers.

I was just in Nashville a couple of days ago and got to visit Anne’s church, CrossPointe.   She mentioned nothing to me of her impending demise!  I got to spend quite a bit of time with Anne’s Pastor, Pete Wilson who is equally involved in mobilizing his online community.   Ironically, he told me how amazingly useful his Facebook profile has been for helping him accomplish some of his goals.  More on that later as it will be part of a larger article to be published over the summer…..

Goodbye Anne Jackson’s FB page, may you Rest In Peace.

OFF THE BLOG is a one night encounter with these three well known bloggers in Atlanta this Thursday evening, February 26th,  and sponsored by CATALYST ONE DAY.   You won’t want to miss this night of authentic and truthful conversation.  The three bloggers are some of the most influential in the ministry world.

Jon Acuff (stuffChristiansLike.net), Anne Jackson (flowerdust.net) and Carlos Whittaker (ragamuffinsoul.com), who just may be on a blogging sabbatical during the event, are joined by Aaron Keyes for worship.

Registration is free if you’re coming to Catalyst ONE DAY in Atlanta.

Just pick up a wrist-band at the registration area. Otherwise, tickets are $10.

Just arrived back in sunny Los Angeles after navigating the ice storm in Dallas that created some complications at the Innovation3 gathering.  Transportation became a substantial issue since most roads were frozen over.  Thanks to these people specifically for getting us around Sherry Surratt, Rhett Smith, Rick Smith, Lance Bauslaugh & DJ Chuang. I like how you roll (slide).

And it brings up a great point.  As you well know by now, conferences, in general, are becoming increasingly unpopular.   Although the reasons are numerous, a few arguments I’ve heard (and used) are:

• too expensive
• too much travel
• inconveniently located or dated
• competition with other events
• presentations easily accessed online
• boring lecture-style presentations
• redundant speakers presenting rehashed material
• lack of interactivity
• failure to present practical tools
• live streaming of keynote speakers

But, we can’t do away with conferences and gatherings and here’s why.  Face to face is invaluable.  Throughout the two days at our host location (Bent Tree Bible Fellowship) we had meet up after meet up, literally hundreds and hundreds of people reconfiguring themselves over and over again in a dynamic, organic (almost molecular) swirl that gave us the irreplaceable. (Thank you Twitter!)

As online technologies bridge the time / space barriers that have prevented us from certain kinds of connections, irl (in real life) opportunities take on different value.  Drinking coffee with someone you have never met, yet been sharing life online for months or years is as rewarding as you can imagine.   And when you can do this with dozens of people, the obstacles that go with conferences seem smaller.

Point being, conferences used to be important for hearing keynote speakers, hundreds of people – seeing one person live.  Now, they’re important so hundreds of people can see each other offline – galvanizing the relationships we have online.  And conferences must be reconfigured for them to have this value.  Innovation3 was billed as a gathering and that represents a step in the evolution of conventions, conferences, gatherings, camps, etc. – they’re still necessary.

Leadership Network’s Innovation3 will likely be one of the highlights of ‘09 for me and you’re going to hear a lot more about it….. Did I mention that I interviewed a couple of people?   Bobby Gruenwald, Terry Storch, Anne Jackson, Kent Shaffer, Nancy Ortberg, Tim Keller….  You heard me right; more posts to come….

As Innovation3 approaches I’m looking forward to hearing from a handful of the most innovative female Christian leaders we can gather all in one place as Dallas hosts the Leadership Network’s Innovation3 Gathering!  Since, I’ve been invited to live blog the event along with Tony Morgan and Carlos Whittaker, you’ll hear more details soon.  But for now, I want to focus on the amazing list of female Christian leaders coming to Innovation3.

From Nancy Ortberg, founding partner of Teamworx and author of Looking for God, and Unleashing the Power of Rubberbands, to Laurie Beshore, Pastor of Outreach Ministry at Mariners Church that engages over 6000 volunteers in service to the poor and needy in Orange County, CA and around the world, you’ll learn from and interact with some very sharp women, all in one place, the Innovation3 Gathering!

In addition to Nancy and Laurie, you’ll meet:

• Bambi Encarnacion, Director of The Encore Ministry at First Evangelical Free Church, Fullerton, CA
• Missy Hannon, Executive Pastor and Director of The God Network at Living Hope, Seattle, WA
• Jennifer Lefforge, Experience Architect at Irving Bible Church, Irving, TX
• Linda Slaton, Release Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock, AR
• Teresa McBean, Director of Recovery Ministries at NorthStar Community Church, Richmond, VA
• Dawn Nicole Baldwin, CEO of Aspire One
• Anne Jackson, Author and Pastor at Cross Point Church, Nashville, TN
• Wendy Ferrin, Women’s Ministry Director at Salem Alliance Church, Salem, OR
• Claudia McGuire, Women’s Ministry Director at Chase Oaks Fellowship, Richardson, TX
• Sibyl Towner, Spritual Formation Pastor, Willow Creek, Chicago, Ill

You will also network with other great women leaders, like Sherry Surratt (Director of Women’s Initiative at Leadership Network, previously Central Support Pastor at Seacoast Church), for example, who can inspire and challenge your ministry.

Sherry and I are hosting a tweet up so if you’d like to join us for dinner on the Monday night before the event, simply contact us at http://twitter.com/sherrysurratt or http://twitter.com/cynthiaware.  Of course, you don’t have to twitter to come, but once we’re done with you, you will.

There is still time to register online: Innovation3 – register online if you are anywhere near Dallas.

Browse the entire list of 50 reasons to attend Innovation3 Gathering as the count down continues…