I had the pleasure of attending the Whiteboard Sessions last week in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The event is unique because it’s only one day long and each speaker is limited to 30 minutes each. It’s sort of a TED for pastors and other Christian leaders.
This was my first time attending Wibo, as it is called, but it won’t be my last. Honestly, it seems the landscape is filled with conferences these days but Wibo is different in a lot of ways and really stands out.
First, I loved the format. It forces everyone to focus, and focus is almost always a good thing. Maybe it’s just my short attention span but I like speakers giving me their best idea in 30 minutes.
Second, I just loved the vibe of the event. I attribute that to the man behind the whole thing, Ben Arment. Every event like this has a certain feel to it and this one felt focused, gracious, and, well, classy. It just had a certain class about it that made the whole thing really enjoyable. I think that’s one of Ben’s trademarks. Everything he touches seems to have grace and class.
Speaking of class, the venue for the sessions was the Sadler Center for the Performing Arts and it was fantastic. I had never been to Virginia before and everything about the place was great. I loved how green (trees not energy saving) everything was including the airport and the downtown area.
Third, and most importantly, the selection of speakers was diverse. I love hearing new ideas, new thoughts, and new ways of looking at things. The diversity of speakers was both refreshing and challenging.
The highlight of the conference for me personally was James MacDonald. I didn’t know much about him before the conference but his talk absolutely blew me away. I mean it totally wrecked me, in a good way. God truly spoke to me and confirmed some things to me during that session. In fact, that session alone made the trip worthwhile to me.
I also enjoyed Jonathan Falwell’s talk a great deal too.
Beyond all that, I had the distinct honor of praying for everyone that attended the conference by name. It’s a long story but God put doing that on my heart and then He opened a door for me to do it. I found it to be a very rewarding experience. Praying for others is rapidly becoming a great passion for me.
All in all, it was a great excursion from start to finish. I can’t wait for the next one.