But while you may have missed out on the experience, you can still take in the information. Through our partnership with Bethel University we have made his materials available to you. You can access the audio pesentation via iTunes. Simply follow these instructions:

"The first priority of the Christian leader is to assure the continuous training of of people," asserts MacDonald. He describes this process as cultivating deep people. Inspired by the observation of by Richard Foster that "the desparate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people," MacDonald and his wife, Gail, set out to intentionally cultivate deep people within their church. Their experience in personally cultivating Christian leaders inspired his latest book, Going Deep: Becoming a Person of Influence, published just last month by Thomas Nelson.

In his highly interactive presentation MacDonald posited this question: "What if a church decided that its pastor's chief responsibilty was to lead the effort to produce a continuous flow of deep people. Deep people, according to MacDonald, possess the following qualities: loyalty to Jesus, bibically grounded, growing as a "whole-person," healthy personal relationships, wisdom, spiritual gift awareness, inspiring, generous, compassionate, and are self-regulated.

To effectively cultivate these kinds of people, MacDonald suggests the direct involvement of the senior pastor in CDP (Cultivating Deep People) groups. He offered several CDP principles to consider. Chief among them, the effort needs top leadership support. "Don't do this without consulting your elder board," MacDonald advised. It must be given personal high-priority, occupyng as much as 20% of a pastor's time commitment. The group must meet off-site (home based), be team taught, possess "high-bar' covenants among members as a high-priority, have clearly defined starting and ending points, practice engaged dialogue, and vitally important, the participants must be selected, not volunteer, to be a part of the CDP group. MacDonald advises selecting between 12-17 people that exhibit teachability, social interaction skill, leadership skill, faithfulness, spiritual curiosity, be participative and are not "problem-driven." people.

Bethel University will soon post audio from the Summit and the post-Summit session Gordon MacDonald led on his prior work, Who Stole My Church?, where he shared his insights and observations about the future of the church. For now, you can download the PDF of the Summit presentation here.

On Friday, September 30th, Courageous will open across the country on 1400 screens. As everyone knows, opening weekend is critical in the movie business. A film's ultimate success nearly always depends on a strong first showing. Yet, no matter how many weeks Courageous ultimately runs in the theaters, it's already a success. And it has nothing to do with the film, but everything to do with following a passion. 

Courageous is the fourth release of Sherwood Pictures, a ministry founded nearly ten years ago by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Believing that even the small community of Albany could make a difference in the world, the church raised $20,000 to create their first film, Flywheel, which opened in a whopping 3 theaters. Yet, the proceeds and learnings from that film enabled them to make Facing the Giants and after that Fireproof, the latter becoming the highest grossing independent film of 2008 taking in more than $33 million. In my opinion, their latest installment is poised to have an even greater impact. 

While male moviegoers will be inspired to be better dads, the more transcendent message of Courageous is in the belief of a small community in Georgia who trusted God that they could make a difference around the world by going into the moviemaking business. 

The next time you wonder about what kind of difference you can make, think of the creators of Courageous--their passion will be on display this coming weekend and beyond. If you don't think you have the talent, think Courageous--their skill improved with each movie they made. When you think your dream requires more resource than you have, think Courageous--they trusted God in prayer and stepped out in faith to achieve what no other church in the world has done. And all this from little Albany, Georgia. 

Imagine what you can do with the dream God's put inside of you. From your own little Albany, you, too, can put your faith on display for all to see. Start the way they did, ask God to show you His dream for you, then step out in faith and act on it. If you're ripe for that journey, attending a Dream Intensive might be a helpful next step. And for your own inspiration, take in a showing of Courageous this weekend too. 

In what ways does the Sherwood example of faith inspire you?

For years I've been meeting with people just like you. They know there's a lot more potential in their tank than they're currently releasing; and it bothers them. They know something is holding them back. Fear? Lack of a plan? Little encouragement from others? Maybe all of these. I designed the Dream Intensive to tackle these issues head-on. It's a highly creative and interactive exploratory of the dream God's planted in your heart. It will help you create greater clarity of your dream and how to pursue it--even if you're not aware that you have one. 

This is the workshop that I want to go to for my own dream. Because it's highly participative, the enrollment is limited to 20 people, Christian adult men and women, who want to experience breakthrough in their life. If that sounds appealing to you, I invite you to visit the Dream Intensive website at www.dreamintensive.com to learn more. 

I hope to see you on October 14th at the Dream Intensive.

Rough year? Need to get some time away with the Lord?

For more information, read Leary's review of Bond of Brothers and read the the BoldMan Chronicles interview with author Wes Yoder.

Depending on where you live and your personal experiences, crime is a constant threat against which we need to be on alert - vigilant. Yet sometimes we are not alert to a more subtle form of attack - one that often goes undetected until its effects begin to be noticed.  It is possible to lose something without being aware of it for a period of time.

This year, Vince D'Acchioli, Founder of On Target Ministries, will present a strategic action plan for re-engaging the men of your church. Vince has shared the principles of that action plan, Grow Your Men, Grow Your Church with thousands of pastors nationwide. You and your leadership team will benefit from the insights Vince and other leaders will be bringing on November 11th.

Leary Gates, Founder of BoldPath Life Strategies, recently spoke with Vince via video conference. Take a look below and visit the Summit website for more info and to register.

Take advantage of the early registration discount when you register by October 31st.

On September 17-18, BoldPath founder Leary Gates will be presenting the Intentional Man Workshop, a brand new offering from BoldPath Life Strategies.

The Intentional Man Workshop will equip you with a strategy and framework for thinking purposefully about the next twelve months of your life. Presented in two half-day sessions you'll gain new perspectives and some powerful tools to help you live more intentionally. Session one explores the biblical basis for intentional living and offers four pillars of intentionality for you to act upon. In session two, you'll create your year of living courageously plan as part of an extended edition of the popular Year of Living Courageously workshop.