One of the highlights of my year, every year, is the Hawaiian Islands Ministries Christian equipping conference. In a lot of ways it is like a big family reunion for the Christian community in Hawaii. There’s a real sense of unity and excitement when we all get together, worship together and learn together. I have attended for years and have built up a list of favorite speakers… Francis Chan, Tony Campolo, Dan Chun. Don Cousins, Nick Vujicic… did I mention Francis Chan? Every year I hear a new speaker I have never heard — often never even heard of — and discover new treasures.
This year, for the first time, I have been invited to teach a breakout session. My subject is more practical than spiritual, but is badly needed. I am going to show churches and ministries how to increase their visibility and impact through the use of social media and (mostly) FREE technologies. The session will be really fun, I think, and people will leave with ideas they can implement the following week, along with step-by-step how to do it instructions, web links and examples. The very fact that you are reading this right now demonstrates the effectiveness of social media; you are either my Facebook friend, follow me on Twitter, or subscribe to my Posterous blog. Am I excited? Sure. I have done similar break-out sessions at two international conferences and they have been well-recieved, but being recognized as an “expert” at home means more, somehow. That’s the good news. The bad news? Today I learned my time slot: the dreaded Saturday, March 6 at 10:30-11:45 am. Why is that time bad? The conference hotel is across the street; the Ala Moana Hotel and they are not always able to accommodate late check outs on Saturday, near the end of the conference. Most of the regulars go to the early Saturday Plenary Session and then, of necessity, skip the 10:30 breakout so they can rush across the street, clear their hotel room, load their suitcases in the car, eat lunch and make the last Plenary Session. It’s just the way it is. I have done it, and my friends have done it. Sometimes the lobby of the Ala Moana Hotel is jammed and the break-outs are pretty sparse. A moment of honesty and transparency: because this is my first time as a presenter at HIM, I am certain I will be evaluated to determine whether I am worthy of a repeat performance, and there are two ways presenters are evaluated: of course the paper session evaluations count, but the number of people who select that break-out as an option matters, too. I have sat in sessions with a handful of people and those in overflowing rooms. Guess who gets invited back? So the pressure is on, and I need to round up a room full! All of my Facebook friends who will be at Honolulu 2010, please come to my breakout session and bring a friend along with you! I’ll make the 75 minutes worth it.