For 20 hours or so, the freshest Nooma is available for free viewing. The cinematography is stunning, as all Nooma videos are. But Rob always looks like he's freezing his britches off. Makes me thank God I don't live in Michigan. =)
I'll shoot straight. I've been visiting lots of churches over the past two years. And it seems like we've got the leadership thing down. We're "mean about vision;" we've "chosen to cheat;" and we've learned how to quarantine the pastor from criticism like he's Vladimir Putin.
But the messages are... how do I put this... bad.
We've drifted as communicators, I think.
In the evenings, while my boys are playing in the sand, and my extremely pregnant wife and I are catching up in beach chairs, eating ham sandwiches... we watch the surfers drift further and further away with the current. By the end of the night, they're walking blocks to get back to their towels and flip flops. They've lost their way.
Somehow, we pastors have lost our way with messages.
We want to be brash like Driscoll; to look like Furtick; to have cadence like Chandler; to be funny like Noble; and to have content like Stanley. So we try to be all of them, and the result is just a mess. We're focusing on the method and abandoning an authentic message.
To find our way back, we have to return to the message.
I think God is trying to get our attention as communicators. Just look at the events he's raising up: Rob Bell's Poets, Prophets, Preachers conference, where he addressed "The Story We're Telling." And Mark Dever's God Exposed Conference: "Awkward Preaching in a Comfortable Age."
And then there's STORY in October.
If you're a leader in ministry, no one feels comfortable telling you that your sermons need work. (Or that you need to lose 40 pounds, by the way.) You kind of have to assume this about yourself. Your ability to communicate is probably 80 to 90% of your ministry. Have you invested in your gift?
If you watch the movie Public Enemies featuring Johnny Depp, keep your eyes open for the Paramount Theater, where we're hosting STORY.
I love what Mark Twain said, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which, never happened."
I think it's safe to say that I've feared far more things than have actually happened in my life. What a shame.
Fear paralyzes progress. Fear keeps you in bad jobs. Fear keeps you single. Fear keeps you in the same town your whole life. Fear keeps you from following your God-given dreams.
Every morning, I have to spend at least 30 minutes praying and banishing fear from my life. It slowly creeps up on me each day and blankets me in the mornings.
What's interesting is that whenever I imagine the scenario of my worst fears coming true... it's not actually that bad. =) Honestly, it simplifies my life.
I was talking to a pastor the other day who is on his second church plant. He said that failing was a gift from God because it taught him that he didn't have all that much to fear.
Not a sermon. Just a blog post.
The 16th presenter at the follow-up day of Workshops at STORY is Candi Pearson.
Candi is an independent singer and songwriter based in L.A. She traveled with Passion for years and was responsible for giving chills to millions of people by singing "Sing to the King who is coming to reign."
Her voice is stunning, powerful, other-wordly... and she's also got a book coming out by David C Cook later in the year. She'll be presenting at STORY Workshops and quite possibly be blowing us all away at the main event... backed by an amazing band soon to be announced.
Register for STORY while you can!
Pastors are facing a crisis of identity in the pulpit today. They don't know whether to be scholars, motivational speakers or talk show hosts. They feel pulled between using catchy sermon titles like "Desperate Households" and preaching verse-by-verse through Leviticus - all because their heroes are doing it.
Somehow the message has gotten lost in the method.
It's good to come back to the story we were all meant to tell. Pastors are, after all, a tribe of storytellers. It's the greatest story ever told - a story of rebellion, redemption and restoration. Every epic tale is a reflection of this grand meta-narrative of life. And Hollywood stole it right out from under our noses...
[Read more at ConversantLife]
Two of my favorite designers - Barton Damer and Promise Tangeman - are collaborating on an art project to benefit a children's home in the Ngong Hills in Kenya. It's called Art for Humura.
On Monday, Barton starts the design...
Promise sets it in a new direction...
Barton tweaks it a bit...
Promise puts her sass on it...
Barton puts it through the gauntlet of taste...
Promise makes it beg for mercy and puts a fork in it.
When it's done, you can buy a print or tee and help make a difference for the children in Kenya. Check their blogs for the back-and-forth: Barton Damer & Promise Tangeman
Just got back from two days with my friend Tally Wilgis, who is launching Captivate Church in Baltimore. What's interesting is that he's planting two churches - one in the suburbs and one in the inner city.
Tally was raised by a single mother in one of Baltimore city's toughest neighborhoods. He went on to attend Liberty and help start several churches in Texas and Virginia... but now he's back to his native roots.
The old, inner city church he attended as a kid - recently GAVE HIM the million dollar facility and the bank account. But knowing that an urban church can quickly become a charity in and of itself... he's first starting a suburban church that will eventually provide people, resources, and a reconciling bridge between two cultures.
I was blown away by the team he's built and the money he's raised. Quite possibly the most successful preparation campaign I've ever seen in church planting. I'm going to be one of Tally's biggest cheerleaders.
Excited to hang out with these guys tomorrow -- the Micah Watson Band. They've been leading worship for years in the Hampton, Virginia and are about to take the rest of the state by storm. I'm about to dabble in a little band management.
There's a great guy who works at the Paramount Theater who attends a Vineyard church in Aurora, IL. He said they meet in a house on Sundays because they don't want to grow...
gasp.
ack... right?
Until he explains that they want to grow outward. They want to send people out to start things... to be on mission... to plant new churches.
That's so New Testament, it's almost unrecognizable.
Love that.
There's lots of talk about sweet spots.
How we finally have to get there.
How we should've been there long ago.
How it's a shame we toiled elsewhere for so long.
But I don't think the sweet spot even exists without years and years of aimless work. I think our sweet spot is the result of countless attempts to discover our gifts, sharpen our skills, and not screw up.
It never even existed until we worked for at least 30 years outside of it.
Flying to Baltimore today to spend some time consulting with my friend Tally Wilgis and the team from Captivate Church. For as long as I've known Tally - what, eight years - he's been talking about helping to reach Baltimore. Now he's finally thrown down the megaphone and grabbed a plow.
Special place in my heart for Baltimore - it's where I graduated from high school.
Finding that I read different books at different times of day.
For mornings, I accompany devotions with Falwell's Building Dynamic Faith. You have no idea where your faith stands until you try something audacious.
For quick reading in airports, right now, it's 100 Great Businesses. Great insights into some of the best brands out there.
And for nightstand reading, I just got The E-Myth Enterprise. I read anything Michael Gerber writes. Excited to see this on the new release shelf.
The 15th presenter at the follow-up day of STORY Workshops is Michael Buckingham.
Michael is the founder of Holy Cow Creative and part of the Center for Church Communication. He's got a huge heart for the church and writes a lot for ChurchMarketingSucks.com.
Besides doing unbelievable work, Michael is getting tons of props in the secular design community. He's speaking at the HOW Design Conference this year, among other things.
You can follow his blog [here].
Don't forget to register by June 30 for the best rate.
Just one more day until the Best Rate of $149 expires for STORY. You have until the end of tomorrow - June 30 - before it goes up, so don't wait!
STORY is an event designed for communicators in ministry (preachers, teachers, ministry leaders, authors and artists). The goal is to help us improve our communication of the greatest story ever told!
Here are just a few things you'll come away with:
My friend @JaysonTeagle who runs Maximum Impact Club sent me a few photos from my interview with Disney Resorts president Al Weiss last month. Of all my experiences at Catalyst, this ranks as one of the best. Such an amazing leader, strong believer, and champion of church planting. I'd show you the interview, but then they'd have to kill me.
Entrepreneur Mike Foster just launched Media Social - a tool that combines Facebook community with live streaming events. Makes me want to be on Facebook. Well...
The 14th presenter at the follow-up day of Workshops at STORY is Brad Abare.
Brad is the director of communications for the Foursquare denomination, founder of the Center for Church Communication and president of a consultancy for start-ups. In 2004, Brad started Church Marketing Sucks, which is read by over 40,000 people each month.
I first saw him speak at Buzz Conference many moons ago and struck up an e-friendship with him not long after. Soo excited to have Brad on-board.
Best rate for STORY ends June 30. Register here.
Had an awesome Brainstorming Meeting last week in Aurora with some of Chicago's finest creatives. The Ballydoyle was the perfect setting for dreaming up epic ideas.
Gathered some amazing thinkers from Granger, Willow Creek, Park Community, The Orchard, Gurney Community, Doxa Fellowship, Redeemer Fellowship, and Community Christian to dream up ideas for the event.
Here are some teasers - shot by Brian Malcolm - but you can find the rest on STORY's Flickr account.
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