Introducing some friends at #Exponential that will CLEARLY help you
Each year as I gather at Exponential I see old friends and new who have invested in clarity and vision for their ministry-minded organizations. Here are their stories:
WAYFARER and 3DM
Years ago, the leaders of Warfarer Ministries developed their vision frame that sprung from a mission core of “awakening redefinition” about the person of Jesus. One of their mantras and their first core value is “Christ before Christianity.” They eventual joined forces with 3dm and Mike Breen. Check in with Dave Rhoades and Mike Breen as they help leaders build a discipling culture in post-Christian contexts. These guys walk the talk of missional community.
GENERIS
For 10 years the church capital campaign industry has declined due to overuse of a pre-packaged and overpriced model for raising money. But the need to build a generous culture never goes out of style. That’s why I like Generis. They maintain a position of thought leadership in the church space by bringing a 3-fold strategy to their mission of “accelerating generosity toward God-inpired vision.” Be sure to meet Jim Sheppard, Brand Leper, Julie Bullock and Chris Willard. Ask them about their values.
FOR THE CHURCH as CCB (Church Community Builder)
This last year the leadership team of CCB (held by an organization whose name I love- “For the Church”) re-clarified that their mission is NOT about providing great software (although they do), but about helping church leaders master systems and process. This is a huge need in local churches. Their new mission is “Guiding church leaders to a better how.” Be sure to catch Steve Caton and others on the team. Ask them about their values and their exciting new strategy.
NEARTOWN CHURCH
Want to hear how a church plant can invest in clarity and vision? Connect with Russell Cravens and Andrew Minchew who lead Neartown Church in downtown Houston. I love these guys and their story. I have personally decided to invest in their vision as I have watched it birth from seed form to a fully-functioning church plant over the last 24 months. Early on, Russell took some key leaders through one of Auxano’s co::Labs in Houston. Their Kingdom Concept is all about brining the whole Gospel to busy young dads moving back to the city. Check out their website and their logo by Auxano Design.
VANDERBLOEMEN SEARCH
Just a few years ago William Vanderbloemen launched a ministry initiative championed by the tagline “We Staff the Church.” The mission core of William’s life is “creating connections.” Having worked with William on other projects before he started this ministry, I was thrilled when he asked Auxano Design to help with his logo to communicate the vision of “search” in a distinct and visually compelling way. Check it out.
VISION ROOM
While you’re at Exponential don’t miss the opportunity to meet Bob Adams, Auxano’s new Vision Room Curator. I’ll end it here and let Bob fill you in on our new strategy launching this summer. But do it-your-self vision and clarity will never be more effective after the Vision Room launches!
Keep up with Auxano folks and content at Exponential.
2012 Barna Report: Pastors Are Most Interested in Clarity of Church’s Vision and Mission
As I’ve watched conversations over the past decade, I have observed a growing interest from church leaders in getting mission and vision right. The latest Barna Group report that studied how pastors plan to improve their churches in the coming year affirms this. David Kinnaman, who directed the research study put it this way:
“Most pastors are open to changing their ministries, yet many of them are struggling with the foundational questions of mission and vision. In other words, they want a clear direction to pursue, not necessarily just more ministry resources, like facilities, equipment, technology or ministry tools.”
Here are a few bullets that highlight important takeaways from the Barna research. You can read the full article here.
- The highest priority for pastors is assessing their church’s mission and vision. (59% said they definitely will; 88% probably will)
- The second priority is to assess the church’s reputation in the community. (38% said they definitely will; 72% probably will)
- Conducting an assessment of spiritual transformation in their church is an important goal. (22% said they definitely will; 50% probably will)
- Measuring demographics and spiritual needs in their local community will be a priority. (31% said they definitely will; 62% probably will)
This report continues to expose the growing interest in and need for vision consulting as higher priority is being put on vision clarity by church leaders. It also reinforces one of the points I mentioned in a previous post, 2011 Vision and Strategy Church Trends where I observed that we are seeing a shift in priorities and needs of church leaders. It is a shift that is moving away from packaged campaigns and programs towards the ability to navigate organic and culture-savvy solutions. Indeed, help in clarifying vision has become the most common reason for a pastor to pursue a consultant.
5 Big Moves When Evaluating a Big Decision
In the last month I have been evaluating a pretty big decision. One of those kinds where, for better or worse, my resting moments are flooded with pros and cons and “what ifs.” Here are some things I have been been doing in the process of discernment.
#1 Keep it about the walk.
Whatever the decision, remember Jesus is walking next to you and your life belongs to Him. How will the decision affect your relationship with Him? This question alone should be the only one you need to ask. During this season, I have been reflecting on the pattern of big decisions in my life and relishing the memories of Jesus guiding me for 30 years. Prayer this way becomes more than an act, it’s an expression of long relationship.
#2 Don’t get advice, get better questions.
Getting advice is a no brainer. The real pursuit is getting better questions. You will have the top three or four people from whom you receive general wisdom. What about the next 15-20 who can give you special, very specific insight? With each person, ask, “What other questions do I need to consider about _________?” or “Here is an assumption I am working from, but what question am I not considering?” I have had some big explosions of insight by asking these questions.
#3 Create a tug-o-perspective-war.
It’s important to “mine out” the conflict and tension of the decision. I even imagine a tug-of-war of different perspectives. Who can you enlist to pull on the different sides by offering new perspective? Of course you’ll have to live with the internal battle in keeping the first and last “move” of this list in mind. In the last month I have different sides “winning” as I stack each side of the rope with new people offering new points of view.
#4 Travel in time, while watching time.
God gave you an imagination so that you could dream forward and exercise faith. While we can’t predict the future, you can play out your decision, and practice in your minds-eye the blessings and byproducts of your big decision. How does the decision change your life in the next year? In the next ten years? How will the tone of the hours of your day be affected? How will all of your key relationships be affected? The list goes on. Remember there are times when your creative mind is more active, like the fringes of sleep and hypnotic states, like taking a long shower or driving. I intentionally use these times. But remember to watch your time. Don’t make a decision to quickly, and don’t forget that some opportunities expire. You only have the lifetime of the opportunity to leverage the opportunity of a lifetime.
#5 Do the trust fall.
In the end, every decision is an act of trust. Remember that crazy thing you did at camp when you were a kid? You really didn’t know if your buddies were going to let you hit the ground for a laugh. But you did it. You let go. You trusted. The final act of the decision-making process is the moment of commitment. How does this act of trust feel for me? I simply tell God, “I have listened and discerned as much as possible and I am making this decision for you. If this is not the right decision, I trust you to show and to direct my path. Everything I have and I am belongs to you.”
FREE Clarity and Vision Casting Tools from The NINES Content
If you watched my talk at the NINES online conference today, below are the free tools I referenced.
The Vision Casting Spider Diagram
Download the Church Unique Visual Summary
Leadia by Leadership Network: Why Church Leaders Are Going to Love this New App!
Leadia was just announced by Leadership Network and it will rollout to the world tomorrow at the online conference, The NINES. What exactly is Leadia? In short it’s “leadership + media-” It’s a short digital book, combined with embedded video, audio and social media. Check out the intro video:
I have been working with the LN team on it for the past couple of months as a contributor of one of the first four Leadia Experiences. Here is my take on why you are going to love this innovative app.
#1 It’s a totally new genre that’s more fun and more effective than other ways of learning
#2 The experiences are less than 10,000 words so you can interact with them in one sitting
#3 The learning is customized and expandable allowing you to go deeper if you want
#4 New and diverse content will come from a broader range of authors
#5 The content costs less than a book and lots of ebooks
#6 It’s downright fun because use you can be surprised as you go through the experience
#7 It’s great for individual or team use.
I will be sharing about my contribution (FLUX: Four Paths to the Future) once Apple approves it for publication within the Leadia app.