The Necessary Things

What Person Are You Trying to Change in Ministry?

Have you ever beat your head against a wall trying to help someone change a critical component of strategy or tactics, and then speak with someone else and almost fall over from the lack of resistance?

Charlene Li, author of Groundswell, click here to follow her on Twitter, outlined four archetypes that exist within every group. I found this extremely helpful in speaking with the right people to bring about change.

These are her four archetypes:

The Fearful Skeptic--highly critical of any kind of change, and weary that things will 'get messed up' if any pieces shift.

The Cautious Tester--Willing to adapt or integrate change, but in bite sized amounts and over a significant length of time.

The Realist/Optimist--Understands the realities of the organization, and is upbeat and willing to sponsor change.

Transparent Evangelist--Sees the light but doesn't know the organization well enough to make appropriate changes

Li noted the following:

• Often times we talk to fearful skeptic to no avail but if/when a change agent can connect them to a transparent evangelist or realist/optimist they can dip into the cautious tester role.
  

• Change Agents need to respect the fact that all of these archetypes exist, and that none are "better" than the other (thank you Cloud/Townsend).
  

• Look for and take advantage of times (regional conferences for ccc staff) when various archetypes are in the same room.

Which archetype most closely describes you? Have you seen these work out in your context?

photo courtesy of gogdog

Change Opportunity--Get the CCC Summer Project Videos on YouTube

After receiving an email encouraging me to promote Campus Crusade Summer Projects (which are unbelievable awesome) through videos, I was eager to go to the site and share them.

However I noticed that the videos are only available for download.

I wondered...

If these videos were on YouTube how many more times would they be viewed? Perhaps 16x more as suggested by my previous post?

Rather than sit in wonder I wanted to do something about it.

Here's the question I would love for you to answer in ONE WORD (yes or no) in the comment section of this post:

Do you think that it posting the summer project videos on YouTube would generate a significant amount of exposures?

My hope is that this meager blog could generate enough affirmation in this reality that the powers that be would post them on YouTube.

Please Tweet or Share this post in other places if you're so inclined. There is a Tweet This button right below.

If you're reading this on Facebook, please go to the blog link to comment so that they are all in one place.

How Do You Measure and Foster Innovation in Ministry?

The last post created quite a debate over how well Campus Crusade and college ministries in general innovate.

Apologies to Ryan, Eric, Russ and Benson in advance as I try to summarize. I'm hoping to capture key bits of information that represent you guys well.

Two general observations:

1. Quantifying innovation proves extremely challenging considering the many tangible/intangible & direct/indirect factors that factor into the innovation process,
2. The fragmented nature of CCC also makes understanding how well we do at innovating difficult, as on some levels we are doing REALLY AMAZING stuff, but on other levels not much is happening.

Here were some key quotes in the discussion:

• Innovation passes through Campus Crusade the way a bill passes through congress: coalitions built on shared needs and goals...Believe me, if your innovation (for example) is effective at helping students move toward Jesus, and you can demonstrate this with proven results, you won't need "identifying and empowering" from someone with a title. --Ryan McReynolds

• I meet so many staff at the local level who have great ideas, are innovating and coming up with better ways of doing things and helping students discover Jesus. They are challenging existing models and really engaging the problems and current realities. However, like you've identified, we're not good at seeing those great ideas out to the masses (at least quickly). We are not good at collaborating.--Russ Martin

• We are a top-down organization, but "The Way Forward" is an attempt to move us more away from that. Hopefully it will continue to happen. But for now we're still a permissions-based culture.--Eric
  

• But I would wonder if in a healthy "profession," we should be seeing lots of "medium-level" innovations, too - ones that don't ever become as huge as I Agree with Dave, but still impact a number of campuses. If all college ministry has are local innovations (that nobody hears about) and the occasional innovation that EVERYBODY hears about, I bet we're missing something.--Benson Hines

Since this discussion can go so many ways still, I'll throw out a couple questions that may keep the conversation going:

• If you're on the field in any capacity (full-time ministry or marketplace), what are some key elements to seeing your innovations get noticed by those above you, and/or spread beyond your role for the greater good?

• If you are in an executive role, what sorts of principles or practices work well for seeing that ideas and innovations are not only seeded with resources to help them grow but championed in the greater scope to benefit a larger audience?

Campus Crusade Needs More Pre-Missionaries

I wrote a couple days ago about how one of Campus Crusade's role is to be a  "missionary funnel" that sends students to the world to fulfill the Great Commission.

I filled out the top of the funnel by adding more specific categories:

• Masses: In the campus ministry, it's every student that walks on campus.
• Laborers: Involved in a Campus Crusade movement, serves sporadically, partially aligned to mission, vision, and values.
• Leaders: Exercising authority and influence over other students primarily through spiritual multiplication, and demonstrate to some degree a grasp of eternal perspective and the Great Commission.

So what do you call that space between a leader and a full-time staff member?

I believe if we asked many field staff about this section, many would not even know it exists. I believe that's also why we have a sending crisis on our hands. 

I venture to call that group Pre-Missionaries. I believe the wording is important because:

• It assumes their FIRST choice upon graduation is to join staff. It also assumes inequality between the marketplace and the missionary order.

• It underscores to the movement, both directly and indirectly, that THIS CATEGORY is what we are trying to produce and reproduce. Again, widen the funnel and allow for anyone and everyone to consider themselves SENT by CCC, and we lose the power of this category altogether. 

• It causes those leading these students to develop them as a missionary, not just a student leader. If you've been in campus ministry you know exactly what I'm talking about here. It's the difference between training them how to apostolically lead and training them on how to be the best bible study leader they can be or give the best possible evangelistic presentation.

Would love your thoughts on how your ministry or organization funnel works and what kind of person you would ideally want to see reproduced.

The Expanding Ministry Blogosphere

So I'm excited to welcome and highlight some friends in ministry who have recently started blogging or have renovated their blog.

I can only see more of this coming, and it's really exciting to think about extending the conversation about ministry and spiritual leadership online.

Renovations:

• Brian Virtue: on staff with CCC in Epic; just went the Thesis/Wordpress route
• Ken Cochrum: on staff with CCC; also went the Thesis/Wordpress route

New Blogs:

• Chris Zaugg: on staff with CCC in Keynote; Wordpress self-hosted
• Bob Fuhs: CCC staff in Los Angeles; keeping it real with Typepad
• Matt McComas: CCC staff in Montana; Wordpress.com
• CRUBlogging: a blog I started with Jayson Whelpley to give advice to ministry bloggers
• Barbara Francis: great Wordpress blog highlighting the themes of forgiveness and grace
• Paul Nunez: CCC staff at San Jose State in Northern California

Have you thought about upgrading your blog? If so I suggest Typepad Pro or the Thesis Theme that runs on Wordpress. Here's what I posted on why Typepad Pro.

How Viral is a Facebook Fan Page? Why Switch from a Group?

Many times ministry 'feels' so busy that the thought of adopting something new that MAY make your ministry more effective is too much.

Here's a screencast of why I believe every ministry should change from a Facebook Group page to a Facebook Fan page:

Does Your Structure Scale?

One road. Two different experiences.

I recently drove my car over a gravel road en route to a conference. I then road my bicycle over it the next day.

If your movement/organization suddenly went from bicycle-size to car-size what kind of experience would it be for those involved? Could it handle the road?

I have made some structural changes to the movement I lead at Chico State over the past few years; many of these changes have had a lifespan of one to two years before they required additional tweaking to accommodate the changing size of the group.

It would have been a miss for me to assume that structural changes that produce success must be preserved at all costs.

When you examine your context, what part of your structure facilitates scale? What needs some tweaking?

photo courtesy of intherough

De-Museum-ize Your Org

Sometimes I find myself in contexts where so many things could be changed. Although initially exhilarating, it can end up being overwhelming.

Where do you start?

Anything that looks like a museum, walks like a museum, or quacks like a museum.

Museum qualities:

• Look but do not touch
• Listen but do not talk
• Be inspired but take no action (other than moving from object to object)

The modern era loved museums. Many organizations feature these museum qualities:

• Conferences that make you listen but not speak
• Conference that inspire but facilitate little action
• Meetings that distribute information rather than interact over information
• Training in a binder and divorced from experience and centered around realities (time, energy, resources)
• Leaders that just want to speak and be followed

I'm amazed at how little resources are required to de-museum-ize parts of an organization. Most tools are free.

photo courtesy of vubui

Church Plant = Group Plant

"An effective way to make disciples is to start new groups for people to join."

--David Alexander

David, an established church planter and missionary leader within the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, graciously shared his wisdom and expertise in the church planting realm on Campus Crusade for Christ's Blogtalkradio channel.

I loved that much of David's experience has been in the Latino communities both U.S and abroad; he definitely has a unique perspective in that he has national, international, and multi-cultural experiences.

Some other key quotes during the interview:

People need to hear the Gospel in their heart language and heart culture

Putting people in leadership positions too early in the planting process can ruin the church plant

A church plant is like an oak tree; it takes time for it to grow strong

Daniel Curran asked a great question that I thought David responded to well. Daniel's questions was:

To what degree do you think that "church-planting" is functioning as an unbiblical concept in America? (ie. compare and contrast the primary differences between "making disciples" and "church-planting")

David responded by affirming that there is no biblical mandate to plant churches, only to make disciples. However he believes the best manner in which to make disciples is to form groups for new believers to join and current believers to grow. 

He also shared that some suburban areas have been SATURATED with church plants, to the point where the community sees them as somewhat of a nuisance. I thought this was interesting as there is definitely a 'fad' element within the Christian community to be a part of a church plant.

Some books he suggested:

• Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer (David's must-read)
  
• The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
• Many Colored Kingdom by Elizabethe Conde-Frazier

I will buy 2 of you Planting Missional Churches if you leave a comment on your experience/thoughts/comments on the church planting movement in the US. I'll choose the winner randomly on Monday.

You can listen to the entire interview here.

photo courtesy of tankwho

Prophets or Posers Highlights

I've learned a lot about how to be a part of redemptive change from my friend Brian Virtue. He recently wrapped a four part series titled Prophets or Posers. I'd encourage you to check out any that stand out:

• Part 1: "I must have God on my side if those I disagree with are turning against me or if they are leaving me out in the cold."

• Part 2: "If I'm clearly right on one thing (in my mind), then God must be on my side and I'm likely on the side of truth in other things as well."

• Part 3: "Since God 'anointed me' or placed me in the position of leader, then my convictions and insights about reality and truth have more authority and weight to them (in terms of being right, not in terms of their impact on other people)."

• Part 4: "I'm functioning prophetically because I'm cutting edge and the people around me are old school and behind the times."