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More on Twitter

Back on May 3rd I posted about Twitter and wondered if anyone had ideas regarding church applications for Twitter.  Here is a link to an article in Time that discusses how some churches are using Twitter.

One of the churches in the Time’s article is Westwinds Community Church.  I’ve been to Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, MI and it has a history of being on the edge of innovation.  Church and Twitter is subject of discussion without a common conclusion. Check out this article and this one.  You can even read about an “evangelistic strategy” utilizing Twitter:

I personally don’t think most pastors are ready for attenders of their services to have their heads down (except during prayers) while they teach.  What do you think?

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Tags: early adopters, innovation, Leadership, Twitter, worship

Potty Training

Harvard University recently completed a study of potty training in America.  They discoverd this:  Fifty-four years ago nearly ninty percent of our children had been successfully trained before they reached their second birthdays.

Today courtesy of decades of toliet-speak from some pediatricians and authors, many parents think training a child yonger than two is psychologically harmful, if not impossible.  So now, parents wait, and wait, and then often have a difficult-extended time potty training their children.

My children participated in several sports as children and adlosences. Twenty-five years ago we were on the front side of being “soccer Moms and Dads”.  At end of a sport’s season, we went to the award ceremony and I was surprised to see how every child received a trophy for “participation”!  Come on, participation.  We were reminded that we had to be careful and not bruise any fragile egos, by awarding a trophy to the best player and nothing to the others.

Today, we are living with what we helped create.  “Houston, we have a problem”.  We waited way to long to move from the toddler potty to adult world.

Church leaders today look around and wonder where have all the leaders gone?  The bulk of leadership in many churches are more mature, 45 and older.  The younger adults are around but not involved to a high level with a weekly commitment to teaching and leading. Why?  Potty training.

They are so busy.  They are trying to spend quality family time together.  Their children are so consumed with activities these adults can’t find time for a spiritual investment in the lives of their children?!  So we give them a pass.  We settle for half-hearted or no commitment from them.  We allow them to come when they want, take what they want, and give us their left overs, rather than tell them, “You’re not coming out of the bathroom until you get on that potty, and grow up”.

It’s time to stop the insainity and look grown adults in the face and say, “no more training pants, no more time out” it’s time to assume the responsibility that God has given you as parents and invest in the spiritual raising of your children by becoming part of a  teaching ministry.

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Tags: Leadership, parenting, potty training

Let it die

Kill it or keep going. In the business world the decision to kill a project is very difficult. Business “shrinks” call it “escalation of commitment”. With just a little more work we can fix this thing. We’re this far into it, we’ve got to make this work. We have a lot of man hours behind this effort. What will the guy upstairs say if we pull the plug on this one? We can never get funding again….

What about churches? Have you seen the same mindset applied to “sacred cows” in your church that should have been killed, but you keep seeing more time, more money, more resources, more calendar thrown at them to prop them up for one more year? Wonder what the guy upstairs thinks when he sees us being bad stewards of His resources.

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Tags: do the right thing, Leadership, sacred cows, Simple Church

Only in America

In a vote held at the annual conference of the Association of National Advertisers, the most influential marketers of 2008 were selected:

1. Barack Obama
2. Apple
3. Zappos

Isn’t this a great country!

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Tags: days of our lives, Leadership, no way

Ummm….not what I meant….

Below is a posting from my son’s pastor Tim Howey, in Kansas.  I think he has hit a home run:

Just to follow up (again) on Sunday’s message, here are a series of “not-what-I-meant’s”!

1.  On my comment that I can’t believe it that some people say they can only commit to serving once-a-month in ministries that require NO preparation ahead of time, and VERY LITTLE time-commitment (maybe 20-30 extra minutes a week?)…

• I wasn’t talking about you volunteers who are already WAY-COMMITTED.
• I wasn’t talking about those who MUST work on Sundays sometimes and can’t gather with the church.
• I wasn’t talking about splitting up families in separate cars having Dad come early & the family come later…which is my world in fact (in fact, I’d say do just the OPPOSITE…come early TOGETHER & serve God in ministry TOGETHER!)
  
• I WAS talking about those who sit week-after-week-after-week (like the Pharisee in Luke 7:36-50) and WON’T LIFT A FINGER to serve Jesus because the task, or the cost, or the time-commitment is “BENEATH” them!!!
  

2.  On my comment that sometimes people use “I’ll pray about it…” as a “Christian” way of telling God “No”…

• I wasn’t talking about our need to pray WITHOUT ceasing.
• I wasn’t talking about the need to always pray about DIRECTION from God.
• I wasn’t talking about the need to pray for God’s STRENGTH to follow Him
  
• I WAS talking about the fact that there are some things you DON’T have to pray about (e.g. We don’t pray about WHETHER OR NOT we should start telling the truth, or stop stealing from our company, or love all people…or serve God in ministry.)
  
• I WAS talking about Christ-followers who have NO INTENTION of serving & use prayer as an EXCUSE not to get involved.

P.S. “I’m Tim Howey & I approved this message.” 

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Tags: Leadership, prayer, saying the hard thing, slackers

Trying to think creatively – Part Two

Mark Twain said, “Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.”  For most people this is very hard. The more you try to think differently the more rigid you become in your thinking.  Ever been to an offsite meeting?  Taking the same people to a new location, putting them into a room that looks like the room back at the office  and telling them to think out-of-the box usually doesn’t generate  a whole lot of ideas different than what you get when you stay at home.

So switch things up.  Change the environment drastically.  Go to an offsite location and do your work outside, on the deck, by the pool.  No business casual attair, go with shorts and flops and goofy hats.  You have to jolt your brain into thinking with a different set of rules.

Some of the biggest breakthroughs in science have occurred not in the lab, but when the scientist was away from his work, chillin, and looked at his problem from a completely different perspective.  Only when the brain is confronted  with a stimulus that it has not encountered before does it start to reorganize perception.  A re-oriented perception is jet fuel to creativity.

Why should I care about this?  Benjamin Franklin said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. “  If we are going to do the same things in church, the way we always have and expect different results, we’re insane.  We have to be willing to examine the why and the how of everything we do as a church with fresh eyes.  We have to re-orient our brain and get creative to impact a kingdom that is radically different than it was 50 years ago, 5 years ago, 5 months ago.

What do you think, which line is longer?

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Tags: Ben Franklin, creativity, Leadership, Mark Twain, out-of-the-box, Simple Church

Go ahead, make my day

Following up on my post of October 11th, money changes everything, (moving up in a line). Do these sound familiar?

Multiple line drama – Whenever I have to choose between multiple lines, a restaurant, grocery store, gas station pumps, or airport security, the line you choose turns into the SLOWEST. If you see me, get in the other line.

Single line drama - a sure victory because there are no other lines that can go faster. But wait, the register tape must be changed after the customer in front of you departs, and yes, I’m new and have never done this before, or better yet, you picked the only “one” on the shelf that has a bad/unscannable UPC. If you see me, don’t get in line.

Price check at register 3.

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Tags: Leadership, lines, patience

Catalyst 08

I didn’t make it to Catalyst this year, but am already looking forward to Catalyst 09. I’m having to get my Catalyst by reading what others are sharing about their experience. Fellow blogger Marla has some great sessions summaries you need to read. All are great, and Andy Stanley’s session is something every leader needs to read: Catalyst 08: Andy Stanley Closing Session. Check her blog, Coffee Shop Journal out at http://coffeeshopjournal.com/.

Marla, thanks for the good reporting.

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Tags: Andy Stanley, Catalyst, coffee shop journal, Great place, Leadership

Boo Boos

Has your church ever messed up in “doing” church? You know what I mean; those times when you shook your head and remarked, “I’m not believing ‘they’ did that?” Here are a few I’ve seen:

1. Not killing dead programs, activities or events.
2. Over calendaring.
3. Never referencing other calendars, like school holidays, sports team schedules, community events.
4. No co-ordination of leadership enlistment.
5. Having old information on your website.

What mess ups have you seen?

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Tags: Leadership, stupid mistakes

Needed – spiritual blacksmiths!

A friend gave me the word for this post. It is taken directly from the daily devotional publication, The Word, July 4, 2008:

“The Bible says. “There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews…. none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan” (1Sa 13:19-22 NLT).

To keep the Israelites in slavery, the Philistines removed all the blacksmiths. It was a devasting blow. Blacksmiths made swords to be used in battle and sickles to be used in the harvest field. Can you imageine the effect that would have on a nation? Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. His goal is still to silence the modlers and shapers of a new culture – a kingdom culture. Why do we need spiritual blacksmiths? Because they understand how to shape raw material into something God can use. They not only shape it, they sharpen it. All great leaders have emerged from raw material. And tomorrow’s leaders are walking around today in raw form just waiting for a spiritual blacksmith to come along…… Spiritual blacksmiths aren’t only needed in the local church, they’re also needed in the nation to reshape our culture. We need “influencers” who can reform the ranks of business, education, government and media….

It’s time for the spiritual blacksmiths in the land to break free from the constraints of the Philistines and return to the ancient craft of shaping men and women for God’s service. The battle is too big for Saul and Jonathan alone!”

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Tags: Leadership, Simple Church