Which Multi-site Church Will Be the 1st to … HOLOGRAPH the Pastor?

One of the persons in the picture above is a hologram. Can you guess which one?

Tony Morgan blogged recently (TonyMorganLive) about the coming use of holographic technology by multi-site churches. And … oh yea, Tony is on the right. The … uh … hologram is on the left.

Church Relevance blog has also explored holograms and churches.

Below is a demonstration of holography by Cisco‘s CEO during a presentation in India:

Is holography any less holy than video?

When EXTROVERTS Try to Mobilize INTROVERTS for Ministry

Are you an extroverted church leader trying to mobilize introverts for ministry? To become more effective in your task, you may want to read Adam McHugh’s book Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture. Here are reviews from the Amazon.com page:

“As a fellow introvert, I well know the tension, irony and even contradiction of being in vocational ministry where public speaking and being with people are major and vital parts of our roles. This book puts together extremely helpful thinking to better understand who we are and how to navigate and celebrate being introverted and in leadership in an extroverted world.” –Dan Kimball, author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church

“As an introvert who has experienced both the strengths and weaknesses of my temperament, I appreciate the way McHugh goes well beyond the facile stereotypes and conclusions of armchair psychologists. If you’ve ever felt vaguely sinful for not being a gregarious Christian I suggest you spend some quality time alone with a copy of Introverts in the Church.” –Don Everts, minister of outreach, Bonhomme Presbyterian Church, Chesterfield, Missouri, and author of I Once Was Lost

“Introverts, take heart! As an introvert myself–an off-the-chart ‘I’ on the Myers-Briggs–I find certain aspects of church life, like speaking to other human beings every Sunday, really taxing. McHugh thoughtfully explores the gifts introverts bring to the church, and he considers both how introverts can live well in the church and how churches can be more hospitable to us.” –Lauren F. Winner, Duke Divinity School, author of Girl Meets God

Marriage and Family Therapist Rhett Smith interviewed author Adam McHugh about his book. Here are excerpts:

R: From your research, what did you find to be the most difficult aspect of church culture for introverts? Why do you think that is?
A: There are a few difficult elements in church culture for introverts – like mingling fellowship and greeting times, certain methods of evangelism, or required small groups – but I think I would answer that question more abstractly. I think many churches implicitly, or sometimes explicitly, promote certain “ideals” of faithfulness that actually have as much to do with cultural norms as they have to do with biblical values. The “ideal” believer is one who is social and gregarious, assumes leadership positions quickly, participates eagerly in a wide variety of events, groups, and teams, opens their home up often to church groups, is well acquainted with many people in the community, witnesses to strangers often, and the list goes on. The problem is that that “ideal” person is an extrovert, and introverts often end up feeling spiritually inadequate and marginalized, or else masquerade as extroverts but still end up feeling exhausted and discouraged. In my book I talk about how introverts can both live the Christian life as themselves, and I also give suggestions for how churches can encourage introverts to live and love authentically.

R: What are the 2-3 most important things that can introverts teach us?
A: I’m glad you asked this question, because too often it seems that introversion is viewed as a liability, rather than a gift. I know I’ve been guilty of defining introversion in terms of what I’m not rather than what I am. Here are the two most important things I think introverts bring to the church: 1. The value of listening and 2. The need to slow down.

People in our culture so rarely have the experience of being truly listened to, of being given the space to express what’s on their hearts. Too often we speak over one another, interrupt one another, compete for space to speak. Because introverts process internally, and consider what they say before they speak, they can be incredible listeners. We offer a non-judgmental presence that helps others open up to us. Now, there’s more to listening than just not speaking, and it’s a discipline to be cultivated (my next book is about listening!), but introverts have a good start in becoming excellent listeners, communicating deep love for others through listening. I think listening is a tremendous asset in evangelism, which I talk about in chapter 8. Second, introverts often lead a slower, quieter, more contemplative lifestyle and we help people in our fast-paced culture slow down. We bring a calming presence to people and to our churches. Modern-day evangelicalism tends to be so full, so busy, so hurried and weighed down by agendas, and I say in the book that introverts are part of the antidote to what ails evangelical culture.

R: Let me throw out a couple of technologies that are being used in the Church and let me just get your response in regard to introverts. What would introverts think of twittering in the church? How about online church?
A: I knew you were going to ask me this! I’ll say first that, as an introvert, I am grateful for social media like Facebook and Twitter. It has helped me make connections, and deepen relationships, with people that I just don’t have the energy for in face-to-face situations. I’m often much better in writing than I am in person. But I do think there are inherent dangers in online communication, especially when it becomes a substitute for in-person relationships, and I worry when introverts spend far more time online than they do with people. Again, I address these issues in the book.

Twitter in church seems to be becoming the 21st century version of note-taking, but I actually think it’s an extroverted form of processing. Since it’s not acceptable to talk during a sermon, tweeting is a way that extroverts can think “aloud.” As a preacher, I can’t say I’m wild about the idea of people tweeting while I’m preaching. It seems like people in our technologically driven culture are in so many places at once, and perhaps worship should be one time a week that we seek to bring all of ourselves into unity– heart, mind, soul, body, and typing fingers.

As far as online church, I’m ambivalent. For people in countries where Christianity is banned, and for those people who simply will not cross the threshold of a church, then it’s a great thing. But, no matter how introverted you are, we all need embodied relationships and if we can’t find them in the body of Christ, then I’m not sure where we can find them. Second, people who are uncomfortable being in church are usually not resisting church attendance because of introversion but because of shyness, experiences of rejection, and other wounds. If we have been wounded by people and churches, then it seems to me that full healing will actually come when we find those people and churches, who communicate, in full, embodied form, the gentleness, compassion, and love of Jesus. I’m really grateful that the Son of God didn’t just get on a web-cam in heaven but actually incarnated into full human form and walked and lived among us. Online church may be an excellent step for many of those people, but my hope is that it is only a step.

R: What do you think is the most important takeaway for ministry for pastors who read this book? What will pastors learn from this book that will equip them better as a leader?
A: I devote two chapters in the book trying to demonstrate how pastors and other Christian leaders don’t have to keep masquerading as extroverts and can actually lead as introverts. That’s the main takeaway: lead as yourselves!! In chapter 6 I draw from biblical models of leadership, which center around character not personality, as well as models of leadership from the corporate and non-profit worlds which emphasize servant leadership, humility, reflection, and introspection. In chapter 7, the longest chapter, I go into ministry practicals for introverted leaders and discuss partnering with extroverts, following the model of Jesus in investing in “the few,” preaching as an introvert, and tailoring our jobs and schedules to suit our introverted rhythms and strengths.

R: I think you do a great job of dispelling the myth that those who retreated to the desert or to solitude were doing so to escape. Instead you seem to say that when we seek solitude we are better able to move forward into action because of the contemplation/solitude. Is that an accurate statement?
A: Henri Nouwen said that compassion is the fruit of solitude. When we go deep into ourselves and invite God to show us as we truly are, we find true identity. We find the good things about ourselves, our gifts, and also the ugly things – the jealousy, the fear, the anger, the desire to objectify and control others – but if we open ourselves to God’s grace in those ugly places, we can find deep compassion both for ourselves and for others. That compassion propels us to action and to works of mercy and justice. Before Jesus began his public ministry, he spent 40 days in the wilderness with only the word of God to sustain him. Throughout the history of the church, great leaders and highly influential people like St. Anthony, St. Patrick, Martin Luther, and countless others have found the impetus to love and to lead in solitude.

Rockbridge Seminary students who completed the online course “Lead Like Jesus” may be helped by reading the full interviews: Part 1 / Part 2.

Also, an interesting companion blog is Tony Morgan’s interview with Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength.

Could 2010 become the “Year of the Introvert”?

HOW TO LEAD the Creative Person on your Team

Tony Morgan shares some great tips on how to lead the creative types on your ministry team. As he points out, don’t assume they are all on the worship and arts teams.

Tell them what to do, but not how to do it. You can hold them accountable for the results, but don’t force them to embrace a certain process.

If you want their input, you’ll need to ask. If you stop asking, they’ll stop contributing.

If you ask, you better consider their input. If you’re not really going to use their input, it’s better not to even ask.

Know that they’ll be emotionally attached to what they create. So, if you decide not to use their creation, you’ll have to process that appropriately and not abruptly.

You need to give them a deadline, but it better be reasonable. Creative people need room to dream and let their ideas percolate.

Don’t try to motivate them with money, but they do want your praise. They’ll react when the extrinsic rewards are taken away, but they’re really intrinsically motivated.

They’ll get easily bored if they find themselves stuck in the routine. They need the freedom to take on new challenges and opportunities and hate to get stuck in maintenance mode.

They deliver new ideas, but they dread the details. To bring the best out of them, you need to protect them from the bureaucratic structure and administrative tasks.

They need a creative and participative environment. Creative people need the fuel that other creative people generate.

You need to provide boundaries, but they need to experience freedom. Boundaries force people to get creative. That’s when the best ideas are generated. But if creative people ever feel restrained, at best they’ll start to sulk and at worst they’ll join another team.

Read Tony Morgan’s full post “10 Keys to Leading Creative People“

Rockbridge Seminary students enrolling in the fully online course “Lead Like Jesus” during the January Term may want to make this a topic for discussion with fellow learners in the course.

MULTI-SITE as strategy … is hot

Recently, I met with Geoff Surratt, author of The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church in Many Locations. I was amazed to hear Geoff point out that, of the 100 largest churches in America, 65 reported having multiple sites. As a strategy, multi-site is hot.

Tony Morgan identified five key factors when launching a new site:

1. Leader. The most critical factor to the success or failure of a new campus is having the right leader. They don’t necessarily need to be charismatic, but they do need to be team builders, good communicators, champions of the vision, driven and highly relational. There needs to be a specific person who has the gift of leadership leading the campus.
2. Location. There isn’t a black and white formula here, but location matters. That includes proximity to your existing campuses and proximity to the people you’re trying to reach. Where do people shop, eat and experience entertainment? That area is where they’re most likely to also invite friends to attend a service.
3. Music. Churches think message first when it comes to multi-site, but the quality of the music is just as important. If the worship arts programming (music, video, etc.) isn’t on the same level as what people experience at the existing campuses, they won’t stay at the new campus.
4. Time. To launch with the most chance for success, you need time to identify leaders, build teams, select locations, equip facilities, develop new systems and mobilize people. We’re talking months not weeks. With the right systems and leadership development strategy; however, this time frame can be shortened dramatically. (See Proverbs 21:5)
5. Money. The amount of money will differ from church to church, but multi-site will require a financial investment. You’ll need money to purchase technology, signage and children’s ministry equipment. You’ll need money to purchase or lease space and then modify it to meet your needs. You’ll need money to pay staff as the campus grows. And, don’t forget, new people will typically take 18 to 24 months before they start giving. (See Luke 14:28)

What to hear the stories of pastors who have multi-site experience?

John Bishop at Living Hope Church (Vancouver, WA)

What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was, has been, and still is, to have adequate systems In place to support campuses, to encourage campus pastors, to stay unified as “one church” in multiple locations with unity.

Is there something unique about the DNA of Living Hope that made it work?
Living hope is a highly invitational church.  I really believe we are a dangerous church.  We have multiple stories of people who come to Living Hope and instinctively invite their friends.  That’s what makes living hope the place that it is.  I very rarely have to ask people to invite their friends – they naturally do it every week. (Read more at Books@Leadnet.org)

Steve Stroope, Senior Pastor at Lake Point Church (Rockwall, TX)

Some have critiqued the multi-site movement believing that it feeds a diminishing pool of leaders.  You told me that you believe it has exactly the opposite effect.  How so?
This is a great time to be a participant in the church leadership world.  There are so many different kinds of opportunities to lead that require different types of leaders.  The multi-site movement is an example of this.  It is providing many more opportunities for strong leaders who may not fit into the “senior pastor” leadership mold.  Some do not possess a strong gift for communication or teaching, but they are high capacity leaders and the multi-site model is creating a variety of brand new categories for those leaders. (Read more at Books@Leadnet.org)

Robert Emmitt, Senior Pastor at Community Bible Church (San Antonio, TX)

What is new about the multi-site ministry at Community Bible Church since we last talked?
We quit playing the CD’s of Robert, and let the pastors do the preaching.  We are looking more like a church planting ministry than a traditional multi-site. We are moving from a part time pastor to a full time pastor model. It costs more, but if you want the churches to grow, then the pastors need to devote their full time to it. (Read more at Books@Leadnet.org)

Dave Browning (twitter – @bigdaverino), Christ the King Community Church. (Burlington, WA)

I think it is interesting that you have a commitment to international campuses and a high value for use of technology in developing leaders but no Internet campuses?  Any reason for that?
Our international reach is more of a “God-thing” than anything else.  We had no plan to be outside of our own county, much less around the world.  But once you define the church by relationship, instead of geography, you realize that relationships do not respect geographical boundaries.  We say that we can go as far as relationships will take us.  Our goal is to raise up people to do ministry, so we view technology as a tool, not a strategy. (Read more at Books@Leadnet.org)

Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv

You have developed a model for connection with LifeChurch.tv that has three tiers – Open, Network and United. Why “qualifies” a church to become a part of the tightest affiliation – United?
Far more churches are becoming a Network Church rather than a United Church. As of today, we have 74 Network Churches. These are totally separate 501c-3s that use our weekly teaching. (Many also use our kids curriculum and worship all at no charge.) Churches who are part of the LifeChurch.tv Network are reporting great responses and stories of changed lives from their members and attendees. In order for a United partnership to occur, we’re looking for a unique set of circumstances where we can do more together than apart. Only in rare situations is it worth uniting since merging churches can be painful, and there are so many effective ways to partner. (Read more at Books@Leadnet.org)

Want more orientation and resources related to the multi-site strategy? Check out D J Chuang’s “class about multi-site churches” and find loads of free resources.

Church websites that KEEP people AWAY

Think about YOUR church website when you read Tony Morgan‘s “10 Easy Ways to Keep Me from Visiting Your Church Because I Visited Your Website“:

1. Avoid telling me what’s going to happen at your church this weekend.
2. Put a picture of your building on the main page. After all, ministry is all about the buildings.
3. Use lots of purple and pink and add pictures of flowers. Are you expecting any men to show up?
4. Make me click a “skip intro” or “enter site” link. I don’t have time for that and it’s very annoying.,
5. Add as many pictures and graphics as you can to the main page.
6. Use amateur photography.
7. List every single ministry you have at your church. My first step isn’t the men’s Bible study or joining your church’s prayer partners ministry.
8. Make it as difficult as possible for me to get directions, services times, or find information about what will happen with my kids.
9. Put a picture of your pastor with his wife on the main page.
10. Try to sell your church rather than telling me how I will benefit from the experience.

Read Tony’s blog about church web strategy

Follow Tony on Twitter

Need church information technology resources? Check out:

Church IT Roundtable

Church IT Podcasts

Blog by Jason Powell, IT Director, Granger Community Church

LEADERSHIP Summit: 11 take-away QUOTES

Tony Morgan, author of Killing Cockroaches: and Other Scattered Musings on Leadership (a book on my Kindle), gave his blog readers these take-away quotes from Willow Creek’s recent Leadership Summit:

Tony Blair:
“Sometimes the comfortable thing to do isn’t the right thing to do.”

Bono:
“What I really find hard to take is lifeless ceremony.”

David Gergen:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” (quoting unknown person)

Dave Gibbons:
“In God’s economy, vision should move from the fringes to the middle.”

Gary Harnel:
“When an organization misses the future, it’s not because it was unknown–it was because it’s inpalatable.”

Dan Heath:
“When you find the bright spot, study it and clone it.”

Bill Hybels:
“When I listen to God slowly, he speaks more frequently.”

Carly Fiorina:
“People consider it compassionate not to be honest with people. It’s not. That’s disrespectful.” (dealing with poor performance)

Tim Keller:
“People who believe the Gospel are utterly different.”

Andrew Rugasira:
“There is no country in the world that has developed through handouts.”

Wess Stafford:
“What’s your cause? Does it move you to tears? What is it that moves you passionately?”

If you attended the Leadership Summit, any take-away quotes you want to add?

Free web apps that can help your ministry focus

Tony Morgan, author of Killing Cockroaches and Other Scattered Musings on Leadership (on my Kindle 2), shared on his blog the top 25 free apps that he uses in his ministry:

1. Gmail
2. Google Calendar
3. WordPress
4. Twitter
5. Google Reader
6. PeopleBrowsr
7. YouVersion
8. Mint.com
9. Google Documents
10. Lala.com
11. Google Analytics
12. FeedBurner
13. ChurchMetrics
14. Delicious
15. ScribbleLive
16. Facebook
17. YouTube
18. Hulu.com
19. Skype
20. Mogulus
21. Google Groups
22. Pandora
23. Woopra
24. YouSendIt
25. Bringo

Thinking about switching to a free app (like Gmail) but hesitant because of the lost productivity getting used to a new system? I understand. When I switched from Outlook to Gmail last year I had a learning curve I knew I would have to endure and dreaded, but now I’m more productive than before and wouldn’t go back.

Seth Godin wrote in a recent blog:

There’s always a gap between the short-term results of a well-polished system and the first results of a switch to a more efficient one.

If you stick with that thing you’ve worked so hard to perfect, the next few hours or weeks or months will surely outperform the results you’ll get from the new thing. That’s because there are switching costs, glitches and a learning curve.

The end result is that organizations that choose to switch are usually the ones with the least to lose. The upstarts and the outliers. One reason they’re always leapfrogging the market leaders.

One way to stay innovative is to understand that this gap exists and to budget for it. Denying it won’t make it go away.

If you are interested in the broader discussion about the use of technology in ministry, listen as Mars Hill pastor Rob Bell interviews Shane Hipps, author of Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith.

Hat Tip: Solar Crash