"Epic Fail" Fail

Did you hear about the “Epic Fail Conference“?

If you’re like me, you are tired of attending conferences where only big-name speakers with dozens of books do all the speaking. (Actually, I’m just tired of attending conferences, period. I haven’t been to one in almost three years.) Others are also tired of this, so a group of people decided to put together an unconference conference. They’re calling it the “Epic Fail Conference.” Here is their reasoning from the Out of Ur post:

-What if we offered a space that is gutsy, hopeful, courageously vulnerable for pastors to let go of the burden to be a Super Pastor?

-What if we could hold an event that was free from the thrills and frills of other pastors conferences?

-What if we came together as epic failures and sought not successful models or how-do’s but instead celebrated faithfulness in ministry because of the reality of Jesus?

-What if we were reminded that we’re not responsible for being ‘successful’ in ministry, but we are responsible for being faithful to the calling that God has laid out for us – regardless of the outcome?

-What if we had a conference that was not led not by famous pastors who are household names, but by scandalously ordinary ministers and leaders who are faithfully attempting to join with God – even in the midst of glaring obscurity and anonymity?

These are great questions, and I wish them luck, especially since I suspect that one of my favorite bloggers, J.R. Briggs, is somehow involved. It’s just that I am a little skeptical of such a conference. Here’s why:

These Epic Fail speakers will probably still be dynamic. They may have had an Epic Fail in the past, but they will have persevered through it, and will now be sitting on the top of the world. Or at least, they’ll be better off than most of us. Some of them, though they may not have books, will have blogs with thousands of readers. And a few of them, within a year of speaking at this conference, will get a book deal or an invitation to speak at Exponential, or some other church conference.

I might be wrong. I hope I’m wrong. If I’m wrong, then this really is the kind of conference we need. Truly. And here is what they seem to have going in their favor. Apparently, the creators of this conference are part of the Renew Community, which seems to be some sort of network of house churches. So, we’ll see. (Actually, I won’t see. I’m not going. But, if I hear anything more, I’ll let you know.)