Living Room Events

At Great Oaks, we've adopted the Foyer-Living Room-Kitchen strategy from Northpoint as a way of moving people from our weekend services to our small groups. As we've been talking lately, we realize that the Living Room component of our Vision is unfulfilled at this point.

Essentially, our Living Room events are "connection events" where people can begin to meet new people and form relationships. During each of these events, we will be encouraging people to get plugged into small groups as their next-step.

Our plan is to increase the frequency and variety of these events in the coming months and years. These events will each have a specific target audience (men, women, families, etc) and will be varied in style (workshops/seminars, family movie nights, coffeehouse events, sporting events, etc). Here's my question for you...

What kind of Living Room events would you love to see the church offer?

Remember that it has to be relationally-driven, have a specific target audience, and be something that has the potential to draw in a lot of people. (Sorry...but we won't be offering a Living Room event for men who love to re-enact the Civil War.)

Share your thoughts by clicking on "Comments" below...

Pastorus Communitatus

Pastorus Communitatus - "Community of Pastors"

No...I don't know Latin, so I have no idea if that is accurate or not, but it works for me! At Great Oaks we have an amazing sense of community among the pastors. We are here to encourage each other, to challenge each other, to hold each other accountable, to learn from each other, to pray for each other, and to do life together.

Earlier today, one of the five pastors called a leadership huddle to talk through some things he's dealing with in his area of ministry. We spent almost an hour listening, talking, and praying with each other. In the end, we all walked away with a better understanding of his heart, his ministry, and a stronger pastorus communitatus.

Have I mentioned lately that I love this place?!?

What We Don't Do

During our Leadership Community this past Saturday, we talked about our Vision for the church. A couple of things that I communicated to our leaders about the Vision included...

• We are a simple church with a strategic vision. We intentionally keep things pretty simple so that we can focus all of our time and attention and resources on the few things we feel called to do. Less is more...

• If we are to make our vision stick in the minds and hearts of our people then we have to say "No" more often than we say "Yes". There are a lot of great ideas out there, but we have to run them through the filter of who Great Oaks is and what God is calling us to accomplish. This means that we have to protect the Vision and the focus of the church by being ruthless in our simplicity.
  

All of this to say...there are numerous other churches out there with a similar philosophy. Here's a post from a guy I have never met in a church I have never heard of before, but I resonate with what he has to say about keeping it simple. (And here's a similar post from a church I do know and a pastor I have met...)

Did you read those other posts? If you attend Great Oaks or are a church leader somewhere around the world, you seriously need to take the time to read those two posts. Don't worry...they aren't links that are going to take you somewhere weird. Trust me...just read them.

Preferred Future

Does anyone else have a job where they get paid to daydream about the future?

I get to spend the next two days sitting in my kitchen and in local coffee shops dreaming about the future of small groups at Great Oaks. I've got my Bible to see how the early church did it, my computer and a stack of books to see how other churches do it, and my journal to record my thoughts about how we might do it. I've got the vision and strategy and demographics of Great Oaks, and I've got my imagination...

I love working with a blank canvas. It allows me to create rather than re-create. It allows me to experiment and to take risks. It allows me to succeed and grants me permission to fail.

I love my job!

Leadership Community

This Saturday, we are launching a new quarterly gathering of our leaders and key-influencers called Leadership Community. It will be a time of worship, celebration, vision-casting, leadership teaching, team-building activities, and ministry-specific breakout sessions.

I am really looking forward to this quarterly gathering. It is going to keep our leaders aligned with our vision and informed about our future. We will be candid and transparent with them about what's working and what's not working.

This gathering has the potential to ensure that Great Oaks remains a movement rather than becoming an institution. An institution informs and educates people about a certain topic. A movement results in the mobilization of a people to impact their community and their world. Which would you rather be a part of?

Pastor's Retreat

We have been talking for several weeks now about scheduling a weekend retreat for the pastors and their wives. The only problem is that we can't seem to find a date that will work for everyone! Who knew it would be this hard?

We are planning on going to a retreat facility in Michigan for a few days and attending church together at Granger Community Church on Sunday morning. This will be a great time for the pastors and their spouses to spend in community with each other while strengthening the bonds of friendship and leadership.

We'll figure it out soon...I hope!

Be Interesting

I like this post by Seth Godin...

It reminds me that we don't have to be perfect in our services and programming in the church, but we do have to be interesting. In the words of Chip & Dan Heath (authors of Made to Stick), one of the keys to making a message stick in the minds and hearts of people is that it should be unexpected (i.e. interesting).

What we do should have people talking... not about us but about Jesus Christ.

Next Step

We had an all-day Leadership Retreat yesterday during which we reviewed 2007 and discussed our strategic plan for 2008. One of the changes we made was a re-write on our mission statement for the church. The old mission statement was good but not memorable. It was also limited in its focus. The new mission statement - "helping people take their next step towards God" - is simple, memorable, and active. It is also unlimited in its focus; everybody has a "next step" to take in their faith.

Bill introduced it this morning during the first Sunday of our vision series called Foundations. I have been blown away at how many people are talking about this phrase. It came up in numerous conversations during the morning, and it was a key discussion point during small group tonight.

People are truly resonating with this phrase. There is some definite buzz happening in the church today. I am excited to see how this small but significant change affects the church!

Advertising as a Tax?

"I believe advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable."
- Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad

In church leadership, we talk a great deal about the fact that most people come to church because of a personal invitation of a friend or family member. To that end, we attempt to leverage that personal influence through series postcards and other advertising pieces that we put in our people's hands. The hope is that our people will personally give these to other individuals as a means of inviting them to attend church.

Whether you are a church or a business, you will need to spend more money and energy in advertising if you are unremarkable. If there is no buzz about you in the community, and if people do not personally refer you to others, you face the penalty (tax) of having to spend large amounts of dollars and energy in non-personal advertising.

This is not to say that advertising, in and of itself, for a church is wrong. Even the most remarkable churches will not be able to reach everyone through word of mouth. Effective, innovative advertising can reach these people. I think that the problem comes when you MUST advertise because nobody is talking about you. This is the tax for being unremarkable.

Small Group Leaders as...Shepherds

There is a story told of two shepherds walking along the same trail while their sheep mingled together into one large flock. As they approached a fork in the road and were preparing to part ways, each shepherd began calling his own sheep. Immediately, the sheep separated into two distinct flocks and followed their personal shepherd down the appropriate path.

John 10:3b-4 "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice."

Leading a small group is a lot like being a shepherd. You have a distinct voice that your small group leaders know and follow. Over time, they come to trust you and follow your leadership. They know that you will watch out for them, feed them, and guide them safely through the wilderness of life.

As the church grows larger, it is vital that we also grow smaller. As weekend attendance increases and more people become a part of the life of the church, we have to become a church built completely on small groups. Only then will we be able to expand our influence and care to more and more people. This is where the role of the small group leader becomes like a shepherd.

As a small group leader, you are the "pastor" of your flock. It is your responsibility to make sure they are growing in their faith and in relationship with God and each other. It is your responsibility to make sure they are actively participating in the life of the church. And if something happens in their life, it is your responsibility to make sure the entire small group comes around them for support, prayer, and encouragement.

We must grab hold of this role as shepherds for our small groups so that the church can continue to grow and maintain its health. The responsibility for shepherding the church cannot - and must not - fall completely on the shoulders of the pastors. We will fail as a church if we place that burden on the pastors alone. We must challenge and teach our people that when their small group comes around them to help them in their time of need and to help them grow spiritually, they have been shepherded by the church.

How's your flock doing? Do they hear your voice speaking into their lives? Do they feel protected and cared for as a result of your leadership?

Strategic Alignment

"Achieving strategic alignment is a major undertaking for any organization, but it is worth the effort."
- Jim Bolt, founder, Executive Development Associates

This is a quote from a recent article in Fast Company. This is a great magazine for leaders to capture an overview of current best-practices in business & leadership, future trends, and rising leaders/companies to watch out for.

As a new employee at Great Oaks, I have been working hard to obtain a global perspective of the church by understanding each area of ministry, the relationship between various strategic components, and the vision for the future. I think this is vital before implementing new programs/efforts in the area of Adult Ministries.

I am looking forward to our upcoming Leadership Retreat on January 5th when the pastors and key volunteer leaders will spend several hours making sure we are all on the same page with our strategic plan, assimilation path, and vision for the future. It is a major undertaking, but it will be worth the effort!

Ethan's Birthday

Today is Ethan's 6th birthday! Karen made him his favorite breakfast - cheesy eggs and chocolate milk. She even laid the eggs out in the shape of the number 6. She's an awesome Mom!

I cannot believe how quickly Ethan is growing up. It makes me think of how little time I have left to be the primary individual to speak beliefs and values into his life. God allows us to be "in charge" of these little miracles for 18-22 years before He asks us to place them back into His hands. I hope and pray that I can give Ethan & Morgan the foundation they need to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Parenting is an awesome (translated - big, huge, ginormous) and wonderful responsibility. It is also challenging and exhausting and frustrating! There are days when I want to shirk my responsibility, but I know that would not honor God or prepare my children for the future.

I have to remind myself frequently that my primary responsibility as the spiritual leader of my family is to lead and shepherd them in the faith. As a pastor, my family comes before my church family. It is my primary small group in the church. What good is it for me to lead and shepherd other families at the expense of my own?

It seems like there are phases where I do better as the spiritual leader than others. The key, though, is to pursue continually the vision that God has for my family by searching out the next step that He has for us as a family and for each of us as individuals.

Just some thoughts that are going through my head this morning...

Letting Go...

I'm taking some time out this evening to just sit in a corner of The Blend to reflect on life and catch up on some reading. I'm still trying to get through the Bible-in-a-Year with my accountability partners - only 6 more weeks left!

Most of you that track my blog are aware that I recently resigned from Fox Valley Christian Church after being a member/employee for the last 11 years - most recently serving as the Executive & Teaching Pastor. I am now working for Great Oaks Community Church as the Pastor of Adult Ministries.

There are some unusual paradoxes I am experiencing...

• Surrounded by people all the time yet I still find myself intensely lonely sometimes (being an extreme extrovert this one is really foreign to me)
• Confident that I did the right thing yet occasionally doubting it
  
• Fully trusting God yet confused as to why He hasn't brought resolution to this transition
• Loving my new church yet wishing I never had to leave my old church (it's akin to turning your affections to a new girlfriend when you are still deeply in love with your old girlfriend)
  

The interesting thing about Great Oaks is that all five of the pastors have come from other churches within the last 5-6 years. As a result, we frequently find ourselves talking about the various dynamics involved in transitioning from one church to another.

I knew it would be tough to leave FVCC, but I didn't anticipate the struggle it would be to let her go once I was gone.

Going All the Way

As many of you know, I love to network with and track other Christian leaders from around the country. You also know that I love to read. So when I came across a recent post from Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of Lifechurch.tv, offering a free copy of his recent book for people who blog about it, I couldn't resist!

The book is called Going All the Way: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance. I've read that some pastors are utilizing the book as their foundation for pre-marital counseling while others are using it for material during teaching series on marriage. I honestly don't know much more about the book than what I've read on other blogs, so I will let you know my thoughts after I receive my copy.

I have been learning from Craig for some time now, and I have been inspired and challenged by his teachings and writings. I've got two other books written by him, Chazown and Confessions of a Pastor. The first time I heard him speak was his presentation on the multi-site movement during the 2006 A2 Conference. I can honestly point to this talk as the turning point for me with regards to the multi-site movement. I also recently listened to his talks about "exponential innovation" and "practical atheism" from the 2007 Buzz Conference. Great talks that I highly recommend checking out.

Enough for now...I'll let you know if I get a free copy of the book...they only had 40 left...

Flight of the Wild Duck

Here's a great Chinese proverb on the importance of leading by example. I found it in a comment on lifechurch.tv's blog...

“Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.” - Chinese proverb

Deadly Viper Character Assassins

Deadly Viper Character Assassins gives leaders a no-holds barred look at the topics of character and integrity. Jud Wilhite (Central Christian Church) and Mike Foster (co-founder of XXXchurch.com and the Creative Principal at PlainJoe Studios) unite to share their personal insights and experiences with some of the top character assassins that leaders will encounter...

• The Assassin of Character Creep
• The Assassin of Zi Qi Qi Ren (self-deception)
  
• The Assassin of Amped Emotions
• The Assassin of the Headless Sprinting Chicken (busy-ness)
  
• The Assassin of Boom Chicka Wa Wa (sexual temptation)
  
• The Bling Bling Assassin
• The High and Mighty Assassin (ego/pride)
  

I got this book in a gift bag given to all of the pastors who attended Central Uncensored. I had just recently heard about it through another blog, so I was jacked to see it in the bag. I ended up reading the whole book in a matter of hours during my time in Vegas. It is a must-read for all leaders as it makes you re-examine your life to discover if these character assassins are lurking in the shadows. I can't wait to get it in the hands of the staff at Great Oaks!

Find out more at deadlyviper.org...

Vegas Reflections No. 3

Loren & I headed out to Zion National Park yesterday for a day of hiking and mentoring. There isn't anything better than some road-time and trail-time with a mentor and friend to draw out the conversation. And there isn't anything better than being in God's creation to draw out the inspiration and majesty of the Creator. If you have never been to Zion, I highly recommend it. I am planning on coming back some time to hike Angel's Landing Trail and The Narrows.

I met Chris Trethewey for lunch today to catch up and talk leadership. As always, it proved to be a great conversation. The more time I spend with Chris, the more I am impressed with his leadership knowledge and application. He and I have similar personalities and perspectives; we just have different contexts in which to practice our leadership. We usually end up bouncing ideas off of each other and gaining the other's insights into current dynamics and situations.

We talked at length about Central: Uncensored to discover what worked well and what needed to be adjusted for the future. Following this debriefing time, we talked about numerous other leadership issues. Here are some personal take-aways from that conversation...

• Alignment of staff is critical but difficult since most staff members come from churches where their ministries were "islands". They were not required or rewarded for collaborating across ministry areas.
• Always discover the irreducible minimum.
• Disney can reach a multi-generational audience with a single movie. How can the church use this strategy to communicate/teach to a diverse audience?
• If a leader does not possess discernment (about people, future, direction, etc), he is not a leader.
• A process of change is needed, but don't be afraid to toss a grenade every now and then to get things moving.
• Seek to understand all of the dynamics about a situation before passing judgment or jumping to conclusions.

Following my lunch with Chris, I met with Kyle Costello, Small Groups Pastor of Young Couples. This conversation proved to be intensely practical and strategic for leading small group leaders. Kyle joined the staff of Central about two and a half years ago after working as a financial analyst for Ford Motor Company. He will prove to be a great contact for the future. Here are some take-aways from my conversation with him...

• Utilize strong small group leaders as mentors for other leaders. This will spread your span-of-care and allow you to better utilize your time and energy.
• Try to establish inter-group conversation and encouragement among small group leaders.
  
• Whole-church campaigns provide strong growth and involvement in small groups; however, you can expect some natural attrition once the campaign is done. In the long run, though, campaigns are great for small group expansion.
• Be sure to provide multiple levels of training for hosts during a campaign. Don't rely on a single large-group training to adequately prepare hosts for campaign experience.
• Be sure to have post-campaign strategy for new groups to reinforce the purpose of the small group.
• Pay attention to the next-steps...have material available at all times (including on your person during weekend services) that directs people to their next step to getting involved in a small group.
• Living Room Events - Dinner & a Movie; Night at the Ballpark; Sacred Space (encouraging groups to adopt a specific area of the community and make it better through service projects)
• Leadership influence flows downhill.

I really appreciated all of the insights from Loren, Chris, and Kyle. I am looking forward to connecting with them more in the future.

Vegas Reflections No. 2

Today was spent talking exclusively about small groups. We had a great round-table discussion with small group pastors from Nevada, California, Colorado & Texas. Don't worry, I did Illinois proud!

The group was small - just 8 of us - so the conversation was deep and intimate as we talked with Jon Bodin (Executive Director of Ministry Development for Central) about the joys and struggles of small group ministry. Following the round-table, I had the privilege of taking Jon out for lunch for some one-on-one conversation. This proved extremely beneficial as it gave us extended time to talk specifically about Great Oaks.

After lunch I sat in the Small Groups office and connected with three other small groups pastors for about 30 minutes. On Wednesday, I will be connecting with Chris Trethewey, Executive Director of Family Ministries, and Kyle Costello, Small Groups Pastor for Young Couples. I am really looking forward to these two conversations. Chris has always proven to be a great counterpart in leadership discussions, and Kyle is a new networking contact for me.

Here are some thoughts from today...

• My family is my first small group.
  
• Small groups are a means to an end. The end is growing people to full devotion to Christ (i.e. discipleship).
• Open small groups that bring in new people will naturally birth new groups.
• Allow groups to grow to whatever capacity the leader's/host's house can hold. The key is subgrouping - no matter how large the group, subgroup to 4-5 individuals for in-depth conversations.
• Subgrouping will identify potential leaders for the future.
  
• Small groups are messy.
  

Vegas Reflections No. 1

My time in Vegas has been both relaxing and informational. Saturday was spent with my mentor and his family watching their granddaughter's soccer game, eating Mexican for dinner at the District in Henderson, NV, and having Dairy Queen for dessert. Loren and I finished the night watching Illinois lose to Michigan.

The conference began this morning with a tour of Central Christian Church. We were able to get an overview of the various ministry environments and talk with key leaders and volunteers in each area. Having been here once before, I had seen many of the areas, but there were some new things I got to see. We even got to be backstage while Jud Wilhite (Lead Pastor) was speaking on stage. (I thought about peeking my head out from behind the curtain...)

We attended the last service of the morning (they have two services on Saturday evening & three on Sunday morning at the Henderson campus and three services on Sunday morning at the Summerlin campus) where they were launching a new series called sex: the naked truth. It was one of the best sermons I have ever heard on sex...and it was in Vegas! Check out the video here; if you would prefer the podcast, you can find it through the same link.

After the worship service, we gathered together with a number of key staff members for lunch and a couple more presentations. Jud did a presentation on creating a culture of uncensored grace, and Mike Bodine (Executive Pastor) did a presentation on key strategies and structure.

Key Thoughts...

• For too long, churches have required people to Behave then Believe and only then can they Belong. We must create churches where people can Belong first then come to Believe and then Become what God intends them to be.
• Truth follows Trust
• The stories you tell create your culture.
• Process not programs
• We believe God has called us to facilitate a movement!
• Expectations without application leads to frustration; however, expectations with application leads to celebration.
• We must constantly think like a new church.
• More is not better...best is better.

I'm spending all day tomorrow with the Small Groups pastors, so I'll have some small group-specific thoughts to share later. That's it for tonight...time for eating more ice cream and watching more football!

Why I Blog

So here I am...sitting in my overstuffed chair with my feet up on the ottoman. Karen and the kids are all taking a nap, so the house is finally quiet for a few moments. I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on my blogs that I track. I love learning from other leaders and catching up on stories from friends. It got me thinking about why we blog. Here's what I came up with...

1. Connection - Inherent in all of mankind is the need to be connected with other individuals. Blogs and other social networking sites allow us to maintain some level of connection with people all over the world. No matter where our friends are or where other leaders live, we can feel like we are a part of their lives. Yes...I would love to sit down face-to-face with the authors of the blogs I track, but it probably won't happen any time soon. Until that day does occur, I will continue to connect from a distance.
   
   
2. Transparency - As a pastor, one of the core values I feel I need to bring to those I lead is transparency. They need to know who I am...especially since most people in the church probably won't have a chance to sit down for a cup of coffee with me. They need to know my likes and my dislikes, my joys and my struggles, my coherent thoughts and my random thoughts. They need to know that I am a real person who deals with the same issues they deal with whether they be parenting, marriage, finances, or spiritual struggles.
   
   
3. Discipleship - As the church grows larger, there is a greater need to disciple people. Blogging can provide pastors with an expansive network of discipleship partners. As we teach and lead through the blogosphere, people throughout the church and around the world can enter into conversation and debate. We can provide these "on-line disciples" with resources and additional insight into Scriptural interpretation and application. For teaching pastors, especially, we can take what we talked about on Sunday morning and explore it a little bit deeper on Monday morning. This way, the conversation can keep happening throughout the week as people ruminate upon the truths we presented during the weekend services.
   
   
4. Stewardship - Blogging is wise stewardship of time and energy. Imagine the time it would take to sit down with every person in the church over a cup of coffee so that they could get to know me on a more personal level. Imagine the time it would take to personally disciple every member of the church. Even if I did all of this in small groups of people, it would occupy entirely too much time. It would take me away from my other responsibilities in the church, and, more importantly, it would take me away from my family far too often. Yes...blogging takes time, but it is a much wiser use of my time than trying to be all things to all people.

So those are the reasons why I blog. How about you?