Fifteen years ago I would have told you I want to lead the most relevant, cool space for people to come into. I believed “relevant” and “cool” were both necessary qualities for any church that wanted to attract people to the gospel.

But I’m not saying that any more. I’m done trying to be the cool church, for at least two reasons:

I shared a post a few weeks ago about my time at the SALT Conference. Joey Santos and I had the privilege to speak to a group of people about our online campus and the effects that is having on culture. The conference was all about the behind-the-scenes skills and strategies that make many church worship services work. The audience was mainly sound and light and video technicians, web experts, and other unseen workers from their churches’ worship teams. As one speaker told them, “You’re the ones who bring flavor” to the Sunday-morning experience.

That may explain the title for the conference: SALT.

It also sets the stage for two lessons illustrated to me as I attended SALT October 10-12 this year. And the lessons don’t have anything to do with technology, which is the main emphasis of SALT. Instead, what I experienced there led me to two personal reflections about my task as a communicator of the gospel.

Salt 18, “The Creative Conference for the Church,” met last week in Nashville, Tennessee, and Joey Santos and I were privileged to attend and lead a workshop. Our title: “Creating a Digital Campus: A New Strategy for Creating a Streaming Church.”

In another post I’ll write about the personal joy of attending SALT. This week I’ll highlight what Joey and I told those who heard us.

Fierce is the best way to describe her. She doesn’t quit—especially when her first efforts fail. She sticks with her friends—even when they’re easily ignored by others. She speaks her mind—no matter if some are likely to disagree.

My daughter Natalie just turned 12 years old on Monday, but her fierce streak amazes and encourages and teaches me. Even as I’m asking God to help me parent her well, I’m learning from the intensity and strength I see in her. Let me tell you why.