Glocalnet Blog

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 10

2010-03-12T15:49:07Z

Today Mike Kress writes his thoughts on Chapter 10 “Stop Subverting the Message” of Bob’s Book Real Time Connections.

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 9

2010-03-11T13:49:23Z

Today, we take a look at Chapter 9 “Making Space for Everyone” where Laura Boggess says,

“Bob Roberts, Jr. was thinking these concepts too, just from a slightly different angle. I was thinking of accepting differences inside the church–or at least showing love to people with differences. Roberts had a bigger picture in mind. Well, duh. The title of the book we are reading is Real-Time Connections: Linking Your Job with God’s Global Work. So small-minded me gets a lesson in Big Picture thinking, and I’m all the better for it.”

Take a look.

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 8

2010-03-10T21:20:20Z

The group blogging project on http://www.bibledude.net continues! Today, Bradley J. Moore takes on Chapter 8 “Sweating the Work”

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 7

2010-03-09T20:14:39Z

Bonnie Irving takes on Chapter 7 of Bob’s newest book, Real Time Connections - “Serving Together”

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 6

2010-03-08T15:57:26Z

The group blogging project continues on Real Time Connections. Here is Bryant Neal’s take on Chapter 6 “Engaging Society”

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 5

2010-03-05T15:52:14Z

Continuing the group blogging project on Bob’s latest book, Real Time Connections, Scott Rogers offers a great look at chapter five “Living As A Disciple”

May 3rd Global Church Symposium

2010-03-04T19:53:20Z

A few weeks ago, Bob mentioned that on May 3rd, we would be having several pastors from around the world coming to NorthWood. After that blog post, we received email after email from all of you asking about this event. Well, we have a few details ironed out and we are glad to say this is a free and public event to anyone who would like to attend! All we ask is that you take a minute to register HERE to let us know you are coming.

Here are a few of the speakers who will be here:

Eddy Leo

Dion Robert

Jossy Chacko

Real-Time Connections Group Blogging Project - Chapter 4

2010-03-04T15:25:10Z

The fourth chapter of Real-Time Connections by Bob Roberts Jr. focuses on “Linking to the World.”

The first several chapters laid out his vision – that we would make disciples not through increased ‘church-based’ activity, but by being obedient in our every day lives.

Robert’s does have a disadvantage in writing about how to get Christians to engage in the world through their daily work. After all, he is a professional pastor paid to minister, so how can he possibly relate? What does he know about my cubicle? What does he know about my workplace struggles? What can he say to me?

That being said, he gets it. He’s not all about building another church-based ministry. He engages in unleashing his church for the kingdom through their daily pursuits.

Group Blogging Project - Real Time Connections - Chapter 3

2010-03-03T14:25:49Z

Continuing the group blogging project on Bob’s latest book, Real Time Connections, Sam Van Eman offers a great look at chapter three “Your Job IS Your Ministry”

Group Blogging Project - Real Time Connections - Chapter 2

2010-03-02T14:41:36Z

Marcus Goodyear does a great job giving his thoughts on Chapter 2 of Real Time Connections! Go read it HERE!

Group blogging project - Real Time Connections - Ch. 1

2010-03-02T11:13:46Z

Over the next 10 days, 10 authors will be posting their thoughts on each chapter of Bob’s new book, “Real Time Connections - Linking your Job with God’s Global Work”

Here is Chapter One.

Giving Husband - Brilliant Idea & New Company by Ben Roberts

2010-03-01T13:01:43Z

My son, Ben, likes to start companies! Here is his latest. It’s a brilliant idea. Wish something like this would have existed when I started out! It still isn’t too late - I’m going to be signing up.

What I’m curious about is how did he come up with the idea? DId he forget something for his new wife Ashley - and said “never again?”
http://www.GivingHusband.com is a free service dedicated to providing the tools husbands need to make their wives feel special. Through the http://www.GivingHusband.com Giving Guide we are able to help husbands pick out gifts, and plan special evenings for their wives so they might feel loved and appreciated.
Here’s how it works:

1. Husband creates a login name and password which includes his wife’s email

2. Wife receives auto email which asks her to finish the profile her husband started

3. Wife finishes profile and an email is sent to the husband so that he can immediately begin buying her gifts, and planning special evenings

http://www.GivingHusband.com is like a registry which stores important information needed to buy a surprise gift for your wife. We make sure a husband doesn’t have to blow his cover to buy his wife a surprise by asking her what her ring size is, or if she prefers blue to orange.

Blog Tour of Real Time Connections & Missionshift Conference

2010-02-26T14:53:12Z

Ed Stetzer blogged about us last night. You can read it here.

Today is the first day of the blog tour for Real Time Connections. I’ll post links here when they come available to read what others are saying about Bob and NorthWood.
This is the first link!

How to Stay Fresh in Life & Ministry

2010-02-24T13:23:56Z

I remember a few years ago reading a book that spoke of the top ten churches of the 70’s, then the 80’s, then the 90’s and what was interesting - it was always a different list. Rarely would a church go from one decade to the next. The primary indicator obviously was attendance. NorthWood has never been one of the “top ten” but it has consistently been an innovator and developer of emerging ideas. I’m often asked why we didn’t get stuck, labeled, or stop along the way. Here’s why:

1. We’ve known our uniqueness and our call. Our uniqueness was not a method, strategy, or style of ministry - but it was our T-life - our concept of personal/corporate worship, community through relationships, and glocal impact or missions. We’ve always focused our church on those 3 things as being the core. Tom Wolf helped me understand that.

2. We took a long-term view of ministry. We didn’t jump at every fad, trend, or new idea that came along. We knew who we were, if in a primitive way, and stayed true to that. I have had lots of friends jump on the different bandwagons or methodologies of church growth. When you do that, you’re always looking for the next big thing. Nothing wrong with learning from every church - but you must know who you are. This may come as a shock, but sometimes the “down” times were the best times. They caused you to look deep, codify who you were and make hard choices. Planting churches out of our church did not grow our local church, it cost us in money, members, etc., but what it did do, it caused us to move to a different metric of who we counted - not just the people in our church, but congregations outside our church. By being a “missionary” or “church planting church” church we actually impacted the kingdom 10x more than we ever could have in a single church - but we had to see all the people reached outside our 4 walls in our metrics to see that. Rick Warren helped me understand that.

3. Read cross-disciplinary. Most preachers either read church growth books or doctrine books - a few read both. Even fewer pastors read about history, science, culture, business, education, and literature - on a regular basis. Reading about electronic networks has had a profound impact on my understanding of fulfilling the Great Commission. Reading novels about great men has helped me understand leadership. I could go on and on. Read the old dead guys - but also read emerging ideas - just remember most of those emerging ideas aren’t going to make it - but some are. To know which are, look for convergence and consistent themes in multiple forms of books - fads are come and go - patterns are real. Leonard Sweet taught me this.

4. Travel regularly to different communities and cultures. There is NO WAY I would have the perspectives I do without being involved in Vietnam - a culture totally opposite of me. Vietnam has taught me far more than I’ve taught Vietnam. Afghanistan has had profound impact on how I see the Near East, Middle-East, and even my theology. To be there, see it, taste it, get to be friends with people of different parts of the world will forever make me see things more in a global way. Something happens when we connect with the world that changes us radically. My Dad, Bill Morgan, Jim Gayle, and others taught me this.

5. Know yourself well. If you don’t, you’ll constantly compare yourself to your peers and other leaders. In some ways that’s ok, because it serves as a gauge, in other ways - we are not all the same. Your strength is in your uniqueness - to follow that, you have to have a good self-image and courage. Live according to your strengths, dreams, vision, passion, abilities, etc., Leighton Ford taught me this.

6. Rest in multiple ways. Exercise is part of this as well. There is the idea that we become effective in ministry and we can do it 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. No other profession in all the world is more obsessed with being considered professionals than those in the ministry- yet no other “profession” in the world has factory hours of 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Make up your mind - do you want to be a part of a movement or do you want to work in an assembly line. Yes, you need a day off, vacation, etc., but 5 days a week, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM- can you name me a single world leader who lives that way? Learn to capture moments where you are that allow you to rest. Years ago, I began to hike if I was somewhere and there was a park or something close by. I learned to, believe it or not, enjoy flying long distances with books and enjoy no cell phone. You must rest, but your rest patterns have to adjust with a demanding ministry or you’ll burn out. Two old dudes taught me this - one preacher and one diplomat - can’t remember their names but I see their faces.

7. Stay centered in your walk with God and family. Don’t cheat those two areas or you die. Your family is your credibility. God is your source. Disconnect yourself from either - you lose strength and credibility. Tie your self deeply - you become stronger, gain credibility, and even more than all that - you will have a fantastic life as you get older. Watching shipwrecked preachers helped me see this.
8. Never lose your sense of adventure. Each new phase you go through, you have to leave something behind. Most people can’t move forward because there is too much they try to take with them. You have to let go of things. You have to see the adventure and potential of every phase. When our kids left home, it was hard at first - now there are things that I can do that I never could have done before. I would have been a lousy dad had I done all I do now while they were home. God has a time and a plan. It’s ok to grieve over what was, but looking back never moves anyone forward. See the potential and cross the stream. Churchill, Gandhi, Mandela - their biographies helped me understand that.

These aren’t complete - but they are for sure - rock on, my young dudes - but don’t look at your present - glance at your present - focus on your future.

Colorado Buck & Realtime Connections

2010-02-23T13:26:03Z

I had a blast yesterday with this guy! One of our elders, Ken Schilling, is a CPA and has a client who does hunting and fishing shows all over the world, for many different networks and broadcasts. You can google him - his name is Colorado Buck. He was telling Ken something about wanting to go to Vietnam and do some work and Ken told him about what we do there, how our members use their job to do different things there. He will go into places people never think of to hunt. He has some really good ideas about what he wants to do. We are going to help him connect with the different people in Vietnam to help it happen. What blew him away was the idea that his job was his ministry and could be used to tell the good news of Jesus. He said, “This is wild, I see how this could be used to spread Christ all over the world!” Yeah - you bet. He got his own personal lecture of how all of us are to be disciples engaging society to fulfill the call of Jesus - he had just never thought of it in those terms. I took him on a tour of our building and was showing him all the art - I told him - “You bring us back some big trophies and we’ll stick ‘em up on these walls with those paintings!” He replied, “Man, now you’re talkin’, I can get excited about that!” What a narrow view we have of fulfilling the Great Commission. I even got excited! Sunday when preaching I shared how I can’t stand golf - it’s just too slow - but that I’d love to have a “hunting” ministry!!! People were laughing - the next day I meet with Colorado! Time to dust off the 12 gauge! What other people, if they just thought about it, could see the kingdom unleashed by using their jobs in ways no one else could ever do? Release the Church - that is what we are trying to do.