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Becoming A Vision Collaborator

A long, long time ago (like in the 1990's) leaders had the idea that it was their job to see the future and in many & various ways cast their vision to their people.

I'm only being a little snotty. 

This approach at least acknowledged that people need a vision. Nobody likes being told what to "do." They want something to believe in. They want to know that what they do matters. 

But across organizations - in both the for profit and the not-for-profit worlds - we have begun to realize that people rarely catch a vision they haven't participated in dreaming up. What's more, when it comes to the kinds of dreams that mean big changes in their organizational life, most people - about 85% of people in a typical organization - aren't natural dreamers. 

Check out this "Change Openness Distribution" graph to see what I'm talking about. We used it during our webinar on "vision" this week and lots of you requested it. Here it is: 

How To Reconnect With Your Context

The widely reported "CLOSED" signs that recently appeared on every Starbucks in the country help illustrate that people in every organization have to work hard to remember who they are and what matters to them.

There were a couple of questions at the end of our recent online seminar that we didn't have time to address and we promised we'd do that in this space. This was one of those questions: "If our churches are made up of people who live in the world, how does the church become so disconnected from the context?" In other words, how do we end up forgetting something that is so much at the core of who we are and what matters to us?

There are many ways to answer that question. But I believe it all begins here: The church becomes disconnected from the context when we forget that the church is not, first, an institution. The church is people. As a result, a double blind spot is created in which most Christians actually forget one identity when they pay attention to the other. In the world - forget you are the church. In the church - separate yourself from the world.

It is not the church (people) that is disconnected from the world as much as it is the institution that we have settled for. What this means is the institution that is disconnected from the world is also no longer fully connected to its own people (since they still generally understand the world and just seem to develop amnesia when they enter the institution!). This mistake has been internalized over a period of generations. Both the church and society entered into an unwritten deal that if the church would coexist with the world without challenging it too much, then society would help the church flourish as a civic organization. Much of the church settled for the safety of being a civic organization. Eventually it became engrained in us - the church is an organization and the people come to it and support it (or not!). This unwritten deal is now over but the damage is still being felt.

We need to work hard today to remember that the church does not dispense religious services to people - it is made up of people of faith. Reclaiming the priesthood of believers, understanding that God is "out there," and helping people see and be intentional about how they are useful to God all the time is a key to changing this; so is learning to use our gathering time as time for equipping and debriefing. When we get together, we ought to be talking about what is happening in our corner of the world and how God is at work there. Leaders in congregations that want to take their place seriously again will discover that by asking purposeful questions and using participative processes, they will be tapping into the wisdom and experience that many people already bring with them but have been checking at the door. And in wrestling with the answers, people who have disconnected their church and world identities will discover them reconnecting again. These congregations can then send people back to be the church in the world, ready to see God at work in and through them again (and again, and again...).

The key to reconnecting with our context is to remember that the church is people who live, work and play in the world everyday! Vibrant congregations will learn to tap into what people already know about how to connect with their context and encourage them to be the church wherever in the world they go.

Webinars: Bringing it Home

So, what's an online seminar (i.e., "webinar") for, anyway? You may be asking that question if this experience is new to you. But you may also be asking that question if it's not; in fact, you may be wondering "why a webinar and not a podcast?"

Well, the A.R.E. podcast is in development. We'll get there. In terms of delivering content that is portable and convenient to users, you can't beat a podcast. You can download a podcast like you download a song or a video clip or a file and listen to it on your computer whenever you want. You don't have to show up for the LIVE event. It's prerecorded. If you have an iPod or an mp3 player, you can even take the podcast with you wherever you go. Listen in the car or while you're exercising or whatever.

On the other hand, you have to actually show up at a certain time to be in on a webinar. You have to log on at the same time the presenters do. In other words, it's a LIVE event. This is a whole lot less convenient for people. So, why bother? Well, according to Ardeth Albee, a webinar can accomplish three main things:

• extend and develop conversations


• transfer knowledge


• grow a community of involvement around a topic

The key advantage of a webinar is that it has the potential of being INTERACTIVE. You can ask questions, make comments, suggest resources, learn from other participants, build on ideas, and be a part of a conversation. The number of people online with you at any given time determines, in a lot of ways, how much interactivity you can have and even how that interaction takes place. For example, in very large groups, you may have to write your thoughts; in smaller groups, you can actually talk to each other.

At A.R.E., one of our guiding principles is "Using Participative Processes." And a lot of what we do is to help our friends, partners, and clients put that principle into practice. So webinars, with all the potential they have for interaction, seem like a natural fit for us. We plan to explore the possibility during these next weeks and months. And we're looking forward to what you have to say about it. What do you like? What don't you like? What do you need? What would be most helpful for the people in your organization? It's not too late to register for tonight's webinar. CLICK HERE to go right to the registration page.

In the meantime, think about this: Instead of insisting that people physically come to you to get whatever it is you're offering, podcasting and webinars, each in their own way, take your message to people...wherever they live, work, and play. It helps you literally bring your message home to people. Is this something your organization could - and maybe should - be doing? What kind of impact could this technology help you have in the lives of the people you are serving? How could it help you begin to think "beyond the walls" of your organization?

Who Are You Listening To?

After being in seminary for way too long (on and off for a decade!), my favorite reading these days usually comes from somewhere in the “real” world – local and national newspapers, magazines (the good, the bad, and the shameless…Do you know what Brittney did this weekend?!), books from my monthly book group, titles on the best seller list, and recommendations from my wonderfully creaky neighborhood bookstore. I do occasionally pick up the latest missional church book or a recommended read by a trusted colleague, but mostly I stir clear of anything that smells like it’s “inside the church box.” So, yesterday found me reading the cover story from this month’s Fast Company magazine, a piece by Clive Thompson entitled “Motorhead Messiah.” I will save you all of the crazy engine details from the article. Let’s just say, this guy is putting in juiced-up, environmentally-friendly, biodiesel and electric engines in some of the biggest gas hogs on the road. Can you say mean and green…Hummer!?! This guy is doing things the folks in Detroit say are impossible. So much so that, when Goodwin had his Hummer parked overnight at a hotel in Denver, he woke up the next morning to about 20 awe-struck guys standing around his car. Anderson says:

A Nice Little Story

Here's a great little story coming out of the Reformed Church in America about a growing congregation in South Dakota. Faced with a space shortage on Sunday mornings - too many people to fit into one worship service - they decided to do something dramatic: They added services. As time went on, each service began to take on its own character.The story doesn't explain why this congregation was growing in the first place. But it does report that members of the congregation have learned two things as a result of their experience with new - and varied - worship services: 1) There is spiritual power in diversity and 2) Focusing on meeting the needs of your neighbors leads to both personal - and congregational - spiritual health:

A Process Map

It’s important to remember that the renewal of the church is not a program. It is more of a journey that we are all on together. We find momentum for this journey as we learn to work together in purposeful, participative, prayerful, and playful ways; asking the right questions; and daring to take action for the sake of God’s mission…even if we’re not quite sure how it will turn out. This "process map" (below) was developed by our friend and colleague, Dave Daubert, Director for Congregational Renewal in the ELCA...and an all around great guy. Spend some time looking at it, getting your head around how it works...and then let it begin to work FOR you in your context:

Facing Facts

One of the most serious dangers we see congregations facing today? The inability and/or unwillingness to deal with unpleasant facts. There are way too many congregations, in fact, that wait until their resources are nearly exhausted to begin asking the question, "What do we need to do differently?!"Here's one possible explanation:"Research has shown that Americans are bad at assessing their performance and skills. Apparently, part of our national character — optimism — keeps us from interpreting feedback accurately. And our overconfidence results in errors that are sometimes critical." [From an NPR "Science Out Of The Box" report. Listen to the story here.If you're a church leader today, in the middle of this changing culture, one of your main jobs is to help people in your congregation face facts. It might help to know what you're up against.

3 Things I Learned In Wine Country To Give Small Organizations An Edge

This is for every small organization looking for an edge but especially for all those mainstream congregations struggling to find their way in the shadow of Evangelical megachurches. It's also in honor of all the "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essays being written by back-to-school kids this week! Here are three things I learned about thriving in the backyard of larger competitors while on a tour of small Northern California wineries over the holiday weekend.

Advice To Church Leaders: Go On, Get Out Of Here!

How well do you understand your context?The Archbishop of Wales made the headlines this week when he agreed to take part in a debate on the topic "Is Religion Bad?" that was held in a neighborhood bar. (Click here to read the story.)The debate was part of a series of conversations that attempt, according to one of the sponsors, to "tackle issues that are important to people in general.""Sometimes," he added, "the things the church goes on about aren’t important to people.”