Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Open Source Ministry
At the Buzz Conference in D.C., I heard Ed Young Jr. encourage an audience of pastors to "plagiarize" creative ideas from other pastors. Sure, in the world of journalism and academia this practice is frowned upon. In the church, it shouldn’t be. Maybe a safer term could be borrowed from geekdom: "open source." When computer software is "open source," it is made accessible to users for adaptation, modification and improvement—without violating copyright restrictions. Even as I was writing this column, I heard about a church that’s offering a complete multimedia VBS curriculum it created—downloadable for free. Another, LifeChurch, opens its own vault of creativity--free for the plundering. Their material rivals anything you would pay money for. If you’ve discovered a creative way of doing ministry, it is unlikely you stumbled upon it by serendipity. If it’s a "God idea," it belongs to all of us. Seek. Find. Adapt. Share. Collaborate. As Mark Batterson says, "There are ways of doing ministry that haven’t been discovered yet."
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Crowdsourcing
"Goodbye, experts. Your services are no longer required." That's the basic gist of this Wired article that explores the concept of crowdsourcing. What is crowdsourcing?
When a movie shot by 50 fans of a rock group with 50 Hi-8 video cameras makes it to the box office. (I won't give a link--the name of the movie is objectionable, to say the least.) When SportingNews.com made its reader blog community--not articles written by its own staff--the heart and soul of its Web site.
When Threadless.com solicits t-shirt designs from its customers--and makes $20 million selling the t-shirts.
When financial services company Marketocracy, a community of 60,000 online stock traders, tracks the decisions of its top 100 portfolios to set the investment strategy for its mutual fund. (Its index has outperformed the S&P 500 in 11 of the past 17 quarters.)
Businesses are recognizing that the customer is more likely to purchase a product that he or she has had input in creating. How does this apply to church? I call it the democratization of ministry. Congregants want to be involved in doing church--not just watching church. For example, my home church sometimes places mics in the congregation for worshippers to share prayers and biblical passages at certain times during the service. Since the service is broadcast over the Internet, those watching on the Web are also given the opportunity to contribute in this way (prayers and passages are displayed on the video screen or broadcast over the P.A.). All this creates a tapestry of ministry from the platform, the pew and around the world. Sounds a little like the first-century church, doesn't it--enabled with a little 21st-century technology (1 Cor. 14:26)?When Threadless.com solicits t-shirt designs from its customers--and makes $20 million selling the t-shirts.
When financial services company Marketocracy, a community of 60,000 online stock traders, tracks the decisions of its top 100 portfolios to set the investment strategy for its mutual fund. (Its index has outperformed the S&P 500 in 11 of the past 17 quarters.)
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Better vs. Different
Remember when Sears rated items in their catalogs as 'good', 'better' and 'best'? Of course, the assumption was that the more discriminating one's tastes, the more likely they would choose the 'best' pillows or--in my case--walkie-talkies (this was the early '80s, mind you). In a recent blog entry, marketing guru Seth Godin offers some advice that's particularly relevant to church leaders: sometimes better isn't good enough. Seth challenges leaders to seek 'different' solutions to challenges. 'Better' is built on the assumption that one's way of doing things only needs improvement, not renovation. In the words of Apple, 'think different'!
Monday, May 15, 2006
In the Moonlight: Bi-vocational Pastoring
The Sep/Oct issue of Ministry Today will feature an article on bi-vocational pastors. We welcome your perspectives on this ever-present reality. Send a 50-word response to one or more of the questions below, with your name, city and state (or "anonymous") to ministrytodaymag@strang.com with "bi-vocational pastors" in the subject line.
What is the greatest benefit of being a bi-vocational pastor? What is the greatest challenge? Why have you chosen to stay bi-vocational?
Take the quick poll below:Friday, May 12, 2006
Outlaw Preacher
"If he was having a square dance, nobody would have bothered him." Those are the words of a sympathetic local after Virginia rancher Garland Simmons was served notice that the cowboy church he leads could no longer meet in his barn. Apparently, using the farm in this manner is "contrary to its agricultural zoning," but Simmons has no intention of backing down. Riding to the rescue of this outlaw preacher is the Liberty Counsel, which argues that the zoning code in Bedford County is so broad it could require someone to get a special use permit to host a home Bible study.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Ministry Today Size Change
The May relaunch of of Ministries Today as Ministry Today was our biggest issue yet--in more ways than one. Since the new tabloid-sized magazine arrived in readers' mailboxes it has generated both frustration ("It's too big--it doesn't fit on my coffee table!") and pleasure ("Finally, a magazine that's asking the same questions I'm asking.") What do you think?
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Da Vinci Response: All Grown Up?
Isn't it about time for all the angry preachers to come out of the woodwork and organize a good, old-fashioned boycott of The DaVinci Code? In fact, in light of the free PR a boycott would generate for the film, any evangelical who suggests a boycott should probably be checked for Hollywood connections. Nearly two decades ago, it was feared that a far less blasphemous film, The Last Temptation of Christ, would shake the foundations of Christendom. As the Boston Globe notes, this time around, the church's response has been a bit more mature (if not opportunistic): Sure, go ahead and watch the movie ... we know you want to. Then, read one of the 20 or so books written by evangelicals exploring Da Vinci, and come to our church for a series of special services engaging the film's claims.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
24 Hours in the Hive
I just returned from visiting a nest of creativity, the first annual Buzz Conference at National Community Church (aka theaterchurch.com) in D.C. Among the speakers were NCC pastor/Buzz host Mark Batterson, Fellowship Church pastor Ed Young and Center for Church Communication founder Brad Abare. Our tagline is discerning analysis for innovative church leaders, but it wasn't until Buzz that I began to reconsider what the word innovative means--particularly in a church context. It's not so much about a dictionary definition, but about identifying ingredients. Here's a start ...
Creativity: Is my new way of doing things unique to my context? Risk: Does my new way of doing things entail a likelihood of failure? Discernment: Does my new way of doing things organically spring from my understanding of God's ways and God's Word? Results: Does my new way of doing things accomplish the objective for which it was conceived?
We're going to be much more intentional about looking for these criterion as we continue our quest to find--and connect our readers with--innovative leaders in ministry.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
MegaChurch: The Game
For many fans of the SimCity series, it will come as a massive disappointment that this megachurch simulation game is merely a cruel joke.Tuesday, May 02, 2006
The 'Undocumented' Church
Today I heard a self-proclaimed "pastor" call into a talk-radio station to defend the rights of illegal immigrants. Did he cite the Mosaic Law's command to care for the "alien and stranger in your midst"? Nope. Did he observe Paul's instructions to practice hospitality (a word in Greek which can be literally translated "love of foreigners")? Not a chance. Did he observe Jesus' command to welcome strangers as though they were Him? Hardly. Instead, the caller based his argument on the fact that (1) illegal immigrants are poor, (2) Jesus likes poor people and wants us to like poor people too and (3) the command to like poor people transcends all human laws--immigration laws notwithstanding. (Before being verbally eviscerated by the talk-show host, the hapless preacher even suggested that Jesus was an illegal alien because He went to Egypt to escape Herod.) If only it were so simple, as Hispanic church leader Sammy Rodriguez observes in his column in the May/June issue of Ministry Today. While biblical writers such as Paul defend the state's right to wield the sword and execute justice, prophets such as Malachi rail against systemic injustice that takes advantage of the poor and defenseless. The 21st-century church is faced with the reality of millions of fathers and mothers willing to take great risks--and even break laws--for the chance to provide for their families. As Rodriguez points out, a good number of these are otherwise law-abiding evangelical Christians. The church's challenge? Taking a stand for law and order (Rom. 13:4) and simultaneously welcoming the stranger and alien in our midst (Deut. 24:17).
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