We recently developed a list of 10 characteristics that define the current culture of our Elevation staff.
We stated them in the form of pithy “tests” that would tell us a lot about whether a potential hire would be a good fit here or not.

One of those is the Grab a Pen Test.
The characteristic this test illuminates is teachability.
Nothing irks me more than when I’m leading a meeting, sharing something that I consider helpful and meaningful, and one of my staff members isn’t even bothering to write it down.
When church planters come to meet with me to ask advice, the ones who bring a pen and pad get my very best stuff. The ones who kick their feet up and look like they know it all already, not so much. Not because I think I’m that profound. I just need to know they’re hungry. It helps me cook better.

Hence, the grab a pen test. The people who do the best at Elevation are the ones who exhibit a posture of teachability. We want to be quick to grab a pen and write it down… because we believe we’ve got a lot to learn.

We’ll be teaching at and attending a few conferences in February…
Because we’ve got a lot to learn. Yes, it’s a busy busy month, our 2 year anniversary, my birthday, etc. etc. But that won’t keep us from carving out time to keep learning.

That said, I’m really anticipating speaking at the Churchplanters.com Conference
on February 18-19 at Mountain Lake Church.

I’ll be bringing a big entourage with me… not because I need security, but because we’ve got a lot to learn, and we’ll be grabbing our pens and soaking up all we can.

We’re also buying 20 plane tickets and taking the staff to Dallas later that week to be at Fellowship Church for their C3 conference.
It’s expensive, it’s time consuming, but it’s worth it.
Besides, I’ve got to be there to support my boy Perry in case his redneck tactics start any trouble.
(Don’t worry Perry, we’re bringing a bus load to Unleash again too.
You know this… )

The point is, never stop learning. Make time for progress.
Grab a pen, and soak it in.