Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise

Learning about love of God thru 320 lb lineman & 13 yr old…

So impressed with Braden Burget… he’s a 13 year old member of the Granger Drama Team & he went TO TOWN! Quick rundown of the Blindside…well done!

The Braden Side from Granger Community on Vimeo.

I think this series is making a connection with people. Online viewers are 3x higher than last week and the highest since May 2009. Next week? Avatar. Can’t wait.

     

People relate to story not information … need help with that?

Looking for a unique creative conference with new voices that help you see things differently and do things more effectively? STORY happens September 23-24, 2010 in downtown Chicago and has some of the best ministry and marketplace creative practitioners (filmmakers, authors, actors and musicians) involved. I’m excited to see speaker names on here that aren’t part of the “Christian Conference” short list…

• Charlie Todd - creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City
• Princess Zulu - AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed
• Jason Fried - founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework
• John Sowers - president of Donald Miller's The Mentoring Project
• David Hodges - formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter
• David McFadzean - creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne
• Richard Walter - accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA
• Andrew Klavan - author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels
• Gary Dorsey - founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX

Seating is limited to only 500 attendees and it’s scheduled on Thursday/Friday so you can enjoy the weekend in the city. It’s a two-day, main-stage event with no breakouts or workshops; just an intimate audience with the top creative minds. You’ll be able to ask questions during the event and continue the conversation after it's over.

Thought you’d want to know.

Are you leading a movement or managing an institution?

This question has weighed heavily on me for the past several months. When I consider some differences between the two:

• Institutions are structures of purposed order that have tendencies to compete for resources, resist collaboration and bind creativity with control that hinders growth.
• Movements are committed, engaged groups of activists motivated by common values, unquenchable passion and innovative agility that seed personal and social change.

I realize that, over time, our team (and church) has assumed some institutional baggage. That’s an uncomfortable truth (because who wants that?) and it’s even more uncomfortable as I become more aware of the same truth in my own personal leadership (oh, snap.)

The exciting part of this awareness is that we’re ON IT! As a church team, we’ve been on a journey to address our adaptive challenges, nurture the chaos of new life and break paradigms that create barriers. It’s not that we’re wrestling with the value of structure but re-discovering where and how much of that structure is essential to equipping unstoppable, organic multiplication.

Quotes I’m resonating with…

• When I invite people to church, I’m asking them to give up what they value doing most on Sunday (or Saturday, or Wednesday) so they can experience what I value.
• The gospel is more than an informational transaction. It is a relational interaction which leads to transformation.
• If you want to have a large impact be committed to the small things.

It’s exciting. And, challenging. I am energized as we find ways to leverage organizational strength to release a decentralized network that can change the world. Here’s some of the resources we’re diving into to help find some language and practical next steps.

                             

• THE CONTEXT   The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch
• SOME PRACTICALS   Exponential, Dave and Jon Ferguson
• A HIGH STAKES CONVERSATION   The AND Conference, November 4-5

Paradoxes of multi-site communication…

This past week, I asked Jeff Bell to spend some time with our communications network talking about the paradoxes of multi-site communication. Here are a few simple bullets of wisdom he shared.

• The goal is scalability, but scalability is not the same thing as duplication.
• Don’t focus on mirroring. Focus on the mission.
• Community is a shared mission, expression is not.
• Value is communicated different ways to different people.
• Our church, and the community developed around it, is not contained in one box and shipped for use in multiple locations. We’re evolving our DNA to live multi-site as a ministry, not as an export.

Change the world by embracing change…

People are threatened by people different than them and by situations they don’t understand. They increase efforts to control the world, destroying it in the process.

Pride and conceit appear when people get comfortable. And, the church is full of two types people; those who are set in their ways and those who aren’t. I am encouraged and motivated to change the world by embracing change.

Helping humanity is in style & easier than ever …

I’ve been living in tension about all of the missions, causes and campaigns I hear about on a daily basis. It’s been increasingly harder for me to sort it all out and make sense of what’s really going on.

• Ribbons and magnets for every awareness under the sun
• Pink appliances, canned goods and fried chicken baskets
• Avatar overlays for Live Strong, Haiti Relief and the Iran Election
• Fundraising up charges at the grocery store checkouts for children’s hospitals
• Twitter RTs and reciprocal blog banners
• Facebook fan pages and bra color status updates
• Rubber wristbands

It’s all for a good cause, but is it good? An article in this month’s Fast Company: Helping Humanity With a Click of the  Mouse helped me find the language to articulate some of the angst I’ve been struggling with.

“There’s a newish movement called ‘slactivism.’ Basically, it refers to doing good without having to do much at all. It’s inch-deep activism that doesn’t cost much money and takes even less effort.”

I’m not criticizing people trying to make the world a better place. And, I’m not judging anyone who has participated in anything on my bulleted list above. I honestly don’t assume that these incidental actions are the full picture of a person’s charitable giving or sacrifice. I am, however, going on record stating that the reverse is also true. If you never see me put a magnet on my car, RT your Twitter campaign, join your Facebook cause or put an overlay on my avatar, don’t assume I’m not sacrificially engaged in something bigger than me.

I’m not indifferent to the fact there is more I can do. I will keep pressing into what part God is asking me to play with my resources to make a real difference in our world. But, I am indifferent to aligning myself with anything that resembles the 2010 version of a chain letter.

It feels good to get that in the open. Let the hate mail begin.

10 most common mistakes in decision-making…

My friend Rob Lamarre is working on his MBA and shared some notes from Decision Traps. (Thanks Nicole for sending them over!) The summary alone was great stuff. I can only imagine how helpful the book is. Although it’s an oldie, it’s most definitely a goodie.

You don’t need an MBA to avoid these common mistakes; you just need awareness.

1. PLUNGING IN | Gather information before thinking about the root of the issue…
2. FRAME BLINDNESS | Set out to solve the wrong problem by losing sight of most important objectives…
3. FRAME CREEP| Define the problem from one perspective or unduly define it by too many…
4. OVERCONFIDENCE | Fail to collect factual information because you are too sure of your own assumptions…
5. SHORTSIGHTED SHORTCUTS | Rely on most convenient information without questioning if it fits the situation…
6. SHOOTING FROM THE HIP | “Wing it” with final choice rather than follow systematic process…
7. GROUP FAILURE | Assume smart choices automatically follow smart people and allow group to self-manage…
8. FOOL YOURSELF | Fail to interpret outcomes of past decisions for what they really say or rewrite history to protect your ego…
9. DON’T KEEP SCORE | Assume experience is obvious and there is no need to track results or look for lessons…
10. LACK OF AUDIT | Pay attention only to the pieces without evaluating how the parts affect the whole…

This week alone, number 1, 2 and 5 totally owned me. Doh!

My slides from Exponential (update: notes added)

For the peeps who attended my workshops at Exponential, here’s the slides I promised.

• Social Media & Ministry
• Less Clutter

[update] I just found Jason Curlee’s notes from the Social Media & Ministry workshop. Thanks, Jason! If you were at one of the sessions yesterday and want to share the love like Jason, leave a comment with the link to your notes.

What don’t I know that everyone else does? I’m gonna find out…

I’ve been preparing to facilitate a couple of workshops at the Exponential Conference next week about simplified communication and social media. I’m traveling with Theresa, Jami & Tim (who will be teaching a couple of workshops about leveraging pop culture and empowering volunteers). We’re all praying that our participation will help encourage and equip church planters to deal with the practical realities of their world. What’s a church planter? My understanding in an oversimplified nutshell: pastors who are typically entrepreneurial and bi-vocational visionaries with very little resources for their start-up.

Here’s the deal. The closer I get to the event, the more unprepared I feel. I couldn’t figure out where the anxiety was originating from and then it hit me. Apparently, there’s more that’s “different” about this group that I don’t know about. Everyone talks about “church planters” with an assumed understanding that there are special attributes we all know about. They’re obvious to anyone in ministry—but me. WHAT ARE THESE SECRET ATTRIBUTES?? If I ask, people will learn how clueless I really am. But, it’s more important that I understand my audience before I spend time with them. So, whatever—I just decided to just ask.

Finish this sentence: You know you’re a church planter when…

• dperdue you preach in a shirt that looks like this http://bit.ly/bAU0Wa
• claytonfaulkner you tell jokes that start: "A priest, a rabbi, and Ed Stetzer are at a bar..."
• chadrowland Every Sunday you answer the question, "When are ya'll building a church?" That's when you know.
• ecraigwhite you associate the smell of a school gym with church services.
• ryandupre cement floors and desks start to look like comfortable places to sleep.
• pastorshrek when every empty building screams out..."New location"!!! And you can look at a dump, and fix it in your mind on the spot.
• wscottbloyer when the first thing you think of is would they fund us?
• 6stringworship you can turn a gym into a church in 20 min or less
• patricksprague your denomination drops you for doing a bible study in a pub.

Finish this sentence: The heartbeat of a church planter is…

• pastorjeffmyers ...irregular.
• paulwirth those disconnected from Jesus
• david_norman seeing the Gospel advance
• louicanchola ADVANCING THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
• bezner ...the city reflecting the Kingdom.
• KevinConnell Walking in step w/ the Spirit & having the courage 2b obedient
• mbull many. It takes many "planters," not just one.
• ktackel reaching people for Jesus
• jasonshafer people
• daveingland The heartbeat of a church planter is to be the hands & feet in a community; to faithfully serve those he has called us to serve.
• jakeschwein HOLY DISCONTENT
• jacklumanog evangelism and multiplication for the Kingdom
• sammahlstadt sustained by love and pumping mercy through society's veins
• svcckim reaching people don't know Christ. Relationships & Opportunities
• DanielGutierrez Jesus
• claytonbell Seeing God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Particularly through those who don't current know Him.
• kstrandlund relentless love for Christ, His people, & their Calling
• dkrichards passion for the ppl that they've been called to intimately know Christ, a passion for the mission & vision God's given them!
• corbettreeves the need to create a new culture.
• ndstrupler focusing on what matters the most.
• Phil Graves Connecting people with their creator.
• Kim Robilotto Reaching those who don't know Christ by connecting with the community
• Joanne Brewer having a vision and lifting jesus up being surrounded by leaders with the same vision as yours
• Eddie Joe Irish enjoying going where no church has gone before, a brave spiritual pioneering spirit and vision, and a core of like-hearted souls included at least one person in the group who can run Quickbooks, balance a budget and pay the bills on time.
• Michael Williams not being content with status quo church as usual, but called, driven and Spirit led to create culture where it doesn't exist, to love and push forward in hard and gray places, with no pride or personal gain, but for the Kingdom.

Finish this sentence: The difference between pastor & church planter is…

• skstarkiller deacons
• sammahlstadt an income!
• Joel_Dryden shouldn't be, however the status quo is maintenance vs. development; weeding vs. planting; fear vs. hope; limits vs. open source.
• bezner ...24 months. After two years of planting you ARE a pastor.
• TallyWilgis ...in the types of problems they must overcome to be effective.
• joshploch whether they cut the donuts or leave them whole
• mikekuder a steady paycheck! :-)
• Michael Williams ...my initial thought is different places in life and different timing with God's call. Different parts of the body.

So there you have it. What’s missing? What else do I need to know?

So…why isn’t the local church invited to very many parties?

TRUE: The local church used to be the center of culture and now culture is running circles around the church.

FALSE: This is a problem of technology.

TRUE: Fewer and fewer people are connecting with Christ and each other through the local church.

FALSE: This is a problem of theology.

TRUE: This is a problem of communication.

Why does the church spend so much time chasing down conversations and looking for ways to get the public to notice? Because its communication models aren’t built for today’s reality – information overload, pressure to keep up, subculture alliances, global neighborhoods, mass distrust of big business and organized religion, etc.

The hope, encouragement, training and life transformation we have to offer is as relevant as ever. We’ve just made it too hard for people to find, even harder to be a part of and impossible to stay current. (That’s your answer—why nobody wants us at the party.)

It’s time for an extreme makeover—communication edition.

For the past few months, I’ve been in several mind, space and soul bending conversations about the future of church and why it’s losing its appeal.

One of those conversations has led me to join the advisory board for SoChurch—a game changing communication platform. There’s a long list of reasons why I’m so energized about this, but here’s a few:

• There’s a credible and diverse team involved with the scope and implementation of this solution; advisors, investors, developers, pastors, futurists, strategists, connectors and communicators. It’s not being birthed in a vacuum.
• It’s a tool that will be accessible to all churches; regardless of size, style, technical skills or budget.
• It's not a web site (destination) but a conduit (vehicle) that facilitates conversation from the church to the community and from the community to the church.

There’s going to be a steady stream of details coming about SoChurch and the people involved; you can follow it. For now, you can catch up on the story so far from John Saddington, Tony Morgan, Ben Arment and Tim Stevens.

Be encouraged. The church has a great future if we control less and influence more. This is a step in the right direction.