Books @ Leadership Network

The Morning After Innovation 3

It's very quiet around here this morning. I'm sitting here in my favorite chair with a cup o joe reflecting on all that I saw and heard at Leadership Network's Innovation 3 Conference that concluded yesterday. Personally it was a phenomenal time of connecting and networking with a ton of old and new friends. I met so many young ministry leaders there that I would probably never cross paths with had we not gathered in Dallas this week. If I had to boil it down to just one thing that I took away from this gathering, it would be this -- how encouraged and hopeful I am for the future of the Church. As ministry leaders (and servants), we will always have our struggles and disagreements. That's just part of the deal. Beyond all that, I witnessed a real hunger for connection, for learning, for community, and for a real sense of mission, as overused as all of those terms are. As great as it was to hear positive feedback from conference participants, I know that there was so much more going on during those two days than just another Christian conference. Yet again, God showed up and put together some incredible encounters for us.

If you didn't have an opportunity to be there with us in person, you'll have an opportunity to virtually experience much of Innovation 3 in the coming weeks. We recorded just about everything! Todd Rhoades, aka The Monday Morning Insight Guy, told me last night that we probably captured and recorded somewhere between 40-50 hours of content. That includes audio and video recordings of main sessions and breakouts. We'll be rolling that out for you soon. Some of it is already posted on the Innovation 3 website. We'll post more on the site as we get to it. More details on that later.

Here's the link to the Innovation 3 Conference Live!site. You may want to check out the photos and other stuff posted there when you have a few minutes.

I'm keeping this post brief today. There's so much still rolling around in my head this morning. As the consummate introvert, I need some time to process and reflect. I just wanted to say thank you -- thank you to all of you who invested the time and the dollars to join us in Dallas this week. My thanks to God for showing up and for orchestrating the entire experience. And lastly, my thanks to God and to Leadership Network for providing this vocation for me. This is certainly not the path in life I would have chosen for myself. I wish I could say that I developed this tremendous, focused, intentional strategy for my life that led me to where I am today. The truth is, I stumbled into this vocation, I thought by accident. I'm glad that God had (and has) plans for me.

Well Mr. White, aka Coffee Drinking Cat, is actually drinking my coffee right now so I'm abandoning that cup and heading over to the kitchen to get another cup. Stay tuned for further Innovation 3 developments.

Linda Stanley directs the Life Stage Leadership Community Groups for senior pastors.

  

Voices of the Missional Movement Podcast: Neil Cole

Last week, I introduced one of the podcasts from a recent Leadership Network event where we hosted four authors for a conversation about what is happening in the missional movement.  The last post was Earl Creps

Now, check out Neil Cole at the link below.  Neil is author of Organic Church and a part of the Leadership Network and Jossey Bass series.

[Download MP3 audio of Neil Cole]

Next up - Reggie McNeal and Milfred Minetrea.

Greg Ligon

VP and Publisher

Leadership Network

More buzz about Mark Driscoll

Collin Hansen writes this insider look at the controversial and provocative Mark Driscoll in Christian Today -- Pastor Provocateur: Love him or hate him, Mark Driscoll is helping people meet Jesus in one of America's least-churched cities

In Mars Hill's early days, Driscoll struggled to find the right balance between unchanging orthodox theology and flexible methods of outreach.

"I also did not explain in written form that we were theologically conservative and culturally liberal, which caused great confusion because half of the church was angry that the other half was smoking, while the other half was angry that I taught from the Bible," Driscoll writes in Confessions of a Reformission Rev.

For a first-person perspective, check into the book titled "Confessions of a Reformission Rev" by Mark Driscoll (published by Zondervan and Leadership Network), which takes you along his journey of starting a new church and all the way from 0 to 10,000. I read the book late this summer, and the book gives a good look at the vision that Driscoll has to reach people in Seattle and everywhere, to know of some of his personal struggles and challenges, and his giftedness in connecting theology and practice. What's particularly useful to pastors and church leaders is how the book identifies different models and issues involved in a church as it goes through different sizes.

Most recently, Mars Hill Church is launching an open invite to anyone to ask Mark Driscoll anything at askanything.marshillchurch.org . The 9 questions that receive the most votes from the public will be preached as a sermon series at the top of 2008.

Blogging to share the wealth

We've been getting our feet wet during the past year with blogging here at Leadership Network. The reason we blog is to share the wealth of information we're learning as we connect innovative churches around the country to multiply their impact. While publishing books with our great partners at Jossey-Bass and Zondervan gives an invaluable deep dive to leadership issues, blogging gets out new ideas and insights almost instantaneously!

In addition to blogging here on leadership books, we have 2 other blogs: Leadership Network Learnings at learnings.leadnet.org is where our team writes their first-hand reports on what we're learning from innovative churches. And last week, we launched a new blog called digital.leadnet.org to share practical insights on using technology in the church more effectively! Cynthia Ware's recent post titled 40 Reasons for Pastors to Blog outlines a good number of compelling reasons for getting started (and reasons to continue blogging.)

The book that's helped us develop our blogging strategy is The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch (published by Jossey-Bass and Leadership Network). Brian Bailey was interviewed last week at the very popular Read/WriteTalk blog about his role as Web Director at Fellowship Church and how blogging can help churches and non-profits. You can listen to the audio of the interview or read the transcript online. (How in the world did they get a transcript typed up so quickly?)

Hear Scott Thumma and Dave Travis

Beyond Megachurch Myths explores the unique characteristics of today's megachurches and their influence on American religion. Authors Scott Thumma and Dave Travis reveal what these churches are and are not, why they're thriving and what they can teach smaller churches. Beyond Megachurch Myths is filled with practical insights for pastors and leaders of organizations of all sizes.

Click here to view this dynamic presentation featuring Scott Thumma and Dave Travis as they give an inside look into Beyond Megachurch Myths. Also, follow along at the Beyond Megachurch Myths book blog for questions & answers with the authors!

interview with Larry Osborne

Pastor Larry Osborne of North Coast Church had recently authored a new book titled A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us. This book gives a fresh and liberating perspective on how to live for God without having to conform or perform traditional spiritual disciplines in a particular way.

In this interview with the author, we get a heartbeat for why this book was written and how it guides a regularly person to faithfully live out their God-given calling without feeling guilty for not being an introspective person or in a leadership position.

[Download MP3 audio of this interview] (5:37)

Plus, here are what other bloggers are saying about the book:

Chris Freeland shared some of his take-aways:

• We do people a disservice when we offer them one-size-fits-all approaches to discipleship.
• Most of our programs for discipleship are linear, but few of our own journeys followed the linear path we prescribe.
• Bible theology and knowledge are important, but they don't equal pleasing God.

Amber Herron wrote: "It helped me free up my mind and think clearly about how God made ME and what He wants me to do. This is not necessarily what my friend next to me is doing nor because it works for me should it be what the person down the line ought to do as well."

Nathan Yerrick wrote: "... he does challenge the thinking that everyone must grow in God by reading your Bible for 30 minutes each day, praying for 20, journaling consistently, having an accountability partner, etc (what did people do before Gutenberg, for instance?). Again, not that these things are wrong, but they don't all work for everyone. He claims they are tools, not rules."

Paul Schliep responded to the book with: "While it has been good to be in Bible studies that have given me some foundation of understanding who God is and what He has done and what He expects of His children, most of my spiritual growth has come during those need-to-grow and need-to-know times when what I thought was true about myself or God was challenged by the messy-ness of life. It was in those seasons I was able to move from a strictly cognitive understanding of God's truth to an experiential understanding of God's truth."

Talk with The Big Idea Authors

Join us on Tuesday, June 26 at 10:00 a.m. CST for an online experience where you’ll have the opportunity to interact with the authors of The BIG IDEA: Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson and Eric Bramlett. Listen in and log on as they discuss the "Genius of the AND" and discover the benefits of creating The BIG IDEA in your own context. Also, receive a $20 registration discount on the brand NEW BIG IDEA Practicum at Community Christian Church on September 17-18, 2007.

Here's the registration link for the FREE webinar: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/553466341

interview with Brian Bailey

Thrilled to talk with Brian Bailey earlier today, who co-authored The Blogging Church with Terry Storch. Hear him talk about the back story behind the book, comparing writing a book with the instant-publishing of blogging, and the extra chapter he would write if he had the time *grin*.

[Download MP3 audio of this interview] (11:12)

And welcome Larry Baxter to the blogosphere, as he started blogging at "Step Up to the Call," with encouragement from The Blogging Church book:

Overall the book is an excellent mix of why and how. Tips and discussion topics I found most interesting include: Don't bury the good stuff; Who is the blog for; the ten steps to a bad blog; pros and cons of comments; what problem are you trying to solve; what is the return on ministry; share the why behind the what; and, should my church become a blogging church.

Other book mentions this week:

Bob Hyatt-- "But in reading through this, it's actually a nice mix of a philosophy of blogging, interviews with prominant ministry-types who blog, and good technical and tips and tricks for getting up and running as well as doing it right/avoiding common mistakes."

Mark Oestreicher -- "... the book is a good onramp for pastors and ministries considering how blogging may or may not be helpful to their ministry. in fact, i think the biggest strength of the book is that it directly addresses most, if not all, the questions churches and ministry leaders would raise when considering a blog."

Also see this interview excerpt with Brian, "How to's of Blogging for Churches" by Cindy Solomon in Christian Advance.

Talking with Dave Ferguson

During the recent Coast-to-Coast Multi-Site Conference, I found a few minutes to talk with Dave Ferguson moments before his closing keynote. We chatted about the new book, The Big Idea, of course. Listen in on the latest feedback they're hearing and what is next for the Big Idea team.

[Download MP3 audio of this interview]

Show notes: New Thing www.newthing.org; Big Idea Online www.thebigideaonline.org; Dave Ferguson's blog www.daveferguson.org .

[update] Pat Masek (of Community Christian Church) enthusiastically typed up a fast transcript of the interview, and you can read it online. Thank you, Pat!

As an aside, one of the recurring questions about church life is: what about the children? Whether your church's approach is more programmatic or more organic, adults and children have different ways of engaging and processing content. The Big Idea provides a powerful way to naturally connect family members, according to the raves at the Multi-Site Kids blog:

What excites me most about THE BIG IDEA is how it naturally creates teachable moments for the family. Here at CCC, the entire family experiences one BIG IDEA each weekend. Hopefully this alignment increases the chances of families having spiritual conversations at home. THE BIG IDEA sets parents up for success as they take ownership for the spiritual development of their children.

Be sure to visit the Multi-Site Kids blog for more insights about children's ministry!

The Blogging Church - an inside look

The Blogging Church offers church leaders a field manual for using the social phenomenon of blogs to connect people and build communities in a whole new way. Inside you will find the why, what, and how of blogging in the local church.

Filled with illustrative examples and practical advice, the authors answer key questions learned on the front lines of ministry: Is blogging a tool or a toy? What problems will blogging solve? How does it benefit ministry? How do I build a great blog? and For whom am I blogging? The Blogging Church is a handbook that will inspire and equip readers to join the conversation.

Click here to view this dynamic presentation featuring Brian Bailey and Terry Storch as they give an inside look into The Blogging Church.