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Blink Test for Movementum: Question #4

This is the last of four questions that make up a Blink Test that determines whether your church has movementum or not.  I would encourage you to answer questions #1, #2 and #3 before you answer this one.  This test is built on the premise of Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink that introduced the idea that our first intuitions and spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones.  Don’t think too long. Just blink.

BLINK:  Is your church holding onto control or are they leading with a harmonious blend of order and chaos?

Controlling or an intermingling orderly chaos—what’s your blink?  As a church invests in people and sends them out on mission over and over again with the dream of an exponential movement things will get out of control. The question is not if it is out of control, but what is the reflex of the church? Will they have done the hard work of people development and then embrace them with trust because of what they have invested in them or will they fall back on policy-making and pull in the reigns? Control is an illusion; it’s never something you grab, it can only be granted to you by others. This does not mean the leadership of a church should surrender to anarchy. Not at all. Rather than trying to lead by grasping at control, they must move forward with shared values that align people and communities of great diversity to bring about catalytic movements. If your church is courageous enough to not try to control, but to trust and nurture what they have given life to, then movementum is the reward.

This post is an excerpt from my new book with Alan Hirsch, On The Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church

Growing Missional Leaders - Practical & Helpful!

My friend Matthew Smith has written a very practical and helpful guide for Growing Missional Leaders.  As the church in North America awakens to original intention to be a missional church there is more and more being written on this topic.  One of those books that you may not have heard about is Growing Missional Leaders.  Within this three-word title Smith has identified the most important challenge for the North American church in the twenty-first century.

Growing

The Kingdom of God is meant to grow.  Like a mustard seed it may start out small, but in time will grow into a large shrub that will reproduce and can overtake a whole countryside. Growing Missional Leaders is a book designed to help grow the Kingdom.  The real-life stories will motivate you to grow as a follower of Jesus.  The discussion questions will challenge you and your leadership team with introspection and application encouraging you to take the next step.

Missional

Missional is more than the latest buzzword in Christian leadership circles. Mission is what motivated God to send His people to be a blessing to the rest of the world.  Mission is what caused the Father to send his Son to a lost and dying world.  In the pages of this book you will feel Matthew Smith’s passion for mission.  He understands that every person’s eternity is at stake and the dream of God for all mankind is in jeopardy unless we accomplish the mission of Jesus.

Leaders

Leadership is the key leverage point for initiating any kind of significant change.  If we can change leaders than we know that same change will take place in the people who are influenced by and follow that leader.  This is book is dedicated to the task of bringing about change and it has identified the most effective way is to start with leaders.

Blink Test for Movementum: Question #3

Like my last two posts on this topic, this one is built on the premise of Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink that introduced the idea that our first intuitions and spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones. This is the third of four questions on a blink test for your church to determine if you currently have movement momentum. Read each one to determine if you’re moving in the right direction. Don’t think too long. Just blink.

BLINK:  Is your church content with addition or does it long to see exponential reproduction?

What is your blink about your church's strategy for growth and sending? Addition is a good thing, but exponential reproduction is the stuff of movements. Addition provides incremental growth, but multiplication produces exponential growth. Addition often relies on the pull of event-based ministry, while multiplication comes through life-on-life apprenticeships at every level: Christ followers, leaders and church planters.

Neil Cole, who has dedicated his whole life to trying to discover the secret of starting spontaneous church multiplication movements, reminds us:  “Because addition is faster in the beginning and multiplication takes time, we are often content with growth through addition. We are easily seduced by the more immediate success and instant gratification of addition instead of waiting for the momentum that can build with multiplying. The success promised to addition is hard to turn down. It is so rare to have a church ministry grow at all that one growing fast with addition is desirable enough. It is hard to turn away from the glamour of potentially being labeled the fastest-growing church. It is difficult as well for leaders to turn away from the crowds and invest in the few, but Jesus Himself did exactly that.”

The question of incremental addition versus exponential reproduction applies to everything: new converts, Christ followers, small groups or teams, campuses and churches. If your church has the heart for the long view of exponential reproduction and not the immediacy of addition then movement momentum is coming.

This post is an excerpt from my new book with Alan Hirsch, On The Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church

Blink Test for Movementum: Question #2

In my last post I reminded you how Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink introduced us to a psychologist who almost intuitively knew whether a marriage would last after being with a couple a few minutes and a tennis coach who could accurately predict a double-fault before the racket even made contact with the ball. His point is that often our first intuitions and spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones. This is the second of four questions on a blink test for your church to determine if you currently have movement momentum. Read each one to determine if you’re moving in the right direction. Don’t think too long. Just blink.

BLINK #2: Is your church as passionate about sending people out as bringing people in?

“Now that was church!” was my friend’s reaction as we got back into the car around noon on Sunday and headed back home together. Where had we been? 329 North Dearborn in Chicago; home of the House of Blues. I wasn’t teaching that weekend, so we went to one of our Saturday night services and then on Sunday morning headed to the House of Blues for their Gospel Brunch. It was an amazing experience! They had a buffet that included a place to create your own omelet, fresh made-to-order waffles, a salad station, seafood station and a carving station with every kind of meat. In addition, they brought in the best gospel music in the entire city. They even had a quick devotional that mentioned Jesus. And all of it was in a world-class venue with great lighting and sound. We got all that for $37.50 per person—far less than a tithe! And my friend half-joked, “Now that was church!”

If you want to create a great place to bring people to, then the House of Blues Gospel Brunch is the best model! That is what they do. They provide the best music, best entertainment and best food in a world-class venue. Why? Simple: to attract you and your money. Yes, they did mention Jesus, and they challenged us to be a friend to somebody today; but that was only to make the experience more authentic. There was no interest in mobilizing people for mission in the neighborhoods that surround North Dearborn.

If the blink on your church is that they are only interested in creating a place to bring people and are not equally passionate about sending people then there is no movementum. If the communal conversation is all about nickels and noses (offering and attendance) there is not movementum. But if the blink is that you see a growing interest in church planting, reproducing new outwardly focused groups and teams, the birth of missional communities, causes of restorative justice and citywide transformation then you have movementum.

This post is an excerpt from my new book with Alan Hirsch, On The Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church

Blink Test for Movementum

Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink introduced us to a psychologist who learned to predict whether a marriage would last based on a few minutes of observing a couple. He also told about a tennis coach who knew when a player would double-fault before the racket even made contact with the ball. His point is that often our first intuitions are right and first impressions are lasting ones. Gladwell describes the main subject of his book as "thin-slicing” our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience. In other words, this is an idea that spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones. What follows is the first of four questions on a blink test for your church to determine if you currently have movement momentum. Over the coming days I will give you each of the four questions. Read each one to determine if you’re moving in the right direction. Don’t think too long. Just blink.

BLINK #1: Is your church more interested in quality programs or quality people?

What is the blink about your church in regards to spiritual formation? The promise that church programming alone will make your life better has been exposed. It doesn’t work. Everyday living is where spiritual development is worked out. Loving God and loving our neighbors cannot be fulfilled in a church building. Ask yourself, is your church propagating an implicit assumption that you can live out your entire spiritual journey as a part of a church-sponsored or church-operated activity? Or is the emphasis on more of the discovery of every person’s unique call and the “good work that God has prepared for them to do”? Is the emphasis at your church on recruiting and finding a person to fill every slot or that every person has a mission and we need to help them discover it?

If the blink on your church is that it is more concerned about quality programs, then there is no movement momentum. But if they are willing to kill a program and put life-on-life relationships and the development of people first, there is movementum.

 

This post is an excerpt from my new book with Alan Hirsch, On The Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church

That's A Lot Of People!

Every year God sends more people to COMMUNITY than the year before.  Every Easter God has been kind enough to trust us with more people than the year before.  This year for the first time we had more than 10,000 people that celebrated Easter at COMMUNITY.  Because of personal invitations to friends, family, neighbors and co-workers we had 10,319 people attend at one of our COMMUNITY campuses on Easter weekend. The following is a graph that shows our Easter attendance every year since we started COMMUNITY.

I know numbers aren't everything and I try to keep it in perspective.  However, I also know that each of those numbers represent a person.  Each one is a person who God dearly loves.  And everyone of those 10,319 are people he wants to find their way back to Him.

Two New COMMUNITY Sites Launch Today!

Today we are celebrating a "first time ever" in the life of Community!  This is the first time ever we have opened two locations on the same weekend.  I could not be more excited! Today we will be  celebrating the grand opening of two new Community locations.  Why?  The Bible gives us this model and research tells us that new churches and campuses are the best and most efficient way to help people find their way back to God.  I am praying and asking God to do amazing things at both these grand openings.  So that you can join me in that prayer, let me tell you little about these new Community sites and their campus pastors: 

The Lemont Campus is a dream come true for a group of committed Christ-followers from that area.  So when Dave Richa (former Community StuCo Director) heard of this opportunity to be the campus pastor and help people find their way back to God in Lemont, he could not pass it up.  Thank you to the Romeoville Campus for sending Dave and so many other families to Lemont.  Dave and his team have been working hard rehabilitating a facility at 102 Stephen Street in downtown Lemont, building their team and getting the word out on this new campus.  God is going to do great things through Dave and this committed group of Christ followers!

The Lincoln Square Campus in Chicago is the first of three new Community sites in the city.  Many individuals and families have relocated from the suburbs to Chicago to help make this campus a reality.  Tammy Melchien, who has been a senior leader in many positions at Community will serve as the Campus Pastor.  Tammy and her team have been busy preparing the Chappell Elementary School for the many new people who will come to church for the first time, building their launch team, praying and putting out door hangers to let the people know Community is ready to launch in Lincoln Square.  God is already at work here and I'm excited to see what happens this weeks, months and years to come.

2011 Celebration Generosity - Amazing!!

II Corinthians 9:6 tells us, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously."  This truth not only applies to people, but also to churches.  I believe that one of the reasons that God has been so generous with COMMUNITY is because COMMUNITY has strived to be a generous church.  For the fourth year in a row COMMUNITY set aside a weekend where everything that comes in we gave away to the "4 Teams."  We call this weekend Celebration Generosity and four offerings have been the four highest offerings in the history of COMMUNITY with this years total coming in at $533,500.00!  In addition, every year we have lots and lots of people who give for the very first time.  This past year we had 141 first time givers during Celebration Generosity.  One of my favorite moments was this comment I received from a first time giver on my facebook who said, " I gave at Celebration Generosity for the very first time, and it felt amazing. It actually just set the bar for spending my disposable income. It felt like so much when I gave, until I realized that I spend frivolously without even thinking about it. Thank you for the epiphany."

Commissioning 3 New COMMUNITY Sites!

This is a scene I will never forget.  The gathering pictured here is our February Leadership Community at the Yellow Box.  We have hundreds of COMMUNITY leaders gathered with their hands reaching out in prayer toward the launch teams of three brand new COMMUNITY locations: COMMUNITY-Chicago/Lincoln Square, COMMUNITY-Lemont and COMMUNITY-Huntley.  Each of these sites are launching this spring. COMMUNITY is a church that understand that the only way to accomplish the mission of Jesus is through movement.  God is on the move!

Martin Luther King Jr's Last Speech

$2/Day Challenge - What People Are Learning

I’m not the only one who is taking the $2/Day Challenge.  There are lots and lots of COMMUNITY peeps who have decided to identify with the 20% of the world that lives in poverty by eating on only $2/day this week.  I am so proud of our church and the people who have entered into this discipline so that God could increase their level of compassion for others.  If you participated I would love for you to leave a comment and let us know how it is going and what you are learning.  Here are some of the reactions and insights I have heard from others:

• “As much as I want my comfort foods RIGHT NOW, I am grateful that I have a stocked refrigerator and pantry at the end of my week challenge.  I know those in poverty do not.  It puts a new perspective, and even enjoyment in eating the rice and almonds for lunch.  It’s only day 2 and I am tired of my food choices. I notice this $2/challenge has me thinking a lot about myself first, before I am remembering those in poverty whom I am doing this for.  I wonder, if by week end, will I be thinking of them first?  Definitely, I will be praying for them more often and thinking of ways I can make a difference.”
• “My first reaction to the $2/Day Challenge was, NO WAY! I am already sacrificing a lot; I can't do this to Family; we deserve to eat what we want. I now know that we can do this; I know I can do this, but only with the help of Jesus and the Holy Spirit!”
• “The other day I opened my refrigerator and I started to (believe it or not) CRY!  I said to myself LOOK AT ALL THIS FOOD!  If I removed half of the food from this frig it would feed several families in poverty-stricken countries.”
• “…I also realized how uncomfortable I became when my stomach rumbled throughout the day. This is a natural thing for lots of people who don't have the luxury to grab something whenever they want. I also found out how much I missed the taste of meat. This challenge has been a real eye opener, and very difficult to stick to. I can't even imagine how people have to live like this every day. I am soooooo thankful for what I have.”
• “I’ve learned several things so far:  1. I can live on a lot less food than I thought.  2. People who live like this all the time don’t have the benefit of knowing it is only lasting one week and how dismal that must be. 3. Tempers flare on less food.  4. Bananas are way cheaper than apples!”
• “I'm doing the $2.00 a day challenge and "challenge" is a good word for it!   I'm doing it as a single person so I only had $14.00 to spend for the week.  My first observation was how long it took me to pick out my $14.00 worth of food…  One challenge I've run into in trying to stay true to the spirit of this challenge is the amount of "free food" we come into contact with here.  Wednesday night at the Lemont launch meeting I had to stay clear from the food table; my women's group that meets tonight always has snacks that I'll need to pretend are not there and of course at the Sunday service, the free food and coffee will need to be avoided.   Again, we take for granted the abundance of what we have offered to us everyday.  On a positive note...my jeans are fitting a little looser!”
• “I don't believe we had to go out and buy anything in particular to take this challenge. We had eggs, milk, canned corned beef, peanut butter, etc. My challenge has been that I have the onset of type II diabetes. This limits me to a very minimal carb intake per day.  I mention this as I can imagine how difficult it must be for diabetics in these poor countries. They have to eat what they can get their hands on and can afford, so if you have something like diabetes it cannot be brought under control. Diabetics in these countries just have to have a disease like this slowly disable and finally kill them. Without medication and a proper diet, this type of diabetes will cause things like kidney failure, blindness and the like. Left unchecked and untreated these people would be sentenced to a short life span.”
• “I'm a fitness tech and I suggest green tea to many ladies because it helps boost metabolism and curb appetite. Ironic. However I couldn't get past how much a tea bag was and how much less beans & rice I would be allowed for dinner if I had tea. <shakes head>   Only a few more days. So many others don't have that finish line. God bless.”

$2/Day - "Where's My Peanut Butter?"

Today is day #4 out of 7 of the $2/Day Challenge.  I told Sue this morning, "Ok, I'm sick of this."  And it's true; while eating on this little amount everyday is doable, I'm not enjoying it.  But enjoying it does not mean I'm not learning some stuff.  Let me tell you a quick story about peanut butter and then a couple more lessons learned so far.  I was out of town for meetings the last two days and I made the decision to stick with the $2/Day Challenge even though i was traveling and in meetings.  Sue packed me $4 worth of food for the two days in a plastic jewel baggy and I stuffed it into my carry-on for the trip. The people I was meeting with ate out all three meals both days.  And they at at some very nice restaurants.  I was surprised that even less enjoyable than watching them eat was them feeling bad and trying to rescue me. They had good intentions, but it was weird being noticed for not having anything to eat.  I'm sure there is a lesson there.  I need more time to ponder.  But one of the staples of my two days was a small container of peanut butter.  And on the second day I lost my peanut butter.  I left it in the hotel cafe and when the table got cleaned off someone threw it away.  I have never missed a few tablespoons of peanut butter before.  That meant that my next meal would be only the bread and no peanut butter.  Ugh!!  

So, here are some more lessons I have learned so far through the $2/Day Challenge?

• Food is precious.  When you have only a little bit of food to live on, it becomes very important.  I know that I'm using and re-using tea bags a second and third time to make sure I get everything out of them.  I was really bummed when I couldn't find my peanut butter.  Food is precious to those when you have very little.  
• There is stress and pressure to make the food last.  This morning Sue said, "I'm not sure we are going to have enough to make it the whole week."  I could feel myself react with slight panic, "What?"  It hit me that for parents in third world countries, they live with the stress and strain everyday of trying to make food last for their family.  They may not be thinking a week at a time, but I'm sure they are thinking about it everyday.

If you are doing the $2/Day Challenge or have done something like this, what lessons have you learned?

Eating On $2/Day & Feeling Grouchy

I'm 48 hours into the $2/Day Challenge; this is a challenge that we gave to all of COMMUNITY in an effort to help us identify with 20% of the world that lives in extreme poverty.  I think it is working.

Today I saw a Dunkin Donuts sign advertising coffee for 99 cents.  Normally, if I saw that sign and wanted the coffee, I would buy it.  But since that was now half of all the money I had to eat on all day - I knew I could not afford it.  And forget Starbucks!

After two days on the $2/Day Challenge I have couple learnings:

First, while I am feeling grouchy, I am not going hungry. I really thought I might not get full on just $2/day. I think the reason I'm grouchy is because of how much less sugar I'm getting.  It may be withdrawal.

Secondly, I am realizing that much of my eating is recreational.  I eat for fun.  When you have only $2/day to eat on you don't get to do any recreational eating.  You eat for survival and not for fun.

If you are also doing the $2/Day Challenge or if you have done something like this, leave me a comment and tell me your reflections or learnings.

The $2/Day Challenge

Starting Monday, January 10, and ending on Sunday, January 16, COMMUNITY attenders were challenged this weekend to eat on less than $2 a day. 20% of the world lives in poverty and nearly half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. That two dollars a day is for food, housing, school, transportation, medical emergencies, and all other expenses. The $2 a Day Challenge invites you to experience a little of what life is like by eating on less than two dollars a day for one week. To download a sample menu and suggested food items, click here.

Sue and I decided that the boys and i would take on this challenge.  Over the next week I will update you here on this blog on how it is going and if I am learning anything from this experience or just feeling very hungry and cranky.

The first learning is that when you only have $2/day for food you are more concerned about having enough than you are about how it tastes and "recreational eating."  So that we could get the most for our money Sue and her friend Mary went out to Aldi's and did some shopping for the week.  Below is $40 of the $56 worth of food that we will be eating this week.

Does Helping Sometimes Hurt?

In my post yesterday I featured the compelling story of Blake Mycoskie and TOM shoes.  After hearing him at the Leadership Summit this past year I was very impressed with his vision and company; so I thought I would pass this along to others through my blog.  However, sometimes the comments on my blog are more insightful than the posts.  That is definitely the case yesterday when David Stupay, who is doing development work in Tanzania and a part of COMMUNITY posted an honest and candid critique of how Mycoskie and TOM may be an example of how helping hurts.

The following is David Stupay's comment:  

Dave - This may not be as great of an idea as it is marketed to be. While they are doing good by putting shoes on the feet of needy children in impoverished countries, this type of aid does more harm than good.

The shoes are distributed in 24 countries, are only made in 3 countries. That means that 21 of the countries where the gifted shoes are delivered receive no economic benefit from the distribution of free shoes, and local shoe merchants and manufacturers (or potential manufacturers) are actually discouraged from doing business in these countries.

It is easiest to see the hit to local merchants that distribute shoes in impoverished countries. As COMMUNITY participated in the Stuff for the Poor shoe drive, you know that used shoes are often shipped from the US and other Western countries to Africa and other parts of the developing world. This is big business for the shippers, brokers, and the local merchants. Local shoe stores in developing countries generate solid cash flow and above average profit margins. When shoes are distributed in communities for free from TOMS and other programs, these local merchants miss out on much needed sales opportunities. While not all the children that receive donated shoes from TOMS could afford to buy shoes from these local merchants, a hit even as low as 10% of their customer base would be enough to put many of these small merchants out of business.

An even greater impact of this type of program is that it discourages manufacturing in developing countries. Manufacturing is the reason that SE Asia has been able to lift so many people out of poverty in a way that Africa has not. Africa has yet to see strong manufacturing based economies emerge, thereby leaving many of their people in extreme poverty. Ideas like this discourage investors and entrepreneurs from competing in this arena, and contribute to the poverty trap in Africa. TOMS is a direct threat to manufacturers that are currently, or are considering in the future, competing in the African shoe market. What developing countries really need are local manufacturing companies that create low cost products for sale in developing countries. This would create assembly, management, distribution, and sales positions for shoes, and would develop an economy that isn’t dependent upon foreign aid.

More comments?

Shoe Entrepreneur Finds Love In Giving

Blake Mycoskie, 34, who calls himself the Chief Shoe Giver, created a business model that lets him give back. For one pair of Toms shoes purchased, the company gives one pair away — from the Gulf Coast to Argentina to Ethiopia.  They have now given away more than 1 million shoes.  As we continue to challenge every person to engage in the Jesus mission, this is a great example of a business with a mission.

The following is a story from NPR's All Things Considered titled, "Shoe Entrepreneur Finds Love In Giving."  Enjoy...

Green Room Convo from "Leader & Readers"

Last week I had the privilege of working with 6 other authors in a a brand new online conference experience called Leaders & Readers.  Leaders & Reader was hosted by Leadership Network and in addition to myself included Reggie McNeal, Mark DeYmaz, Ed Stetzer, Geoff Surratt and Sam Chand.  Leaders & Readers was a big success with more than 2100 people who registered and participated in this new experience.  The following is video of the green room discussion that took place right after my presentation from the book Jon Ferguson & I wrote, Exponential:  How You And Your Friends Can Start A Missional Church Movement.  Enjoy!

DaveFergusonRoundTable from Todd Rhoades on Vimeo.

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

"I want to find my way back."

This series reminds me once again why we do what we do at COMMUNITY.  Last week, as a part of our Exponential Impact series we asked people to respond by filling out this card writing out an area of their life they want to surrender.  The answers were varied, often intense and very sincere.  However, the one card that definitely caught my eye is the one that you see pictured here. The person simply wrote, "I want to find my way back."  I love it!  This is just one more example of how we are accomplishing our mission:  "helping people find their way back to God."

Apprenticeship - A Must For A Movement

The core competency of any movement is apprenticeship.  Since I believe that Jesus came to start a movement this is very important so let me say it again:  the core competency of any movement is apprenticeship.  The very first action that Jesus took when catalyzing his movement was to recruit twelve apprentices.  "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19)  He was calling them into an apprenticeship and giving them instructions that they would do the same with others. 2,000 years later the Jesus movement has reached billions of people, transformed societies and continues to move forward into eternity.  It is through apprenticeships that people are empowered to impact their world and have the potential for exponential impact. 

If you are like me and want to be a part of Jesus’ missional movement first and foremost we must apprentice with him.  Just like those first followers, we must walk alongside Jesus and be guided and mentored by him everyday.  But secondly we must follow his example and learn how to apprentice others into the movement. So, who is it that God is asking you to bring alongside you as an apprentice?  Is it a friend?  A neighbor?  Someone in your church?  Somebody in your neighborhood or maybe somebody at work? 

When we started COMMUNITY, we started with a handful of friends.  Not only were we Jesus’ apprentices but we each went out on the mission and found an apprentice.  That’s our story at Community; just a handful of friends who came together with a willingness to risk anything and everything.  And over the years God has allowed us to be a part of and contribute to his ongoing movement in amazing ways!  Community has nine locations that impact thousands with three more sites starting next year.  NewThing has ninety churches and sites reaching tens of thousands of people with the expectation of doubling in the next year.

If you want to see movement remember this:  The core competency of any movement is apprenticeship.