Books @ Leadership Network

Flickering Pixels: Is Online Community Real?

I'm in the process of reading the new book by Shane Hipps called "Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith. It is a great read and very challenging. I've often said that I enjoy reading articles and books that stretch my thinking and broaden my horizons a little. This book does. Shane is a former advertising executive. It was his job to, as he puts it, "hijack our imagination, brand our brain with his logo, and feed us opinions that we thought were our own". Shane presents an interesting case that you can't really separate the medium from it's message. If that's true, it has significant ramifications for today's church.

One part of the book that interested me was Shane's take on social media and the internet. Shane writes, "I find it troubling that so many communities of faith are in hot pursuit of these new technologies. The internet is seen as the Holy Grail of "building community". However, churches will find the unintended consequences of this medium coming back to bite them..."

Shane continues:

“The internet is a lot of things, but it is emphatically NOT a neutral aid.  Digital social networking inoculates people in real social networks—networks like a church or a meal at someone’s home.  Being together becomes nice but nonessential.

Our addiction to virtual community is understandable.  The convenience factor is just too high.  We love the efficiency of our interactions; they allow us to be in touch more often.  However, there is a big difference between being “in touch” and truly connecting with others...”

I agree and disagree.  Obviously, twittering back and forth with someone is not the same as meeting with them over coffee.  And blogging a post or leaving a comment is not the same as having a discussion.

But those of us who have seen significant in-person relationships result out of first meeting on-line would seem to push back a little.  I have met well over a hundred people in-person that I first connected with on-line.  Some are mere acquaintances; some have turned into good friendships.

To those thousands who have met their spouse on-line, I would imagine that they would also say that real, meaningful relationships are possible over the internet.

That said, there is a tendency to use social networking as a crutch.  It is easier and quicker than the face-to-face conversation.  However, I find that most of my on-line connections are with people who share my interests and passions, but are not in my local community.  So, in that regard, it does not either encourage or discourage personal, face-to-face interaction.

I do use social networking, to a much lesser extent, in my local relationships… with friends and people at church mostly.  I can say that for me personally, social networking (blogging, twitter, and facebook in my situation) has not at all cut down on any face-to-face time I would have with these people.  Rather, it has enhanced the relationship by sharing short things through the week; and has many times strengthened the relationship because we’re able to share day-to-day details of our lives with each other.

Regardless of what you feel about social networking… pick up a copy of Shane’s new book here.  I think you’ll find it challenging and enjoyable.

Todd Rhoades
Leadership Network

Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60

In a certain sense the essence of this book is described in its title and subtitle—Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60: Being Church for All Generations. Congregation who seek to be a church for all generations will certainly have fewer challenges around conflicts and differing visions between various generations.

It is obviously a book targeting primarily existing congregations who are at least twenty years old and have begun to experience a generational divide. It speaks ably to the conflict that arises when congregations feel the need to start a new type of worship service to keep younger generations from leaving and to attract families/households with children.

Authors Eddie Hammett and Randy Pierce themselves represent some of this generational divide. Eddie is a 50-something, long-term churchperson, and Randy is a 30-something long-term seeker who has now embraced a Christ-centered faith journey. They ably speak from churched and non-churched, modern and postmodern perspectives on how congregations can embrace all generations.

The book offers win-win solutions. Hope. Realistic tactics for existing churches. Virtually every church that is more than 20 years old will confront this issue, and will either put in place a process to address it, or will divide over the generational issue and lose a significant portion of this vitality and vibrancy.

Implied in this look is an important message for churches less than 20 years old. These congregations may believe they are immune to a generational divide. If so, they lie to themselves about other things also. Look in the mirror. This could be you in a few years.

George Bullard, The Columbia Partnership, GBullard@TheColumbiaPartnership.org

Lost and Found Finds Balance between Analysis and Practical Application

It has been my personal experience that books which are heavy in statistics and analysis are often not the books to turn to in search of practical application. In their new book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them, Ed Stetzer, along with Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes have done an   excellent job of doing just that. Anyone who has read Stetzer’s previous works knows that he loves a good statistic and provides excellent analysis. But in this newest book, Stetzer does an exceptional job of putting on additional layers of content and practical application. Specifically, the authors assist the reader through an ongoing story interjected into beginning of each chapter. It is the story of several college age young people, one of whom is a believer. It is the story of their relationship as seen from each of their perspectives and gives very helpful insights into the joys and challenges of sharing your faith as a natural part of relationships.

Perhaps even more helpful, the authors profile churches (149 churches were interviewed) who actually are impacting the lives of young adults. Specifically, they look at how these churches are connecting with young people in a number of ways, from connecting through service to how the gospel is communicated in preaching and teaching. Some of the results of the surveys conducted may be surprising (or even stunning). For instance, 90% of those interviewed believe they can have a good relationship with God without being involved in a church! In some cases, the ways in which churches have connected to these young people may be just as surprising. For instance, at C3 Church in Clayton, North Carolina, visitors who may or may not be Christ followers are more likely (and encouraged) to join a service team before getting involved in a Bible study, much less becoming members.

All in all, Lost and Found joins a number of books which point to massive shifts in culture. Thankfully, this book is just getting started where others end.

Nick Howard

Regional Coordinator, BSM

bsmsouth@earthlink.net

Are You Creating a Real Sense of Urgency in Your Ministry Setting?

John Kotter is author of the now classic business book, Leading Change, published in 1996 and still a bestseller. In that previous book he suggested eight steps in leading change. The first of these was to develop a sense of urgency.

As a follow-up Kotter has written A Sense of Urgency. In this 2008 book he clearly makes his point in the six page preface and the first three chapters that take up 61 of the 196 total pages of primary text. That is all you need to read to benefit from his VIP's [short for very important points].

Here are some of the VIP's:

• The single biggest error people make when they try to craft change is they do not "create a high enough sense of urgency among enough people to set the stage for making a challenging leap into some new direction." [viii]
• Our biggest challenge is complacency. "We underestimate its power and its prevalence." [4]
• Our second biggest challenge is a false sense of urgency. "A false sense of urgency is pervasive and insidious because people mistake activity for productivity." [9]
• To increase a true sense of urgency, "create action that is exceptionally alert, externally oriented, relentlessly aimed at winning, making some progress each and every day, and constantly purging low value-added activities--all by always focusing on the heart and not just the mind. [60]

To create a real sense of urgency I entreat you to go forward and do likewise. What is your first step to create a real sense of urgency in your congregation or other ministry setting?

George Bullard, The Columbia Partnership, GBullard@TheColumbiaPartnership.org