Some down and dirty KC BBQ from Jack Stacks! Good stuff!

Earlier this week, I was at the National Worship Leader Conference in Kansas City, KS. The conference was put on by Worship Leader Magazine and held at The Church of the Resurrection, in Overland Park.

The place was jam packed full of amazing and talented people from all over the country, and a few from beyond our borders as well.

Honestly, there wasn’t enough time in my days to meet with everyone I would have liked to have met with. But I will share a few of the names and faces for you:

First, I met with Brian Steckler. Brian is a composer, musician, etc. who had some success with the “boy bands” during their season. Then God called him to build his own studio, which he did. He now composes scores and songs, and helps artists to develop their gifts. I really liked Brian – he seemed very casual and had a humble confidence about him. You can check out his website here.

Then I met with Tony Guerrero. Tony is the Creative Arts Director for the well-known Saddleback Church (Pastor Rick Warren). What I didn’t know is that Tony is an extremely gifted jazz musician in his own right. He also has a company called Shadow Works Productions, with his business partner and collaborator, Ms. Shawn King. They put together a live show called The Journey which they want to have animated, in a sort of Lion King style. I’ve seen The Journey, and it has great potential for the right animator. It will be interesting to watch what happens there.

I also met some really cool guys at a smaller local gathering. These guys all have their own gig, but they are also bloggers and social media types who have the ear of the online Christian community. You should really check out their blogs and subscribe to them, follow them on Twitter, etc. Their names are Rich Kirkpatrick, Fred McKinnon, Wisdom Moon, Ben Abu Saada, and Gary Durbin. Just click on each name to see their blogs.

At the gathering, I was blessed to hear Glenn Packiam, formerly of the band Desperation, do a song that is very close to his heart, for the AllAboutWorship.com podcast…which you should also check out.

I also had the opportunity to meet with Anita Cordell, a gifted Christian actress from the Kansas City area. Had some great KC BBQ with her and got to know her heart. She is someone who I’d love to work with someday. You can check her out here. She will also be the featured actress on Christian-Movie.com during the month of August.

Got to meet with John Eschenbaum (Producer) and Steve Gray (Host) from The Steve and Kathy Show. They have a great concept for a show and have won many awards. They are ready to take their show to the next level, and that is already in the works. They had a very friendly crew and took great care to show me all that they were passionate about while I was there. I look forward to seeing what God will do with them in their next phase of production!

Lastly, I took some time to meet with @shellykramer and @laura_lake who are internet mavens and twitteriffic! They totally took the time to not only get to know me, but take me to school. Appreciate you gals!

There were so many more people too! Shout-outs to Rick Trotter, Chris from Trinidad and Tobago, Cathy Cox, Danielle Kimes, Laura Woodworth, Jimi Williams, Jeff Berry, Clover Carroll, and Lori Akers! Great meeting you all!!