Learnings @ Leadership Network

Ideation Experience at Leadership Network in July

Do you have an idea that could shape the Church in the coming decade?  

Does that great idea ever keep you up at night?

Do you love to think and talk about great ideas and how to make them work?

We want to talk to you and people like you!

The Leadership Network Ideation Experience on July 20-22 in Dallas, is a gathering of innovators, creative thinkers and idea junkies who work collaboratively in an interactive and iterative process of developing ideas that could not only change the Church but change the world.

Leadership Network has partnered with Catalyst and innovation guru John Handy, former Senior VP in charge of product development for Mattel Toys to present three days of innovation and brainstorming. Our plan is to deliver a list of the Ten Big Ideas that could shape and change the Church in the next ten years.

The Leadership Network Ideation Experience is not an informational conference, but rather a total immersion into creating, combining, experimenting, testing and refining of good ideas into great ideas. It is designed for creative, playful leaders who enjoy collaborating with other creative and playful leaders. If this makes your heart race, you need to join us!

How to nominate yourself and your ideas...
This gathering will be invitation only, but because we want to get a variety of idea people together, we want to hear from everyone with a good idea.

For more information, go to the Ideation Experience website at http://ideationexperience.leadnet.org

What to Do With Your Teaching Tapes/CDs?

A pastor friend recently wrote me, describing a 94-week audio “tour” through the Bible he had recorded, each a 5-minute segment. He had run it on his local radio station many years ago. The teachings are not time-dated, so could he get further use out of them today, ideally in a way that would help feed his family or fund his retirement? That was his question. I listened to a segment and it's quite good. Even so, I wasn't optimistic in reply. Here was my advice:  

The big challenge is that most preaching stuff online is being offered FREE.  Some churches offer not only audio for free, but like Oklahoma's www.lifechurch.tv (Craig Groeschel)  they make available the broadcast-quality videos of the teaching  as well. So any attempt to charge money will be an uphill push.

1. You could find a sponsor who might pay to add value to their website, such as your denomination's national office or regional office, or one of your old churches, including English-speaking places where you've ministered overseas. Maybe an unlikely path, but perhaps you think of someone who's been pushing you to do something with this stuff, and thus would reach deep into their pockets to make it happen.

2. You could generate a following, much like a radio ministry does. They buy airtime, solicit donations as part of the broadcast, and on average the radio ministry begins to pay for itself in 18 months. So this approach requires an upfront investment on your part.

3. You could try selling it as a product when you speak, much like guest speakers have book tables at their events. The product sales are usually in direct proportion to how much you push it verbally as you talk. An unpromoted book table generally gets only minimal response.

4. You could find a publisher interested in doing a book-with-CD. They need to be convinced that you can personally generate at least 5,000 sales in the first year, which is usually the publishers break-even mark.

In short, I'm not very optimistic because the market is flooded with similar stuff, some good and some poor, but most of it free. And almost all the options I can think of require you to be visible as a personality, such as speaking at events or pastoring a larger church or heading a high-visibility ministry.  
 
What other options would you add? Am I off target anywhere above?

Warren Bird, Ph.D., is Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 19 books on various aspects of church health and innovation.

Preview of the new world from SXSW Interactive

I attended a part of the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin last week. An incredible time to get a preview of what the new world will be like with emerging technologies becoming more and more a part of our everyday life.

SXSW is like 3 conferences in 1 -- film, interactive (technology), and music. I think most people go to 1 of the 3, and I was most interested in the interactive part, though if I had more time, I'd love to go to all of it. I described it as the one place to hear from culture creatives and to get a pulse on technology and culture. There was no way to take it all in, with SXSW being such a big conference, with like 20 breakouts going at the same time. In the evenings, like 12 parties scattered all over downtown. I can only be one place at once. Good thing they record all the sessions.

Here's some of the ideas I picked up, with some thoughts on implications to the church:

• A lot of the buzz during SXSW Interactive revolved around Twitter and Facebook. SXSW was where Twitter really took off 2 years ago, long before it became mainstream. This year, 25,000 tweets were sent out on the peak day 3/15. Looks like both of these have some staying power.
• Why you should twitter? If you want to be a part of the converation, get on twitter. People will talk about relevant topics in near real time, and if you're left out of the conversation, you won't have your say. And if people aren't talking (twittering) about you and/or your church, you aren't going to connect (as well) with that group of people -- currently around 4 million.
• Why show your face on Facebook? This is the currently the most active social network, with around 150 million active users around the world. It seems to me that people use Facebook to maintain their connections with people they know, and sending out event announcements. The future has tons of potential using something called Facebook Connect. This will enable other web apps to connect with your circle of friends, so you could watch a sporting event online with your friends connected via chat room, play online games competing with your friends, or check movie ratings from your friends -- whose opinions probably matter more to you than total strangers.
• Susan Weinschenk, author of Neuro Web Design: What makes them click? described a compelling idea: 11 million sensory perceptions are coming at you every seccond, and only 40 are conscious. This means that our subconscience and emotions largely inform and influence our response to life happenings, and to websites. What provokes a response: trigger words that connote urgency, scarcity, and strong emotions. Plus, present fewer choices -- this helps people decide.
• More provocatively, content is (essentially) free in the online world. Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine and author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. He describes that with distribution cost essentially near zero, content can flow freely. Charging for something will have to be derived from other means, i.e. monitizing your celebrity status, providing premium service, creating experiences. He describes this more in his forthcoming book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Of course, the book's content will be made available free, probably via PDF, and the printed book will be for sale at market value.
• Listen to audio podcasts of SXSW sessions.

Implications for the church? A couple of thoughts:

• Grow your relationships. Online tools are very useful to connect with people. Use online technologies like to connect with people who are already a part of your church, and to reach people who aren't yet. Go where your people are, whether it's twitter, facebook, or one of the other social networks. Online tools not only enhance offline in-person relationships, they also provide an on-ramp for new in-person relationships.
• Join the conversation. People will talk about things that matter, and you don't want to be left out of those conversations. The notion of controlling or containing a message is nearly impossible in the open world of the internet. The cliche, "If you can't beat them, join them" takes on a whole new meaning.
• Share freely. The internet makes it easy to distribute content (nearly) freely, and this has implications for how churches and ministries distribute content and resources. Whenever possible, offer content for free, instead of pay or subscription, and that will open more opportunities for you to reach even more people. "Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)

// DJ Chuang is a Director at Leadership Network, launching digital initiatives, and connecting multi-site churches and Asian American pastors.

Lost Women of the Bible

“Oh no, not another cliché book about women in the Bible...”

That was my first thought when I was asked to read and study a book titled, Lost Women of the Bible.  “If they have been lost this long, I doubt that they are worth finding.” These words were not uttered from my lips but they certainly ran through my mind.

However, I am delighted to report that my cynical thoughts found no basis in fact. Lost Women of the Bible is one of the finest books I have read on the topic of women and the Bible. Carolyn Curtis James is not only an engaging writer, but she draws the reader into the lives of women who might otherwise be considered to have little significance. In the process of reading this book, I realized I had misjudged several biblical women until Curtis James challenged my narrow perspective.

Curtis James is not only a writer but she is a theologian with wisdom and insight. Here is just one of the points she highlighted that caused me to reflect a bit more as she addressed the life of Haggar:

“No one in scripture- male or female- ever names God. Haggar does. She names him El Roi: the god who sees me. The name she gives God expresses her most basic theological conviction: she is not invisible to God.”

Lost Women of the Bible  gives a much broader and honest view about the  strengths, weakness, courage and impact of women who have acted in heroic ways. But what peeked my interest was the fact that Curtis James does not fall into the trap of presenting the cliché biblical picture of women that I have had to endure for so long. What a relief!

Liz Swanson
Leadership Community Director-Recovery Ministry
Women of Impact Director-Women's Initiative
Leadership Network

Church Dedicates Sunday Services to Unemployed

As the economy affects people, one church has found a special way to encourage the unemployed -- Concord Church gave out $50 gift cards. NBC 5 TV in Dallas reports, "Church Dedicates Sunday Services to Unemployed":

A Dallas church directed its morning services to helping the unemployed through prayer.

Pastor Bryan Carter, of Concord Church said nearly all of his congregation's 6,000 members have been affected by the economic downturn.

Sometimes all a person needs to get through a difficult time is some positive words of encouragement, Carter said.

"Prayer changes you, but it also connects you with God, so it's through prayer that we're able to make it through some difficult times in our life," he said.

Carter said prayer can help people deal with the pressure of being unemployed. But he also said those who are employed have lessons to learn from those who have lost their jobs.

"Sometimes God will allow us to go through a season of unemployment when we realize the difference between a want and a need," Carter said during his 8 a.m. sermon.

Church member Tiffany Haynes, who is unemployed, said she heard Carter's message loud and clear.

"It means everything to come to a church that actually cares about its members actually cares about its community," she said.

Concord Church gave $50 gift cards to Haynes and other unemployed members like Linda Abner Fitzpatrick.

"This brings tears to my eyes," Fitzpatrick said. "This can be used to pay for prescriptions."

She has been looking for work for four months and has no unemployment benefits.

"It's disheartening (to be out of work)," Fitzpatrick said. "So to have some one who really cares deliver a message to your heart -- it's inspirational."

"It's the small words of encouragement, it's the small tokens of affection to let you know you're not alone that go a long way," Carter said.

Carter preached three sermons dedicated to the unemployed at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon.

Have you heard of other churches that are doing something special for the unemployed? Add a comment below.

// DJ Chuang is a Director at Leadership Network, launching digital initiatives, and connecting multi-site churches and Asian American pastors.

Know of a multi-site church campus in YMCA?

My colleagues here at Leadership Network are working on a new multi-site book, and want to mention multi-site churches that have a campus at a YMCA. Do you know of a multi-site church that meets in a YMCA as one of its campuses?

Replies received by Monday, March 9th, will be included in the new book! Add a comment here or email greg.ligon@leadnet.org -- thank you!

[photo credit: lobstar28 @ flickr]

// DJ Chuang is a Director at Leadership Network, launching digital initiatives, and connecting multi-site churches and Asian American pastors.

Forced Focus

It has now been a month since my freak accident followed by surgery, rehab, pain pills, lack of sleep, the general fog of all that and the like. (for more details see my personal blog at www.davetravisnow.com)

I had often wondered if I were to be knocked out of commission due to illness or accident what would happen to my team and how I would respond.

Now, I would say that this has not been the major outage I had worried about, it is still a huge change from my normal way of working.

My normal way is to have a huge page each week of calls, memos, blog posts, connections and other to-dos on my list. And I would derive great satisfaction from the sheer VOLUME of work I thought I was getting through. I would also plow through multiple books each week. Some to endorse, some to blog about but mainly just because I like to read. Add onto that a usual full travel schedule to get out and talk to clients and staff which I really enjoy.

Unfortunately my fatigue and treatments have led to limited time, energy and focus. For the past two weeks I usually could generate three good hours a day of work at best. I pushed it to 6 hours one day but I must confess that some of that was fairly unproductive time wasting stuff.

My condition has forced to me a very Focused engagement with my work which has resorted my usual work styles. Here are my strategies.

1. I have a wonderful team that usually handles most of the day to day management of our larger Leadership Network team anyway. I have had to just trust their judgments and instincts all the way. Even more, they have stepped up to intentionally take things off my plate to handle. I have often said to our board and our CEO “I really don’t want to overfunction as the leader.” Now I have to live that.

And I haven’t had the energy to add any worry to my plate so I have just gone with the flow there.

Will they do some things that I probably would have chosen a slightly different direction? Probably, but I trust their instincts right now more than mine clouded by the pain and pills.

2. Let some stuff ride.

I get lots of requests from folks outside our organization wanting comments, advice, counsel, connections and the like. I try to give those things as liberally as possible.

In addition I have some requests from our staff for similar things.

Now the staff knows my current condition and has been warned off for the most part. Outsiders, less so.

Some things I just let sit there in the in box including some things from our staff. If I viewed it as a low priority I just didn’t respond. If it comes around again, I probably would. Other things I placed on my calendar at a future day when I hoped to feel better. “Can’t talk right now due to an illness but will probably be able to next Thursday when I am feeling better.”

For some folks that worked fine. Others just moved on. Either way, it worked.

I was able to get it out of my mind and attention and focus on it later.

3. Got serious about budgeting my energy and focus.

For the most serious time I realized that I had enough space, energy and focus to pull off perhaps three things each day.

1. A focused call – I had enough energy to carry on a meaningful conversation once a day. For that call I planned what I needed to say and ground that we needed to cover. I focused only on important things.
2. A focused writing piece – sometimes that was an email response to a staff member or a memo of length with instructions for future action. Writing was particularly challenging due to the damage to the arm so it took twice as long.
3. 1 “yellow pad” session – this is where I have my yellow pad and I am thinking or planning one specific thought. It could be a blog post, a memo, a call list, but it is very focused on topic but trying to write down as many thoughts as possible onto the pad.

Basically I could give those three discrete activities 100% for that day. More would mean less focus and energy.

I could take more calls, and some days I did, but they weren’t calls or online meetings that got my best or even 60% of me.

I could read through the non critical emails, scanning for anything important, but the rest were put off.

I let the blogs and twitters go for awhile or just skimmed occasionally and then hit “mark all as read.” Am I missing some conversations and action? Probably. But right now just not in my energy and focus budget.

The mix could change a little and my plan is to add a little each week back to the to-do list. On days without therapy, I might add a call or writing piece for example.

So, if your dog pulls you off the deck and puts you out of commission for a month, what's your plan?

Dave Travis

Managing Director

Leadership Network