4 Days with Amadeo Church

Those of you that have been around here a while know the names of Ben Cloud and Amadeo Church well. Deanna and I spent last weekend with them and it was an absolute joy. We love their faith community and the way they continue to risk, create and innovate for their city and for the Gospel.

Ben invited me to be a part of their yearly envisioning gathering, a time when they gather their leadership and dream and imagine the upcoming year and it was an absolutely honor to be with them for this. It was such a privilege to interact with Amadeo and her leaders. I also preached at their Sunday services - three of them. I've actually never 'preached' the sermon before so that was an interesting experience.

I loved the interactions for the envisioning gathering. All credit for the content of those sessions goes to our Ember Guides who have done the hard work of modeling catalytic leadership with so many students and teams in so many venues around the world. It was so much fun to distill what we have learned into a series of interactive talks.

For certain, Ben and Mandy have shaped the ethos of their faith community. It readily shows up when most everyone can repeat these phrases with just a small prompt. Some of my favorite Amadeo mantras:
Everyone plays.
Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.
Do the stuff.

Ah Arizona for the weekend while Baltimore had a record snowstorm. And wow the fresh squeezed orange juice. And seeing some other great friends at Amadeo. Congrats and thanks Amadeo for a milestone weekend!