Why Is the Q Ideas Conference So Expensive?

Fuller Seminary’s Burner Blog sat down with Q founder, Gabe Lyons, and asked him why a 3-day conference needs to cost $675. Personally, I find Gabe’s answer less than convincing:

The best speakers and the most interesting venues are not cheap. The admission to Q events usually runs a steep $675. It’s not $3-7k for TED Talks admission, but it’s a lot for cash-strapped churches.

A sitting area at the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo.

“Well, we try to run our organization in a sustainable way,” Lyons explains.  He notes that there are ways to make an event less expensive—hosting in a church for free, for example. “We could do that in Northern Virginia, and save $75,000, but instead we choose to host it right at the center of it DC on Constitution Avenue at the Andrew Mellon auditorium. We think the medium is the message in a lot of ways.”

“We think [lower registration costs] would likely take away from the intentionality of everybody there–relationships we want to see cultivated. Our goal is not to grow something to be really big, our goal is just to talk about serious topics and to get people together who are working on these topics and want education on it and collaboration with other leaders.” He goes on to explain that Q presentations are usually released afterwards for those that weren’t able to attend.

Read the rest of the interview: Interview with Gabe Lyons on Q and the Future of Theological Education « The Burner.

Have you been to Q? If so, was it worth the money? If not, has the registration cost kept you away?