.:: keeping the ministry fresh ::.

Excellent quote from a recently elected politician here in New Zealand: ‘(My party) must move with the times, generate new ideas, recruit fresh talent, take risks and listen to New Zealanders.’

Not bad advice for anyone who is involved in ministry leadership! Let me tease this out a bit:

//Move with the times  - the society around us is changing.  It is essential that leaders spend time reading across a range of disciplines; and go for blogs where possible.  Books are great, but often it can be a year between the finished manuscript and publishing and a lot happens in a year.  Also subject yourself to the discipline of writing about where things are heading and how it applies to your area.  This often forces careful thought - not a bad thing.  For my latest piece see: The Bible in the Digital Space (1120)

//Generate new ideas - in my experience new ideas are easy, what is hard is finding the resources to make the great ideas become reality.  And when I say ‘resource’ I am not thinking about money, but something way more important: talented staff (fresh talent). Getting the right people involved in a project at just the right time is one of the most important tasks of leadership.

// Listen - It amazes me how few Christian orgs. I have encountered will take the time to find out what the needs are in the community they are working with and seeking to influence.  As one Pastor once said, ‘The church is answering questions no one is asking.’  It is absolutely essential to find out what the needs are in a community, to learn as much about the community so as to contextualize the offering.  And in listening, be prepared to change the offering if required.  It is essential to keep the ministry fresh.

HELP! CRISIS! now what.

There is no true change without crisis. Developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson states that we move through stages of development and that maturity comes from moving through the various stages. To mature to the next stage we need to experience a crisis, something that challenges our usual approach to life. With this understanding crisis = opportunity. Opportunity to improve, to mature. But it doesn’t comes easily. We might need to let go of something cherished, a security, a comfort, so as to move on.

The same applies to the church and to ministries: to change requires a crisis of sorts.

For very understandable reasons those in ministry establish methods and approaches and stick to them. Any change is minimal and carefully managed. It is rare to see major shifts. Most churches continue to use the same approach on a sunday that has been used for decades. Each denomination has their version and each church their local interpretation, but most churches all basically follow what they are used to.  The question is, Is it still relevant? Continue reading »

Why don’t people go to church?

I have spent the day preparing my presentation on, ‘The Bible in the Digital Space’ for the Christianity in the Digital Space conference in July at Durham University.  As part of my prep I have been thinking a little about why people don’t go to church.   So to assist this, I placed up on Twitter and Facebook the following,

‘ Interesting question: Why don’t people go to church? Thoughts?’

Within a couple of hours it had more than 50 responses.  So I thought I would post the same question here and invite your comment:

‘ Interesting question: Why don’t people go to church? Thoughts?’

My Hope For The Church

I am really bothered by the slowly eroding influence of the church in the West.  Our message is still as fresh and as deeply relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.  And without a doubt we continue to have something important to offer society.  So it is with this conviction that I share my hopes for the church.

My hope is that we the church take the time to understand the society we seek to influence and serve, and out of this observation we shape our offerings to meet the contemporary reality.

My hope is that we the church are seen within the local community as an amazing resource for assisting people in navigating the challenges of life.

My hope is that we the church are an outspoken advocate for the poor, the marginalized and those with mental illness.

My hope is that we the church focus on growing people as well as congregations.  We certainly need more people in church but equally we need those people to be growing in their faith.

My hope is that evangelism becomes part of the church culture and not some uncomfortable add on.

My hope is that the Bible will become not just a peripheral resource but a central part of the church’s practice and identity.

My hope is that creativity is encouraged within the church and that creative people are given more say and influence.

My hope is that we the church can honestly discuss the reality of our situation and see any predicament as a glorious opportunity for change.

What is your hope for the church?

To download a copy of ‘My Hope for the Church’ click here:   My Hope For The Church (364)

Email from Pres. Obama

Got an email from President Obama today.  He just wanted to let me know some of what he is doing. Nice of him to take the time.
.

So I sent the following reply:

Thanks for your email Mr. President.  Hope all is well with you and your family?  Louise and the kids are all well, although challenging times with the cold here in Wellington.  Speaking of which, if you ever come by New Zealand let me know, be lovely to have you all round for a BBQ.

Have a great day!

Regards,  Mark Brown

For the full Obama email click below.. Continue reading »

Success by numbers

I have recently been exploring the point of Twitter curious as to why people are interested in the intimate details of one’s life.  But actually most of my experience of Twitter is much more about driving traffic to a website or blog.  So it is one big brand/advertising machine.  I followed one person who sent me the this typical automatic response:

Thanks for the follow! Do you want to know How To Dramatically Increase Your Followers & Make Money?

And then they were kind enough to provide me with a link to find out how I could ‘Dramatically Increase Your Followers & Make Money’ and perhaps even buy a potion that cures most ailments. Nice.

Now let me talk about followers/friends.  In this social network world it is easy to find yourself defined by how many are following/friending you. Andrew Keen argues that more talent = more followers.   Seth Goden hasn’t helped this by enthusiastically arguing that all of us are capable of leading a ‘tribe’ as he calls it.  Well the reality is, most people won’t have 50,000 followers and won’t lead a ‘tribe’.  What will happen is that a few will be hugely popular and the majority will not.  To suggest that talent is defined by how many people are following you is one shallow metric.

And we in the church are also prone to equating success with numbers.  The bigger the church the more successful the pastor?  Well?

And here is a confession, I buy into that equation and that is wrong.  I have been known to throw numbers around, to play the game.  Actually what triggered this reflection for me was reading a blog post that mentioned the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life,

By the way, also found this online church in Second Life, The Anglican Cathedral in Second Life, with 7 services weekly and about 600 members in its associated discussion group.

Check it out at : http://digital.leadnet.org/

Well actually the numbers of active participants is closer to 300 and most services get between 5 and 25 participants each service which equates to around 100 people attending the services each week.

So the challenge  for me is to engage with this culture without becoming seduced by it.  To take the time to think critically and biblically.

So what of this particular issue, of success by numbers?  Well Jesus certainly did address crowds as his popularity grew, but most of his attention was on his relationship with his Father (time alone) and then the disciples, of which there were only a few.  And this pattern continues into the early church as recorded in the Epistles.

So considerable time should be spent investing in a small group of those close to us (including our family), and heaps of time relating to God through prayer and reading the Bible.  And when the opportunity presents, speak out of these relationships to a larger audience.  So we don’t seek a larger audience, we respond if one emerges.  The key is that success is defined not by ‘followers’, but in relation to God, and to how well we influence the few closest to us.

What do you think?

The Old and the New Church Org. Culture

The topic of my doctorate is change, in particular shifting the culture within church organisations.  This is a key topic given how dramatic the shifts in society presently are.  (See: The Digital Revolution and the Church (1309) for more detail.)  As society changes so to do church orgs. need to shift so as to remain relevant and effective.

And culture shift is key.  It isn’t just about changing a few programmes or getting rid of ties, but quite often it involves fundamentally addressing the personality of the organisation: the culture.  Culture is the orgs. DNA, the unspoken rules and expectations of how to behave.  Want to quickly discern a culture?  Spend a day or two with the longest serving employee.

So church org. cultures need to shift, quite often from the standard old form to something more contemporary and appropriate to today’s world.  This looks like: Continue reading »

Leadership in a time of downturn

Organizations have highs and lows.  This is oh so normal.  There are those times when things are humming, there is growth, excitement and huge rewards.  And then things fail, the old trusted strategies suddenly produce mediocrity.  How are leaders to function in times of downturn?  Here are 5 practical strategies.. Continue reading »

10 Tips For Starting a New Ministry

One of the things I have discovered I like doing is ministry start-ups.  In the past couple of years I have started a couple of significant ministries including paid government school Chaplaincy in New Zealand, administered by the LifeWalk trust.  This sees committed and compassionate Christians serving a school community a minimum of three days a week.  They have an office in the school and are treated as part of the staff team as they offer prayer support and pastoral care to students and staff.  Another ministry I started was the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life church plant which founded nearly two years ago, now offers 5 services, a Bible Study and a very lively discussion group each week as well as numerous informal pastoral conversations.  It has very quickly become a legitimate experience of church.

So from the hard slog of experience here are my 10 tips for starting a new ministry… Continue reading »

The Internet President

The newly inaugurated President Obama is the first President and perhaps world leader, to really embrace the power of the internet.  His use of the internet through his campaign is legendary: mobilizing millions of supporters and hundreds of millions of donations through email, twitter and youtube.  Influential blogger Arianna Huffington goes as far as stating,

“Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee,”

So it is no surprise that the internet will continue to be part of Obama’s  presidency.  Yesterday marked not only the inauguration but the re-launch of the new look WhiteHouse.gov website. Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House states on the WhiteHouse.gov blog,

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama’s journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country’s future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration’s efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

The principle three aims of the WhiteHouse.gov site is to promote Communication, Transparency and Participation (see the WhiteHouse.gov blog for more info.)   The one that particularly stands out of me is the Participation aim. Phillips states,

Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.

The internet is now a major communication channel and any organisation, including the church, needs to work out a strategy as to how they will respond.  President Obama’s WhiteHouse.gov  is a step in the right direction that I hope will encourage others to also think carefully how they can best use the internet.

To assist you in making sense of the potential of the internet, check out my paper, ‘The Digital Revolution and the Church’ by clicking here: The Digital Revolution and the Church (1309)