Ignoring Buster
Ministry Today offers some disturbing news about the neglect of the Busters (ages 22-40) by the church, when it comes to leadership. I'm grateful to be a part of a family of churches, called Newfrontiers, that works diligently to train young men and women for leadership within the local church. What is your church doing to specifically address this issue?
Communication Humor
Communication is one of those things that I'm always trying to improve. Whether it's a Sunday morning message or a team meeting I'm leading, my desire is to be as effective as possible in how and what I'm communicating. Though necessary, evaluating my progress, or lack thereof can sometimes be painful. To ease the pain I confess to receiving measurable joy (as morbid as it sounds) when viewing the communication blunders of others. I have to admit that I find this activity emotionally strengthening for me. In light of this, I was thrilled when I saw a compliation of videos of Apple icon Steve Jobs and the repetitive nature of his presentations.
Spiritual Transformation
Over a year ago Michael Whitmer and I traveled to Granger Church in Granger, IN. We attended a First Impressions workshop hosted by Mark Waltz, Granger's Pastor of Connections. We were impressed, not only with the church, but also with Mark and his commitment to bringing down barriers that hinder guests from connecting with God. In one of his latest blog posts Mark asks some great questions regarding spiritual transformation and its significance, (or lack thereof) in the church. I encourage you to read it and give it some thought and let me know what you think.
Leading Through Change
Helping people recognize their need for change and then helping them transition through it are two of the more difficult tasks of leadership. It takes wisdom, strength and a whole lot of faith in God to do this effectively. Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon Consulting, has written a great article that outlines the change process and how a leader can help bring people through change. You can read it for yourself here.
What Can Your Internet Site Do For You?
Churchrelevance.com is a great blog that is filled with helpful information. The post from Feb 8 is of particular interest regarding the increasing power of the internet. According to the site, the owner of the NY Times says that the there's a chance the Times won't be in print in five years, opting for a complete internet readership instead. What are the implications for the church? The answer to that question is definitely something to think about.
Becoming Externally Focused
I just finished reading The Externally Focused Church by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson. If you've always wanted your church or small group to be more involved in the community but didn't quite know where to start, this book will help. Here's some things you will pick up from the book.
- What it means for a church to be externally focused
- The relationship between serving and spiritual growth
- How to cast vision for being externally focused
- How to assess the needs of your community
- Ideas for what your church can do
Creativity-Part 5
Are we having fun yet? Not sure about you, but this creativity stuff is a real buzz for me. Thanks to Church Marketing Sucks for the following blog about a church in VA that gives their Sunday morning guests a little more than a warm smile and cup of joe.
I know this kind of thing can make one ask, "Where do we draw the line on making guests feel welcomed?" Not sure I know the answer to that one. But I do know that when Gayle and I have guests in our home we go to great lengths to make them feel welcomed. We do everything we can to eliminate barriers that might hinder relationship. Do we cater to them? Yeah, I guess you can say we do. But we do so with wisdom and honesty, not with a "we'll do anything for you, just name it" attitude. Let's don't be afraid to "cater" to our guests in a way that breaks down barriers that may hinder relationship with them. It's something to think about!
I know this kind of thing can make one ask, "Where do we draw the line on making guests feel welcomed?" Not sure I know the answer to that one. But I do know that when Gayle and I have guests in our home we go to great lengths to make them feel welcomed. We do everything we can to eliminate barriers that might hinder relationship. Do we cater to them? Yeah, I guess you can say we do. But we do so with wisdom and honesty, not with a "we'll do anything for you, just name it" attitude. Let's don't be afraid to "cater" to our guests in a way that breaks down barriers that may hinder relationship with them. It's something to think about!
Creativity-Part 4
On Feb 3, the Atlanta Journal Constitution (you may have to sign in to link) ran this story about some local billboards by Victory World Church of Norcross, GA. According to the article, "The billboard campaign, titled 'My Story,' works like a television show cliffhanger. Every couple of weeks, the billboard reveals a new face (someone from the church) from the silhouetted figures and alludes to their dramatic personal story. A caption directs commuters to a Victory Web site, where motorists can read their stories and even watch their videotaped testimonies."
Read it for yourself and see what you think.
Read it for yourself and see what you think.
Creativity-Part 3
This K-State professor could have written an informational book about Web 2.0, but instead he took the creative approach and came up with something much more engaging. Check it out on YouTube.
As leaders, the more effective we communicate, the more effective our leadership. What are you doing to grow in your communication skills? What are you doing to grow in creativity?
As leaders, the more effective we communicate, the more effective our leadership. What are you doing to grow in your communication skills? What are you doing to grow in creativity?
Creativity-Part 2
Okay, this guy is definitely thinking outside the box! Inviting your listeners to text you while you are speaking to them can be down right dangerous, but Earl Creps did it. I'm not sure I would encourage others to do this, but what he did certainly engaged his audience. Here's what he had to say about it.
I had an amazing experience last week while preaching the North Central University chapel with about 800 millennials in the house. At the beginning of the talk, I announced my cell number and asked them to text me while I was speaking with comments on the presentation. I learned this technique from my friend Sam Farina and have attempted it only one time previously, and that with an older crowd of about 50 people in a local church.
With the first group we stopped for around ten minutes in the middle of a seminar to make an opportunity for the younger people in the room to train the older ones in texting, the goal of which was to send their first text message to my phone. When over a dozen messages came in almost simultaneously, my “smart” phone had a brain freeze and spontaneously reset itself with no help from me. I think I may have witnessed the first documented case of a PDA experiencing a mental breakdown. The point of the exercise was to provide a case study in reverse mentoring.
But no such issues occurred at NCU. (Of course, I requested that stalkers and anyone with a chainsaw in the trunk of their car refrain from writing down my number.) During the 30 minutes for which I spoke, about 50 text messages arrived. One female student told me later how delighted she was that texting was actually encouraged during a time when it is normally banned.
The next day, I developed a “box score” from the feedback received in real time (and from some messages that straggled in hours later). I pushed back on some of the generic, “liked your talk” messages by asking for details. That really helped. For example, when I asked one student by text reply how he/she evaluated the talk as effective, the response was very direct: “The fact that no one in chapel was asleep.”
In general the messages were positive, except for the person who thought I was too much like listening to “Christian stand up comedy” and another critic who simply blurted, “You smell.” There were also several comments on parts of the talk that were not clear, which they weren’t. I attribute the absence of more negative to the lack of anonymity and the fact that those who don’t like what you do generally just ignore the presentation and move on.
A group of about a dozen young-ish leaders then helped me to process the box score, working through questions of “what” are millennials like (the easy part) and “why” are they that way (the hard part). It’s interesting to watch a 30 year old struggle to understand a 20 year old. We talked through the idea that thinking missionally means getting past the surface traits of a group’s culture and probing the reasons, the things that only the citizens of that culture can teach us.
So, here are some of the communication lessons our processing group discussed after reviewing a summary of the real time feedback provided in the 50 texts:
My first experience with real time sermon feedback leaves me feeling three things strongly:
I had an amazing experience last week while preaching the North Central University chapel with about 800 millennials in the house. At the beginning of the talk, I announced my cell number and asked them to text me while I was speaking with comments on the presentation. I learned this technique from my friend Sam Farina and have attempted it only one time previously, and that with an older crowd of about 50 people in a local church.
With the first group we stopped for around ten minutes in the middle of a seminar to make an opportunity for the younger people in the room to train the older ones in texting, the goal of which was to send their first text message to my phone. When over a dozen messages came in almost simultaneously, my “smart” phone had a brain freeze and spontaneously reset itself with no help from me. I think I may have witnessed the first documented case of a PDA experiencing a mental breakdown. The point of the exercise was to provide a case study in reverse mentoring.
But no such issues occurred at NCU. (Of course, I requested that stalkers and anyone with a chainsaw in the trunk of their car refrain from writing down my number.) During the 30 minutes for which I spoke, about 50 text messages arrived. One female student told me later how delighted she was that texting was actually encouraged during a time when it is normally banned.
The next day, I developed a “box score” from the feedback received in real time (and from some messages that straggled in hours later). I pushed back on some of the generic, “liked your talk” messages by asking for details. That really helped. For example, when I asked one student by text reply how he/she evaluated the talk as effective, the response was very direct: “The fact that no one in chapel was asleep.”
In general the messages were positive, except for the person who thought I was too much like listening to “Christian stand up comedy” and another critic who simply blurted, “You smell.” There were also several comments on parts of the talk that were not clear, which they weren’t. I attribute the absence of more negative to the lack of anonymity and the fact that those who don’t like what you do generally just ignore the presentation and move on.
A group of about a dozen young-ish leaders then helped me to process the box score, working through questions of “what” are millennials like (the easy part) and “why” are they that way (the hard part). It’s interesting to watch a 30 year old struggle to understand a 20 year old. We talked through the idea that thinking missionally means getting past the surface traits of a group’s culture and probing the reasons, the things that only the citizens of that culture can teach us.
So, here are some of the communication lessons our processing group discussed after reviewing a summary of the real time feedback provided in the 50 texts:
- It’s all about the fashion. This group of millennials sees culture and message as inseparable. There were more mentions of my new hipster glasses than of Jesus, more references to my shoes (Skechers) than to the Scripture. (I bought the former to avoid losing unused medical reimbursement funds, and the latter because they were really cheap.) This perspective does not make young adults nonspiritual or superficial. Issues of “loook and feel” are as naturally a part of their language as bulleted lists are of mine. I got the sense that they actually cannot see me apart from my L & F profile, almost as if they were processing me like a video, rather than listening to a live talk (which raises some interesting possibilities of its own--do I really need to show up in person? What if I did, but showed a video of myself anyway?).
- Humor can have no victim but me. Self-deprecation is the way to go, especially if it reverses any sense of entitlement based on age or position. My favorite text message was, “The glasses should stay. It takes the focus off your bald spot.”
- The optimal large group communication genre is stand-up comedy. My critic was exactly right. The style of the talk (which was on the missional church) definitely derived from stand up. I’m thinking through this for the first time, but it seems like the value here is that humor is by definition a part of the genre, as is irony and that sort of coy word play that under-25’s seem to enjoy as I do (provided it includes multiple references to TV and film). As one texter put it, “The humor commands attention.” Most of the positive messages, in fact, contained references to the talk being funny.
- The highest value is authenticity. The “A” word is used so much now as to be almost inauthentic. What I mean by it here is a visceral commitment to the message that invites the listener/texter to look over the precipice with you into something that could rock their whole word. Bible autopsies don’t cut it, so to speak. This kind of A.... seems to require a high level of spontaneity, is helped by using either no notes or a manuscript (for word control), and feels like a roller coaster ride when you’re in the middle of it. What it lacks in polish is made up for in energy, sincerity, and personal commitment. Or as one messenger put it, “You were real.”
- We are peers, not speaker and audience. A very strong sense came through the cryptic texts that the students regarded me as a peer, not chronologically or culturally, but positionally. In other words, the fact that I was on the platform only raised me above them in terms of architecture. One text put it this way: “Hey, Earl. I have funky glasses too. That means we’re both fabulous.” Speaking with a group of these young adults, then, resembles the internet where all communication is lateral. I can say anything to them (even be extremely confrontational) so long as I never do so to elevate my own position.
- I have to make the first move. When I am outside the country I do what I can to learn even a few words of the local language or some of the customs that are natural for the area. People who live wherever I am visiting seem to respect even awkward attempts at communicating with them. My NCU experience would say the same thing. On message said, “It’s very cool you text.” Another expressed support for my use of a Coldplay mp3 ("Clocks") during the talk. The point here is not the technology, but the symbolic value of making even a clumsy effort at using the native symbol system. My instinct is that if I take the first chance, they will respond by taking a chance on me.
My first experience with real time sermon feedback leaves me feeling three things strongly:
- They thought they were in school, but the truth is that I was.
- I have no idea how the other 750 students responded to the talk.
- I am definitely going to do this again.
People + Planning=Creativity
Good friend and coworker Michael Whitmer recently asked the Jubilee staff, "What's the one thing you enjoy most in the course of the work week?" For me, it's my Tuesday morning meeting with him, Bryan and Karl. Together we review the previous Sunday service and then we look ahead at upcoming message series. I used to think creativity was akin to getting struck by lightening, totally uncontrollable and rarely predictable. I've since discovered otherwise. Our Tuesday morning meeting is brimming with creativity because it contains the two necessary elements that make up creativity, people and planning. When the four of us are applying ourselves to the next message series there is a collective energy that is absent when I'm doing it on my own. We're always seeking to think outside the box, trying to come up with the best way to communicate with the church. I've discovered our planning accomplishes at least three things.
I'm encouraged and positively provoked by the creativity of others. Therefore, in the upcoming weeks I'm going to be posting some links that will hopefully do the same for you. I hope you enjoy what's coming and don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts.
- It avoids leaving the Sunday morning direction of the church to chance. We pray and think about where God is leading us and we plan accordingly.
- We avoid mistakes and pitfalls ahead of time.
- The meetings are much more engaging on every level (spiritually, emotionally, relationally, etc.)
I'm encouraged and positively provoked by the creativity of others. Therefore, in the upcoming weeks I'm going to be posting some links that will hopefully do the same for you. I hope you enjoy what's coming and don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts.
The Power of Listening
Have you seen the recent Kleenex commericals? What a great display of the power of listening. Notice that the guy who invites people to talk says little or nothing most of the time. He simply asks a few questions and listens. What can we learn from this?
- People are longing for relationship.
- When invited in a kind and curteous way, people are willing to talk about themselves.
- Listening helps build community. (Look at the response of these total strangers when they were done talking.)
Engaging Our Communities
February 23 the movie Amazing Grace will be released in theaters across the country. According to one website, this PG movie "tells the inspiring story of William Wilberforce and his relationship with his mentor John Newton (author of the song Amazing Grace). It artfully captures the plight of 19th Century slaves. But more than that, it inspires us to rise up ourselves and take action in the tradition of Wilberforce." The trailer is quite compelling, but because I have yet to see the movie that's about all I can say. It seems to me that the movie provides the church with a wonderful opportunity to engage our community by taking our unbelieving friends to go see it. You may even consider showing the trailer on a Sunday morning for that very purpose.
Bible Reading Plans
Even though we are one month into the new year many people are looking for a Bible reading plan that will carry them through the year. I recommend plans offered by Discipleship Journal. My personal favorite is the Book at a Time reading plan as it allows for a day off every seven days and it gives you time at the end of each month to catch up if you get behind. Each plan can be downloaded free of charge. ENJOY!
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