What I see when I get a moment to pause and make a little sense of the world
Michael Bird, Tutor in New Testament at the Highland Theological College in Dingwall, Scotland, offers a lesson on how to speak Australian.
You might enjoy his careful statement about the influence of N. T. Wright and D. A. Carlson on his thinking.
Of course, this Australian parodying his statement above is a hoot!
You can check out his blog Euangelion (Evangel) here.
I found a couple of posts at Fast Company this week that challenged my thinking about how I see the audience that the web can attract to what we do in churches, non-profits, businesses, or even (God-forbid) politics. The first was a post from Richard Brooks in response to a colleague’s assertion “Our target audience is too old for blogs. They’re too old for Tweeter (sic). They’re too old for Facebook. I don’t see our audience reading blogs.”
Brooks responds:
“Do you mind if I add my .02?” I asked. Since I made and served coffee to our guests already, they may have felt indebted to me, but in any case they asked me to continue.
“Blog posts are just like Web pages; each blog post you create is another opportunity to rank well at the search engines. You don’t have to worry whether your audience reads blogs, just if they use the Internet and search engines. (And I assume you do believe that, otherwise you wouldn’t have an e-commerce store.) Your blog posts can attract that search traffic and either funnel the prospect to your site or we can e-commerce right to your blog itself.
“According to some recent surveys the fastest growing segment in Facebook is women 35 and over. A lot of ‘grandmas’ are joining Facebook because that’s where they can see their grandkids’ photos. The average age of someone on Twitter is 31 (which means a lot of people are older).
“A strategic combination of search engine optimization and social media marketing (along with some hard work) can definitely increase the quantity and quality of traffic coming to your Web site. Plus, with social media you can better engage your audience and get feedback from them on what your next products should be.
“You might end up being a little ahead of the curve for some of your audience, but better to be a little ahead than behind.”
So there I thought to myself, I have been making some wrong assertions. I wonder who else has?
Then I read Lindsay Pollack’s interesting reflection on her new assistant and what she brought to their work together. Pollack is a member of Generation X and her assistant is of Generation Y. She offered the following observations in her post “Why I Love My Gen Y Assistant.”
1. She brings up things that never occur to me.
2. She’s just tech-ier.
3. She understands personal branding.
4. She’s not really into the 9 to 5.
5. Her energy is phenomenal.
I give thanks that God has placed members of the Gen X, Gen Y, Boomer, and Silent generations on my team. It often makes for interesting conversations and usually means that we can make better decisions together than we could make separately. The above posts also remind me that I need think through the positives that each staff person (and their generation) brings to the table and avoid the easy cliches about a generation’s supposed shortcomings.
Recently I have become intrigued with folks who challenge each other to say something powerful in a short time. First I met the folks at TED Talks who moved their live conference format to the web. At their conferences a wide variety of speakers had exactly fifteen minutes to present an idea. They now have taken their “riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world” to the web with over 500 talks available online.
Then last month my colleagues Doug Ward and Dennis Peay introduced me through their tweets to a similar event in Raleigh called Ignite Raleigh. At that event presenters had 5 minutes and 20 slides with to meet the challenge “enlighten us, but make it quick!” By the way, you may want to check out Derek Brown’s “What Would Jesus Tweet” presentation.
Now the folks at Leadership Network and Catalyst have combined to bring together 70 presenters who were asked the question “If you had nine minutes to talk one-on-one with thousands of church leaders, what is the one thing that you would tell them?” The result in a series of nine minute videos that start running at 9:09 AM (CDT) on 09/09/2009. Its free, you can eat and drink your own snacks, check your email, send a tweet, and update your Facebook status and never leave home! What’s not to like!
For more information and to register click over to The NINES Conference now!
Recently I have become intrigued with folks who challenge each other to say something powerful in a short time. First I met the folks at TED Talks who moved their live conference format to the web. At their conferences a wide variety of speakers had exactly fifteen minutes to present an idea. They now have taken their “riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world” to the web with over 500 talks available online.
Then last month my colleagues Doug Ward and Dennis Peay introduced me through their tweets to a similar event in Raleigh called Ignite Raleigh. At that event presenters had 5 minutes and 20 slides with to meet the challenge “enlighten us, but make it quick!” By the way, you may want to check out Derek Brown’s “What Would Jesus Tweet” presentation.
Now the folks at Leadership Network and Catalyst have combined to bring together 70 presenters who were asked the question “If you had nine minutes to talk one-on-one with thousands of church leaders, what is the one thing that you would tell them?” The result in a series of nine minute videos that start running at 9:09 AM (CDT) on 09/09/2009. Its free, you can eat and drink your own snacks, check your email, send a tweet, and update your Facebook status and never leave home! What’s not to like!
For more information and to register click over to The NINES Conference now!
As in the national election last fall, health care is now emerging as an issue that divides us to the left and to the right. Many of us find ourselves in the middle on this an other divisive issues. When we stand in the middle we are often accused of being soft, muddle-headed, wishy-washy, etc. Adam Hamilton, author of Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White (Abingdon Press, 2008), suggests that the middle with its gray is often exactly where we ought to be. As pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, Hamilton became increasingly uncomfortable with trying to align himself and his congregants with one particular side of the political aisle. He writes: “Each has valuable perspectives to offer, but each seems to see the world only in black and white terms. The problem is that sometimes things are gray, and we must train our eyes to spot them.” To address his concerns, Hamilton preached a five-week series on matters that most only hear about on Capital Hill. The outline of his book detailing this sermon series is listed below:
Introduction: Are Jerry Falwell and John Shelby Spong Our Only Options?
Part I: Seeing the Gray in a Black and White World
Part II: The Bible, Beliefs, and the Spiritual Journey
Part III: Politics and Ethics in the Center
In Order to Reach Non-Religious People We Must Answer Three Crucial Questions:
Adam’s answers to the above for the Church of the Resurrection:
From Visitor to Member:
The Case for Methodism (United Methodists embrace both):
You can check out the video at this link: “Evangelism and the Case for Methodism“
In Order to Reach Non-Religious People We Must Answer Three Crucial Questions:
Adam’s answers to the above for the Church of the Resurrection:
From Visitor to Member:
The Case for Methodism (United Methodists embrace both):
You can check out the video at this link: “Evangelism and the Case for Methodism“
This month let’s look at several books to brighten our spirits:
Patricia Wilson is a storyteller whose anecdotes point to the good news: God loves you and wants you to enjoy a life abundant in blessings, freedom, and opportunity. In When You Come Unglued Stick Close to God
When tragedy strikes, many people desperately search for answers by turning to God. Bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado believes that prayer is the only real answer to tragedy and crisis and helps readers understand how to pray despite their doubt and fear. Check out For These Tough Times: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing
Marriages have a better opportunity of thriving when couples spend time together with God. David Stoop and Jan Stoop offer couples a chance to center their lives together in Just Us: Finding Intimacy with God and Each Other
This month let’s look at several books to brighten our spirits:
Patricia Wilson is a storyteller whose anecdotes point to the good news: God loves you and wants you to enjoy a life abundant in blessings, freedom, and opportunity. In When You Come Unglued Stick Close to God
When tragedy strikes, many people desperately search for answers by turning to God. Bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado believes that prayer is the only real answer to tragedy and crisis and helps readers understand how to pray despite their doubt and fear. Check out For These Tough Times: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing
Marriages have a better opportunity of thriving when couples spend time together with God. David Stoop and Jan Stoop offer couples a chance to center their lives together in Just Us: Finding Intimacy with God and Each Other
A friend of mine said I needed to read Blue Like Jazz
Miller writes a string of essays that recount a journey of resolution.
I never like jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theatre in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxaphone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.
After that I liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. Is as if they are showing the way.
I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened (page ix).
What a journey you take with Miller. He reveals his heart in so many dramatic ways. He also challenges us to reevaluate our assumptions. Take this quote on things he hates about churches:
First: I felt like people were trying to sell me Jesus. I was a salesman for a while, and we were taught that you were supposed to point out the benefits of a product when you are selling it. That is how I felt about some of the preachers I heard speak. They were always pointing out the benefits of Christian faith. That rubbed me wrong. It's not that there are not benefits, there are, but did they have to talk about spirituality like it's a vacuum cleaner. I never felt like Jesus was a product. I wanted Him to be a person. Not only that, but they were always pointing out how great the particular church was. The bulletin read like a brochure for Amway. They were always saying how life-changing some conference was going to be. Life-changing? What does that mean? It sounded very suspicious. I wish they would just tell it to me straight rather than trying to sell me on everything. I felt like I got bombarded with commercials all week and then I went to church and got even more.
Front Porch Reflections 
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