do you see #InfluenceConf trended on Twitter right below #VPdebate and JoeBiden?!
My pride and joy, tears and struggle, exhaustion and enthusiasm…it’s all up there. The Influence Conference went better than I could have ever hoped. I sensed it from the hour I arrived at the hotel. And really, that’s all the Lord.
We prepared the best we could, we poured love and grace and more love into the weekend–and then we had to step aside and let the women there take over and create the community. That happened. That happened in the most beautiful way. Jessi and I sensed a need in this group of women online for a place to gather, a place to realize how kindred they are, and a place for them to be moved for the Lord. And that meeting place happened.
While we tried to set a tone and a vision, we had to trust that God would compel the women to leave their stats, their egos, their insecurities at the door. And y’all. The women who gathered in Indianapolis this weekend were more than I could have hoped for or imagined. They created Influence. They made it beautiful, because they had soft hearts and were so kind to each other. There was no competition. No one was a rock-star…and no one was unapproachable.
I can truly say that even if I wasn’t part of the creation of Influence…it’s the conference I’d want to go to. It wrecked me to see women in worship, women learning and sharing with vulnerability, and I’m always game for some good biz talk. I felt so small in the grand scheme of what God was doing in the hearts of the women at Influence, and really that’s such a good thing. I felt like I could have disappeared and the weekend would have been equally compelling, and that is SUCH a GOOD thing. In this community, there is none more important than another. We each just facilitate the Influence the Lord has already given us.
The stories I’ve heard come out of the weekend about connection and redemption and restoration are beautiful. Hard, and true, and real, and messy, and so incredibly beautiful. He is there when we take off our “pretty face” and get messy with each other. We’re all the same, messed up and striving…and there is so much grace. From Him, for each other.
I saw women wrestle with the Good News in their businesses–and that’s my heartbeat. That women would realize that the Good News applies just as much to their hearts in their business. The Good News in our businesses seeks that His kingdom come and not ours. That we would bow low before God instead of the throne of success. Success is not bad, but bowing to success before God is.
Sometimes it’s tricky to be a woman with interests outside the “home”. It can be tricky to be a woman with a voice. I won’t pretend that I haven’t wrestled through that this past year, and I won’t pretend to have it even halfway figured out. But, I am walking through it. My husband and I are walking through it. He is being blessed by my work, and I am being blessed by his. So, even while I continue to walk through what it means to be a woman, with a voice, with a business, with Influence, and with a heart bent towards big ideas and strategy–I’ll walk closely beside the Lord.
Our heart for Influence is that we would never water down the Life (gospel) side or the Strategy (business) side of our messaging. I think that’s what made the conference so powerful…women were engaging with big things in every session. Big heart stuff and big new business ideas, too.
We’re already gearing up for next year’s conference, Sept 26-28th 2013 in Indianapolis. We’ve already sold our 30 Early Supporter tickets (which is CRAZY!).
BUT, what our immediate attention is on is this…The Influence Network.
The Influence Network is going to be a place to continue the community created at Influence…a community of learning (online classes/workshops), connecting (public and private forums), and more (that part is still secret!). Go ahead and sign up to be among the first to have access to the Network.
If you were at The Influence Conference, we’d love for you to link up below! Our hosts and community leaders are going to all be hosting this linky–so you only have to sign up on one of the blogs and it will show up on them all.