5 Reasons I go to Conferences

Ben Reed —  October 5, 2009 — 6 Comments

I’m headed to Catalyst Conference in Atlanta this week.  Conferences are often the bane of the office worker.  Conferences mean meetings all day, then working in the evenings to catch up on normal work missed because of said conference.  Conferences mean being away from family.  Conferences mean learning new skills, which means more responsibilities when you return.

While the above may be true, I go to conferences for a different reason, and I think that my outlook on them changes my experience when I attend.

5 Reasons I Go To Conferences

1. Conferences get me out of my normal work environment. When I sit at my office desk day after day, doing the same thing week after week, things become stale.  Traveling to a different city helps me to think outside of the box and re-energize me.

2. Conferences offer great networking possibilities. Conferences are a great place to connect and network with other folks.  I’m a huge proponent of networking.  It’s something that the workplaces undervalue and overlook.  Read more about what I’ve written on networking HERE.

3. I get to hear from speakers not like me. At the conferences I attend, there is always one, or more, speakers that are not just like me.  They don’t think like me, write like me, minister like me, or lead like me.  It’s good to hear from folks like that.  They stretch me in a good way.

4. I get to hear from the most skilled people in the world. At the conferences I’ve attended, the speaker lineups have been incredible.  These guys communicate clearly about issues that I’m dealing with on a regular basis.  They’re doing similar ministry, and speak truth to me in a way that directly connects with my role in leadership.

5. Conferences give me a chance to dream. I don’t naturally dream.  I’m a task-oriented, inside-the-box kind of guy.  I need to plan times to pick my head up and dream a bit.  Conferences force me into that, as I hear from speakers, network with other guys, and think creatively about the future of ministry that to which God has called us as a church.

Can you add anything to this list?

 

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Ben Reed

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  • http://matthewlkelley.blogspot.com Matt Kelley

    This is a pretty good list. I go to conferences, too, but lately I’ve become a bit wary of the kind of false high they give many attendees. We get pumped up, we come back with a head full of new ideas, good intentions, and tons of energy, only to have it wear off all too soon. So we go to another conference and commit to do better next time.

    Mike Yaconelli would always address this at the end of Youth Specialties conventions. He would tell us to be realistic in our expectations of ourselves and pick maybe one thing we’d like to do differently. I think that’s sound advice for us to really get something positive out of conferences and not fall into the “conference high” trap.

    • Ben Reed

      Good point, Matt. Going to a conference is like drinking from a fire hydrant. We shouldn’t expect to get everything.

      You going to Catalyst?

  • Tedsquires

    great thoughts! TOTALLY AGREE

    • http://www.benreed.net Ben Reed

      Thanks!

  • Josh Rose

    Well put Ben. Well put.

    • http://www.benreed.net Ben Reed

      Thanks Josh…looking forward to meeting you at RightNow in November