ARE:A Renewal Enterprise

A Multiplication Model

In many organizations, growth happens (or doesn't) through adding people to the system. But some of the most dynamic stories of businesses and ministries start their work with a model that multiplies. Join us for our next "Fourth Tuesday" free webinar when we'll be exploring the difference between an "adding" model and a "multiplying" one and give key tips on how your organization can benefit by being more intentional about how you raise up and release people to carry out your organization's purpose.

Continue reading "A Multiplication Model" »

Dave Daubert - Three months ago I had never been to a webinar – since then I have helped lead two and we have one the fourth Tuesday of every month! Three months ago I had never spent a lot of time listening to podcasts – since then I have learned how to make them (including learning how to mix in music, narration, etc!). I have used a web/phone combination for meeting with a church council in Tennessee and conference calling for a meeting of a dozen leaders in a dozen communities along the border of Mexico and New Mexico. And in the last couple of weeks I have seen our functional A.R.E. web site nearly stop functioning due to servers crashing at our hosting company and we have had to scramble to get things back up again (I can take almost NO credit for fixing that – Kelly Fryer performed amazingly well doing things she didn’t know how to do, either!). My point is that if we (or you) are going to function in the new world in which we find ourselves, communicating effectively with a busy, fast paced and diverse world requires that we learn the medium of the day.

As we spent time evaluating the feedback we received from those of you who participated in our second webinar last night, we found ourselves giving thanks for all the early adopters who are helping us get this thing figured out! This really is becoming a community development project and we couldn't be doing it without you. We want to share with you some of the feedback we heard; I'll do that in another post. But, first off, here are some numbers you might find interesting:

Phew! That's how I was feeling as we wrapped up our second online seminar. There were over 50 people online with us tonight for the first in a 4-part series on change. The largest number of participants were congregational lay leaders (awesome!). There were also lots of church professionals, a few judicatory leaders, and some nonprofit/business leaders, as well. Things got off to a rocky start when Dave, who was hosting tonight, couldn't get his call-in phone number to work. At 7:00 p.m. we were still on the phone with our provider, trying to get signed on to the call! That created a little confusion on our end when it came to slide & survey placement. All 3 of us were a little jittery. Thanks to everyone who is wading into these new waters with us. We value your participation and we look forward to your feedback!

Feedback from those who participated in our first online seminar was overwhelmingly positive and tonight's topic was chosen based on their input. I hope you'll join us online this evening for what will be the first in a three part series on change.

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?

We know that an "online seminar" (also called "webinars") is a whole new experience for a lot of you - it's new for us, too! But we are committed to figuring out how to use this new technology because we know that it's the best, fastest way we can deliver training to many of our friends, partners, and clients. A lot of people who want to experience an A.R.E. training event just won't be able to do that "live" due to distance, cost, etc. This is the next best thing! We also know that even people who DO attend a live event want the benefit of ongoing, regular training. This is a cost-effective way for us to deliver that to you.

So...if you're at all curious about how this online thing might work for you and/or the people in your organization, be sure to be online with us tomorrow night. Once you register, you'll get information about how to join the seminar. Specifically, you'll get:

• a website address and a password


• a phone number to call

Tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CST/8 p.m. EST you'll go to the website, type in the password....and call the phone number you're given. At that point, you'll SEE our presentation on your computer screen and you'll HEAR us talking on your phone.
Pretty awesome, huh?!

And all it'll cost you is the cost of your phone call. Registration for this event is FREE!

We'll be talking about four missional practices, why we think they're so important, and how they can make a difference in the way you work. You'll be able to ask us questions and make comments. And we'll be asking for your feedback about how the experience went for you.

I really hope you'll join us!

There are a few "system requirements: If you have a PC (any computer except an Apple), you'll need Windows(R) 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, or Vista. If you have an Apple computer, you'll need Mac OS(R) X 10.3.9 (Panther(R)) or newer. If you don't know WHAT kind of system you have, try getting online with us, anyway. But if you run into a problem, it might mean that it's time to update your computer!!

Click HERE to register.

According to Tim Sanders, best selling author and former Yahoo exec who has become an irrepressible advocate for good values in the workplace, love is the killer app. Those of us who work within faith-based organizations probably shouldn't need to be reminded of this. But we do.

Within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for example, we have been using a lot of data from research and surveys done with Natural Church Development in our congregations. We are starting to see clear patterns about where congregations consistently need to pay more attention. These patterns are not unique to the ELCA. Similar patterns can be seen in most mainline denominations.

After the first 100 congregations' data was in we began to track these patterns and noticed that passionate spirituality, need oriented evenagelism, and holistic small groups were the most common points needing attention. Further work showed us that the common ingredient in each of these was intentional relationships (with God, with neighbors, with our selves). In other words, we are not fulfilling the Great Commission.

For the past several years, I've been running all over the country doing workshops and giving presentations about church renewal. But there is nothing that I (or anyone) can share to help renew the church if we don't first deal with the Great Commandment. The point is: Mainline churches do not have an evangelism problem - that would be easy to deal with. Mainline churches have a love problem. Collectively we show few signs that we still love God. Together, we have shown almost no real effort to love our neighbors. And the evidence shows that we have stopped being very good at loving even our selves any more.

If we want to get back to effective ministry, it will not come from techniques to get people to come to us. It will come from leaders who are willing to love and help others love as well. When that happens, finding companions for the journey will be a lot easier. This is true no matter what business you're in. And if Yahoo gets that, it ought to be a no brainer for those whose business is serving Yahweh.

It seems a little strange to me that so few people who are given leadership roles in their organizations actually have any leadership training. This is especially (although not exclusively) true in faith-based organizations where pastors and other rostered leaders receive training in theology, Scripture, and a bunch of "how to's" like preaching and leading worship. But most church leaders don't learn "how to" lead during their seminary experience; neither do they learn the various theories of leadership, unless they are intentional about seeking out this kind of training on their own. No wonder leadership issues are at the heart of most church disasters.  

In fact, according to a recent study conducted by the Southern Baptist Church-Minister Relations Association:

Control issues were the top reason for staff dismissals, the same reason that has topped the surveys since they were initiated in 1996. The second through fifth most common reasons were the church's resistance to change; poor people skills of the pastor; a pastor's leadership style being too strong; and the church being in conflict when the pastor arrived. Reasons 6 through 10 were the same as the previous year: Decline in attendance; a pastor's leadership style being too weak; a pastor's administrative incompetence; sexual misconduct; and conflict with other staff.        

Click here to read the whole article.  

So, 8 or 9 of the top 10 reasons behind staff dismissals (including those involving pastors) have to do with leadership issues. Sounds like our seminaries need to be rethinking their curriculum. In the meantime, learning more about the theory and the "how-to's" of leadership is up to you.The good news is that most people called to lead churches should be able to grasp the concept that at the core of true leadership is service...and sacrifice. It's helpful to know how to ask purposeful questions, use participative processes, work playfully, and take place seriously. But leadership is, finally, about passion. And passion is about suffering. In other words, true leaders are willing to put themselves on the line for the sake of others. 

Check out this interesting blog post about a new book for more on this topic.  

A renewed A.R.E. made its debut early this new year as A Renewal Enterprise, Inc. Among other things, this means that we have been dealing with many of the same kinds of issues we are usually helping others work through. First off, a new team has come together! Dave Daubert, Tana Kjos, and I have worked together in various capacities for many years. But forming this new organization has meant spending many hours asking ourselves purposeful questions, using participative processes in order to reach consensus, in a way that is both very serious but playful enough to make room for new and surprising things to happen. The result is a renewed sense of purpose for A.R.E....and a whole lot of energy around developing new resources and processes to meet the needs of our clients & friends. We are glad that you found our website. It is still very much under construction and you'll see changes happening in the months to come, but it is our hope that you will come back again and again. In fact, we'd love to send you email notification whenever there are updates to the site, including new articles and announcements. (Click here to sign up.) If there is something you'd like to see here, on the website and/or in terms of products & processes, let us know. (Click here to contact us.) We are committed to helping you do what you do even better. And it is our hope that you will consider the "new" A.R.E. an important partner as you engage your work & world with purpose & passion! 

ARE you techno-phobic?

Dave Daubert - Three months ago I had never been to a webinar – since then I have helped lead two and we have one the fourth Tuesday of every month! Three months ago I had never spent a lot of time listening to podcasts – since then I have learned how to make them (including learning how to mix in music, narration, etc!). I have used a web/phone combination for meeting with a church council in Tennessee and conference calling for a meeting of a dozen leaders in a dozen communities along the border of Mexico and New Mexico. And in the last couple of weeks I have seen our functional A.R.E. web site nearly stop functioning due to servers crashing at our hosting company and we have had to scramble to get things back up again (I can take almost NO credit for fixing that – Kelly Fryer performed amazingly well doing things she didn’t know how to do, either!). My point is that if we (or you) are going to function in the new world in which we find ourselves, communicating effectively with a busy, fast paced and diverse world requires that we learn the medium of the day.

Thank-you Early Adopters!

As we spent time evaluating the feedback we received from those of you who participated in our second webinar last night, we found ourselves giving thanks for all the early adopters who are helping us get this thing figured out! This really is becoming a community development project and we couldn't be doing it without you. We want to share with you some of the feedback we heard; I'll do that in another post. But, first off, here are some numbers you might find interesting:

Why Change?

Phew! That's how I was feeling as we wrapped up our second online seminar. There were over 50 people online with us tonight for the first in a 4-part series on change. The largest number of participants were congregational lay leaders (awesome!). There were also lots of church professionals, a few judicatory leaders, and some nonprofit/business leaders, as well. Things got off to a rocky start when Dave, who was hosting tonight, couldn't get his call-in phone number to work. At 7:00 p.m. we were still on the phone with our provider, trying to get signed on to the call! That created a little confusion on our end when it came to slide & survey placement. All 3 of us were a little jittery. Thanks to everyone who is wading into these new waters with us. We value your participation and we look forward to your feedback!

Online Seminar Tonight: The Cost of Change

Feedback from those who participated in our first online seminar was overwhelmingly positive and tonight's topic was chosen based on their input. I hope you'll join us online this evening for what will be the first in a three part series on change.

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?

Webinar Tomorrow - Don’t Be Chicken!

We know that an "online seminar" (also called "webinars") is a whole new experience for a lot of you - it's new for us, too! But we are committed to figuring out how to use this new technology because we know that it's the best, fastest way we can deliver training to many of our friends, partners, and clients. A lot of people who want to experience an A.R.E. training event just won't be able to do that "live" due to distance, cost, etc. This is the next best thing! We also know that even people who DO attend a live event want the benefit of ongoing, regular training. This is a cost-effective way for us to deliver that to you.

So...if you're at all curious about how this online thing might work for you and/or the people in your organization, be sure to be online with us tomorrow night. Once you register, you'll get information about how to join the seminar. Specifically, you'll get:

• a website address and a password


• a phone number to call

Tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CST/8 p.m. EST you'll go to the website, type in the password....and call the phone number you're given. At that point, you'll SEE our presentation on your computer screen and you'll HEAR us talking on your phone.
Pretty awesome, huh?!

And all it'll cost you is the cost of your phone call. Registration for this event is FREE!

We'll be talking about four missional practices, why we think they're so important, and how they can make a difference in the way you work. You'll be able to ask us questions and make comments. And we'll be asking for your feedback about how the experience went for you.

I really hope you'll join us!

There are a few "system requirements: If you have a PC (any computer except an Apple), you'll need Windows(R) 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, or Vista. If you have an Apple computer, you'll need Mac OS(R) X 10.3.9 (Panther(R)) or newer. If you don't know WHAT kind of system you have, try getting online with us, anyway. But if you run into a problem, it might mean that it's time to update your computer!!

Click HERE to register.

First Things First (It’s All About Love)

According to Tim Sanders, best selling author and former Yahoo exec who has become an irrepressible advocate for good values in the workplace, love is the killer app. Those of us who work within faith-based organizations probably shouldn't need to be reminded of this. But we do.

Within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for example, we have been using a lot of data from research and surveys done with Natural Church Development in our congregations. We are starting to see clear patterns about where congregations consistently need to pay more attention. These patterns are not unique to the ELCA. Similar patterns can be seen in most mainline denominations.

After the first 100 congregations' data was in we began to track these patterns and noticed that passionate spirituality, need oriented evenagelism, and holistic small groups were the most common points needing attention. Further work showed us that the common ingredient in each of these was intentional relationships (with God, with neighbors, with our selves). In other words, we are not fulfilling the Great Commission.

For the past several years, I've been running all over the country doing workshops and giving presentations about church renewal. But there is nothing that I (or anyone) can share to help renew the church if we don't first deal with the Great Commandment. The point is: Mainline churches do not have an evangelism problem - that would be easy to deal with. Mainline churches have a love problem. Collectively we show few signs that we still love God. Together, we have shown almost no real effort to love our neighbors. And the evidence shows that we have stopped being very good at loving even our selves any more.

If we want to get back to effective ministry, it will not come from techniques to get people to come to us. It will come from leaders who are willing to love and help others love as well. When that happens, finding companions for the journey will be a lot easier. This is true no matter what business you're in. And if Yahoo gets that, it ought to be a no brainer for those whose business is serving Yahweh.

Passionate Leadership

It seems a little strange to me that so few people who are given leadership roles in their organizations actually have any leadership training. This is especially (although not exclusively) true in faith-based organizations where pastors and other rostered leaders receive training in theology, Scripture, and a bunch of "how to's" like preaching and leading worship. But most church leaders don't learn "how to" lead during their seminary experience; neither do they learn the various theories of leadership, unless they are intentional about seeking out this kind of training on their own. No wonder leadership issues are at the heart of most church disasters.  

In fact, according to a recent study conducted by the Southern Baptist Church-Minister Relations Association:

Control issues were the top reason for staff dismissals, the same reason that has topped the surveys since they were initiated in 1996. The second through fifth most common reasons were the church's resistance to change; poor people skills of the pastor; a pastor's leadership style being too strong; and the church being in conflict when the pastor arrived. Reasons 6 through 10 were the same as the previous year: Decline in attendance; a pastor's leadership style being too weak; a pastor's administrative incompetence; sexual misconduct; and conflict with other staff.        

Click here to read the whole article.  

So, 8 or 9 of the top 10 reasons behind staff dismissals (including those involving pastors) have to do with leadership issues. Sounds like our seminaries need to be rethinking their curriculum. In the meantime, learning more about the theory and the "how-to's" of leadership is up to you.The good news is that most people called to lead churches should be able to grasp the concept that at the core of true leadership is service...and sacrifice. It's helpful to know how to ask purposeful questions, use participative processes, work playfully, and take place seriously. But leadership is, finally, about passion. And passion is about suffering. In other words, true leaders are willing to put themselves on the line for the sake of others. 

Check out this interesting blog post about a new book for more on this topic.  

Welcome To The New A.R.E.!

A renewed A.R.E. made its debut early this new year as A Renewal Enterprise, Inc. Among other things, this means that we have been dealing with many of the same kinds of issues we are usually helping others work through. First off, a new team has come together! Dave Daubert, Tana Kjos, and I have worked together in various capacities for many years. But forming this new organization has meant spending many hours asking ourselves purposeful questions, using participative processes in order to reach consensus, in a way that is both very serious but playful enough to make room for new and surprising things to happen. The result is a renewed sense of purpose for A.R.E....and a whole lot of energy around developing new resources and processes to meet the needs of our clients & friends. We are glad that you found our website. It is still very much under construction and you'll see changes happening in the months to come, but it is our hope that you will come back again and again. In fact, we'd love to send you email notification whenever there are updates to the site, including new articles and announcements. (Click here to sign up.) If there is something you'd like to see here, on the website and/or in terms of products & processes, let us know. (Click here to contact us.) We are committed to helping you do what you do even better. And it is our hope that you will consider the "new" A.R.E. an important partner as you engage your work & world with purpose & passion!