Jesus shares that his followers will know his voice. With all the voices in the world giving many different kinds of messages, how can the voice of Jesus be distinguished from the others? Jesus makes some strong statements about himself, God, the world, and what it means to live a life of faith. These words can help you sort out the many voices in your life, because a little voice recognition can be very helpful.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
A Social Media Strategy in Ministry can be the Wrong Approach
As a once aspiring journalist instilled with a love for writing, communicating well has always been a priority. Connecting people with ideas drives much of my life's work.
When I bought into social media nearly three years ago, I didn't see an opportunity for a high school reunion, but a better path to share ideas. An old idea was starting a business contracting church newsletters (I saw too many bad ones out there). With social media, making a better paper newsletter seemed like a waste of time, knowing that most congregations would linger too long in their paper newsletters, while not fully investing in new communication methods.
Dreaming of collaborating with other communicators in the church, I hoped to gather gifts, passion and good information in some kind of church communication summit. The passion or details couldn't be fully corralled.
After three years, scattered ideas and efforts have finally coalesced. I am thrilled to work with a nascent social media ministry workshop, working with many colleagues whom I have never met face to face, but who share a passion for communicating well using a variety of tools. Many people have been generous with their time and support of this project.
The language that will often creep into an effort such as this is that the information will provide a foundation for a "social media strategy." While social media strategy is not entirely off base, Seth Godin provides an important reminder that a social media strategy misses the point. If any congregation or person looks at social media as something to save their ministry, they'll be disappointed with the product. Social media is only helpful when used with an understanding of what it means for the people in your life and work.
Social media ministry is rooted in the knowledge that each person is made in the image of God, and never merely part of a list of followers, a commodity to be collected, or part of an audience for a product. A person created in the image of God is not a means to my end, but someone inherently valued and loved. Sometimes I get this wrong. I am glad to share with others information about social media ministry, especially if it helps clarify how we look at one another as people made in the image of God.
When I bought into social media nearly three years ago, I didn't see an opportunity for a high school reunion, but a better path to share ideas. An old idea was starting a business contracting church newsletters (I saw too many bad ones out there). With social media, making a better paper newsletter seemed like a waste of time, knowing that most congregations would linger too long in their paper newsletters, while not fully investing in new communication methods.
Dreaming of collaborating with other communicators in the church, I hoped to gather gifts, passion and good information in some kind of church communication summit. The passion or details couldn't be fully corralled.
After three years, scattered ideas and efforts have finally coalesced. I am thrilled to work with a nascent social media ministry workshop, working with many colleagues whom I have never met face to face, but who share a passion for communicating well using a variety of tools. Many people have been generous with their time and support of this project.
The language that will often creep into an effort such as this is that the information will provide a foundation for a "social media strategy." While social media strategy is not entirely off base, Seth Godin provides an important reminder that a social media strategy misses the point. If any congregation or person looks at social media as something to save their ministry, they'll be disappointed with the product. Social media is only helpful when used with an understanding of what it means for the people in your life and work.
Social media ministry is rooted in the knowledge that each person is made in the image of God, and never merely part of a list of followers, a commodity to be collected, or part of an audience for a product. A person created in the image of God is not a means to my end, but someone inherently valued and loved. Sometimes I get this wrong. I am glad to share with others information about social media ministry, especially if it helps clarify how we look at one another as people made in the image of God.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Jesus Revealed In Stories Told (Luke 24:36-48)
Both humans and the church put a lot of energy into their own permanence. The problem is we can't do anything about our own permanence. This is God's doing. However, Jesus is revealed in the stories we tell about what God is doing in the world. Sometimes we may not see it, but somebody sees. This is the beauty of community in Christ.
Trust > Certainty (John 20: 19-31)
Certainty may attract people. Certainty may sell. Trust is better than certainty, because with trust, anything can be endured. Trust is gained through generosity, and Jesus' acts of love in life, death, and resurrection are ultimate acts of generosity.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Currency of Ministry is Trust
In a factory equation of labor, the hourly wage means much to both the employer and employee. The worker desires a wage that reflects their training, expertise and value to the company. The worker desires a wage providing resources to maintain a standard of living. The employer seeks to assemble a quality product that also turns a profit. In a factory equation of labor, an employer keeps track of hours and the worker keeps track of hours.
The church is not a factory.
Pastors and congregational leaders alike frequently talk, record or make mental notes about how many hours they work. A board member sometimes talks about the 6 hours they spent in meetings during a particular week. A pastor sometimes talks about the 65 hours they put in during a given week. If the church's currency was hours, that kind of factory-style tracking might make sense.
The currency for ministry is trust, not hours. A pastor can build more trust in being present over a 10 hour period of time than 50 hours of work doing something else. A board member can build more trust in one hour of caring conversation with people in the congregation than 8 hours of bureaucratic meetings.
If ministry is focused on the amount of hours worked, then the investment equation is askew. The question of any ministry venture must be, "how are we investing in and building trust?" Too much energy is wasted in the politics of ideology and factory mentalities. Trust only comes from a prodigious offering of love. Jesus didn't say in John chapter 34, "Lo, can you see how many hours I put in for your redemption?" The cross is a reminder of a prodigious offering of love. We are called to love like that. Trust is a product of love.
The church is not a factory.
Pastors and congregational leaders alike frequently talk, record or make mental notes about how many hours they work. A board member sometimes talks about the 6 hours they spent in meetings during a particular week. A pastor sometimes talks about the 65 hours they put in during a given week. If the church's currency was hours, that kind of factory-style tracking might make sense.
The currency for ministry is trust, not hours. A pastor can build more trust in being present over a 10 hour period of time than 50 hours of work doing something else. A board member can build more trust in one hour of caring conversation with people in the congregation than 8 hours of bureaucratic meetings.
If ministry is focused on the amount of hours worked, then the investment equation is askew. The question of any ministry venture must be, "how are we investing in and building trust?" Too much energy is wasted in the politics of ideology and factory mentalities. Trust only comes from a prodigious offering of love. Jesus didn't say in John chapter 34, "Lo, can you see how many hours I put in for your redemption?" The cross is a reminder of a prodigious offering of love. We are called to love like that. Trust is a product of love.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Called As A Witness (Easter Sunday, Mark 16: 1-8)
On the reality television show, "What Would You Do," everyday people are confronted with public ethical dilemmas. Do witnesses to profound events bear a responsibility to tell what they've seen? It's not easy being a witness. As meaning making creatures, we seek to interpret what we have seen or heard, applying the event to life. The early witnesses of Jesus' resurrection were faced with the reality of an empty tomb. In addition, they also what it would mean to tell others, face a political upheaval, doubts of what was seen, and what a living Jesus means to their lives. It makes perfect sense that they ran away afraid. What does it mean to us now that we've heard the witness? What would you do? It's only the beginning, as Mark tells his reader of this gospel.
Christ Dwells In Conflict (Maundy Thursday--1 Cor. 11:23-26)
Jesus may have said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," but that doesn't mean he avoided conflict. In fact, it was in conflict that Jesus made his most bold, yet most humble actions. The Last Supper and the institution of Holy Communion is created "in the night in which he was betrayed." Christ is not absent in the midst of your conflict, or in the conflicts of the world, but very near.
Friday, April 6, 2012
The Other Side of Church Commodity Trading
Commodity trading is not confined to Wall Street, or even to financial centers. Commodity trading wages in the church.
Temptation ebbs and flows in congregational life where "outreach" easily becomes commodity exploration. A connection in the community can become a prospect for congregational membership. This is not inherently bad. Connections in the community are good for the congregation, but sometimes they are only seen as good as that person has a commodity being traded in the congregation. Sunday school teacher? Board member? Musician? Someone with children? An income with the ability to make a regular offering?
A good theology of vocation includes that everyone has something to offer. While this may be true in theory, there is a hierarchy of value upon which a church economy often operates. In order for the church to exist in many Christianity economies, a congregation will invest their efforts in the commodities listed above, sometimes at the expense of connecting with people solely because they are made in the image of God.
It's no wonder this commodity trading happens. Pastors often carry large student loan debt, and congregations carry huge mortgages. The debt load and commodity trading in many congregations spawns a culture of overwhelming anxiety and mistrust. Anxiety and mistrust are not good currency for relationships and friendships, let alone outreach. Desperate people and congregations struggle to make good decisions. There's a fine line between desperate and passionate. While we want our congregations to be passionate, what we often invest in leads to desperation.
This reflection is written on Good Friday, a sobering account and reminder of the power of deadly things in which we invest. Christ will overcome them. We are redeemable through Christ. But the carnage along the way is humbling.
Temptation ebbs and flows in congregational life where "outreach" easily becomes commodity exploration. A connection in the community can become a prospect for congregational membership. This is not inherently bad. Connections in the community are good for the congregation, but sometimes they are only seen as good as that person has a commodity being traded in the congregation. Sunday school teacher? Board member? Musician? Someone with children? An income with the ability to make a regular offering?
A good theology of vocation includes that everyone has something to offer. While this may be true in theory, there is a hierarchy of value upon which a church economy often operates. In order for the church to exist in many Christianity economies, a congregation will invest their efforts in the commodities listed above, sometimes at the expense of connecting with people solely because they are made in the image of God.
It's no wonder this commodity trading happens. Pastors often carry large student loan debt, and congregations carry huge mortgages. The debt load and commodity trading in many congregations spawns a culture of overwhelming anxiety and mistrust. Anxiety and mistrust are not good currency for relationships and friendships, let alone outreach. Desperate people and congregations struggle to make good decisions. There's a fine line between desperate and passionate. While we want our congregations to be passionate, what we often invest in leads to desperation.
This reflection is written on Good Friday, a sobering account and reminder of the power of deadly things in which we invest. Christ will overcome them. We are redeemable through Christ. But the carnage along the way is humbling.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
A Different Approach To Power (Mark 11: 1-11)
Though the a crowd gathered on the outskirts of Jerusalem gave a welcome parade to Jesus befit a king or military leader, Jesus would respond in unexpected ways. His power is unconventional. What is the best way for followers of Jesus to display the power of Christ? With a similar approach to power: be there.
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