http://www.leadnet.org/blog/Leadership Network BlogenCopyright 2012reggie.mcneal@leadnet.orgtypepad/leadnetlearningshttp://feedburner.google.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/ZDXJExBDkI0/innovation_adventure_missional_communities_experience_april_12_13_2012Reggie McNealTue, 07 Feb 2012 08:58:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/innovation_adventure_missional_communities_experience_april_12_13_2012<p style="text-align: right"> <span style="font-size: 14px"><img alt="" src="/images/Innovation Adventure Logo cropped.jpg" style="margin: 5px; width: 247px; float: left; height: 250px" /></span></p> <p style="text-align: right"> &nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: right"> <strong><span style="font-size: 14px">INNOVATION ADVENTURE</span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: right"> <strong><span style="font-size: 14px">Missional Communities Experience<br /> Austin Stone Community Church<br /> Austin TX<br /> April 12-13, 2012</span></strong></p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> I&nbsp;have said, especially in recent years, that missional communities are the green edge of the Christian movement in the Western world. Maybe you are considering what this would look like as part of your own missional strategy.</p> <p> <br /> <strong><em>I have a special invitation for you.</em></strong> Join me in Austin, Texas, on the Thursday/Friday after Easter, April 12-13, for an excursion into missional communities. Hosting us will be Stew Stewart of Austin Stone Community Church, the director of their missional community expression. From noon on Thursday to noon on Friday you will have the chance to hear about their missional community strategy, engage in the neighborhood where they are developing an incarnational presence, and have some time to work on your own approach to missional communities.</p> <p> <strong>Event Description:</strong><br /> Leadership Network, partnering with Austin Stone Community Church,<br /> will convene twelve teams of three persons each for a 24-hour high intensity leadership experience focusing on missional communities as a new church expression that is highly intentional and incarnational.</p> <p> <strong>Event Objectives:</strong><br /> &bull; Acquaint participants with missional community concepts and practices<br /> &bull; Expose leaders to a working model of missional communities expression<br /> &bull; Provide teams an opportunity to develop their own missional communities strategy</p> <p> <strong>Schedule:</strong><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thursday, April 12<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Noon&mdash;Convening lunch<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Afternoon&mdash;Orientation and St. John community excursion<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dinner&mdash;Debrief<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Evening&mdash;Meet with missional community practitioners</p> <p> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Friday, April 13<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Morning&mdash;Teams develop/share strategies<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Noon&mdash;Adjourn</p> <p> <strong>Cost:</strong><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $2000/team of three includes registration, program, and meals (lunch and&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; dinner on Thursday)<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $125 each additional person<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> <strong>Event Facilitators:</strong><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reggie McNeal, Leadership Network Missional Leadership Specialist<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Michael &ldquo;Stew&rdquo; Stewart, Director of Missional Communities, Austin Stone<br /> <br /> <strong>Registration:</strong><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This event is limited to the first twelve teams that sign up. Please let us know of your interest by Friday, February 24th by contacting&nbsp;<a href="mailto:julia.burk@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:julia.burk@leadnet.org">julia.burk@leadnet.org</a></a> or 214-754-9718.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Reggie McNeal</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/lSTOXd51Du8" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ZDXJExBDkI0:lSTOXd51Du8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ZDXJExBDkI0:lSTOXd51Du8:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/ZDXJExBDkI0" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/innovation_adventure_missional_communities_experience_april_12_13_2012http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/lSTOXd51Du8/innovation_adventure_missional_communities_experience_april_12_13_2012http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/QMkAxBE1HN4/beware_of_fake_fruitTim NationsFri, 03 Feb 2012 06:39:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/beware_of_fake_fruit<p> <img alt="" src="/images/fake fruit.jpg" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; width: 250px; height: 250px; " />Being a leader of a rapidly growing church requires a keen sense of discernment to ensure its health and continued vitality. Increasing numbers can serve as a false sense of stability, while systems, structures, and staff suffer under the strain of fast-paced change. The outcome can be much like the shock of biting into a perfect looking apple only to come away with a mouth full of wax.&nbsp;</p> <p> If you grew up in the 70&rsquo;s or early 80&rsquo;s, you likely had a bowl of wax fruit displayed somewhere in your home. Even if you didn&rsquo;t, you know what I&rsquo;m talking about: fresh, crisp, and polished-looking on the outside, but a hard, flavorless, synthetic mass on the inside. The fruit looks good (perhaps even convincing enough to fool and unsuspecting relative or guest), but on the inside its just wrong&mdash;fake.</p> <p> Some leaders can relate their church&rsquo;s growth situation to a bowl of fake fruit. Like the fruit, the external look of the ministry could easily fool someone into thinking all is well on the inside.</p> <p> Ben Cachiaras, Mountain Christian Church</p> <p> &ldquo;We could see the life change and the growth and it all looked great, but internally the leaders were going, &lsquo;Wow, is this really it?&rsquo;&rdquo; We had to acknowledge as a team that we were doing the work of God in a way that was killing the work of God in us. There was a spiritual malaise in some of our key leaders, which started with physical fatigue and led to a kind of flatness. [Eventually] there became a low-grade resentment about keeping the machine going&hellip;&rdquo;</p> <p> When the growth of a church outpaces its structure, it becomes a threat to the health and vitality of the staff and, ultimately, the church.</p> <p> Organizational structure is one of the many core issues being addressed in Leadership Network&rsquo;s Rapid Growth Leadership Community. For more information on our Rapid Growth Leadership Community, visit the <a href="http://leadnet.org/site/page/1852"><i>Rapid Growth website</i></a> where you can learn about past groups through videos and free downloadable concept papers.</p> <p> The first gathering of Rapid Growth Group 4 is May 16-18. If you&rsquo;re interested, please contact Tim Nations at <a href="mailto:tim.nations@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:tim.nations@leadnet.org">tim.nations@leadnet.org</a></a> or complete an application <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/leadnet.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHE0SnlOdkZhbWI5RW1qSnJCU0o4RXc6MQ"><i>here</i></a> .</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Tim Nations</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/JplWgta32Mk" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=QMkAxBE1HN4:JplWgta32Mk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=QMkAxBE1HN4:JplWgta32Mk:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/QMkAxBE1HN4" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/beware_of_fake_fruithttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/JplWgta32Mk/beware_of_fake_fruithttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/ZwwCdXaoO4g/senior_pastors_have_some_of_the_most_complex_kingdom_assignmentsWayne SmithThu, 02 Feb 2012 13:50:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/senior_pastors_have_some_of_the_most_complex_kingdom_assignments<p> For over twenty five years, Leadership Network has been committed to serving Senior Pastors who are&nbsp;entreprenuerial Kingdom leaders, helping them multiply their efforts. We love Senior Pastors, they are some of our favorite people! And we have created some unique opportunities for them,&nbsp;designed to&nbsp;be helpful as they navigate the ministry/leadership journey. It can be an incredibly lonely road and for many there is need, whether well-recognized or not, for a place to connect with fellow peer pastors.</p> <p> Over the past several months, we have hosted three (3) different groups of Veteran Senior Pastors in our Life Stage Leadership Communities. Each group has a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 12&nbsp; participants. All of these pastors have a proven track record of excellence in ministry, are&nbsp;in their 40&#39;s or their 50&#39;s and lead churches that have a minimum of 2500 in Weekend Worship Attendance, from all over the USA and&nbsp;Canada.&nbsp;</p> <p> These pastors are simultaneously building and strengthening their senior level leadership teams, their churches, and their local and global communities. And they are trying to live satisfying and rich family and personal lives at the same time! Lots of layers of expectations!&nbsp;</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/SP 2 Group 2 Mtg 2 Working Small (2).jpg" style="width: 448px; height: 252px; " /></p> <p> When we gather these cohorts, it does not take long, usually about 15 minutes,&nbsp;for the Pastors to realize that they are in a room full of peers who understand their world and their work like no one else. Because&nbsp;LN is committed to a safe environment and because the participants set the topics for the agenda, the conversation begins to flow and the questions begin to surface. And a well-crafted question is better than a simplistic answer.</p> <p> Here is a sample of some of the questions that emerged in the three (3) groups:</p> <ul> <li> What does it take to develop a culture of generosity in my church, especially now?</li> <li> I would like to develop a healthy rhythm for my ministry, as well as for my family and my own personal life. How are you all doing that?</li> <li> What does a Sabbatical look like? How do I communicate my need for one to the Board without sounding like a whiner?</li> <li> How do we do multisite with excellence and a missional focus, specifically, how do I staff well for these sites?</li> <li> How do I develop the leadership of this emerging generation? How do I even begin to understand how to motivate them to work?</li> <li> I am beginning to think about Succession, what issues should I be addressing that I am probably unaware of?</li> </ul> <p> Peers, safe place, good food, the right questions. And when you have talented, competent peers, the answers are often in the room. Of course, there are times for us to bring in topical experts, and we do.&nbsp;</p> <p> But these gatherings are not just about making great connections and having stimulating conversations; progress in life and ministry is expected and in fact, examined. Each Pastor determines how they want to grow personally, what they want to address in their church and ministry and they report back every meeting (that&#39;s every six&nbsp; months!) about their progress on these goals to their peers. Powerful motivation to make progress and the attendant feedback is always good!</p> <p> Need some perspective from someone who has gone through the process? Here is a short video from Greg Oraham, Senior Pastor of Foothills Community Church in Seneca, SC about his experience in our Senior Pastor 2 Group 1 Leadership Community:</p> <p> Greg Oraham<br /> <a href="http://youtu.be/QO8_fBNC4_U">http://youtu.be/QO8_fBNC4_U</a></p> <p> What about you? Does what Greg expresses about the group peak your interest? Are you looking to be stretched by ongoing engagement with peers? If so, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.</p> <p> Check out LN&#39;s Life Stage Leadership Community opportunities here:</p> <p> <a href="http://leadnet.org/lifestages">http://leadnet.org/lifestages</a></p> <p> or contact me at <a href="mailto:wayne.smith@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:wayne.smith@leadnet.org">wayne.smith@leadnet.org</a></a></p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Wayne Smith</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/PlSWhHxO9q0" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ZwwCdXaoO4g:PlSWhHxO9q0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ZwwCdXaoO4g:PlSWhHxO9q0:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/ZwwCdXaoO4g" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/senior_pastors_have_some_of_the_most_complex_kingdom_assignmentshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/PlSWhHxO9q0/senior_pastors_have_some_of_the_most_complex_kingdom_assignmentshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/rYCbs71-2cE/how_do_we_use_internships_to_raise_up_the_next_generation_of_leadersWayne SmithWed, 01 Feb 2012 09:49:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/how_do_we_use_internships_to_raise_up_the_next_generation_of_leaders<p> Leadership Network is always asking the question, "What&#39;s trying to happen?", or what is God birthing that is popping up in various forms around the landscape of the church?</p> <p> As every generation of leadership matures and begins to see the possible end of its season of influence, one question always seems to surface:</p> <p> "How do we raise up the next generation of Church/Kingdom leadership?"</p> <p> Are you asking this question? No doubt there are many ways of intentionally raising up the next generation of leadership, but one which continues to have some traction as a subset of Leadership Development is Internship Programs.&nbsp;</p> <p> Many churches have some kind of Internship Program and there are multiple models of how to develop interns. Here are just a few that we have identified:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li> Two year ministry internships focused on developing leaders by offering training curriculum, ministry responsibility, access to real leaders, ongoing coaching and even some help landing a ministry role after completion of the program.&nbsp;</li> <li> Educational Partnerships between a church and Bible Colleges or Seminary for both formal theological training as well as hands-on real world ministry training in the context of a healthy local church.&nbsp;</li> <li> One year fellowships focused on how to live out one&#39;s faith and lead spiritually in six different domains, Medicine, Law, Corporate Leadership, Education, Entreprenuership, Arts and Entertainment, under the leadership of a local church and seasoned practioners in each domain.&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p> Each of these models and the churches that practice them have something wonderful to teach about raising up the next generation of Church/Kingdom leadership, as well as areas of potential growth. As we say, "No model is perfect, some are useful!" And there are more varieties on these models and more unique models of Internship programs that are being practiced in so many different churches.&nbsp;</p> <p> Wouldn&#39;t it be great if some of those practitioners were gathered together to learn from one another, encourage one another, challenge one another, and even help shape the future of Internship programs all across the church landscape? We think so too.&nbsp;</p> <p> So, LN is launching an InnovationLab for churches with established Internship Programs for those very purposes!&nbsp;</p> <p> LN&#39;s InnovationLab goes way beyond typical brainstorming, in fact, a participating team will be stretched to think beyond the boundaries of current reality to answer the question, &#39;what&#39;s around the corner?&#39; &nbsp;This Lab is specifically for churches that have an established Intern Program and are looking for collaboration and networking with other programs to increase effectiveness and stay on the cutting edge.</p> <p> &nbsp;<img alt="" src="/images/InnovationLab action 01feb12.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 412px; " /></p> <p> What about you and your team? Does your collective heart beat faster about raising up the next generation of leadership? Do you have an established Internship Program? &nbsp;What are the questions that you would like to wrestle with about your program? Are you asking "what model is best for us?" Or "How could we tweak our existing model to become more effective?" If so, then perhaps this InnovationLab is for you and your team.</p> <p> Here is some of the pertinent information</p> <p> Dates are:</p> <p> Launch Date - May 16-17, 2012<br /> Online Meeting - November 12, 2012<br /> Final Meeting - May 8-9, 2013</p> <p> For additional information on this InnovationLab, contact <a href="mailto:wayne.smith@leadnet.org?subject=Internship%20InnovationLab"><a href="mailto:wayne.smith@leadnet.org">wayne.smith@leadnet.org</a></a> or <a href="mailto:julia.burk@leadnet.org?subject=Internship%20InnovationLab"><a href="mailto:julia.burk@leadnet.org">julia.burk@leadnet.org</a></a>.</p> <p> To complete application for consideration, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFhWVjY5b09GR3BfQklzNm5Xa3hfbUE6MQ">click here</a>.&nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Wayne Smith</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/CPL9xyvJ8MI" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=rYCbs71-2cE:CPL9xyvJ8MI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=rYCbs71-2cE:CPL9xyvJ8MI:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/rYCbs71-2cE" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/how_do_we_use_internships_to_raise_up_the_next_generation_of_leadershttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/CPL9xyvJ8MI/how_do_we_use_internships_to_raise_up_the_next_generation_of_leadershttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/pgoXaXxdoqA/innovative_leadership_pipelines_developed_in_churches1Brent DolfoTue, 31 Jan 2012 14:45:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/innovative_leadership_pipelines_developed_in_churches1<p> <img alt="" src="/images/LDLC-1_4.jpg" style="width: 540px; height: 384px; " /></p> <p> For the past two years, the churches in Group 1 of Leadership Network&#39;s Leadership Development community have been working hard at redesigning, innovating and implementing their processes to increase the number and quality of leaders produced by their churches.</p> <p> Working from the concept of a churchwide "Leadership Pipeline", participants have been looking at their processes for developing leaders from the initial "leader of others" to "leaders of leaders" and eventually "leaders of campuses" &nbsp;and "<br /> leaders of churches". &nbsp;By developing clear steps, and necessary outcomes in theology, spiritual formation, practice and character at each level, churches have been able to finetune a better pathway for leadership development. &nbsp;Some still use a class model, others use a "anytime, anywhere, anyplace model with a mentor and online system.</p> <p> The community has also looked at developing great &nbsp;internships, creating cultures of leadership development, evaulating various staffing structures to accelerate leadership development.</p> <p> The community met 4 times over a two year period to learn from another, evaulate their process and adapt their models and strategies to fine tune their church wide leadership development experiences.</p> <p> Our Group 3 is going to start meeting this August. &nbsp;If you&#39;re interested in finding out more, let me know. &nbsp;brent.dolfo@leadnet.org</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <div class="embed_media"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ft-3cNK57m8" width="560"></iframe></div> <p> &nbsp;</p> <div class="embed_media"> <div class="embed_media"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-I_TLiPeFZA" width="560"></iframe></div> </div> <p> &nbsp;</p> <div class="embed_media"> <div class="embed_media"> &nbsp;</div> </div> <p> &nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Brent Dolfo</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/TlCawxrG9Vo" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=pgoXaXxdoqA:TlCawxrG9Vo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=pgoXaXxdoqA:TlCawxrG9Vo:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/pgoXaXxdoqA" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/innovative_leadership_pipelines_developed_in_churches1http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/TlCawxrG9Vo/innovative_leadership_pipelines_developed_in_churches1http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/ojAaYJMhF-w/come_learn_from_an_outstanding_church1Warren BirdTue, 31 Jan 2012 07:43:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/come_learn_from_an_outstanding_church1<p> One of the most amazing churches I&rsquo;ve visited and follow is <a href="http://www.n2newdirection.org/">New Direction Christian Church</a>, a predominantly African American congregation in an economically challenged section of Memphis, launched in 2001 and today with weekly attendance of over 3,500. Again and again it has demonstrated exemplary leadership in addressing problems faced by the underserved poor, formerly incarcerated and homeless. The church&rsquo;s membership is predominantly single parents, with a median age of 32, and a median household income of $32,000 to $35,000. New Direction is the real deal in both voicing and demonstrating Jesus&rsquo;s gospel to its community.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" src="http://media.leadnet.org/blog-content/warren/doingmorewithless1.jpg" style="margin: 5px; width: 226px; float: left; height: 154px" />The lead pastor, Dr. Stacy L. Spencer, and the leaders he has assembled do not think small! Most recently New Direction and its Community Development Corporation has partnered with the City of Memphis to build a $50 million community development emphasis to house charter schools, a performing arts center, retail space, green space, and affordable housing. They also have developed an international network of churches in Dutwya, Eastern Cape, South Africa.<br /> <br /> How to help others learn from these pioneers? Leadership Network is delighted to partner with New Direction in co-sponsoring a conference titled, &ldquo;<a href="http://www.n2newdirection.org/DoingMoreWithLess/ ">Doing More with Less</a>,&rdquo; focused on solutions for churches in an urban landscape. Besides getting the insider story and particulars on New Direction&rsquo;s model, session topics include poverty and social injustice, serving the poor, ministering financially to the &ldquo;least of these,&rdquo; and transforming the &ldquo;hood for good.&rdquo; Besides hearing from the New Direction team, invited guests include Freddie Haynes of <a href="http://www.friendshipwest.org/">Friendship West Baptist Church</a>, E. Dewey Smith of <a href="http://www.greatertravelersrest.org">Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church</a>, Deforest &ldquo;Buster&rdquo; Soaries of <a href="http://fbcsomerset.com">First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens</a>, Matthew Barnett of the <a href="http://www.dreamcenter.org/">Dream Center Church</a>, Jamal Bryant of <a href="http://www.empowermenttemple.org/">Empowerment Temple</a>, and Floyd Flake of <a href="http://Greater Allen AME Cathedral">Greater Allen AME Cathedral</a>.</p> <p> To register for the conference click <a href="http://doingmorewithlessconference-auto.eventbrite.com/">here</a>.<br /> <br /> To learn more about the two-day (4/30-5/1) conference directly from Pastor Stacy Spencer himself, see this just-released video:</p> <p> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/81x-IXNTW8k" width="420"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/zUQMZd7OY9Y" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ojAaYJMhF-w:zUQMZd7OY9Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ojAaYJMhF-w:zUQMZd7OY9Y:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/ojAaYJMhF-w" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/come_learn_from_an_outstanding_church1http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/zUQMZd7OY9Y/come_learn_from_an_outstanding_church1http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/HPGe5Pb4bNk/eight_critical_life_questions_for_a_fresh_startBob BufordThu, 26 Jan 2012 13:37:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/eight_critical_life_questions_for_a_fresh_start<p> The beginning of a New Year is always an apt time for reflection.&nbsp; I am indebted to Kim Ratliff, an investment banker in Birmingham and a consistent reader of these museletters, for sending me a set of insightful questions for the second half of life.&nbsp; Come to think of it, these questions are pretty valuable at any stage of life.&nbsp; I recently sent them to a 28 year old.</p> <p> Questions are a great way to get yourself "thinking your confusion out loud" in preparation for a productive meeting.</p> <p> Eight Critical Life Questions for a Fresh Start</p> <ol> <li> Who am I?</li> <li> What are my strengths?</li> <li> What is my place in the world?</li> <li> What do I value most and are my areas of greatest priority in life?</li> <li> What is my mission, purpose, and plan?</li> <li> How much am I willing to suffer or pay for what I value most in life and are my areas of greatest priority?</li> <li> How does the way I spend my time align with what I value most and are my greatest priorities?</li> <li> Write down what it would look like if things were going just the way I want them to be.</li> </ol> <p> My New Year&#39;s challenge to you is to find a quiet space and see how your intuition and a prayerful inner spirit prompt you to answer these queries.&nbsp; It might take a while.&nbsp; It might be a good idea to capture your answers in writing.&nbsp; If you want to go one brave step further, you might discuss your answers with someone who knows you well - maybe even someone who loves you well.</p> <p> <strong>Learning by Listening</strong></p> <p> <strong>Lessons from a Great Leader</strong></p> <p> One of my favorite people in this life is a noble man named Wilson Goode.&nbsp; He taught me a valuable lesson about listening when I interviewed him for my fourth book, <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=cq6svmcab&amp;et=1109152290660&amp;s=4270&amp;e=001Lxuu5H5XaWRF954PiVmJcGf6gheEpsqLpFPoAvm8XnTs-9AAygYmqRSpgGPOdeCYr6K_FJqTjRR3mM-YkTnPCxreNGMSk49DGod9_YK5m44tR8h0Xr23QcfGqM0asL3UDb8DkC9sxo6BNZt8YKXwYq2GVc9RWOYKf3f2yPrZ1_xgAf5slw6H_dciv7Ie77WNufXnk5OPGJJ___ZKTWc9rX5KbzlclejLLHFQvVFGDnfPe-PBT3wxJNWUZb71Za04j9DJdakBrzZrdOc35Emdx4G3LG-thqheB-27Od1aqZWqzW7_x1nWOjdF-t2W3JHE">Finishing Well</a><img border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=mosaictrust-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=031033070X" />.&nbsp; Wilson was the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia.&nbsp; The son of an illiterate share cropper in North Carolina, he won against all odds defeating Frank Rizzo, a two-time mayor and former police chief.&nbsp; Wilson told me he ran for mayor because he was convinced it was what God wanted him to do.&nbsp; Later, after he finished his term in office, he felt God was calling him to recruit mentors for some of the toughest kids in the country.&nbsp; He founded a ministry called Amachi.&nbsp; So I asked him, "Wilson, what was the size of your budget when you were mayor?"&nbsp; He said, "Two billion dollars with 30,000 employees."&nbsp; I asked, "How many employees do you have now?"&nbsp; He said, "Just me."&nbsp; When I asked him how that made any sense in terms of what he was doing before, he said very simply, "It&#39;s what God wants me to do.&nbsp; If I listened to man and not God, I would be nowhere."&nbsp; So I asked him, "How do you figure out what God is telling you?"&nbsp; And he said, "I listen."</p> <p> I asked, "How do you go about that?"&nbsp; And Wilson replied, "I think that most of us are so noisy, we can&#39;t hear God&#39;s will.&nbsp; We are so busy talking and listening to ourselves, and listening to other people&#39;s advice that we don&#39;t get quiet long enough to let God speak to us.&nbsp; Consequently, we end up very unhappy.&nbsp; I know its God&#39;s will when I am directed to something because I listen."</p> <p> Still curious, I wondered, "How do you know its God?"&nbsp; Wilson told me, "Sometimes I just go in my living room and I just listen.&nbsp; Early in the morning while the sun is coming up, I listen to God speak.&nbsp; Sometimes it is hard to put into words, but you just know when you are in sync with God&#39;s way and with God&#39;s will for your life.&nbsp; You know it works and there is harmony between you and God when that happens."</p> <p> <strong>About Amachi</strong></p> <p> To find out more about Amachi, see <a href="http://www.amachimentoring.org/index.html">www.amachimentoring.org.</a>&nbsp; Amachi currently mentors 250 children-of-prisoner-programs in 48 states. They have partnered with more than 6,000 churches and served at least 100,000 children!</p> <p> <strong>About Finishing Well</strong></p> <p> <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=cq6svmcab&amp;et=1109152290660&amp;s=4270&amp;e=001Lxuu5H5XaWRF954PiVmJcGf6gheEpsqLpFPoAvm8XnTs-9AAygYmqRSpgGPOdeCYr6K_FJqTjRR3mM-YkTnPCxreNGMSk49DGod9_YK5m44tR8h0Xr23QcfGqM0asL3UDb8DkC9sxo6BNZt8YKXwYq2GVc9RWOYKf3f2yPrZ1_xgAf5slw6H_dciv7Ie77WNufXnk5OPGJJ___ZKTWc9rX5KbzlclejLLHFQvVFGDnfPe-PBT3wxJNWUZb71Za04j9DJdakBrzZrdOc35Emdx4G3LG-thqheB-27Od1aqZWqzW7_x1nWOjdF-t2W3JHE">Finishing Well</a><img border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=mosaictrust-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=031033070X" /> is currently published in trade paperback version from Zondervan.&nbsp; There are sixty-two inspiring stories of people including Peter Drucker, Roger Staubach, Jim Collins, Ken Blanchard, and Dallas Willard who have pioneered the art of finishing well in these modern times.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Bob Buford</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/Ap_Zt9dXPDU" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=HPGe5Pb4bNk:Ap_Zt9dXPDU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=HPGe5Pb4bNk:Ap_Zt9dXPDU:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/HPGe5Pb4bNk" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/eight_critical_life_questions_for_a_fresh_starthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/Ap_Zt9dXPDU/eight_critical_life_questions_for_a_fresh_starthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/UhrxeUj817g/feeling_the_pains_of_a_rapidly_growing_churchTim NationsWed, 18 Jan 2012 10:13:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/feeling_the_pains_of_a_rapidly_growing_church<p> While most churches across our country are in decline, many are experiencing growth far beyond the normal trends. They are impacting the Kingdom in incredible ways and their communities are responding to the work of God in their midst. But these churches can have &lsquo;too much of a good thing&rsquo; if their systems and structures are unable to keep up with the pace of growth. Facilities quickly become outdated, budgets are stretched thin, and staff begin to suffer the effects of long hours and heavy burdens. In the words of one of our current participants, &ldquo;[Eventually] there became a low-grade resentment about keeping the machine going&hellip;&rdquo;</p> <p> The team at Leadership Network understands the unique obstacles that confront rapidly growing churches. That is why we have developed a unique experience that will encourage, equip, and energize church leaders for their growth journey.</p> <p> If your church has experienced phenomenal growth over the past few years and you are searching for new solutions to the challenges before you, <b>Leadership Network&rsquo;s Rapid Growth Leadership Community</b> may be just what you&rsquo;re looking for. Beginning this spring, our fourth Rapid Growth Leadership Community presents an incredible opportunity for growing churches to connect with one another, collaborate on innovative solutions to their challenges and opportunities, and multiply their impact over the next two years. Throughout four, three-day meetings in our Dallas, TX collaborative space, church leaders will share their rapid growth stories, identify the top critical issues for their ministries, be challenged by thought leaders who understand their unique situation, develop and implement innovative goals and strategies, and share in each other&rsquo;s successes and triumphs. It will be an unforgettable experience! For more information on our Rapid Growth Leadership Community, visit the <a href="http://leadnet.org/site/page/1852"><i>Rapid Growth website</i></a> where you can learn about past groups through videos and free downloadable concept papers.</p> <p> The first gathering of Rapid Growth Group 4 is May 16-18. If you&rsquo;re interested, please contact Tim Nations at <a href="mailto:tim.nations@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:tim.nations@leadnet.org">tim.nations@leadnet.org</a></a> or complete an application <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/leadnet.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHE0SnlOdkZhbWI5RW1qSnJCU0o4RXc6MQ"><i>here</i></a> .</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Tim Nations</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/rapid_growth/">Rapid Growth</a> <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/Idn07b_YrKs" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=UhrxeUj817g:Idn07b_YrKs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=UhrxeUj817g:Idn07b_YrKs:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/UhrxeUj817g" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/feeling_the_pains_of_a_rapidly_growing_churchhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/Idn07b_YrKs/feeling_the_pains_of_a_rapidly_growing_churchhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/a1gSaadzJRU/groundswell_the_church_of_tomorrow_speaks_todayLeadership NetworkWed, 18 Jan 2012 06:53:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/groundswell_the_church_of_tomorrow_speaks_today<p> Andy Stanley is not speaking at our next online conference.</p> <p> In fact, neither is anyone else you&#39;ve heard of... yet.</p> <p> We&#39;re happy to invite you to Leadership Network&#39;s next online conference called "groundSWELL".&nbsp; The topic is the future of the church; and the speakers are all aged 13-19.&nbsp; That&#39;s right... every speaker is a teenager!</p> <p> The future of the church is alive and well inside each one of our churches.&nbsp; But what will it take to reach their generation?&nbsp;</p> <p> We asked some of the sharpest teenage minds in the church TODAY about what the church will need to be like TOMORROW.</p> <p> You&#39;ll hear from LAUREN.&nbsp; Lauren is a very articulate young woman, zealous-for-God and the lost..&nbsp; At 17 years old, whe&#39;s a leader among her peers, and a real leader and voice for the future in her church.</p> <p> NICK officially joined his church staff when he was just 16; and is currently training for full-time ministry.&nbsp; He&#39;s passionate about studying all-things church, and will no-doubt be an unstoppable force in the next generation of the church.</p> <p> And you&#39;ll meet JACOB.&nbsp; Jacob is a tremendous leader and speaker.&nbsp; As a teenager, he led his church in Chicago to start a movement to help eradicate world hunger and reach out to those who need the Gospel of Jesus.</p> <p> These are just three of the more than two dozen young leaders we&#39;ll introduce you to.</p> <p> We asked these young leaders "What does the church need to change to reach your generation?"&nbsp; Their answers make up our entire three hour online conference.</p> <p> The conference is scheduled for Thursday, March 1.&nbsp; It is free and online... all you need is your computer and a good internet connection.&nbsp; But you must pre-register to attend.</p> <p> I hope you&#39;ll join us as we take a look at the future of the church through the eyes of those who will be leading it.&nbsp; You may not have heard of the speakers yet, but they are our future leaders.&nbsp; And we can learn from them today.</p> <p> Take one minute right now to register for this free event at <a href="http://groundswell.tv">http://groundswell.tv.</a>&nbsp; It all happens March 1!</p> <p> Todd Rhoades<br /> Leadership Network</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Leadership Network</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/xgDi8_D6o-s" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=a1gSaadzJRU:xgDi8_D6o-s:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=a1gSaadzJRU:xgDi8_D6o-s:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/a1gSaadzJRU" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/groundswell_the_church_of_tomorrow_speaks_todayhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/xgDi8_D6o-s/groundswell_the_church_of_tomorrow_speaks_todayhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/HJgmSTiGpcY/committed_to_launch_a_multisite_campus_but_not_sure_where_to_startGreg LigonThu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/committed_to_launch_a_multisite_campus_but_not_sure_where_to_start<p> <img alt="" src="/images/map-with-pushpins.jpg" style="width: 300px; float: left; height: 400px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px" />Around the globe church leaders are faced with the incredible calling of reaching people in different areas of their city, state and/or country.&nbsp; No longer confined to just one building or even a zip code,&nbsp; church leaders are seeking to build the body of Christ by breaking barriers in their facilities and technology.&nbsp; One of the single most important accomplishments of this movement is the <strong>multisite ministry</strong>.&nbsp; Is your church feeling called to extend the reach of your ministry by employing a multisite strategy?&nbsp; Leadership Network is gathering seasoned multisite practitioners and consultants to help equip you for the journey!&nbsp; Our unprecedented 2-day onsite Leadership Network Innovation Lab provides you with the opportunity to develop a personal launch plan in collaboration with other churches committed to the multisite journey as well.&nbsp; An experienced panel of leaders will expose you to the best practices of leading multisite churches with regard to location, leadership and structure.&nbsp; In addition to this 2-day program, you will also gain valuable access to the Leadership Network team for 12 months following via phone and email.&nbsp;&nbsp; Take a moment to view this FREE, DOWNLOADABLE <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/multisite_movement_gaining_new_momentum_in_new_places">concept paper</a> and/or <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/video/multisite_movement_gaining_new_momentum_in_new_places">video</a>. &nbsp;</p> <p> You definitely don&rsquo;t want to miss this opportunity!&nbsp; The Multisite JumpStart Innovation Lab is March 19-20, 2012.&nbsp; If you are interested, please contact Greg Ligon at <a href="mailto:greg.ligon@leadnet.org">greg.ligon@leadnet.org</a><br /> or complete an application <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/leadnet.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFZkbjFwYmFqUUliVXlVenlVZUhYVVE6MQ">here</a>.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/1uI9ZSjkJM0" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=HJgmSTiGpcY:1uI9ZSjkJM0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=HJgmSTiGpcY:1uI9ZSjkJM0:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/HJgmSTiGpcY" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/committed_to_launch_a_multisite_campus_but_not_sure_where_to_starthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/1uI9ZSjkJM0/committed_to_launch_a_multisite_campus_but_not_sure_where_to_starthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/guqIH2erN_8/learning_from_chinas_churchesWarren BirdTue, 10 Jan 2012 07:41:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/learning_from_chinas_churches<p> Those who follow my blogs and tweets (@warrenbird) know I have a special interest and deep admiration for the church in China. I&rsquo;ve tracked both my visits to Chinese <a href="http://learnings.leadnet.org/2009/09/an-important-precendent-for-chinese-churches-.html">megachurches</a>&nbsp; and also several <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/post/what_does_chinas_rise_mean_to_western_churches">good books</a> . In my review of <i><a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/post/thoughts_about_our_first_thousand_years">The Lost History of Christianity</a></i>&nbsp; by Philip Jenkins, I point out how the gospel made it to modern-day China much sooner than many of us Westerners suspect.</p> <p> I&rsquo;ve also encouraged readers from North America to use very helpful tools like <a href="http://www.peoplegroups.info/">http://www.peoplegroups.info/</a> to identify and then serve various ethnic groups in our own communities here. For example, in a few clicks you can learn how many people&rsquo;s ancestry is from China in your state/province, county, city, or zip/postal code.</p> <p> Lately I read two more &ldquo;China&rdquo; books to commend. <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/back-to-jerusalem-paul-hattaway/9781884543890/pd/543898?item_code=WW&amp;netp_id=431665&amp;event=ESRCG&amp;view=details">Back to Jerusalem</a> chronicles the stories of several Chinese groups in the 1920s and 1940s called of God to carry the gospel across western China, through various Muslim-dominant countries, and ultimately to Jerusalem. It showed me how God puts the Great Commission (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2028:18-20&amp;version=NIV">Matt. 28:18-20</a>) on the hearts of his followers everywhere in the world to reach not only their own people, but the rest of the world as well.</p> <p> Far more compelling, even riveting, is <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/secret-christianity-survived-flourished-communist-china/liao-yiwu/9780062078469/pd/078469?item_code=WW&amp;netp_id=907549&amp;event=ESRCG&amp;view=details">God Is Red</a> , by award-winning author Liao Yiwu. The subtitle tells it all: <i>The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China</i>. The author tells story after story of almost unimaginable persecution, brutality, economic poverty and other severe challenges that Christians in China have faced, and yet the stories are somehow marked by hope, faith, and encouragement for those who hear them. Reading it made me wonder what God will do next in and through the followers of Jesus living in the world&rsquo;s most populous country.</p> <p> <i>What are your observations and predictions of the growth and impact of the church in China, both recognized and underground, in the coming years?</i></p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/tMQ7HUiVsaQ" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=guqIH2erN_8:tMQ7HUiVsaQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=guqIH2erN_8:tMQ7HUiVsaQ:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/guqIH2erN_8" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/learning_from_chinas_churcheshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/tMQ7HUiVsaQ/learning_from_chinas_churcheshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/JwhBKDAzbUM/leadership_network_author_notes_with_brandon_hatmakerGreg LigonFri, 06 Jan 2012 09:05:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/leadership_network_author_notes_with_brandon_hatmaker<p> <img alt="" src="/images/hatmaker, brandon.jpg" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; width: 300px; height: 353px; " />There&#39;s got to be more to church than this. <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?isbn=9780310492269&amp;event=AFF&amp;p=1156027"><em>Barefoot Church</em></a> shows us how today&#39;s church can be a catalyst for individual, collective and social renewal in any context. Author, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/brandonhatmaker">Brandon Hatmaker</a>, is pastor of Austin New Church, co-founder of Restore Austin and a missional strategist with Missio. Take a look behind the curtain with Brandon&#39;s thoughts on reading and writing.</p> <p> <strong>1. Why is reading important to you, and how do you find or make time to read books and blogs?</strong></p> <p> I know it&rsquo;s probably not the norm for an author, but I&rsquo;m not a natural reader. In fact, it&rsquo;s more of a discipline for me than it is a pleasure. But my mind is wired in such a way that I love to learn, especially as a problem solver. So as a practitioner, reading to learn has always been my greatest motivation. Early in my ministry career I was challenged to not limit my exposure to people from my own &ldquo;tribe&rdquo;. When all we do is hang out with people like us, listen to people like us, and get advice from people like us, and who think like us&hellip; we never get outside the box, and never learn anything new. As a church leader and pastor, reading became increasingly important as I felt challenged to expand my thinking in response to our constantly changing context and culture.</p> <p> As far as the time for reading goes&hellip; honestly, I&rsquo;ve come to the place where I can&rsquo;t afford not to make time to read books and blogs. I learn so much from them it actually saves time.<br /> <br /> <strong>2. What books are you currently reading that you would recommend to our readers?</strong><br /> <br /> I typically don&rsquo;t read one book straight through&hellip; instead I float between books depending on my mood or what&rsquo;s on my mind. I have a pretty random list at the top of my Kindle right now. Here&rsquo;s the top 5: Generous Justice by Tim Keller, Faith of Leap by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, Leadership is Dead by Jeremie Kubicek, AND by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, and The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.</p> <p> <strong>3. How do you make time to write books or blog?</strong></p> <p> I don&rsquo;t force myself to write. I write when I feel I have something to say. I&rsquo;m a verbal processor so when I don&rsquo;t have someone to process something with out loud, I write it down or type it out. Usually by the end I have even more clarity than when I started. When something pops into my mind I need to write about, it takes me over. So it&rsquo;s less about making time to write and more about expressing my thoughts tangibly so I can process them (or even move on from them). Most of my blogs are written late at night or right before I go to bed.<br /> <br /> <strong>4. What is the &ldquo;big idea&rdquo; of your latest book in a Leadership Network book series?</strong></p> <p> For a season in my life it seemed like everyone I ran into wanted to do something of significance with their faith outside the church walls but didn&rsquo;t know where to start. Likewise, many pastors seemed to really struggle with the concept of sending or equipping their people to live on mission without it seemingly becoming a threat to their existing structures. This creates a massive tension within the church on a topic that Scripture is anything but silent about. Barefoot Church emerged out of a heart to see both the seeker and the leader find balance, gain permission, and make a priority out of serving the least as an essential part of living on mission. It does so through providing simple and reproducible practices that could be integrated into any church structure. It&rsquo;s not about modifying our behavior it&rsquo;s about learning to live out the gospel as a part of our new identity in Christ.<br /> <br /> <strong>5. If leaders only had time right now to read one chapter of your book, which one would your recommend... and why?</strong></p> <p> This is a tough question since the book builds on itself throughout each chapter. But if I had to choose I&rsquo;d suggest the Chapter entitled &ldquo;Good news for the Un-churched and De-churched&rdquo;. In this chapter we address most of the issues and concerns that typically come up when it comes to serving the least. We deal with the idea of a holistic Gospel, address the doctrinal issues on how serving today is different than yesteryears &ldquo;social gospel&rdquo;, and we connect the dots to a changing posture of the church that is necessary to reach the increasing demographic of the de-churched and un-churched America.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/books/">Books</a> <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/KUXayT3TOys" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=JwhBKDAzbUM:KUXayT3TOys:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=JwhBKDAzbUM:KUXayT3TOys:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/JwhBKDAzbUM" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/leadership_network_author_notes_with_brandon_hatmakerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/KUXayT3TOys/leadership_network_author_notes_with_brandon_hatmakerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/kEvHHFS9Wic/natural_length_books_and_leadiaEric SwansonWed, 04 Jan 2012 10:25:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/natural_length_books_and_leadia<p> In this month&rsquo;s issue of <em>Christianity Today </em>Editor in Chief, David Neff, writes a brief column on &ldquo;Natural Length Reading.&rdquo; He posits that the new digital publishing platforms allow for shorter pieces to be written that allows the reader &ldquo;to go deeper and learn more than you could from a magazine article, without committing the time or money demanded by a full-length book.&rdquo; Because I&rsquo;m currently reading Walter Isaacson&rsquo;s <em>Steve Jobs</em>, I can&rsquo;t help think of Steve Job&rsquo;s dramatically revealing of the iPad at MacWorld after he simply posed the question, &ldquo;Is there something that fits between the laptop and the iPhone? Is there something between a book and a magazine article? To give full props to CT, you can purchase their ebooks at CTeBooks.com.</p> <p> <p> The advent of this new medium is NOT meant to suggest that traditional books will go away. More full-length books (both paper and digital) are as popular and prolific as ever. Leadership Network, through our incredible publishing partners Jossey-Bass and Zondervan, has sold over a million books as part of the J-B and Zondervan series. Natural length book won&#39;t replace books but they do create space for a different kind of reading experience.</p> <p> Abraham Lincoln once finished a letter by writing, &ldquo;I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn&rsquo;t have time.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s much harder to write concisely than it is to write liberally. If you watch TED videos (ted.com) you marvel that a presenter can put forth such great content in 20 minutes. Given enough time, most of us could eventually communicate what we want to communicate, but to do it in 20 minutes&hellip;that takes work. At Leadership Network&rsquo;s online conference, <em>The Nines</em>, we ask our presenters (mostly lead pastors) to cut their talks from nine minutes to 5 minutes because most folks start repeating themselves after 5 minutes!&nbsp;If we can express a thought in 140 characters&hellip;is there nothing else we can&rsquo;t learn to do?</p> <p> At Leadership Network we are launching a new series of &ldquo;natural length&rdquo; experiences under the brand called Leadia (<a href="http://leadia.tv/Leadia/">http://leadia.tv/Leadia/</a>). You may not recognize many of the authors but you&rsquo;ll love the ideas. Each piece is limited to 10,000 words (most books have 50-70,000 words) and has live links to audio, video and Websites for those who want to dig a little deeper.&nbsp;You can download the Leadia app on your iPhone.</p> <p> A couple months ago I launched the first gathering of Leadership Network&rsquo;s Externally Focused Small Group Innovation Lab. We&rsquo;ll meet twice in Dallas and have a 4-hour on-line meeting six months into the process. Each of the participating churches wants to see their small groups become the missional expression of their church. Personally I feel this has the greatest potential for missional engagement. To capture our learning we as an innovation lab are taking on the project of writing a right-sized piece on Externally Focused (Missional) Small Groups, which we think will greatly benefit the greater Church.&nbsp; [end of post]</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Eric Swanson</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/xBfw0bkkIoQ" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=kEvHHFS9Wic:xBfw0bkkIoQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=kEvHHFS9Wic:xBfw0bkkIoQ:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/kEvHHFS9Wic" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/natural_length_books_and_leadiahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/xBfw0bkkIoQ/natural_length_books_and_leadiahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/2V8FxH5T0mo/top_11_10_9_for_2011Warren BirdWed, 04 Jan 2012 08:41:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/top_11_10_9_for_2011<p> &nbsp;</p> <p> <b>Eleven:</b> During 2011 we did an extensive project that identified 11 trends and innovations in top churches. Topics ranged from &ldquo;team collaboration&rdquo; to &ldquo;community engagement.&rdquo; <a href="http://http://leadnet.org/resources/11for11">Here&rsquo;s</a> a quick overview of the topics, with free download links to each.</p> <p> <b>Ten:</b> In sort of a &ldquo;Top 10&rdquo; series, we itemize resources released from Leadership Network in 2011. They include new leadership communities and innovation labs, books, concept papers, videos, blogs, and more. See <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/advance/3145">http://leadnet.org/resources/advance/3145</a>.</p> <p> <b>Nine:</b> During 2011 my Twitter @warrenbird pointed to well over 100 data points helpful to church leaders. Here are 9 from roughly a year ago:</p> <p> 3/15/11: Can a church be sued over social media issue? helpful links, Christianity Today, <a href="http://bit.ly/gxlH9c">http://bit.ly/gxlH9c</a></p> <p> 3/10/11: Should you have 1 or 2 Saturday night services? See my blogpost at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/warrenbird"><s>@</s><b>warrenbird</b></a> <a href="http://j.mp/eda3TJ">http://j.mp/eda3TJ</a> - Add your insight as well.</p> <p> 3/1/11: What is census saying about U.S. future? Surprise: direction is suburban over back to cities, Joel Kotkin in Forbes <a href="http://bit.ly/hD2nmo">http://bit.ly/hD2nmo</a></p> <p> 2/19/11: Church giving fosters generosity: The more you give at church, the more you also donate to other groups <a href="http://bit.ly/dGERb2">http://bit.ly/dGERb2</a></p> <p> 2/7/11: What&#39;s a church&#39;s economic worth to its community? Answer: lots! Study tallies 54 different types of contributions <a href="http://bit.ly/fsYcle">http://bit.ly/fsYcle</a></p> <p> 2/3/11: How underchurched is your state, county or city? US &amp; Canada maps with ratio of population to churches <a href="http://bit.ly/grIOs9">http://bit.ly/grIOs9</a></p> <p> 1/27/11: US Muslims number 2.6M today, projected 6.2M by 2030. Globally 1/4 of world population, says today&#39;s Pew study <a href="http://usat.ly/g1mJXT">http://usat.ly/g1mJXT</a></p> <p> 1/19/11: Updated American Factfinder released, do searches with U.S. census data, <a href="http://www.factfinder2.census.gov">www.factfinder2.census.gov</a>. Short virtual tour <a href="http://bit.ly/gEgTEc">http://bit.ly/gEgTEc</a></p> <p> 1/10/11: Excellent interactive tool: find unchurched communities, map your area&#39;s religious makeup, run custom reports <a href="http://www.thearda.com/DemographicMap">www.thearda.com/DemographicMap</a></p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/pj7HpJcO_us" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=2V8FxH5T0mo:pj7HpJcO_us:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=2V8FxH5T0mo:pj7HpJcO_us:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/2V8FxH5T0mo" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/top_11_10_9_for_2011http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/pj7HpJcO_us/top_11_10_9_for_2011http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/HuuL3QK34CI/growth_edges_for_your_churchWarren BirdTue, 03 Jan 2012 05:20:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/growth_edges_for_your_church<p> Nine out of ten congregations say they want to add more members. That&rsquo;s one of the important findings of a research group I&rsquo;m part of that conducted a huge survey known as FACT &ndash; for Faith Communities Today 2010 survey. But more than learning that churches <i>want</i> to grow, we found a bunch of factors <i>strongly related</i> to growth. Here&rsquo;s the analysis of more than 7,000 local houses of worship compiled by C. Kirk Hadaway, Church Officer for Congregational Research, The Episcopal Church, and one of the leaders of the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership which sponsors the FACT series of research studies.</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> <strong>What Correlates With Growth?</strong></p> <p> <em><b>Location is important.</b></em> Congregations located in the downtown or central city neighborhoods of metropolitan areas were more likely to grow in recent years. Those in newer suburbs were also likely to grow. This is a significant change from a similar study completed in 2005 when the newer suburbs were more likely to be the location of growing congregations than central city neighborhoods. Congregations located in the South are also more likely to grow than those located in other parts of the country.</p> <p> <em><b>New congregations</b></em> are more likely to grow than are those with a longer history. The majority of new congregations started since 1992 have had significant increases in the number of active participants. This growth advantage does not last forever. "After 15 to 20 years the window of opportunity closes."</p> <p> If a congregation has a <em><b>significant percentage of ethnic minorities</b></em> or is predominantly made up of an ethnic minority it is more likely to grow.</p> <p> <strong><i>Youth is a key factor.</i></strong> Congregations in which people over 50 make up 30 percent or less of the active participants are most likely to have growth.</p> <p> <strong><i>A clear sense of mission and purpose</i></strong> is "one of the strongest correlates of growth." There is also a strong relationship between growth and the sense that the congregation is "spiritually vital and alive."</p> <p> <em><b>A contemporary worship style</b></em> also correlates with growth. The use of electric guitars, drums, projectors and an "innovative" approach to worship were combined in a scale that has a strong relationship with growing congregations. There is a similar correlation for congregations that report that their worship has "changed a lot" in recent years and those that have added a new worship service.</p> <p> A number of <strong>specific activities and programs</strong> are included in this analysis. There is a strong correlation with growth among those congregations that report follow-up contact with newcomers in worship and conducting special events designed to be comfortable and interesting to non-members. This includes parenting classes and marriage enrichment events as well as other kinds of programs.</p> <p> <em><b>What the clergy leader</b></em> in the congregation spends time on also correlates with growth. Evangelism and the recruitment of new members as well as developing and promoting a vision for the congregation are the key activities.</p> <p> Considerable additional information is included in the 24-page report, <em>FACTs on Growth: 2010</em>. This is the fourth in a series of reports from the monumental, decade-long research enterprise in which the major religions in America worked together. How the findings relate to specific denominational families and faith traditions is explained in the report and at the FACT web site there are individual reports from a number of the faiths.</p> <p> <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=8yslzbdab&amp;et=1108991676421&amp;s=338&amp;e=001db8mHk2hxCHQSZrifjXRCu-vWdGd2zWWt89UFvOAQn36kJv9dC4kjTU-ufq1S_Hh-MtF-mGwxrRAFiQqpG8re7fMEtCd8XCXta4gDq8wWtbuC9bhwFbiKo16mnj-gJRkMvZtFiLLeWQ=">A copy of the report entitled FACTs on Growth is available for download at the FACT website.</a></p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/5R8NM2EOy_g" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=HuuL3QK34CI:5R8NM2EOy_g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=HuuL3QK34CI:5R8NM2EOy_g:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/HuuL3QK34CI" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/growth_edges_for_your_churchhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/5R8NM2EOy_g/growth_edges_for_your_churchhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/vx9cyd8VzYU/global_connections_leadership_community_forming1Eric SwansonTue, 13 Dec 2011 14:55:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/global_connections_leadership_community_forming1<p> Leadership Network has a new Global Connections Leadership Community launching February 8, 2012 in Dallas, TX. This community is lead by Eric Swanson--co-author of <em>The Externally Focused Church, To Transform a City</em>, etc. (To watch a short video by Eric, click here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6CcwM35C7Y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6CcwM35C7Y</a>) The community will consist of teams from 9-12 innovative churches whose leaders are thinking differently about what global missions could, and even should, be. The mission&rsquo;s strategy for most churches is simply an iteration of what they&rsquo;ve always done&hellip;and what the larger church has done for the past 160 years! We&rsquo;ve stayed the same but the world around us has dramatically and seismically changed. The world is flatter and more connected than ever before. The centers of Christianity have shifted so this is not a time for business as usual. New trends and new realities include:</p> <p> &#9632;The importance of cities: Over half of the world&rsquo;s population are city dwellers<br /> &#9632;Mutuality: We come to the table as equals<br /> &#9632;Partnering: &ldquo;You can do it&hellip;we can help&rdquo;<br /> &#9632;Investing in leaders: We look who God is already using&hellip;and help accelerate impact<br /> &#9632;Financial accountability: Its no longer about cutting a check and hoping for the best<br /> &#9632;Focus: Better to go deep with 5 areas of the world than support 100 missionaries<br /> &#9632;Combining good news &amp; good deeds: Deeds verify the words and words clarify the deeds<br /> &#9632;Technology: 50 million people a day search for God on the Internet<br /> &#9632;Business as Mission: Be a job-maker&hellip;not job-taker or job-faker<br /> (To download &ldquo;Nine Game-Changers for Global Missions" click here.) How do we lean into this new reality? That&rsquo;s the focus of this innovative community. To see of list of those that have previously participated, click here.</p> <p> If interested in applying, please email Bonnie Randle at <a href="mailto:bonnie.randle@leadnet.org">bonnie.randle@leadnet.org</a> or Eric Swanson at <a href="mailto:eric.swanson@leadnet.org">eric.swanson@leadnet.org</a>.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Eric Swanson</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/i-crFpxdG3g" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=vx9cyd8VzYU:i-crFpxdG3g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=vx9cyd8VzYU:i-crFpxdG3g:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/vx9cyd8VzYU" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/global_connections_leadership_community_forming1http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/i-crFpxdG3g/global_connections_leadership_community_forming1http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/BT3n0GbiwhY/marriage_ministry_innovation_lab_formingEric SwansonTue, 13 Dec 2011 14:16:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/marriage_ministry_innovation_lab_forming<p> How effective is your church&#39;s marriage ministry strategy? Leadership Network is pleased to announce the launch of the first Marriage Ministry InnovationLab. Innovation Labs are designed to move from ideation to innovation to implementation. Participation in this InnovationLab will help your team analyze and utilize their resources in equipping and strengthening marriages in today&rsquo;s culture. Based on marriage ministry experts and proven strategies, your team will be challenged and stretched in their thinking as they formulate a strategic plan to impact the families in your church.<br /> Dates are:<br /> Launch Date - September 26-27, 2012<br /> Online Meeting - March 19, 2013<br /> Final Meeting - October 1-2, 2013<br /> For addtional information on this InnovationLab, contact Eric Swanson at <a href="mailto:eric.swanson@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:eric.swanson@leadnet.org">eric.swanson@leadnet.org</a></a><br /> To complete application for consideration, <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/leadnet.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGNfcVprZ05oVm1yVFFTTm5ucC1Tbnc6MQ">click here</a>.&nbsp; Application deadline is June 8, 2012</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Eric Swanson</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/NLywIM2o_Ig" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=BT3n0GbiwhY:NLywIM2o_Ig:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=BT3n0GbiwhY:NLywIM2o_Ig:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/BT3n0GbiwhY" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/marriage_ministry_innovation_lab_forminghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/NLywIM2o_Ig/marriage_ministry_innovation_lab_forminghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/sk9Q-AuteAI/multisite_jumpstart_innovation_lab_now_taking_applicationsGreg LigonFri, 09 Dec 2011 07:10:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/multisite_jumpstart_innovation_lab_now_taking_applications<p> <img alt="" src="/images/Innovation-Lab-logo_LOW.gif" style="width: 448px; height: 211px; " /></p> <p> <strong><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Multisite Jumpstart InnovationLab</span></span></strong></p> <p> InnovationLabs bring fresh and new ideas to your ministry. Beyond typical brainstorming, your team will be stretched to think beyond the boundaries of current reality to answer the question, "What&#39;s around the corner?"&nbsp; The labs are designed to give you a quick start in a ministry area based on the tested and proven results of other churches.&nbsp; You&#39;ll get to jump miles ahead of where you could go by yourself.&nbsp; Many of the churches we work with tell us that they get twice the results in half the time.&nbsp;</p> <p> This unique two day InnovationLab gathering, scheduled for <span style="color:#ff0000;">March 19-20, 2012</span>, is <span style="color:#ff0000;">designed for church teams planning your first multisite location(s)</span> and will focus on the practical how-to&rsquo;s of location, leadership and structure. You will have the opportunity to be exposed to some leading multisite practioners and consultants as well as other churches that are on the multisite launch pad.&nbsp;&nbsp; And you will walk out of the room with an action plan for launching your first campus.&nbsp; Though the teams will not gather again formally, you will have access to our team by phone and email and your peers through our Leadership Network online community for the 12 months following your InnovationLab experience.</p> <p> Participation in this experience will be limited to 6 teams selected based on review of application. If you are interested in being considered for participation, please complete the brief application <strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/a/leadnet.org/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&amp;formkey=dFZkbjFwYmFqUUliVXlVenlVZUhYVVE6MQ#gid=0" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">here</span></a></strong>.<a href="https://docs.google.com/a/leadnet.org/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&amp;formkey=dFZkbjFwYmFqUUliVXlVenlVZUhYVVE6MQ#gid=0" target="_blank"> <span style="color:#ff0000;">Applications are due Monday, January 20</span></a>. The participation fee is $1500 for a team of three. Church teams will be selected and notified prior to end of January.</p> <p> For additional information, contact <a href="mailto:julia.burk@leadnet.org?subject=Multisite%20JumpStart%20InnovationLab%20-%20March%2019-20%2C%202012">Greg Ligon</a>.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/T4VN83pC8hw" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=sk9Q-AuteAI:T4VN83pC8hw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=sk9Q-AuteAI:T4VN83pC8hw:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/sk9Q-AuteAI" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/multisite_jumpstart_innovation_lab_now_taking_applicationshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/T4VN83pC8hw/multisite_jumpstart_innovation_lab_now_taking_applicationshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/dz-gePSXClU/big_results_in_student_ministry_innovation_labSherry SurrattMon, 21 Nov 2011 14:23:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/big_results_in_student_ministry_innovation_lab<p> It was the conclusion of our Student Ministry Innovation Lab and&nbsp; time for The Big Reveal. With passion, the 6 student ministry teams built their report <img alt="" src="/images/Stu%20Min%20Big%20Reveal%20Report%20Out.jpg" style="margin: 5px; width: 270px; float: right; height: 152px" />out boards and shared their biggest wins, their biggest learnings and impact stories from the past year. As the teams reported out, I thought back to where we started. Big dreams of students lives being transformed through the power of Christ, partnerships with schools, plans to catalyze students to share their story to reach more students than they had ever before. The room was filled with hope.</p> <p> And here we were, back together 12 months later and sharing in the big plans and dreams that had come to a reality. We were reminded again of what God can do when we dream big and invite Him in to be the author of our plans.</p> <p> Here are some of the teams accomplishments:</p> <p> <a href="http://www.crosspoint.tv/">CrossPoint Church</a> exponentially multiplied their student ministry through new multisite locations and kicked off a monthly all campus worship experience that draws hundreds of kids each month.</p> <p> <a href="http://mannachurch.org/">Manna Church</a> made a philosophical shift from student ministry to a leaders ministry with a heart for students. They initiated an intense 1 year internship for graduating seniors and a high school and middle school leader&#39;s camp. Over the last year, they have doubled the amount of adult and student leaders, increased small group participation by 30% and had over 250 decisions for Christ.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.lakepointe.org/">Lake Pointe Church</a> focused on a midweek experience for middle schoolers and saw attendance rise from 650 to over 800, with 90 decisions for Christ. In their high school, they&#39;ve had dozens of kids engaged in designing, running and funding 20 new ministry initiatives and seen 30 students give their heart to Christ.</p> <p> <a href="http://woodridgechurch.org/Woodridge_Church/Welcome_to_Woodridge_Church.html">Woodridge</a> concluded the Big Reveal with a video story of a young lady who&#39;s life had been transformed from a life of depression and partying to being a leader in the youth group, all because another student had invited her to youth group where she ultimately gave her heart to God. She was sharing her story as she prepared to be baptised in front of all her friends.</p> <p> It was a great reminder of why Student Ministry Pastors and leaders do what they do.</p> <p> The Innovation Lab process helped each of the teams analyze, focus and strategically plan, all in an enviroment that encouraged innovation with built in accountability. Listen as Nick Ertel from <a href="http://www.genignite.com/">GenIgnite Student Ministry</a> at Manna Church shares how the Lab process impacted his team</p> <div class="embed_media"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/et8RSSvSb2Q" width="420"></iframe></div> <div class="embed_media"> &nbsp;</div> <div class="embed_media"> Wondering what Labs will be available in 2012? Check them out <a href="http://leadnet.org/programs/innovation-labs/">here</a>.</div> <hr /> <p>Author: Sherry Surratt</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/wtlCsdh0Fug" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=dz-gePSXClU:wtlCsdh0Fug:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=dz-gePSXClU:wtlCsdh0Fug:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/dz-gePSXClU" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/big_results_in_student_ministry_innovation_labhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/wtlCsdh0Fug/big_results_in_student_ministry_innovation_labhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/jvt_u4gVHSg/creative_ways_to_enhance_the_pastors_pay_legally_ethicallyWarren BirdThu, 17 Nov 2011 11:11:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/creative_ways_to_enhance_the_pastors_pay_legally_ethically<p> I took a call lately that went something like this: &ldquo;Money is tight at our church, but our pastor is doing such a super job. What tangible ways we can support and affirm him without actually increasing his salary?&rdquo;</p> <p> We then thought about several ideas, such as:</p> <p> - Sabbaticals</p> <p> - Vacation days</p> <p> - Paying for continuing education</p> <p> - Sending staff to visit with other churches they want to go see</p> <p> - Bringing in a financial planner to work with all staff</p> <p> - Creating a common book library that lets staff purchase materials from a common fund that are used in the staff&#39;s "library"</p> <p> - A refrigerator with free soft drinks</p> <p> - Free meals at the church&rsquo;s cafe</p> <p> - Staff pizza Fridays</p> <p> - An enlarged expense account for staff to entertain outsiders</p> <p> - A consultant to come and visit</p> <p> - Offering the pastor a life coach process</p> <p> - Marriage counseling (crisis or maintenance)</p> <p> - On-site massages</p> <p> - On-site car washes</p> <p> - Child care</p> <p> - School for the pastor&rsquo;s kids</p> <p> - Use of church-owned (or church-leased) vehicles</p> <p> - Assisting with book publication</p> <p> - Assisting with music/CD production</p> <p> - Speaking opportunities at local and other conferences</p> <p> - Memberships to health clubs, golf/tennis clubs etc.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/davidmiddlebrook.jpg" style="width: 198px; float: left; height: 264px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px" />Then I checked with David Middlbrook&rsquo;s firm,&nbsp; Anthony &amp; Middlebrook, P.C., based in Grapevine, Texas&nbsp; [LINK: <a href="http://www.amlawteam.com/">www.amlawteam.com</a>]. They are Christians, they work extensively with churches, and they can speak authoritatively about issues like this. David replied, &ldquo;My tax law professor told us that every economic benefit is 100% taxable at the appropriate tax rate unless its subject to an exclusion, exemption or a deduction.&rdquo; <b>So would any of these benefits be taxable?</b></p> <p> <b>The answer is some yes, and some no.</b> Here&rsquo;s what one of David&rsquo;s attorney&rsquo;s, Bree G. Vopelak, said. &ldquo;Without going through each individual item, my thoughts are that most can be classified as fringe benefits.&nbsp; A fringe benefit is a form of pay (including property, services, cash or the equivalent) in addition to stated pay for the performance of services.&nbsp; Fringe benefits for employees are generally taxable wages unless specifically excluded by a section of the Internal Revenue Code (&ldquo;IRC&rdquo;).&nbsp; <b>Examples of fringe benefits that may be excluded from compensation are:&nbsp; meals for employer&rsquo;s convenience; dependent care assistance programs; no additional cost services; working condition fringe benefit; and de minimis benefits</b>.&nbsp; However, each exclusion is subject to its own set of requirements that must be met before such benefit can be excluded from wages.&nbsp; For example, a employer may provide a vehicle to an employee, however, the vehicle must be used exclusively for business purposes and substantiation requirements must be met for the benefit to be excluded from compensation.&nbsp; If the vehicle is used for business and personal purposes, then a separate set of rules apply.&nbsp; Moreover, the value of the fringe benefits below must also be considered when calculating reasonable compensation.&nbsp; A church that is considering implementing one of the types of services below should check with their advisor first to ensure proper planning and treatment of the benefit.</p> <p> <b>My response back to the person who phoned me?</b> Find something from the list above that your pastor(s) would consider to be a real help, and figure out a legal and ethical way to provide them. Also if you&rsquo;re part of a large church, download our free documents on compensation in larger churches at <a href="http://www.leadnet.org/salary">www.leadnet.org/salary</a>, or write us an email to say your church would like to take part in the next large-church salary survey we conduct: <a href="mailto:research@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:research@leadnet.org">research@leadnet.org</a></a>.</p> <p> For thoughts on a related issue, &ldquo;How Do We Report Gifts Provided to Volunteers?&rdquo; see tax attorney Richard Hammar&rsquo;s comments at</p> <p> <a href="http://www.churchlawandtax.com/private/library/viewarticle.php?aid=109">http://www.churchlawandtax.com/private/library/viewarticle.php?aid=109</a></p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/55roDNRfjuU" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=jvt_u4gVHSg:55roDNRfjuU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=jvt_u4gVHSg:55roDNRfjuU:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/jvt_u4gVHSg" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/creative_ways_to_enhance_the_pastors_pay_legally_ethicallyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/55roDNRfjuU/creative_ways_to_enhance_the_pastors_pay_legally_ethicallyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/t-jycG6OepY/what_can_you_do_about_the_coming_job_warEric SwansonSat, 12 Nov 2011 10:39:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/what_can_you_do_about_the_coming_job_war<p> A couple weeks ago I finished Jim Clifton&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Jobs-War-Jim-Clifton/dp/1595620559"><em>The Coming Job War</em></a>. Clifton is chairman and CEO of the Gallup Association and this work is the product of studying the data from and surveying thousands of people from Manhattan socialites to Masai mothers, in 150 countries of the world. Clifton writes, &ldquo;Six years into our global data collection effort, we may have already found the single most searing, clarifying, helpful, world-altering fact.</p> <p> <strong>What the whole world wants is a good job</strong>.</p> <p> Clifton writes, &ldquo;A good job is a job with a paycheck from an employer and steady work that averages 30+ hours / week.&rdquo; (This is distinguished from, what I suspect the readers of this blog have&mdash;a great job. A great job is a job where someone is concerned about your development and you get to engage in meaningful work.) It&rsquo;s not part-time selling chickens for your brother-in-law. Something fundamentally has changed in the thinking of people. &ldquo;Humans used to desire love, money, food, shelter, safety, peace, and freedom more than anything else. The last 30 years have changed us. Now people want to have a good job, and they want their children to have a good job. This changes everything for world leaders&hellip;The desire for a good job is the current will of the world, and whether or not you have a good job defines your relationship with your city, your country, and the whole world around you.&rdquo;</p> <p> So what can we do? Most every church has businessmen and business women whom are usually seen as candidates to serve on the building committee, the finance committee, or the stewardship committee. What if&hellip;what if&hellip; one of your church&rsquo;s goals was collectively to create 10 new sustainable jobs in 2012&hellip;as part of your God-given mission? What if businessmen and businesswomen were released and empowered to execute that which they do best&mdash;create jobs? Not church jobs&hellip;but real good jobs. After all, the second command given in Genesis was related to work. Part of the creation mandate is to work. If some business folks were thinking about laying off two employees; what if they were challenged to create two new jobs instead. What would have to happen in the growth of that business to make that financially feasible?</p> <p> Could you convene a meeting of business owners and randomly connect them to see if new business ideas might emerge? So pairing the owner of a plumbing business with the owner of a optical company; a restaurant owner might be paired with the owner of a storage company; a flooring company owner could be paired with a dentist. What new job ideas might emerge. (Think of Gutenberg combining the technology of the winepress with his expertise as a metallurgist to create the printing press.) Innovation happens in the space of unlikely connections (See Steve Johnson&rsquo;s Where Good Ideas Come From -- <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Good-Ideas-Come-Innovation/dp/1594485380/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1321122653&amp;sr=1-1-spell">http://www.amazon.com/Where-Good-Ideas-Come-Innovation/dp/1594485380/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1321122653&amp;sr=1-1-spell</a>)</p> <p> There are three sectors of every society: Public&mdash;government, Private&mdash;business, and Social&mdash;churches, human services, and non-profits. It&rsquo;s important to remember that the Private sector funds both the Public and Social sectors.&nbsp; The vibrancy of any community rests with the vibrancy of the Private sector.</p> <p> I&rsquo;ve been thinking lately that we don&rsquo;t need more nonprofits&hellip;or Christian non-profits that create more dependency when what the world craves is a good job. If your church or a wealthy individual in church had $250K to invest in your community, would the community not be better off if it was invested in creating sustainable, tax-generating, charity-donating jobs? Would a challenge like this ignite the passions of the business domain in your church?</p> <p> Here are a few tweetable excerpts from the book:</p> <p> &ldquo;There are currently only 1.2b good jobs&hellip;a global shortfall of 1.8b good jobs</p> <p> &ldquo;The lack of good jobs will become the root cause of almost all world problems:</p> <p> &ldquo;Being out of work, for 18 months or more&mdash;is about the worst life you can have, anywhere in the world.&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;All leaders&mdash;presidents, parents prists, pastors, imams, teacher and CEOs need to consider jobs in all they do&rdquo;</p> <p> Humans used to desire love, money, food, shelter, safety, peace, etc. Now people want to have a good job&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;A question for leaders: &lsquo;Why is knowing that the whole world wants a good job everything to me?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Leaders must realize that every decision they make should consider the impact first and foremost, on good jobs&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;America&rsquo;s most pressing problem according to Gallup, is a lack of good jobs&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;The country doesn&rsquo;t have enough good, full-time jobs for people who want to work&rdquo; #thecomingjobswar</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Eric Swanson</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/mGbYqHtk5pM" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=t-jycG6OepY:mGbYqHtk5pM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=t-jycG6OepY:mGbYqHtk5pM:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/t-jycG6OepY" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/what_can_you_do_about_the_coming_job_warhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/mGbYqHtk5pM/what_can_you_do_about_the_coming_job_warhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/wArVWyLAs3Q/testSherry SurrattThu, 10 Nov 2011 16:08:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/test<p> What is your church doing to develop big leaders? This is the question five church teams wrestled with in our 2nd Campus Pastor Development Lab in <img alt="" src="/images/innlab%20process.jpg" style="margin: 5px; width: 250px; float: right; height: 338px" />Dallas, Tx. The common thread tying the churches together was a passion for multisite, an aggressive vision for&nbsp; reaching new communities for Christ and the all encompassing need for the leaders who would take them there.<br /> Diving into the 5-E Innovation Process, teams from <a href="http://www.gethope.net/">Hope Community</a>, <a href="http://churchforallnations.com/">Church For All Nations</a>, <a href="http://www.crossroadsumc.org/">Crossroads</a>,<a href="http://northway.org/"> North Way Christian Community</a> and <a href="http://thevineyardchurch.us/">The Vineyard</a> analyzed and examined their current reality and were challenged by <a href="http://www.bigisthenewsmall.com/">Scott Williams</a>, church consultant and former Campus Pastor at Lifechurch.tv as he shared the <strong>10 Distinctives of a Successful Campus Pastor:</strong></p> <p> <br /> &nbsp; &bull; A focus on what matters: Jesus, family, ministry<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Have a desire to connect and are highly relational, with a pastor&rsquo;s heart<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Have a &lsquo;get it done&rsquo; attitude that empowers and releases leaders<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Seek to know through their bible, books and blogs<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Are a competent communicator that aligns with their multisite model<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Are a risk taker with an entrepreneurial spirit<br /> &nbsp; &bull; A contextualized dreamer who dreams big but respects the organizational bumpers<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Creates cultures of development and always ask, &lsquo;how can I help you win?&rsquo;<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Possess the CP Core Competenties (spiritual gifts, cultural relevance and connectedness)<br /> &nbsp; &bull; Are a community influencer who is accessible and community minded</p> <p> The teams were further challenged by John Atkinson, Executive Pastor at <a href="http://bayareafellowship.com/">Bay Area Fellowship</a>, who shared the importance of a relational leadership pipeline for ongoing development. They were stretched by Mac Lake, Chief Executive Officer of <a href="http://www.launchstrong.com/">The Launch Network</a>, as he prompted the teams to think about their leadership culture, reminding the teams that organizations don&rsquo;t build leaders. Leaders build leaders.</p> <p> At the end of the second day, the teams left tired, but energized by new plans and ideas that would transform their leadership development and be a catalyst for new growth. Listen as Dave Patchin, Executive Pastor of Expansion at Hope Community shares the impact on his team.</p> <div class="embed_media"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ky24osZPBCw" width="420"></iframe></div> <p> Is your team ready to innovate in the area of Generosity, Intern Programs, Marriage Ministry or Multistie? Check out the new <a href="http://leadnet.org/programs/innovation-labs/">2012 lineup of Innovation Labs</a>. The time for Innovation is NOW!</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Sherry Surratt</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/7_lOcSY31UI" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=wArVWyLAs3Q:7_lOcSY31UI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=wArVWyLAs3Q:7_lOcSY31UI:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/wArVWyLAs3Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/testhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/7_lOcSY31UI/testhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/PQBqkcs8lt0/november_11_for_11_theme_is_rising_influenceWarren BirdWed, 09 Nov 2011 05:19:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/november_11_for_11_theme_is_rising_influence<p> The idea behind 11 for 11 has been to profile eleven specific ministry innovations during 2011.</p> <p> The final &ldquo;11 for 11&rdquo; issue of Leadership Network Advance explores <b>Ideas that Work</b>. It features an introductory article titled <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/advance/increasing_impact_churches_that_are_setting_a_new_course">&ldquo;<b>Increasing Impact: Churches That Are Setting a New Course</b>&rdquo;</a> by Warren Bird, followed by a more in depth <a href="http://leadnet.org/docs/11for11-2011-NOV-The_Heartbeat_of_Rising_Influence_Churches-Bird.pdf">mini-paper</a>, <a href="http://media.leadnet.org/11for11/Warren11for11.mp3">podcast</a>, and <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/video/the_heartbeat_of_rising_influence_churches1">video</a>.</p> <p> The series has included&nbsp; topics on <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/the_new_role_for_western_missionaries/">Global Connections Churches</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/rapid_growth_pastors_on_a_wild_ride/">Rapid Growth Churches</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/team_collaboration_broadening_the_church_leadership_platform/">Trends in Collaborative Leadership</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/the_changing_role_of_large_church_senior_pastors_trends_and_developments/">Large Church Senior Pastors</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/fast_forwarding_your_churchs_community_engagement/">Missional Renaissance</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/externally_focused_churches_becoming_the_new_norm">Externally Focused Churches</a> , <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/multisite_movement_gaining_new_momentum_in_new_places">Multisite Churches</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/who_and_what_is_shaping_next_generation_pastors">Next Generation Pastors</a>, <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/leadership_development_an_age_old_challenge_with_a_modern_day_twist">Leadership Development</a>, and <a href="http://leadnet.org/resources/download/generousity_becoming_a_fundamental_spritual_discipline_for_churches">Generous Churches</a>.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/vdAVHS80CBk" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=PQBqkcs8lt0:vdAVHS80CBk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=PQBqkcs8lt0:vdAVHS80CBk:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/PQBqkcs8lt0" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/november_11_for_11_theme_is_rising_influencehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/vdAVHS80CBk/november_11_for_11_theme_is_rising_influencehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/yAG8ZSMnaho/the_church_as_a_keystone_speciesEric SwansonTue, 08 Nov 2011 21:04:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/the_church_as_a_keystone_species<p> A couple of days ago&nbsp;I was listening to Steven Johnson&rsquo;s <em>Where Good Ideas Come From</em>, while taking a morning walk. Its a very interesting book that explores the place of &ldquo;slow hunches&rdquo; and cross-domain thinking, and how error is essential to critical thinking. Through this book I was introduced to a term I had not heard before&hellip;"Keystone Species.&rdquo; Here&rsquo;s how Wikipedia defines a keystone species:</p> <p> <em>A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community.</em></p> <p> <em>The role that a keystone species plays in its ecosystem is analogous to the role of a keystone in an arch. While the keystone is under the least pressure of any of the stones in an arch, the arch still collapses without it. Similarly, an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem by measures of biomass or productivity. It has become a very popular concept in conservation biology. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_species]</em></p> <p> I thought back to the words of Mathetes in his letter to Diognetus (<a href="http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/diognetus.html">http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/diognetus.html</a>), &ldquo;As the soul is to the body, so the church is to the world.&rdquo; The church&nbsp; can be and should be a keystone species in the community&hellip;&nbsp; a people who have a disproportionately larger effect on the community relative to its abundance by living purposefully and missionally. The church is dispersed throughout the eco system of any community&mdash;where people live, work and play. The church&#39;s footprint is bigger than its shoesize</p> <p> Churches can also be &ldquo;keystone predators&rdquo; in the very best sense of the word. Again from Wikipedia. "...some sea stars may prey on sea urchins, mussels, and other shellfish that have no other natural predators. If the sea star is removed from the ecosystem, the mussel population explodes uncontrollably, driving out most other species, while the urchin population annihilates coral reefs&rdquo;</p> <p> Churches have the ability to keep injustice and evil at bay to keep from thriving that which would thrive if left unchecked. As Martin Luther King said, "The church is neither master of the community nor servant of the community but the conscience of the community."</p> <p> How is your church acting as a keystone species? What would you need to do to become a keystone species?</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Eric Swanson</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/qIFifnKzMOM" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=yAG8ZSMnaho:qIFifnKzMOM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=yAG8ZSMnaho:qIFifnKzMOM:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/yAG8ZSMnaho" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/the_church_as_a_keystone_specieshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/qIFifnKzMOM/the_church_as_a_keystone_specieshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/C4ka01HqKLk/have_you_been_influenced_by_lyle_schallerWarren BirdTue, 08 Nov 2011 11:43:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/have_you_been_influenced_by_lyle_schaller<p> <img alt="" src="http://media.leadnet.org/ln/Schaller-Lyle-color.jpg" style="width: 180px; height: 120px" /></p> <p> How has your ministry been specifically impacted by Lyle Schaller&rsquo;s writings or conferences, whether recently or in years past? If his advice has shaped your thinking or solved a problem, would you send us a short anecdote about it? We&rsquo;re collecting &ldquo;turning point&rdquo; stories about how his consultations, books, articles, and coffee conversations have made a significant difference in church leaders. Please send your personal story (50-500 words) to <a href="mailto:research@leadnet.org"><a href="mailto:research@leadnet.org">research@leadnet.org</a></a>.</p> <p> <br /> Though Schaller&rsquo;s new material has slowed down in recent years, more than two million copies are in print of the 90 books he has written or edited. The Los Angeles Times once described him as &ldquo;the most influential figure among most Protestant church leaders today&rdquo; and his publisher calls him &ldquo;the most widely read and respected commentator on congregational life today.&rdquo; How has this giant of church leadership made a specific difference in your life and ministry?</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Warren Bird</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/3V9Gp8r0X0E" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=C4ka01HqKLk:3V9Gp8r0X0E:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=C4ka01HqKLk:3V9Gp8r0X0E:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/C4ka01HqKLk" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/have_you_been_influenced_by_lyle_schallerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/3V9Gp8r0X0E/have_you_been_influenced_by_lyle_schallerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/ghWcuTnLxrY/connectlive_begin_the_conversation_nowGreg LigonTue, 08 Nov 2011 04:28:00 PSThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive_begin_the_conversation_now<p> It just about 48 hours we will be hosting six incredibly influential leaders in today&#39;s church during Leadership Network&#39;s live online conference called <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">connectLIVE: Content and Conversations with Church Innovators</a>. &nbsp; You can register for this free online conference taking place Thursday, November 11 (10:00 - 2:00 cst) <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;</p> <p> In this unique event, you will have the opportunity to ask your questions of each of our guests. &nbsp;There will be instructions for submitting your questions at the beginning of the event, but you can <strong>get a head start and post your questions now</strong>. &nbsp;To submit your question, simply post a comment to this blog post or send a tweet including #LNLive.</p> <p> <strong>Missional - Fad or Foundational?</strong><br /> You can&#39;t engage in many conversations with church leaders today without bumping up against the term - missional.&nbsp; We talk about missional churches, missional leaders and missional movements.&nbsp; So what&#39;s it all mean?&nbsp; Is it just the latest buzz word or is it foundational part of what it means to be and lead the church in your community?</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/z_reggie.png" style="width: 610px; height: 200px; " /></p> <p> Dr. Reggie McNeal enjoys helping people, leaders, and Christian organizations pursue more intentional lives. He currently serves as the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network of Dallas, TX. Reggie has contributed to numerous publications and church leadership journals and is a prolific writer. His education includes a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina and the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees both from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reggie and his wife Cathy make their home in Columbia, South Carolina. His books include: <em>Missional Communities</em> and <em>Missional Renaissance</em>.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/z_hugh(1).png" style="width: 610px; height: 200px; " /></p> <p> Hugh Halter is a church planter, pastor, consultant, and missionary to the US. He is the national director of Missio and is the lead architect of Adullam, a congregational network of Missional communities in Denver, Colorado. He is author of The Tangible Kingdom, AND&hellip;the gathered &amp; scattered church, TK Primer, and Sacrilege.&nbsp; Hugh is an advocate for disoriented God seekers and loves to inspire and re-orient leaders around incarnational mission in any form of church.</p> <p> <strong>Along the Leadership Journey &hellip;</strong></p> <p> Multitudes of leaders and churches start well, but way too many end short of the goal of their leadership calling.&nbsp; Participate in the dialogue about finishing well and leading strong at every season of your church.</p> <p> <br /> <img alt="" src="/images/z_neil.png" style="width: 610px; height: 200px; " /></p> <p> Co-founder and executive director of Church Multiplications Associates and CMAResources, Neil helped found the ministry and has helped lead it from its inception. Neil has been in pastoral ministry for 21 years and is an experienced church planter, author and consultant. He has served on the staff of a megachurch (collegiate ministry), been senior pastor of a conventional church (8 years) and started CMA and Awakening Chapels for the past 10 years. Neil is the author of &nbsp;<em>Journeys to Significance, Organic Church</em> and <em>Church 3.0</em>.</p> <br /> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/z_bruce(1).png" style="width: 610px; height: 200px; " /></p> <p> Bruce Miller has authored a book entitled, <em>Your Life in Rhythm</em>, published by Tyndale Publishers, released in July 2009. Bruce most recently authored <em>Your Church in Rhythm</em> published by Jossey Bass in the Leadership Network Innovation Series, released February 2011. Bruce has also co-authored a book entitled The Leadership Baton published by Zondervan which has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese and German. Bruce and his wife, Tamara, were married in 1983 and have been blessed with five children, 4 boys and 1 girl.</p> <p> <strong>Get Your Serve On!</strong></p> <br /> <p> The oft forgotten biblical direction to "serve the least of these" has gained new visibility in recent years.&nbsp; But serving is not an event.&nbsp; It is a culture.&nbsp; Explore how to make it happen in your church.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/z_dino(1).png" style="width: 610px; height: 200px; " /></p> <p> Dino and his wife DeLynn started Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA in 1993 with the single focus of being a healing place for a hurting world. Starting with just twelve, it has now grown to over 7,200 people gathering every week in 8 locations from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Maputo, Mozambique. Healing Place Church has been listed as one of America&rsquo;s Top 25 Most Innovative Churches. That innovative drive is expressed in a passion to serve the poor and hurting &ndash; wherever they are, and whatever it takes. Every week hundreds of volunteers serve in outreaches &ndash; cooking hot breakfasts for the homeless, helping ex-prisoners re-enter society, caring for AIDS orphans, giving roses to ladies working at local strip clubs, and reaching the poor through free medical and dental clinics and many other outreaches. Pastor Dino&#39;s newest book is entitled Servolution.</p> <br /> <p> <img alt="" src="/images/z_warren.png" style="width: 610px; height: 200px; " /></p> <p> Warren Bird, who has a great heart for working with innovative pastors and church leaders, is the Director of Research and Intellectual Capital Support for Leadership Network.&nbsp; In that role, he oversees a team of freelance writers and graphic artists who generate a steady stream of fresh knowledge products.&nbsp; Warren also spearheads ongoing research initiatives and Leadership Network&#39;s bi-weekly e-newsletter, "Advance."&nbsp;&nbsp; Warren has written many publications for Leadership Network, from salary surveys and profiles of executive pastors and large-church senior pastors to reports on the kinds of people who attend megachurches. Warren has also collaboratively authored and/or co-authored 24 books, including <em>The Other 80%</em>, <em>Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers&nbsp;&nbsp; </em>and&nbsp;<em>The Multi-Site Church Roadtrip: Exploring the New Normal </em>.</p> <p> Let&#39;s get talking! &nbsp;To submit your question, simply post a comment to this blog post or send a tweet including #LNLive.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/D4AQbqNlxQA" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ghWcuTnLxrY:D4AQbqNlxQA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=ghWcuTnLxrY:D4AQbqNlxQA:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/ghWcuTnLxrY" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive_begin_the_conversation_nowhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/D4AQbqNlxQA/connectlive_begin_the_conversation_nowhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/5eBWUeCBpPA/connectlive2011_with_bruce_millerGreg LigonMon, 31 Oct 2011 06:05:00 PDThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_bruce_miller<p> <img alt="" src="/images/CONNECT_LIVE_LOGO (1).jpg" style="width: 512px; height: 184px; " /></p> <p> <strong>Along the Leadership Journey &hellip;</strong></p> <p> Multitudes of leaders and churches start well, but way too many end short of the goal of their leadership calling. &nbsp;</p> <p> Join in on the conversation during <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Leadership Network&#39;s LIVE online conference - connectLIVE:Content and Conversation with Church Innovators</a>.&nbsp; Reserve your place in the conversation to be held on November 10 (10:00 - 2:00 cst) <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p> Participate in the dialogue about finishing well and leading strong at every season of your church with Bruce Miller, author of <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/church-rhythm-forgotten-dimensions-seasons-cycles/bruce-miller/9780470598870/pd/598870" target="_blank"><strong><em>Your Church in Rhythm</em></strong></a>.</p> <p> Check this out for an inside look at the big idea about rhythm:</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <div class="embed_media"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hosQEeeHVjc" width="560"></iframe></div> <p> <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Register for connectLIVE 2011 today</a> and join in on the conversation, November 10.</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/GdSHEoW8Yb0" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=5eBWUeCBpPA:GdSHEoW8Yb0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=5eBWUeCBpPA:GdSHEoW8Yb0:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/5eBWUeCBpPA" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_bruce_millerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/GdSHEoW8Yb0/connectlive2011_with_bruce_millerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/lxDdv9e5j_Q/connectlive2011_with_warren_birdGreg LigonThu, 27 Oct 2011 06:27:00 PDThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_warren_bird<p> <img alt="" src="/images/CONNECT_LIVE_LOGO(1).png" /></p> <p> <strong>Get Your Serve On!</strong></p> <p> Is your vision for serving your community bigger than your work force? &nbsp;The answer to your challenge lies in the engagement of the "other 80%" of your church.</p> <p> Join in on the conversation during Leadership Network&#39;s LIVE online conference - <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">connectLIVE:Content and Conversation with Church Innovators</a>.&nbsp; Reserve your place in the conversation to be held on November 10 (10:00 - 2:00 cst) <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p> Explore ways to engage all of your congregation through conversations with Dr. Warren Bird, co-author of <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/percent-turning-churchs-spectators-active-participants/scott-thumma/9780470891292/pd/91292X" target="_blank">The Other 80%</a>. &nbsp;Warren, who has a great heart for working with innovative pastors and church leaders, is the Director of Research and Intellectual Capital Support for Leadership Network. &nbsp;Warren also spearheads ongoing research initiatives and Leadership Network&#39;s bi-weekly e-newsletter, "Advance."&nbsp;&nbsp; Warren has written many publications for Leadership Network, from salary surveys and profiles of executive pastors and large-church senior pastors to reports on the kinds of people who attend megachurches. Warren has also collaboratively authored and/or co-authored 24 books, including <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/churches-helping-planters-become-movement-makers/ed-stetzer/9780470550458/pd/50457X" target="_blank">Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers</a> and&nbsp;<a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/multi-church-roadtrip-exploring-normal-softcover/geoff-surratt/9780310293941/pd/293941" target="_blank">The Multi-Site Church Roadtrip: Exploring the New Normal</a> .</p> <p> Check out the big idea from <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/percent-turning-churchs-spectators-active-participants/scott-thumma/9780470891292/pd/91292X" target="_blank">The Other 80%</a> ...</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <div class="embed_media"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KGt5bdGYZ4g" width="560"></iframe></div> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> Want to have your entire congregation engaged in making a kingdom difference? &nbsp;<a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Register for connectLIVE 2011 today</a> and join in the conversation, November 10</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/tMUKOjIWnRo" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=lxDdv9e5j_Q:tMUKOjIWnRo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=lxDdv9e5j_Q:tMUKOjIWnRo:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/lxDdv9e5j_Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_warren_birdhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/tMUKOjIWnRo/connectlive2011_with_warren_birdhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/z2OM8M0XMyA/connectlive2011_with_hugh_halterGreg LigonWed, 26 Oct 2011 06:06:00 PDThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_hugh_halter<p> <img alt="" src="/images/CONNECT_LIVE_LOGO(1).jpg" /></p> <p> <strong>Missional - Fad or Foundational?</strong></p> <p> You can&#39;t engage in many conversations with church leaders today without bumping up against the term - missional.&nbsp; We talk about missional churches, missional leaders and missional movements.&nbsp; So what&#39;s it all mean?&nbsp; Is it just the latest buzz word or is it foundational part of what it means to be and lead the church in your community?&nbsp;</p> <p> Join in on the conversation during <a href="http://leadnet.org" target="_blank">Leadership Network&#39;s</a> <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">LIVE online conference - connectLIVE:Content and Conversation with Church Innovators</a>. &nbsp;Reserve your place in the conversation to be held on November 10 (10:00 - 2:00 cst)&nbsp;<a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p> Front and center on this conversation will be Hugh Halter. &nbsp;Hugh is a church planter, pastor, consultant, and missionary to the US. He is the national director of <a href="http://missio.us/" target="_blank">Missio </a>and is the lead architect of <a href="http://www.adullamdenver.com/" target="_blank">Adullam</a>, a congregational network of Missional communities in Denver, Colorado. He is author of <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/the-tangible-kingdom-creating-incarnational-community/hugh-halter/9780470188972/pd/701897" target="_blank">The Tangible Kingdom</a>, <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/and-the-gathered-and-scattered-church/hugh-halter/9780310325857/pd/325857?event=SP111076|2463141|111076|2463141|111076" target="_blank">AND: The Gathered &amp; Scattered Church</a>, <a href="http://missio.us/store/tangible-kingdom-primer" target="_blank">TK Primer,</a> and Sacrilege.&nbsp; Hugh is an advocate for disoriented God seekers and loves to inspire and re-orient leaders around incarnational mission in any form of church.</p> <p> Get a taste of this conversation in this video about <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/and-the-gathered-and-scattered-church/hugh-halter/9780310325857/pd/325857?event=SP111076|2463141|111076|2463141|111076" target="_blank">AND: The Gathered &amp; Scattered Church</a>.</p> <div class="embed_media"> <object style="width: 500px; height: 390px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a5AMKwj73kY?version=3&amp;feature=player_detailpage" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a5AMKwj73kY?version=3&amp;feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500"></embed></object></div> <p> What do you think about "missional?" &nbsp;<a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Register for connectLIVE 2011</a> today for free and join in on the conversation, November 10.</p> <p> Don&#39;t miss it!</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/jyxZlDzZITw" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=z2OM8M0XMyA:jyxZlDzZITw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=z2OM8M0XMyA:jyxZlDzZITw:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/z2OM8M0XMyA" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_hugh_halterhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/jyxZlDzZITw/connectlive2011_with_hugh_halterhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~3/m3WoOe-B1VM/connectlive2011_with_dino_rizzoGreg LigonMon, 24 Oct 2011 06:30:00 PDThttp://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_dino_rizzo<p> <img alt="" src="/images/CONNECT_LIVE_LOGO(3).jpg" /></p> <p> <strong>Get Your Serve On!</strong></p> <p> The oft forgotten biblical direction to "serve the least of these" has gained new visibility in recent years.&nbsp; But serving is not an event.&nbsp; It is a culture.&nbsp;</p> <p> Join in on the conversation during <a href="http://leadnet.org" target="_blank">Leadership Network&#39;s</a> LIVE online conference - <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">connectLIVE:Content and Conversation with Church Innovators</a>.&nbsp; Reserve your place in the conversation to be held on November 10 (10:00 - 2:00 cst) here.</p> <p> Explore how to make it happen in your church through the discussions with <strong>Dino Rizzo</strong>, author of <a href="http://100x.christianbook.com/servolution-starting-church-revolution-through-serving/dino-rizzo/9780310287636/pd/287636" target="_blank">Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution through Serving</a>.</p> <p> Dino and his wife DeLynn started <a href="http://www.healingplacechurch.org/" target="_blank">Healing Place Church</a> in Baton Rouge, LA in 1993 with the single focus of being a healing place for a hurting world. Starting with just twelve, it has now grown to over 7,200 people gathering every week in 8 locations from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Maputo, Mozambique. Healing Place Church has been listed as one of America&rsquo;s Top 25 Most Innovative Churches. That innovative drive is expressed in a passion to serve the poor and hurting &ndash; wherever they are, and whatever it takes. Every week hundreds of volunteers serve in outreaches &ndash; cooking hot breakfasts for the homeless, helping ex-prisoners re-enter society, caring for AIDS orphans, giving roses to ladies working at local strip clubs, and reaching the poor through free medical and dental clinics and many other outreaches.</p> <p> Get inside the Servolution mindset.</p> <p> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20169500?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=ff000d" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></p> <div class="embed_media"> <p> Want to start a servolution in your church or community? <a href="http://connectlive.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Register for connectLIVE 2011</a> today and join in on the conversation, November 10.</p> </div> <p> &nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>Author: Greg Ligon</p> <p>Topics: <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/church_planting/">Church Planting</a> <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/multi-site_churches/">Multi-Site Churches</a> <a href="http://leadnet.org//blog/category/learnings/">Learnings</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~4/H-UArFgRdgs" height="1" width="1"/><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=m3WoOe-B1VM:H-UArFgRdgs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?a=m3WoOe-B1VM:H-UArFgRdgs:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/typepad/leadnetlearnings?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/leadnetlearnings/~4/m3WoOe-B1VM" height="1" width="1"/>http://leadnet.org/blog/post/connectlive2011_with_dino_rizzohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LeadNetLearningsBlog/~3/H-UArFgRdgs/connectlive2011_with_dino_rizzo