LeadingSmart

Coming to Granger this December

2009-11-18T07:30:37-05:00

Each weekend in December we will be leveraging the topics in Dickens' classic The Christmas Carol. We'll consider recovery from our past, making a difference in the present, and deciding on a purposeful future. It all builds to our own Granger version of The Christmas Carol production in six different services on Christmas Eve.

Un-riff'n-believable!

2009-11-17T06:48:00-05:00

Trust me -- take 3 minutes to watch this video and you won't be disappointed.

Here are a few things you should know about RIFF...

It was developed by Marty Friend, a good friend (remind me to tell you about our trip to China together) and long-time member at Granger.
It is available on iTunes for $3.99.
I'm not making a penny for telling you about it. However, you'll be happy that a good portion of the proceeds will go directly into kingdom work.
We are planning to use it on stage in an upcoming band number. If you do it first, send me a video and I'll highlight it here on LeadingSmart.com.

Now it's your turn -- what do you think about RIFF and its' potential uses?

My Parents are the Real Deal

2009-11-16T06:55:00-05:00

What does it mean when a couple makes it 50 years in marriage? And I don't mean they survived. No, this couple continues to thrive.

They are my parents, Ross and Karen Stevens, and this month they are celebrating 50 years of marriage. Can anyone say 'Wow!"?

In this day and age, I so respect long marriages. And I have seen this one up close and personal. It's the real deal. My parents are still in love. They honor each other, serve each other, and work through tough stuff together (how tough? Try having me as a kid!).

There are so many thoughts that my parents' anniversary brings to mind--here are just a few:

When they tied the knot, Mom was 17 years old and dad was not yet 19 years old. Who says teens can't make good decisions?
I don't know of one divorce in my ancestry. My grandparents on both sides stayed married until death. My great-grandparents on both sides stayed married until they died. What a heritage!
My mom is really, really smart--and could have worked her whole life in a very good job. But she chose to stay home when we were young to help instill values and character into me and my brother and sister.
I never remember them fighting. They worked through stuff behind closed doors and provided a house of love for all of us.
They sacrificed much for us to get us the best education available. It went unnoticed to me at the time, but now days I think about it quite often.
I realize now how patient my parents were with us. Between the piano, french horn, clarinet, and rock-and-roll--we had a loud house!
I can't imagine a kid being more supported. It didn't matter what I tried, they were cheering me on: soccer (I was terrible), basketball (never made a basket...ever), band (I was okay), preaching (uh, no)...they were there for all of it helping me find my sweet spot.
My parents taught me to love the church. I learned the joy in having a solid, value-based family centered around a thriving local church...where authentic relational community could happen.

I could say more, but for now let me just leave this message to them: Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad...I love you very much and am so grateful for the heritage you have given me, and the privilege I have of walking in your footsteps.

(Even if you don't know my parents, feel free to leave your greetings in the comments below...I'll be sure they read them!)

Outsourced Worship

2009-11-09T07:50:00-05:00

I had a fascinating time last week with Jeff Powell, one of the leaders at First Hattiesburg Church in Mississippi. He told me a story that was very interesting...

A little over a year ago their church had an open position for a worship leader and couldn't find the right person to fill the role. So they began to hire worship leaders to come in, a weekend at a time, to lead their band and congregation in worship. It worked so well that they decided to continue doing this--not as a stop-gap measure--but as their intentional strategy. At this time, they have no plans of ever hiring a worship leader. They will continue to outsource.

In the first year they brought in 15 or 20 different leaders, but they have since settled to about 4 or 5 that they continue to bring in to lead their people.

Jeff says this strategy offers several advantages:

Many worship leaders don't enjoy building teams, managing budgets or organizing departments. They just love to lead worship. This strategy let's them stay in their sweet spot.
This decision saves money for the church. He is able to pay them really well for a weekend and still save enough money in the church budget to use toward another staff position.
They love the variety that this brings to their church. Keeping things unpredictable is a plus, says Jeff, to keeping people's attention.
They have learned so much from these worship leaders that they wouldn't have learned from one person.

It's a very interesting twist on staffing. I think churches are going to have to think creatively about staffing in the future--and this is a very creative method.

What do you think--good strategy or bad idea?

A 16-Year Old View on the Love of God

2009-11-07T20:10:06-05:00

I'm not sure when it happens, but there is a point in time when you realize you are learning just as much from your kids as they are learning from you. Today was another one of those days when I read these words from my daughters blog:

Everyone's gotten mad at their parents at one time or another...it's inevitable... especially in your teen years (or maybe that's just me..?).
Something I've never spent much time thinking about is that my parents don't love me because I'm a good runner, because I'm a camp counselor in the summer, or because I drive my sister to school in the morning. And they don't NOT love me because I pick on my little brother, I talk back to them, or I am not home by curfew. They love me for me, because I'm theirs. Mom and Dad: I'm sorry if sometimes it doesn't seem like you're appreciated...I love you (:

Jesus died on the cross because He loves us. Why on earth would He love US? Not because we pack boxes at Feed the Children, give the homeless man on the corner of main and douglas a sandwich, or bring the granger stranger a box of cookies. He doesn't NOT love us because we accidentally cuss, forget to read our bible, or tell a lie. He loves for who we are, because we are His. He created us, and for that, He loves us SO MUCH! Without us even doing anything!

It does not matter what you do or don't do, there will always be people who will love you. respect you. care for/about you. I'm not really sure what I'm getting at..this is just something that I had never thought about before, it seems like the concept of love, coming from God or from your parents, has just kind of been one of those things like eating and breathing. It just kind of happens..and no one really thinks about it. But do me a favor, and think about it..just for a second. It's kind of amazing, huh?
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." -1 John 4:7

If this post is meaningful to you, jump over to Heathers' blog and leave her a comment.

Change...Scary? Or Exciting?

2009-11-06T06:25:00-05:00

Twenty years ago I got my first modem. I was an early adopter (none of my friends had one), it was a cutting-edge dial-up blazing fast at 300 bits per second. Today I'm using a modem that is 8 megabits per second--literally 26,000 times faster than my original modem.

In 1984, my first PC had two floppy drives and no hard-drive. I used one floppy for my software and the other for data.

Five years ago I had one computer hooked up to my internet connection. Today, there are 15 "machines" in my house connected to the outside world (4 computers, 2 iPhones, 4 VOIP phones, 1 iPod Touch, 1 TV, 1 Xbox, 1 Bluray, 1 DVR)...and that increases when I have guests in the house.

The world is changing, and it is changing at a rapid pace.

For example, the image below is what pops up when I turn my DVD player on. A machine which was originally created to play movies from a disc can now (when connected to the internet ) stream movies from Netflix and Blockbuster, as well as play videos from YouTube and music from Pandora. It's old school to actually go to the video store for a movie.

My TV is able to display my Twitter feed, Ebay activity and play movies from Amazon Video on Demand. I'm not bragging...I'm just saying it is a changing world. If your TV or DVD player doesn't do these things yet--it will soon.

I don't know all of the impact these changes will have for the church...but I think some things are possible:

Online church won't be restricted to watching from your PC or laptop. It will enter the living room in stunning color and high resolution.
Churches will stream Bible classes and other teaching right to the living rooms of their attendees. "Our membership class will take place this Wednesday evening at 7pm in every home of our church."
The local church will no longer be geographically limited. You will have true participants and volunteers all over the world.
As online church gains popularity, the community aspect will increase. Not only can they "attend" a service with hundreds of people online, but they can attend physically with 10 or 15 people in their own house.
The distinction between "house church" and "online church" will begin to blur.

I am jazzed about the possibilities. What about you...does this seem scary? Or exciting?

A Crowd is Not a Church

2009-11-04T07:14:31-05:00

Here is how the conversation typically goes:

Life-long Church Attendee: "Your church is pretty shallow. Felt like it was a show. I need something deeper."
Me: "Really? That surprises me, cuz' I've been here for twenty years and that's not my experience. How long have you been attending?"
Life-long Church Attendee: "I've been to three weekend services."
Me: "Then you haven't experienced our church yet. You've just scratched the surface."

For some reason, people who have attended church for many years will come to a weekend service and believe they have visited our church. I tell people all the time: The weekend is not the church. It is a crowd. We are doing everything we can to draw the biggest crowd we can--and then turn it into a church.

Many times people will ask me how big our church is. I typically say, "Do you mean how many are attending each weekend?" Those are two different questions. We may have 5,000 attending on a given weekend--but that's not our church. That's just a crowd. Determining the size of a church is a bit more difficult. Is it membership? The number of people serving? Those giving? Those attending "deeper" Bible studies? Perhaps a bigger question is--does it even matter?

Here is what I believe: We are at our best when we focus our weekend services squarely on those who are at the beginning of their spiritual journey, and focus our discipleship on those who are further along in their faith. Yes, there is some cross-over, but when we get mixed up in our focus--that's when we begin to flounder. That's when the purpose gets lost, the vision gets unclear and our effectiveness is reduced.

Hey North Carolina...I'll See You Next Week!

2009-11-02T05:33:00-05:00

If you live anywhere in or near North Carolina...you should join me next week. I will be in Raleigh next Tuesday, November 10th, for an all-day workshop. And here's the good news--there is still room for you!

Here's what's happening...

Mark Beeson will be talking about leading teams.
Mark Waltz will teach about creating WOW experiences at your church (have you read this?)
Kem Meyer will be delivering a talk straight out of her book about church communications.
Tim Stevens (that would be me) will be teaching creative ideas from Pop Goes the Church.

It is going to be a packed day where we will be bringing everything we have to add value to pastors and church leaders. It's my hope you can join us! Leave me a note below if you'll be there!

Download PDF Brochure

Don Miller at Story

2009-10-28T18:32:36-04:00

Don Miller gave a talk about the power of story. It was similar to a great talk I heard him give last year...but it didn't bother me to hear it again. Some quotes that really connected with me...

Story = "A character that wants something and overturns conflict to get it."
What is meaningful in a story is meaningful...only because it is meaningful in life.
We have a relationship with Scripture that is really strange. We sit down and say, "What's in this for me?" What if it's just a story about God? What if He just wants us to get to know Him?
You can have a greatly flawed character, and that's okay, as long as the character sacrifices himself or herself for something.
Success doesn't tell a very good story. It takes a character with flaws who does good.
The story that we are telling ourselves is almost always different than the story we are telling the people around us.
Conflict offers us the opportunity to appreciate joy.
Commercialism robs us of the conflict, which in turn robs us of being involved in great stories.
In real life, we wish for conflict to go away. But it never will.
We are taught that conflict goes away through the gift of Jesus. Jesus was not the climax. Conflict still exists.

Dave Gibbons at Story

2009-10-28T12:22:54-04:00

Dave Gibbons is the pastor of Newsong Church in southern California. Here are some of my takeaways from his talk at Story Chicago...

Everyone has a desire to connect.
Every culture has to figure out, "How do we recommunicate the gospel?"
We've defined success for churches by size and strength (the size of our church budgets).
Most churches, about 80% of budget is in staff and buildings. I propose we turn that around. What if 80% went to the city and only 20% to operations?
When there is personal revelation of your weakness--it more fully releases the power of the Spirit.
Do you think everyone in your church should serve in your church? Why? Why not prepare them to serve outside your church?
Sometimes God allows a time of dryness because He is producing something beautiful inside of us.

Story Launches with Ed Young

2009-10-28T11:07:38-04:00

The Story Conference started with worship led by Candi Pearson-Shelton, Jon Shelton , and Trace Rorie. Then Scott Hodge gave a compelling (if not life changing) intro for Ed Young. Some quotables from Ed...

The story of the Bible is all about a divine rescue.
As a follower of Christ, I need to be in the search and rescue business.
Everybody wants to reach people until you start reaching people.
People will leave your church. Don't chase the leavers.
Small groups are fine and dandy, but if I had to choose, I'd rather have volunteering than small groups.
The question is not: "How many people are showing up?" The better question is: "Who are you reaching?"
In church, chaos is your friend.
We've always had a lean staff because we want to be forced to leverage volunteers.
Change. Conflict. Growth. That's the sequence. Many people won't change. Or they do change and then stop at the conflict, and they never experience the growth.

Never Stop Learning

2009-10-27T11:00:22-04:00

Last night I was talking to Mark Beeson and we were sharing stories about the weekend. He had just returned from spending some time with Amber, his oldest daughter, and had the opportunity to visit her church. Maybe you read his post about it.

He was telling me about his visit to Ada Bible Church and the great messaged delivered by Jeff Manion.

Something he said stood out to me: "I learned several things Sunday, and a couple of them are really going to help me in my preaching."

I think anyone who knows Mark casually would file this under the category of yougottabekiddingme! He is a world-class communicator, has been preaching for nearly four decades, and has continually refined his skill with the detail of an artist.

And yet his comment wasn't surprising to me. Why? Because Mark is a life-long learner. He may be in his mid-50's when many leaders would coast on everything they learned in their 20's and 30's and 40's. But not Mark. He continues to be a challenge to me because he has purposed to never stop learning. And that, my friends, makes a leader attractive at any age.

(Picture by Dustin Maust, creatively ripped off without permission from MarkBeeson.com)

Getting People in Small Groups is Not the Goal

2009-10-23T12:51:59-04:00

I'm sitting in a conference listening to a real-life case study. A pastor from Texas presented his problem: "How do we get more people in small groups?" He went on to explain that only about 500 of their 2200 attendees are involved in small groups.

The conference participants then helped this pastor find a solution for getting more people in small groups.

But to me, it seems like the wrong question. Why is the goal to get more people in small groups? I'm sure his goal is bigger than just getting people in close proximity to each other. There must be something that happens in small groups that he really wants people involved in. Perhaps it is Bible study, or deeper relationships, or perhaps he knows that spiritual growth happens better in the context of those relationships.

Asking "why aren't more people in small groups" seems like a newer version of the question, "Why can't we get more people to attend Sunday school?" It doesn't really get to the real desire.

Maybe it would be better to ask, "How do we get more people to study the Bible?" or "How do we get people to take spiritual steps in deeper relationship with others?"

Maybe the answer isn't Sunday School...or small groups. Maybe it's something we haven't even thought of. Maybe it is 50 different answers for a church of 2200 people.

It is so easy to get stuck on a method. That which is innovative today can become an idolatrous method tomorrow.

More Choice Reduces Participation

2009-10-23T10:59:22-04:00

I'm spending the day listening to Chip Heath (author of Switch and Made to Stick) talk about change. Some notable quotes from the first session...

If change is hard, why do so many people sign up for marriage? And why, a few years later, do so many of those couples sign up for parenting?
There is a schizophrenia about change that is built into each one of us. Part of us wants the brownie, the other part wants to look better in a swimsuit.
Every person who has ever initiated great change started with an emotional reaction to something and said, "That's wrong!"
No one ever feels like they have enough resources or the right position to implement change.
We spend more time thinking about (and talking about) things that went wrong than things going well.
Leslie Fielder: "Lots of novelists have achieved their fame by focusing on marital problems, but there's never been a successful novel about a happy marriage."
When you want to change something, find an easy critical move. One organization wanted a healthier community. Rather than go after everything--they focused on one thing: "Drink 1% milk." And it worked.
A 10% increase in options in a 401k plan decreases participation by 2%. More choice reduces participation.
What looks like resistance to change in an employee is often cluelessness.

Who Says Church Announcements Have to Be Boring?

2009-10-21T08:04:14-04:00

From our friends at North Point Church, Springfield, Missouri.

What do you think...creative? Over the top? How would this go over at your church?

Real Prayers from Real Kids

2009-10-19T11:42:27-04:00

Do you ever wonder what is in the mind of a child? A few weeks ago we asked a bunch of kids to write out their prayers to God. Here is what they came up with...

Kids Prayers from Granger Community on Vimeo.