Keeping it short and sweet this week. I working my way through Leonard Sweet’s new book Nudge and plan to get a review posted in the next couple weeks. I also want to do something more with Seth Godin’s book Lynchpin but not quite sure what it will look like (or how to find the time to make it happen).
I never appreciated The Call like I probably should have – I liked the few songs I heard on the radio, but never bothered to pick up an album. Michael Been, singer and guitarist, died this week; he was working with his son’s band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (which are worth checking out, too). Thanks, Michael, for the music. (The first video is the song you’re probably most familiar with if you listened to pop/rock from the mid-80s; the second is one I don’t remember as well, but am quickly growing to love).
Spending some time with clergy colleagues and their families this week (as well as my own). A time for renewal, inspiration, and support… which means there might be slim pickings next week as well.
So Friday night I stop in to the local CVS because I needed to grab and gallon of milk and was too lazy to go to the grocery store; to provide some context, his CVS is across the street from DTE Music Theatre. Here’s the conversation that unfolded as I made my purchase:
CVS guy: Hey, how’s it going? Me: Not bad. CVS guy: Do you know who’s playing across the street tonight? Me: Yeah, I think it’s like Rob Zombie and Korn. CVS girl standing nearby who overhears our conversation: ARE YOU GOING??!! CVS guy (answering before I can get a word in): No, this DOESN’T look like the kind of guy who would go to THAT SHOW!! Me (now mildly offended by the judgement): No, I’m not going, but back in the day I did work at a hard rock station and played stuff like Metallica and Tool.
I saved the two the 20 minute lecture how I was listening to bands like White Zombie while they were still in diapers, met members from The Melvins and Fishbone, and have far more “rocker cred” than my appearance would suggest. But then I also remembered how I never looked liked rock guy, even back when I was a DJ and making frequent visits to Gabe’s during college, and today I would be that creepy old dood if I did make it to a show.
I can admit it – I’m old, I’m not cool (and never really have been), and I’m okay with that… and really even back then I didn’t have much interest in bands like Rob Zombie and Korn, but I still have enjoy a good rock song. (And yeah, since I’m old, I’ve got to go old school) –
I don’t think the round-up is going to move to a Sunday evening publishing schedule (I’ve been trying to keep it on Fridays), but it might end up making that jump. It’s a short list of links this week, and nothing is really hitting me musically at the moment, but here you go:
A few days late on the round-up this week – it was a busy week, an exhausting week, and an inspiring week at our Vacation Bible School. The church I serve hosts their VBS at a local campground so not only is there lots of space to run around, but it connects with a community of kids who might never find their way through the doors of our church building. (It was also a great opportunity to push the idea that the church needs to move from an “attractional” mindset to a “missional” one – go where the people are, don’t wait for them to come to us!)
Links of interest this week:
Fred Clark writes on how Martin Luther King’s legacy (and words) have been misused by some conservative thinkers.
The 2010 State of the Church report is out for the UMC. I haven’t had a chance to study it yet, but Andrew Conrad summarizes a couple points noting that many churches lack a clear vision and that the average age of United Methodists is significantly higher than the general population – not really a surprise, but definitely a point of concern.
Scot McKnight asks an important question around “Virtual Sermons.” McKnight shares an article from CNN on the topic which quotes Tom Long on the incarnational aspect of preaching that is missing from a video feed. I understand the appeal of allowing high-quality preaching to be heard in a variety of locations and freeing up others to do the work of ministry, but there are some serious questions it raises as well.
Seth Godin offers some great thoughts around celebrating what’s right, instead of giving all our attention to the problems. I’ve also (finally) started to read Linchpin this week – only a few pages in and I’m in love with it. The book seems to coincide really well with this piece from Hugh MacLeod:
Also, apparently now God Hates Nerds – is it bad that my first thought was that quote attributed to Niemoller, “Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up.”
A couple nerd-rock anthems from the early ’90s to cap off this week’s post:
After 5 minutes of hitting the “Publish Post” button, I remembered I wanted to include this piece of video from last night’s Daily Show. I doubt I’ll pick up the book, but I do like where the discussion is headed recognizing that science and religion aren’t necessarily in opposition, and what we need right now are the best minds from science and theology working together, instead of mediocre commentators waging cultural battles.
It’s been a while and I’ve been getting nervous about losing my discipline about getting something posted every week, but life is (slowly) returning to normal and the internet and phone problems I’ve been having are nearly resolved.
Andrew Conrad asks a pretty provocative question, What to Do with Unhealthy UM Congregations? Like the “ineffective clergy” issue I think it’s an important question to ask, but also fraught with potential abuse, beginning with the issue of how an “unhealthy” congregation is defined (which Conrad notes). Unhealthy congregations can’t simply be “written off” especially we we are going to hold to a theology of redemption and resurrection, but there is a tricky game of how do we deploy effective clergy into unhealthy situations? On one hand, it’s the only way a turn-around can be achieved, on the other without the proper support and understanding it can be a recipe for clergy burnout. (This is also reason #2348 of why I’m glad I’m not a DS).
Andrew also offered some nice, brief additional thoughts on What to Do with Ineffective UM Clergy? As I think I’ve mentioned before, one of my primary concerns with the “ineffective clergy” question is if we need to remove clergy from leadership (due to ineffectiveness and not because of misconduct), can we do it in a way that is fair and pastoral? We need to give people the opportunity to change, but if they can’t (or won’t) grow, then there needs to be a level of support around the transition. As Conrad says, it should never be about kicking people out of the church, but helping them find their vocation, and I think we need to take that helping part seriously.
I’ve talked before about numbers (attendance, membership, etc.) being a key measure of clergy effectiveness; it’s an issue I’m torn on, because I understand the value and the appeal, but I also know that sometimes numbers can’t tell the whole story. So I found this article to be an interesting take on those types of measurements from a secular perspective. Chris Guillebeau writes:
the numbers give you a goal—something to keep in mind as you go through a challenging process. The numbers can’t be your sole motivation or identity, but they can be a big help.
I like that perspective, the numbers aren’t the sole motivation or identity, but they can be a healthy barometer of what is happening.
I know I’ve missed a ton of good stuff while I’ve been away, but hopefully I’ll be back into my usual routine soon. I’ve been putting a “summer mix” of music together on the ipod this is one that hit me as one of those good summer songs. (The 80’s era video production is also pretty entertaining).
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.
