Fairly slow week, in terms of stuff that caught my attention…
Lifehacker offered up their Top 10 Motivation Boosters and Procrastination Killers as well as a nice peek into a tiny office arrangement – that’s pretty relevant to me because my new digs are probably close to 1/2 the size of my current office, so utilizing space will be a priority (and I have no need for that triple monitor arrangement).
Adam Hamilton offered some brief thoughts on the 10 Largest Churches in the UMC. His note about worship attendance vs. membership is important, but I also appreciated how he explained that the membership-to-attendance ratio varies significantly between the churches. He doesn’t go into it, but I know the membership philosophies between Resurrection and Ginghamsburg are differ in some key ways, and I’d be interested to see Hamilton comment more on that.
Scot McKnight posted a quick comment regarding Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s book The Wisdom of Stability. As someone serving in a denomination that embraces itineracy rather than long-term stability it’s a question I wrestle with.
Wil Wheaton posted some thoughts today on the Space Shuttle launch. What hooked me was his mention that he was home sick the day of the Challenger disaster, and on that day I happened to be home sick, too. I also appreciated his comment at the end, where he says:
We humans are a flawed species, to put it mildly, and I think we could do a much better job taking care of our planet and each other … but when I see what we’re capable of doing, it gives me hope that the future I pretended to live in twenty years ago will actually arrive some day.
Thinking about the small office space thing in Lifehacker, made me think of this song:
Both Donald Miller and Kem Meyer delve into the topic of slactivism – being an “activist” with a minimum amount of effort (ie buying a t-shirt where part of the proceeds go to a charity and then feeling really good about your contribution to end world hunger). It is easy to wear a ribbon or wristband, put a magnet or sticker on your car, or change your facebook status for a cause you believe in, and those can all be worthy things to do, but if our commitment ends there, have we really done anything at all? The internet is powerful in being able to draw attention to important issues, but if the only thing that happens is attention (which is fleeting), and not action, then we’ve missed an important opportunity to make a difference – or in religious terms, to help reveal the kingdom – which, hopefully is what we are aiming for.
A friend of ours who grew up in Arizona remembers being a child in Arizona during the boycott over their refusal to honor MLK day. Despite the boycott, Stevie Wonder and Rosa Parks played a show at her high school. She describes it as a “joyful, uplifting experience that defied the hatred and negativity of those on the other side.”
I personally don’t have a problem with boycotts, but something Jonny 5 hints at, and something pointed out to me by Joe Stroud (whom I had the pleasure of knowing when I was in Ann Arbor) is that boycotts frequently are a difficult device of protest, because they can hurt the people on the bottom instead of the top. You always have to modify the strategy to the situation, but I think we do have to be very careful about choosing a strategy of disengagement (like a boycott) because it can prevent discussion or a positive message from even getting out. (In addition, as I think more about it, boycotts also seem to have that slactivist problem – people can feel good about doing nothing).
Jeremy Smith posted this video on his blog from Darren Rowse on the church’s role in social media. Rowse makes some great points saying that as church “we are in the business of community” and the social networks that have been built over the internet speak to the need for community and offer a place for community to be formed. I also appreciate his thought that the church needs to have an incarnational mindset to ministry on the web, not “build it and they will come,” but go and listen – engage the culture of the web, and focus on dialog instead of monologue. Check it out:
I’ve been leading an adult Sunday School class and right now we are in the middle of Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love – which is a challenging, yet inspiring read. (I’d have to agree with one of the members of the class who made the comment, “I’ll read a chapter, and get really angry and think, ‘Who does this guy think he is?’ Then I’ll read it again and realize he’s making a really good point.”) So it was interesting to see that Chan has decided to resign from Cornerstone, the church he founded. Due to polity differences the transition is much different than what I’m used to, but I really respect the process he proposes – giving people an opportunity to speak to him personally and ask questions during prayer meetings. I’m also interested in his plan for the rest of the year, which includes a couple months for discernment and three months of service in a “third world” country.
I knew, when I picked it out, that Chan’s book would be a hard read for some of the members of my class, but one that others would be completely on board with. That kind of diversity can be difficult, but it is important. We have to be ready to listen to “the other side” if we want to grow. This week Scot McKnight posted some of President Obama’s comments on a similar “plea for civility” from his recent speech at the University of Michigan.
Just because I’ve had this song stuck in my head because of the news coverage of the anniversary this week:
A “top pick” this week would have to be Shane Claiborne’s article in Esquire. I really appreciate Shane’s witness and writing in general, and in this one he offers up some nice little gems like:
The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination.
and
The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it… it was because “God so loved the world.” That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven… but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name.
Gil Rendle has an interesting article on the story our congregations tell. Storytelling is important – it has the power to heal, but it also has the power to hurt and to hinder if we are telling the wrong sorts of stories. One of the many things Amy has done really well was to have her congregation tell the story they had been operating under, identifying some of the the misconceptions and false assumptions behind it, and them helping them live into a better story. The outcome was freeing – the congregation really began to regain vitality once they understood their story.
Also in Leading Ideas there is a nice, little article about what congregations can do to help a healthy transition to a new pastor. I know the handful of people who stumble upon this little blog are on the “other side” of that situation, but it is good, basic information to be aware of, and hopefully something we can pass along to our SPRC’s when appointment time comes.
At Lifehacker this week there was a reminder that we should spend more time examining what went right instead of obsessing over what went wrong (important advice, especially if your personality is anything like mine).
Peter Rollins posted a video this week from his recent Insurrection Tour. There was a stop in Grand Rapids that I’m sorry I missed. If you have time check out the video, there’s some interesting stuff – plus I just dig listening to his Irish accent.
Over at Church Marketing Sucks a blog post was put up about Twittering in church. I think it makes a lot of sense based on how they present it. I’d much rather have people processing and interacting with my sermons via Twitter than being completely disengaged or distracted in some other way (and I say this as someone who was regularly writing and passing notes about the sermons I heard in high school). From the perspective of the “other side” I am usually so oblivious about what’s happening in the pews while I’m preaching that to see someone typing on their keyboard, wouldn’t really phase me, even if I were to notice.
On the same site, there is also a solid piece about who we compete against as a church. As I mentioned last week in regard to having a “kingdom mindset” – if we see (as we so often do) the church down the street as the “competition” – we’re done for. Instead of being in ministry to “the least, the last, and the lost” we’ve turned our focus on just shifting members from one church to another and bring everybody down in the process. There are better battles to be fought than trying to convince someone that this church is better than that church. Accept our differences, celebrate the fact that we are one body with many parts, and let’s start focusing on loving and serving people like Jesus did, and not worry so much about which building they worship in on Sunday morning.
Donald Miller has another great post, this time on the question of if God has a specific plan for your life. His answer: probably not, which is where I basically lean as well. I believe God offers possibilities and opens doors, but the “plan” is never so rigid that all is lost if we don’t travel down that certain path.
With this weekly roundup music selection I’m starting to lose track of what I have or haven’t posted, so you’ll have to forgive me if you seen this one before. The Hold Steady are a great band – they have a new album coming out next week (though I am a little nervous about the more “mainstream rock” sound they seem to be moving toward, based on what little I’ve heard). This one is from their last album and a good personal reminder – we’ve got to stay positive
Donald Miller continues to offer great insight – on his blog this week he asks a key question about how personality might influence theology. I’m not one to say he’s absolutely right (which, of course, is a reflection on my own personality and theology), but I think he is on to something. I remember reading something similar a few months ago about Pat Robertson’s understanding of a vengeful God, and after a little digging, it turns out Donald Miller wrote that one, too.
Miller’s other post that really got me thinking this week was on the topic of asking people to leave church – it’s a tough subject, especially in an environment when “success” in ministry is so driven by numbers; but there is something to be said for it. Sometimes having the wrong mix of people inhibits God’s work from being accomplished. In many ways we would be better served by adopting a “kingdom mindset” where instead of obsessing about numbers at any one particular church (or denomination), we celebrated the unique identities of many churches and helped people find the one that would be the best fit, but it’s a lot easier to say “yes we should do that” than it is to have that actual conversation with the person who might be better served by finding a new church home.
Thinking more about the “numbers dilemna” Jay Voorhees weighs in on the subject I continue to wrestle with (see last week’s post). I’m with Jay that there is more to growth than numbers, but like him I have to ask, when we make that case are we just deluding ourselves?
A brilliant, simple tutorial on the Missional Church – change the arrows, stop expecting people to come, instead equip them to go.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, but I suspect Seth Godin’s talk from his April Linchpin Session is worth checking out.
I know this will hurt my nerd-cred to admit but I never figured out the Rubik’s Cube; I still have one at my parent’s house that I have yet to solve. Fortunately Lifehacker posted a link that will help solve this 25(?) year dilemna.
In personal news, it was announced this week that I’ll be appointed to the Byron United Methodist Church effective July 1. For any Byron-folk who happened to Google my name – Greetings! I’m looking forward to working with you soon.
Been a crazy week and a half, so I’m playing a little catch up.
During Lent and Easter I really tried to make the point this year that you can’t just jump from the celebration of Palm Sunday to the glory of Easter (actually I try to make that point every year but I hit it even harder this year). It was comforting to know that I’m not alone in that struggle and I appreciated the words of Steve Stockman, via Mike Todd on how we have failed to communicate the life changing message. As he says:
How could we have left the majority of our population missing the subversive revolutionary who entered Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday with a mission in his soul to uproot the way things were to make them the way they should, could and will be, who freed the world from its chains but did so in the most humble of ways before smashing the tombstone and crashing into a post Resurrection world where now by the power of the Spirit weeks away from being unleashed could begin to bring God’s Kingdom on earth the way it is in heaven!…. Forgive us Lord! Forgive us public! Let us start repenting and putting it right!
Seth Godin looked at some of the lessons from the iPad launch that could be applied industries/movement/etc. There is a lot that could be relevant to the church as well:
Don’t try to please everyone
Make a product worth talking about
Create a culture of wonder
Be willing to fail
Give the tribe a badge
Don’t give up so easily
Don’t worry so much about conventional wisdom
Steve Frost at The Work of the People offers some thoughts on the “big-little church” (a church that overbuilt, yielding a small congregation in a large space). In his concluding thought he writes:
This big little church seems interested in people and one thing is for sure, God is interested in people. To be interested in people is to be open to the wideness of being God-shaped, whatever that surprising wonderful mysterious shape may be. To be God-shaped is to step into a future of infinite possibility. Enjoy the view big little church.
In a similar vein, one of the many gems to cross Mike Slaughter’s twitter feed this week was this:
One key choice church leaders make: will u focus on building disciples for Christ or tallying decisions for Christ?
Of course playing the numbers game is always controversial, and many times we can justify small numbers by saying our focus is to go “deep” instead of “wide” when the reality is nothing is happening in either direction.
Tim Schraeder at Church Marketing Sucks reminds us how everything the church does is, in one way or another marketing — from how the phone is answered, to how the ushers welcome people, to e-mails being sent out they all leave impressions. Unless the image the church tries to project accounts for all those subtle ways the message is actually communicated, it will be curtailed. Seth Godin resonates with that same idea in a blog post from today. Sometimes first impression are all you’ve got, so you’ve got to try to make every interaction the best it can possibly be. (Of course the danger, for me at least, is that sometimes you can be so concerned about how something might be received that it no longer reflects authentically who you are. Even with this blog, I sometimes find myself second-guessing (and third- and fourth-…) how someone might interpret something I’ve posted. I often have to go back to Godin’s thoughts on the iPad – be willing to fail, and don’t try to please everyone.
And without seeing the connection until right now, that resonates with a blog post by Donald Miller this week on how he learned to like exercising. Once he figured out that 20 minutes was good enough and everything after that was above and beyond, he began to like exercise and found himself exercising for longer periods. There is freedom in naming what you are able to accomplish and finding satisfaction in that, instead of holding ourselves to often unrealistic standards of excellence.
The taste of a few days of beautiful spring weather has put me in the mood for the pure alterna-pop bliss of the Lightning Seeds.
I’ve had the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer on my mind a lot over the past week:
I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, Exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things To thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Thou art mine and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made of earth, Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
TreeHugger has a post on High Speed Rail, while I’m not the train nerd my friend Rudy is, I do enjoy taking the train when possible (i.e. family trip to Chicago and a couple trips back to Iowa). Making a serious commitment to improve the rail infrastructure and introduce a real high-speed system is a good thing in my mind, but, as the article notes, if you going to do it, it needs to be done right.
Making Light has a nice summary of the Hutaree situation that happened in Adrian last weekend. Having not lived in Michigan during the first wave of militia activity, I find myself fascinated by this, as well as a little nervous, Adrian is just a 10 mile drive from my home – and also happens to be the location of my denomination’s Annual Conference. (Note to my brothers and sisters in the Detroit Conference: Please leave the camo and automatic weapons at home this year).
“Perhaps he was a fool, perhaps he was mad, but he was mad with a love emboldened by an unseen authority that I simply cannot explain.”
He also showed pastors a little love this week (and yeah it feels a little self-indulgent to post that… oh well).
Miller also hit on a theme that has been a big part of my thinking in the last year or two – the whole idea of finding a common ground, the “radical center”, or the “third way” that moves beyond the divisive attitudes that are so prevalent right now. Miller’s article addresses the problem of “black and white” thinking. In a similar vein Mike Slaughter this week offered some thoughts on “The Way of the Cross vs the Political Divide”. I’d consider Slaughter’s article a must read, for thoughts like this:
“Christ compels us to tear down the barriers that create religious, ethnic, gender and national conflict. If it’s not about healing and reconciliation, it’s not the Gospel.”
I’ve also been slowly working my way through the book Follow Me To Freedom by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins and in there Shane writes:
“We can’t just write people off because we disagree with them. we need to start thinking ‘What is behind that?’ – even when we disagree [with] them or don’t particularly like their style. Even the Religious Right has leaders, albeit leaders some folks may disagree with. But if we aren’t careful we will write off all their followers if we don’t engage their message and the reasons that folks followed and are still following them. Jesus was always inviting dialogue with His critics. He was able to draw together a pretty eclectic dinner conversation. Look at His followers. He was able to bring to the same table a zealot revolutionary and a Roman tax collector. Zealots killed tax collectors for fun on weekends. What a mix… and all of them were being transformed into a new creation in Christ.”
I also stumbled upon this video (via Seth Godin). There is one word, as well as a gesture some might find objectionable, but if you aren’t easily offended check it out – the message of Taylor Mali’s poem is a great – and it’s always good to send some love to my teacher friends.
Good friends from college, Clint Twedt-Ball and his brother Courtney Ball have been doing great ministry in Cedar Rapids with their organization, Matthew 25. A recent article in Faith and Leadership, tells of their Block-by-Block program.
Rocky Supinger over at YoRocko.com offers some interesting thoughts on Jeff Jarvis’ book, What Would Google Do?. You will find Supinger’s thoughts in three parts: Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. A couple key points he makes:
Churches model themselves after other forms of organization. They always have and they always will. The earliest Christian congregations were modeled after synagogues of the day. Most churches in North America today are reflections either of mid-20th century civic organizations or late 20th century business and and self-help and leadership movements. These models affect everything. Worship, education, polity, dress, outreach, marketing: everything churches do reflects models borrowed from other sectors of society.
I frequently am required to chase off skateboarders from the church property for insurance and liability reasons. Yet are these skaters not simply using the church as a platform for what they want to do, which is not just skate but also hang out and connect with one another? To protect ourselves, we have to chase them away; doing so may actually be causing us harm.
Communities aren’t waiting around for permission from churches to do their thing; we ignore the great stuff they’re doing at our peril, because, if Google is right, helping them helps us.
The church knows the lesson, but we are still having trouble living into it. The logic of “build it and they will come” no longer applies – we need to go to where the people are – bringing Jesus into the neighborhoods like Clint and Courtney are, or to the skater kids hanging out in the parking lot. I’ll confess that even I can preach & blog on it but still have trouble doing it, but that’s where we need to be, and we need to keep challenging, supporting, and encouraging one another to get there.
I don’t know the history behind the statement, but over a Sojourners there is a Covenant for Civility that is simple, Biblically-rooted, and speaks to the need for real conversation both in and out of the Church, instead of the shouting and self-aggrandizement that so often takes place. There is certainly a need for it on the macro level, but I also wonder about the micro-level of congregational life – could it be a covenant for Bible studies of controversial issues or even for committee work? (Maybe with slight adaptation). On a related note, I found out that Chuck Colson, who has signed the Covenant, has said that it doesn’t apply to Glen Beck, because Beck is a Mormon.
I’ve added Donald Miller’s blog to my feed reader and found it to be filled with all kinds of good stuff. This week, you can read about Nella’s Beautiful Story, a powerful reminder that life doesn’t always go according to (our) plans, but God’s grace has a way of brining light into the darkness and love is the most powerful force on all. He also writes on Changing Negative Character Traits and Letting Go of Cynicism (and, yes, Amy, I know you will find that a little ironic given my cynical attitude over the past week).
I couldn’t help but read Miller’s post on cynicism, without thinking about Conan O’Brien’s parting words, “Please don’t be cynical, it’s one of my least favorite traits… if you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen.”
Music for the week is by the Eels… you might remember them for their mid-90s song “Novocaine for the Soul.” I actually remember first hearing Mark Everett’s music on Rob Michael’s “All Alternative Friday Night” show on KDMG – though, I can’t remember the specific song that made me first think “Hey, this guy is really cool” (my guess is it was either “Hello Cruel World” or maybe “Fitting in with the Misfits” off A Man Called E). I haven’t done a great job of keeping up with the band over the years, but I did pick up Hombre Lobo a few months back and enjoyed it. The song and video, both, are worth taking a peek at:
Back from a break last week to attend/officiate my brother’s wedding in Iowa. Good times… of course the weird thing about going back and seeing people you haven’t seen for a while is that I find myself thinking, “Wow! They are starting to look old…” and then realize that they are probably thinking the same thing about me.
Kem Meyer shares a friend’s thoughts on using social media within the church. Some good points are made – 1. Most church folk aren’t actively using twitter 2. Most people outside the church aren’t going to randomly follow a church twitter feed. The solution, according to the author-
There is a lost and suffering society all around us without hope. A high percentage of them actually use Twitter and Facebook. Since I know they don’t have an interest following our church, I’m going to follow them instead. Using the search tools, I’m going to purposely follow anyone and everyone who posts anything on Twitter within 10 miles of our zip code. I’m going to do this with the prayer that some of them will in turn follow us. And even further that some of the people who follow the people we follow will want to follow us (confusing I know…draw a picture if you need to).
In all honesty, much of what is posted on the twitter accounts I’m now following is very objectionable. I want to lead old school believers to an understanding that not only is it okay for the church to do this, we’re supposed to. What I know to be true is the best way to fill your own cup is to fill someone else’s. Since I know these people are not going to come to me, I’m going to go to them.
I like the idea, and would add to it that I think there is value in listening to those “outside” (even if they are objectionable) simply for the sake of knowing what people are saying/doing/thinking. It is way too easy to get locked inside the church bubble and not realize that our experiences and perspectives can sometimes be very different from our neighbors. We can’t connect with our neighbors until we understand our neighbors.
Jeremy Smith has some thoughts on Thursday night’s episode of the Colbert Report. I had seen the part on Glen Beck, but I missed the interview with Mary Matalin.
(As a side note I’m actually glad I wasn’t writing last week so I could avoid the hype around Beck’s comments. I certainly disagree with what Beck was saying but I also think some people have gone a little overboard with their objections; it seems to me like their is a point where you just have to let Glen Beck be Glen Beck, fully expecting him to say things that are controversial and move on).
David Byrne writes this week on the topic of collaboration, he speaks of the challenge and benefits of collaborations, noting (in part):
Another reason to risk it is that others often have ideas outside and beyond what one would come up with oneself. To have one’s work responded to by another mind, or to have to stretch one’s own creative muscles to accommodate someone else’s muse, is a satisfying exercise. It gets us outside of our self-created boxes. When it works, the surprising result produces some kind of endorphin equivalent that is a kind of creative high. Collaborators sometimes rein in one’s more obnoxious tendencies too, which is yet another plus.
But the other fascinating thing, to me, in the article is Byrne’s comments on the songwriting process – I always assumed you generally started with the lyrics and built the melody around it, but Byrne (generally) does it the opposite way. There isn’t any deep meaning for “lesson for the church” in there just the personal revelation that the process is usually done opposite the way I always assumed.
This week at The Jesus Manifesto there was also some powerful thoughts on following the Abstract Jesus as opposed to the “real” Jesus who has a way of entering in, getting personal, and “messing up” our lives. Good food for thought.
Tony Campolo has an article on Making Matters Worse in Haiti, suggesting that in spite of the best of intentions and the good work that faith based groups have and are accomplishing, there might be another side we aren’t considering – that mission teams disempower the Haitians, keeping them from potential employment and fostering ongoing dependency.
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been fascinated by issues around church architecture; in that vein I came upon this article, which offers some important thoughts – first, the style of the building doesn’t seems to be important as condition of the facility, but also as they note, people don’t come because of the building, they come because of spiritual longing and personal invitation (an obvious point, but one that often gets forgotten). They also provide this analysis:
“The “third place” area is important. A “third place” area is a social gathering point outside of the two usual community environments, work and home. Those churches that remain at the cutting-edge realize that a third place area is growing rapidly in importance with society. Churches that provide these types of gathering areas are much better positioned to reach the unchurched people in their surrounding neighborhoods.
The gym fallacy. Many pastors hear from their members that building a gym will help attract the unchurched in their community. Our research, however, found the exact opposite to be true. In fact, one of the areas of the church that was least important to the unchurched was the gym. Church leaders that are considering building gyms need to understand that gyms, in general, serve their current membership and have little effect on attracting the unchurched.”
The “third place” stuff is interesting and something I’ve been thinking about for a while – especially how to offer a meaningful “third space” that is more than a coffee shop that serves the membership, but I’d never thought about the whole church gym issue before. It seems like that could be a third space, too, but maybe the focus around it would have to be about building relationships instead of just offering more programs.
Taylor Burton-Edwards points to the changing model of the US Postal Service which is aiming to create more decentralized points of service in the places people already are (grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, etc), instead of the traditional single point of operation (the Post Office building). Taylor asks what the United Methodist Church might learn from this, especially when parallels can be drawn between the two institutions (lots of underutilized buildings in remote areas with the expectation that people “come in” instead of “going out” to serve).
I personally prefer the “marching band” version of OK Go’s This Too Shall Pass, but this one is certainly worth 4 minutes of your time as well:
Damien Kulash from OK Go also has an Op-Ed up on the New York Times about how music labels are against the very thing I’m doing here. The problem is, when I embed the video on my site, youtube doesn’t pay a royalty to the record label, but as Damien point out, if people like me don’t embed, the video doesn’t go viral, and people don’t find out about the band or the new music. I think the bottom line is if you find an artist you like on the internet, find a way to show them some love – buy the cd/mp3/etc., see them on tour, etc.
. You will find Supinger’s thoughts in three parts: