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Innovative Networks: The Source of New Ideas

I have always said that the best stuff on this blog is found in the comments. (Actually, I haven't always said that - but I did say it once and now I'm saying it again!) I have been thinking about innovation lately and it has shown up on the last two posts.  Kathy left an important comment  about innovation when she said: "It may be equally important to look within your own church body...at the edges...to see what innovation God is driving close to home."  I agree.  There are innovative edges within (most) local churches and there are the innovative edges within the body of Christ as a whole.  Then I  got an e-mail from Paul who pointed me toward an article from Knowledge@Wharton titled Innovation Networks:  Looking for Ideas Outside the Company  The article pulls it all together and says, "Innovation networks are people, institutions and companies that are outside the firm -- they can also be inside the firm... They are intellectual assets that companies can link up with to solve problems and find ideas, while beginning to think about those assets as an extended part of their organization. From a competitive-advantage standpoint, yes, I think it's going to be a really big deal...the companies that identify those assets outside and begin to build relationships with them have a real shot at building a competitive advantage and preferential relationships." If you want to read the whole article, click HERE.

When I talk about innovation, I'm talking about new things that the Spirit of God is doing to better accomplish His mission on this planet.  And innovative networks are an effort to intentionally build community within the body of Christ for sharing what God is doing and challenging each other to take Spirit-led risks. So, where do you find those kind of innovative networks to help you discern the new things that God is doing?

Innovative Ideas & iPods

Do you know where Apple got the innovative idea for the iPod?

Yesterday I today I posted about how innovation comes from the edges and for churches one of the best connection with the edge is to be connected with church planters and new churches.  This morning I ran across a brief, but great article in Fast Company on innovation lessons from Apple. 
The article gives five lessons that Apple learned about innovation.  It begins like this:  "Ten years or so ago Apple Computer was almost bankrupt. Fast forward and Apple is now regularly cited as the most innovative company in the world. So what can we learn from the comeback kid?" Then the article lays out the lessons and tells us, "Ideas can come from anywhere, including outside the company. For example, the iPod was originally dreamt up by a consultant and most of its parts were off the shelf."  Just another example of how innovation most often comes from the edges.  All five lessons are solid and applicable to church leaders; click HERE and learn. 

Innovation Comes from the Edges

Where does innovation most often occur?  Innovation most often happens on the edges and because of that we need to stay close to those on the cutting edge.

Our NewThing Networks has gone from one network to three networks and doubled the number of churches  in the last year.  And because of our investment in resources and staff we get lots of kudos for thinking beyond Chicago.  At Community we get lots of credit for being "Kingdom minded" because of our commitment to church planting.  While everyone likes to hear a compliment, I think we need to be in relationship with new churches.  Even though Community is probably five times bigger than any of the new churches in NewThing I'm convinced that we need to be connected to these new church plants.  I also believe that I need to have relationships with other leaders who are doing new ministry on the edges. 

Why?  You see, there is a reciprocity that comes with being involved in church planting.  There is a huge benefit that comes back to me by being connected to church planters.  Church planters are the entrepreneurs in God's Kingdom and they are the one's who if they don't make it, they don't eat.  Leaders who are involved in the task of planting new churches are risking the most for the mission of Jesus.  And because they are involved in starting something new and risking it all in a win or lose proposition it is the most likely place for innovation to occur.  I'm convinced that most innovation happens on the edges and if we want Community to continue to be innovative we need to stay close to church planting.

When I was in Kansas City a month ago visiting Troy McMahon who is launching Restore Christian Church I came back with and great idea about "repay cards" which we are already using.  We are going to start our ninth location in Plainfield on March 2nd and we expect that it will be our largest launch to date.  Know where our CCC-Plainfield team was two weeks ago looking for new ideas?  They were visiting 242 Community; one of our new church plants in our NewThing Network.  Our team came back with a couple pages of ideas and two or three things that they are going to implement immediately.  At the beginning of the month we brought all our NewThing Network churches together in Boston and in the middle of having a great time I also left with a page full of ideas that came from these new churches.

Innovation most often happens on the edges.  What are you doing to stay close to the edge?

Merry Christmas from the Fergusons!

What if we only did Christmas Eve services...

We just finished our 11 pm Christmas Eve service and it was packed out again!  I just had a thought...   You know how they have Christmas Shops that do nothing but sell Christmas stuff?  What if we just did Christmas Eve services year round? Would they just keep coming like this?  Merry Christmas!!

35...36...37...38!

I'm sitting at my desk waiting for the 11:00 pm Christmas Eve service at the CCC-Yellow Box location in Naperville to start.  We had standing room only the last two services at this site...it been an amazing weekend!! And if my math is correct this will be the last of about 38 adult celebration services that we held this weekend at Community. But who is counting?

Merry Christmas Miami!

On January 22nd, our NewThing Network will see the birth of yet another reproducing church - The Pursuit Christian Church in Miami, Florida.  Miami is currently the second least churched city in the United States and Matt Mahaffey and his team have a vision to change that!  And to help accomplish that vision they are saying "Merry Christmas Miami" and have put together a Christmas wish list for you! The items on the list range from $5-$500 and it is a great way for us to be generous!  Since Matt sent this to me, I thought I would let you guys in on the opportunity too!  So click HERE and be a part new church that will change Miami forever!

Champions of the 4th Grade YMCA Spirit League!

My second pick for a vocation would be coaching!  I absolutely love taking a group of young guys and turning them into a team with a common goal.  And it's even more fun when your team wins every game!!  Which they did.  We went undefeated in the regular season for the second season in a row.  After earning the first seed in the post-season tourney we won all three games including the championship in a come-from-behind victory 22-16!  You are looking at the undefeated champions of the 4th grade YMCA Basketball Spirit League.  My son Caleb is the second one from the left in the front row.  Good job guys!!!

600 volunteers + 5,435 gifts = Merry Christmas!

Saturday was another one of those amazing days in the life of Community as over 600 volunteers (see pic) packed the Bardwell Elementary School to serve the East Aurora community at the Christmas Gift Mart where we collected 5,435 gifts!  After a few of us gave this crowd a pep talk and some instructions for the day, they filed out to the singing of Renea Taylor.  As they were walking out I stood toward the front gave out some hugs, high fives and shook hands.  It was emotional experience for me as I saw people walking out to serve that once didn't know Jesus and now they were giving up their time to serve and in many cases had their whole families with them.  It was awesome!

What American Churches Are On Top Down Under

Mark Conner, the Lead Pastor at CityLife Church in Melbourne, Australia recently put together a list of the most influential American churches in Australia.  And Community was on Mark's list!  (I guess you aren't that surprised are you?  I probably wouldn't have posted it if was just WillowCreek and Saddleback).  If you want to see the entire list, click HERE.

The Best Christmas Gift So Far This Year...

As a part of our Christmas offering this year we asked people to finish the statement:  "I’m glorifying and praising God for…" and then send it back to us with their offering.  Here is how one person finished that statement and I had to share it:  "My salvation!  A year ago, I came to CCC after my second divorce, and yet another broken relationship.  I knew that I had to change my life.  I had no friends, and I live far away from my family. CCC woke me up up.  CCC took me in.  CCC became my family.  God worked through several different people at CCC, but he finally broke through the hard, cold shell around my heart.  One year later, what a difference God and CCC has made in my life!  My kids have a new sense of giving and caring for others.  Me?  Who felt the lowest of lows a year ago?  I help lead two small groups and look forward to each day on how I can pass on the gift of love and peace that CCC and God have given me. Thank you to all the teaching pastors at CCC.  God speaks, through all of you, to my heart.  Keep up the great work that you do!  Together, we, along with the Holy Spirit and love, will continue our journey helping people (like me!) find their way back to God!" This is why we do what we do at Community!

The Big Idea works for the Male Brain

Did you know that Big Idea teaching actually is geared for the male brain?  Read all about it in an article by David Murrow titled, Teaching For the Male Brain. The article is based on excerpts from his book How Women Help Men Find God (coming out in May '08) and he writes, “Consider how we teach in church. We send dozens of disparate messages each week. We expect people to make major life changes based on these teaspoons of truth. Here’s an example. Sam goes to adult Sunday school, where he receives a lesson about generosity and giving. Then he reads a devotional story in the bulletin about the power of prayer. Sam sings praise songs that focus on God’s love and forgiveness. The sermon focuses on the importance of sharing your faith with friends and neighbors. The pastor quotes twelve scriptures and makes five main points. Sam walks out of church and . . . forgets everything he heard. In truth, Sam would love to be more generous, have a better prayer life, experience God’s love in a deeper way, and be bolder in sharing his faith. But his brain simply cannot work on all these things at once. So, like a computer that crashes due to a data overload, Sam locks up in spiritual neutral.  Community Christian Church may have found the answer. They’ve adopted a teaching strategy known as The Big Idea. Simply put, CCC and its affiliated churches focus all their weekly teaching on one main theme. Every class, small group, song, sermon, bulletin insert, announcement—everything is focused on one concept of the week. Men, with their highly focused brains, love this approach. They walk out of church with one thing to work on. And this approach is spurring parishioners – both male and female — to action.”  

Shifts in NewThing To Create a Movement of Reproducing Churches

When we gathered in Boston (pic above) last week Jon  and I had a talk with our NewThing Lead Pastors and described several key shifts that are taking place in NewThing. These are necessary shifts for the NewThing Networks to achieve the dream that God has for us: a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches. Here are four of those shifts:

1. Shift from NETWORK to NETWORKS.  If we are serious about catalyzing a movement it will not happen through a single network.  To create a movement it must be led by reproducing leaders of reproducing churches that are a part of reproducing networks.  When we asked the question, "what will it take to help 1 billion people find their way back to God?" it was obvious that the answer would require reproducing networks.  For that very reason NewThing is now composed of three different networks that will continue to reproduce.   
2. Shift from an APOSTOLIC LEADER to APOSTOLIC LEADERS.  If apostolic leadership is required to lead a single network and the future of NewThing is reproducing networks, then NewThing will be led by many apostolic leaders each leading a network.
3. Shift from FRIENDS to the TOP 5%.  When we launched the NewThing Network the most significant requirement for planting a NewThing church was that you needed to be a friend of ours.  While NewThing will continue to be a relationally driven network we will be looking for church planters who are high capacity leaders.  We are looking for leaders in the top 5% who pass assessment, show the ability to reproduce more than one church and "get" NewThings culture and values.  In the early days of NewThing identifying leaders who have the potential to lead not just churches, but networks is crucial.
4. Shift from CENTRALIZED to DECENTRALIZED.  NewThing has been built upon and through Community Christian Church almost exclusively.  However, for NewThing to be a catalyst for a movement it will require that there is a shift from being centered around CCC to be decentralized through multiple networks and multiple churches.  In the future training will happen at and through multiple churches.  In the future new affiliates will be approved by any of the networks.  The future of NewThing will not be through just one church or one network, but decentralized through many churches and many networks.

Over the next six months we will be making these shifts all in an effort to accomplish the dream that God has for us - "a movement of reproducing churches."

???

I'm sitting in Kansas City knowing that Community has already had four services this weekend and will have another fifteen this morning...and I'm experiencing none of them.  I can't help but wonder:  how did it go; did we get across the Big Idea; are people ready to take action? 

This weekend is the second part of our Audible series and I am teaching at all locations by video.  I am really excited about where we are going next and how God is saying to Community,“Well done good and faithful servants, you have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.”   This weekend is all about the "more responsibilities” that God has for us.  I can't wait to see how we respond!   

Old Friends & NewThing

Since we were headed to Lawrence, Kansas for the Junior Olympics we called up Troy and Janet McMahon and asked if we could hangout with them for a couple nights.  Here we are enjoying some good bar-b-que in Kansas City.

The McMahon's who were both on staff at Community for more than a 10 years are in the process of planting Restore Community Church with NewThing in Kansas City.  They will be launching March 2nd and already have 45 people that are part of the launch team.  I got a chance to see where they will be meeting and hear even more about the dream of Restore Community Church.  I know God is going to do some amazing stuff through this new church.  I am extraordinarily proud of Troy, Janet and their whole family!

9th in the Nation at Junior Olympics

Since I was teaching at all Community locations this weekend by video (and I can't even mention it without saying I'm really pumped about this weekend at CCC!) that allowed me to make the trip to Lawrence Kansas (Kansas University) and watch Josh and his 14 year old cross country team compete in the National Junior Olympics.  One month ago they won state; two weeks ago they finished second in the Midwest regional to qualify for the National Junior Olympics. 

It was brutal cold, but the boys did not let that distract them.  They figured since they were from Chicago and some teams were from Texas and California that it might be to their advantage.  Out of the 25 teams that qualified, the Naperville Track Club finished 9th. I think the guys thought they should have done better.  I still think 9th in the nation is pretty good.  Congrats!

NewThing Network at Mike's Pastry

Here is the NewThing gang taking a break at Mike's Pastry in Boston.  If you are in Boston...stop in!  I recommend the chocolate cream cannoli.  You are looking at church planters from Portland to New York City and from Detroit to Miami.  This is a great group that is doing great stuff!

NewThing Gathering in Boston!

Got to Boston last night for the NewThing Network Gathering. We pull together all our leaders twice a year.  Once in Chicago and then a second time in a city where we have recently planted a church.  Last year we met in Manahattan, New York City and Forefront Church was the host.  This year it is Boston and Reunion Church is taking care of us.  I think this is the first time I have ever been in Boston.  Great city.  And an even greater group of church leaders!!  I'm really excited about what is happening today. 

Calling an Audible.

Only on a few occasions over the last few years have we deviated from our planned BIG IDEA.  This weekend and next weekend are one of those rare occasions.  And the reason is because we believe that God is calling an "audible" at Community.  We believe that God is speaking to us and giving us some new direction.  Much of this came to us after the entire staff spent a day in prayer and fasting. And God the audible that God is calling has to do with the next level of generosity. It would be easy to assume that this is about meeting a budget; but it is about something much bigger than that! 

I think much of what God has to say to Community is found in Matthew 25:21, “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!"  Community is a church that has been blessed with 5-talent ability and therefore 5-talent responsibility.  Over the last year we have set records in our giving and I believe God is saying to us "Well done!"   I also believe that he is saying to us as a church, "You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities."

This morning I was re-reading this section from Matthew 25 and the stuff Jesus said in Matthew 6, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  As I was journaling and three things jumped out at me about generosity that I had not really noticed before:

1. GENEROSITY IS HOW GOD REWARDS US. - "You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities."
2. GENEROSITY IS HOW GOD TRANSFORMS US - "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Where ever invest yourself, that is where your heart goes.  If I give to others, I draw closer to them.  If I give to God, I draw closer to God.
3. GENEROSITY IS CAUSE TO CELEBRATE. - The master says, "Let’s celebrate together!"   Generosity is never, ever a burden.  When God gives us opportunities to be generous it is a reward for faithfulness and cause to celebrate.