I often wake up early when Eric decides in his old age now, that he needs to get up before the rooster crows. As I watch him get up -- stumble across the obstacle course of a room, trip over the toys on the floor, weave around the huge bed in a small room, and wobble down the stairs without falling--it so amuses me and makes me giggle thus starting my day with a smile. His disorientation is really funny to watch... Such a giant of a man, strong and secure in himself and his relationships with us and His Lord --yet, as he wakes and tries to set his course for the day --he is a weak and wobbly boy.
We too are like this...not only in the morning, but throughout life. We can get sleepy and fall off course -- and when we do, we become disoriented and have to again wobble around trying to find our way. It is good to know that our Lord knows the direction we are headed -- and throws obstacles in our path to disorient us and move us to the direction He is wishing us to go. Mark Batterson in his book The Wild Goose Chase, talks to this very issue. He says, "God is far more concerned about your future than you are....Not only does God want us to get where God wants us to go more than we want to get where God wants us to go, but He is awfully good at getting us there....God is in the business of positioning us in the right place at the right time."pp128-129
While it is not as fun as experiencing the wobbly disorientation yourself as it is watching others -- (my little demented humor I guess). It is good to know that we can always find a place of rest, comfort and steady ground in conversation with our Lord and His word. IF you need a steady place to land for a while today, try Acts. chapters 25-28 can help. Paul's' divine disorientations and detours always led to Conversions and Healing. :)
Have a wonderful day...we will be wobbling around mud puddles today -- occasionally enjoying a good jump in one! What fun!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
News spreads fast #3
An older article on positive gossip....now called BUZZ.... thought it was relevant. ;0
Enjoy!
By Tim Stevens, executive pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana.
2007
What's Buzz?
We live in a world of buzz. Perhaps you've seen the Yahoo! Buzz Index—a daily log of what people are searching for on the Internet, or maybe you've participated in an online forum because you bought a new digital camera and wanted to find out more about it. Buzz is what happens when you blog about your recent experience at a Honda dealership. Buzz is what happens when the message isn't approved by your board or your marketing department or your publications team. Buzz is what happens when normal people talk to others about you, about your product, about what you're doing.
Mark Hughes is the author of Buzz Marketing (Portfolio, 2005). In that book, he lists six things that people talk about: the unusual, the outrageous, the taboo, the hilarious, the remarkable, and the secretive. Those are the things that get us buzzing. Good buzz, Hughes says, is rooted in emotion, in subjects that make us surprised or thrilled, and in things that make us gasp and say, You would never believe this; you wouldn't believe what happened.
Those are the kinds of things we buzz about.
In his book Good to Great (Collins, 2001), Jim Collins says a transformation happens as you push a giant, heavy flywheel in one direction. It takes a lot of energy to get a flywheel moving, but with a consistent effort, the wheel turns two times, then five, then ten, building increasing momentum until … Bang! The wheel hits the breakthrough point and momentum kicks in its favor. Well this happens in churches too. And with some work, our churches can get the buzz flywheel working.
I believe there are three ingredients to generating buzz: beliefs, impact, and language.1. Beliefs
Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz (Currency, 2002), says that buzz is more popular now than ever for three reasons: (1) There is so much noise in the advertising world, people have filtered out corporations and their advertisements; (2) People don't trust large organizations, so they refuse to look to them for information; and (3) People are connected—they don't need companies, churches, or other organizations; they can get all the information they need from each other on the Internet. Holding these three beliefs about people is the first step toward understanding and creating buzz.
Another factor—and the motivation behind generating buzz—is your beliefs about people. And these you just can't fake. You need to believe at your core that people matter to God, that it is important for people to meet God and to come into relationship with him. We don't want to generate buzz so that people will look at us and say, Man, you're really innovative. You're really cool. You're really creative. God is the only one who is worthy of buzz. We don't want the attention of the community unless we're confident that it's going to point people toward God.
Beliefs about people only get us so far; we need to learn what makes buzz happen—so that our churches can generate their own buzz.
2. Impact
The second ingredient to buzz—after holding the right beliefs about people—is that it only happens if you're having an impact. I'm convinced that most churches don't create buzz today, or can't sustain buzz, because they have very little impact. To have an impact is to have an immediate and strong effect on something or somebody. And every year there are events that happen locally, nationally, and globally that have a huge impact.
But where is the impact of the church as a whole, or of your church in particular? Would anyone notice if your church stopped meeting? I don't mean the 200 or 800 or 8,000 that go to your church. I'm sure they would feel the impact. But the people that drive by, the people in the community—would they feel a difference? Making an impact produces buzz, but your community can only feel your impact if you're speaking the right language. (Related Video: Making an impact as a church)
3. Language
A lot of people are tired of hearing this, but it's the third ingredient in creating buzz. We need to speak the right language. This means more than toning down the religious jargon we use, adding drama, and incorporating contemporary worship. In fact, it's possible to have great drama and video and contemporary music and still be producing a service that the unchurched can't even understand—it makes no sense to them. In order to speak the right language and reach more people, many churches need an entirely different filter.
Filters are important. They are the means by which we understand the messages that are sent to us. We all have multiple filters that are in place. Many people have family filters, and can't think about family issues without recollecting the brokenness of their childhood home. Others have consumer filters; they have strong feelings about certain products and the people who use them. Some people think that the church is all about getting people's money, and they use that filter to judge pastors and churches.
There is a filter we hardly ever talk about. It affects the language that we use to have an impact. It's a filter that is very strong in today's society. In fact, I think this filter has an impact on our entire culture, and no matter where your church is located in the United States or in Canada this filter impacts you. This filter is called pop culture.
Churches need to be able to speak in the language of pop culture and communicate the Bible in and with this strange new culture. In a sense, we need to become cross-cultural missionaries. Like missionaries, we must dwell in the culture and use the language, the signs, and the symbols of that culture to reach people. Rather than embracing pop culture, this means we must leverage it. (Related Video: Church attitudes toward pop culture)
This is important because speaking someone's language is the first step toward gaining a hearing from them.
Remind Me Why We're Doing This
To get the buzz flywheel turning will take a lot of effort, especially if you need to make significant changes before you can get started. But if you have the right beliefs about people and you use the right language, your church will begin to make a community-wide impact. Once you're there, the buzz flywheel kicks in, building its own momentum.
Of course, the buzz can be sustained only if your church is doing that to which it has been called: working to change lives. That's what it's all about, and we must never lose sight of our task: effective ministry, introducing people to Christ, helping men and women take steps toward him.
Enjoy!
By Tim Stevens, executive pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana.
2007
What's Buzz?
We live in a world of buzz. Perhaps you've seen the Yahoo! Buzz Index—a daily log of what people are searching for on the Internet, or maybe you've participated in an online forum because you bought a new digital camera and wanted to find out more about it. Buzz is what happens when you blog about your recent experience at a Honda dealership. Buzz is what happens when the message isn't approved by your board or your marketing department or your publications team. Buzz is what happens when normal people talk to others about you, about your product, about what you're doing.
Mark Hughes is the author of Buzz Marketing (Portfolio, 2005). In that book, he lists six things that people talk about: the unusual, the outrageous, the taboo, the hilarious, the remarkable, and the secretive. Those are the things that get us buzzing. Good buzz, Hughes says, is rooted in emotion, in subjects that make us surprised or thrilled, and in things that make us gasp and say, You would never believe this; you wouldn't believe what happened.
Those are the kinds of things we buzz about.
In his book Good to Great (Collins, 2001), Jim Collins says a transformation happens as you push a giant, heavy flywheel in one direction. It takes a lot of energy to get a flywheel moving, but with a consistent effort, the wheel turns two times, then five, then ten, building increasing momentum until … Bang! The wheel hits the breakthrough point and momentum kicks in its favor. Well this happens in churches too. And with some work, our churches can get the buzz flywheel working.
I believe there are three ingredients to generating buzz: beliefs, impact, and language.1. Beliefs
Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz (Currency, 2002), says that buzz is more popular now than ever for three reasons: (1) There is so much noise in the advertising world, people have filtered out corporations and their advertisements; (2) People don't trust large organizations, so they refuse to look to them for information; and (3) People are connected—they don't need companies, churches, or other organizations; they can get all the information they need from each other on the Internet. Holding these three beliefs about people is the first step toward understanding and creating buzz.
Another factor—and the motivation behind generating buzz—is your beliefs about people. And these you just can't fake. You need to believe at your core that people matter to God, that it is important for people to meet God and to come into relationship with him. We don't want to generate buzz so that people will look at us and say, Man, you're really innovative. You're really cool. You're really creative. God is the only one who is worthy of buzz. We don't want the attention of the community unless we're confident that it's going to point people toward God.
Beliefs about people only get us so far; we need to learn what makes buzz happen—so that our churches can generate their own buzz.
2. Impact
The second ingredient to buzz—after holding the right beliefs about people—is that it only happens if you're having an impact. I'm convinced that most churches don't create buzz today, or can't sustain buzz, because they have very little impact. To have an impact is to have an immediate and strong effect on something or somebody. And every year there are events that happen locally, nationally, and globally that have a huge impact.
But where is the impact of the church as a whole, or of your church in particular? Would anyone notice if your church stopped meeting? I don't mean the 200 or 800 or 8,000 that go to your church. I'm sure they would feel the impact. But the people that drive by, the people in the community—would they feel a difference? Making an impact produces buzz, but your community can only feel your impact if you're speaking the right language. (Related Video: Making an impact as a church)
3. Language
A lot of people are tired of hearing this, but it's the third ingredient in creating buzz. We need to speak the right language. This means more than toning down the religious jargon we use, adding drama, and incorporating contemporary worship. In fact, it's possible to have great drama and video and contemporary music and still be producing a service that the unchurched can't even understand—it makes no sense to them. In order to speak the right language and reach more people, many churches need an entirely different filter.
Filters are important. They are the means by which we understand the messages that are sent to us. We all have multiple filters that are in place. Many people have family filters, and can't think about family issues without recollecting the brokenness of their childhood home. Others have consumer filters; they have strong feelings about certain products and the people who use them. Some people think that the church is all about getting people's money, and they use that filter to judge pastors and churches.
There is a filter we hardly ever talk about. It affects the language that we use to have an impact. It's a filter that is very strong in today's society. In fact, I think this filter has an impact on our entire culture, and no matter where your church is located in the United States or in Canada this filter impacts you. This filter is called pop culture.
Churches need to be able to speak in the language of pop culture and communicate the Bible in and with this strange new culture. In a sense, we need to become cross-cultural missionaries. Like missionaries, we must dwell in the culture and use the language, the signs, and the symbols of that culture to reach people. Rather than embracing pop culture, this means we must leverage it. (Related Video: Church attitudes toward pop culture)
This is important because speaking someone's language is the first step toward gaining a hearing from them.
Remind Me Why We're Doing This
To get the buzz flywheel turning will take a lot of effort, especially if you need to make significant changes before you can get started. But if you have the right beliefs about people and you use the right language, your church will begin to make a community-wide impact. Once you're there, the buzz flywheel kicks in, building its own momentum.
Of course, the buzz can be sustained only if your church is doing that to which it has been called: working to change lives. That's what it's all about, and we must never lose sight of our task: effective ministry, introducing people to Christ, helping men and women take steps toward him.
News spreads fast #2
I recently shared a blog post by Seth Godin that I liked with the leadership team I am a part of at my church. We all agreed with it's principle and I think it relates to any sharing of information good or bad and thought you might find it interesting too. Especially when trying to share the great news of the Gospel....
First, ten
"This, in two words, is the secret of the new marketing. Find ten people. Ten people who trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you...Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win. If they love it, they'll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or, perhaps, just three). Repeat. If they don't love it, you need a new product. Start over. Your idea spreads. Your business grows. Not as fast as you want, but faster than you could ever imagine.This approach changes the posture and timing of everything you do.You can no longer market to the anonymous masses. They're not anonymous and they're not masses. You can only market to people who are willing participants. Like this group of ten.The timing means that the idea of a 'launch' and press releases and the big unveiling is nuts. Instead, plan on the gradual build that turns into a tidal wave. Organize for it and spend money appropriately. The fact is, the curve of money spent (big hump, then it tails off) is precisely backwards to what you actually need.Three years from now, this advice will be so common as to be boring. Today, it's almost certainly the opposite of what you're doing."
MY THOUGHTS: Word of mouth is contagious --- We each have a circle of influence -- probably 10 or more people we talk with on a weekly basis. Let's get excited about something great going on in our churches and spread the vision of what the Lord is doing there! Maybe that can be caught and spread faster ---and stop the negative talk that seems to penetrate our conversations (and consequently, all that the world outside the church hears about).
love you all!
Amanda
First, ten
"This, in two words, is the secret of the new marketing. Find ten people. Ten people who trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you...Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win. If they love it, they'll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or, perhaps, just three). Repeat. If they don't love it, you need a new product. Start over. Your idea spreads. Your business grows. Not as fast as you want, but faster than you could ever imagine.This approach changes the posture and timing of everything you do.You can no longer market to the anonymous masses. They're not anonymous and they're not masses. You can only market to people who are willing participants. Like this group of ten.The timing means that the idea of a 'launch' and press releases and the big unveiling is nuts. Instead, plan on the gradual build that turns into a tidal wave. Organize for it and spend money appropriately. The fact is, the curve of money spent (big hump, then it tails off) is precisely backwards to what you actually need.Three years from now, this advice will be so common as to be boring. Today, it's almost certainly the opposite of what you're doing."
MY THOUGHTS: Word of mouth is contagious --- We each have a circle of influence -- probably 10 or more people we talk with on a weekly basis. Let's get excited about something great going on in our churches and spread the vision of what the Lord is doing there! Maybe that can be caught and spread faster ---and stop the negative talk that seems to penetrate our conversations (and consequently, all that the world outside the church hears about).
love you all!
Amanda
News spreads fast...#1
I am always amazed when a person has told me some tid-bit of news and that famous "EVERYONE thinks this is negative" comment comes up- usually in conjunction with a person who is not doing something to their liking. Who is everyone anyway, and since when does everyone mean just two or three people...and why do the 'tellers of news" want to keep their sources of information a secret to "protect their privacy"? That is just Bologna!
Fact: When information is dispensed...someone will always misunderstand it.
Fact: The misunderstood information ALWAYS spreads faster than the actual truth.
Why?
Why is it that we as a human race are more apt to spread negative information than positive? Why does it take extra effort to encourage rather than discourage?
Why do leaders seem to have to encourage others to encourage others?
Our mission as a relational people:
Love one another, as Christ loved you.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
If we are doing this...then encouragement should be passed faster than negative false gossip. Who wants to hang with those who complain about everything anyway? That is just no fun.
If you can't say anything nice... ah, you know the rest.
Amanda
Fact: When information is dispensed...someone will always misunderstand it.
Fact: The misunderstood information ALWAYS spreads faster than the actual truth.
Why?
Why is it that we as a human race are more apt to spread negative information than positive? Why does it take extra effort to encourage rather than discourage?
Why do leaders seem to have to encourage others to encourage others?
Our mission as a relational people:
Love one another, as Christ loved you.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
If we are doing this...then encouragement should be passed faster than negative false gossip. Who wants to hang with those who complain about everything anyway? That is just no fun.
If you can't say anything nice... ah, you know the rest.
Amanda
Monday, April 27, 2009
Random conversations with Jesus
I have been spending quite a bit of time in my car lately -- which has allowed even more extra time to spend in conversation with Jesus. His words of encouragement lately have been an amazing gift -- although simple messages, for a brain that works like mine -- it seems Jesus tends to remind me of these most often.
1. No matter where you go, I am there with you. You are never alone while working for me.
2. If I am for you, who can be against you? I am greater than any trouble, or strife you could even think up in your over-analyzing brain! And...don't try, you will never be able to logically out-think me.
3. If you really mess up and make some mistakes today, I will still love you as much as I love you right now.
4. Be yourself -- only when you are honest and transparent among friends, can I minister to them through you...
5. Always be alert, ready and able to speak about the Love I have placed in your heart -- and you can make a difference in a life... --
6. I am in control -- not you. Quit trying to run things that are not able to be ran by human hands. A life of Peace is only found in giving control every day--
7. You may have to reach out first...others are not always interested in friendships with those close to me...you can intimidate them. Be gentle, and loving and ask questions about them.
1. No matter where you go, I am there with you. You are never alone while working for me.
2. If I am for you, who can be against you? I am greater than any trouble, or strife you could even think up in your over-analyzing brain! And...don't try, you will never be able to logically out-think me.
3. If you really mess up and make some mistakes today, I will still love you as much as I love you right now.
4. Be yourself -- only when you are honest and transparent among friends, can I minister to them through you...
5. Always be alert, ready and able to speak about the Love I have placed in your heart -- and you can make a difference in a life... --
6. I am in control -- not you. Quit trying to run things that are not able to be ran by human hands. A life of Peace is only found in giving control every day--
7. You may have to reach out first...others are not always interested in friendships with those close to me...you can intimidate them. Be gentle, and loving and ask questions about them.
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