Tag Archives: Church
A new word for discipleship
Posted on29. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Words are so interesting. Over time, they change meaning, lose effectiveness or develop a stigma. When it comes to faith, we see this all the time. Pick up C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity and the opening chapter will tell you how the word Christian has lost it’s meaning, and this book was written decades ago. Really, it’s only been the last 2-3 years that I’ve replaced the term Christian for the words Christ follower. Sure, it may just be semantics, but the term seems to be much more intentional about meaning in a culture where the word Christian conjures up some many different definitions and emotions. Who knows, maybe in a few more years, there will be another term Christ followers are using.
Don’t get hung up on the words though, it’s really not about me, it’s about those I hope to influence. Without compromising convictions or beliefs, it’s my job to connect with people in their reality. If finding a unique way to describe what I am about in life that actually engages a non-believer, I’m 100% behind it. I think we need to constantly analyze the words and terms we use while trying to be relevant with the people around us. \
One word we don’t use at my church at all is discipleship. Is it me or is it just so churchy? In addition, there are too many definitions for discipleship. To some churches, it’s a class. For others it’s a group book study. For others it’s a multi-year one on one relationship and to others it’s a program. Many Christ followers have awkward or negative thoughts associated with this term while even some of those outside the church see discipleship as cult-like and mindless devotion to a freaky cause. The term discipleship may need to go the way of the Dodo.
So what’s another word? We use the word transform or transformation. Isn’t that really the point of discipleship, to transform or change? Lots of people are in “discipleship,” but they never change. Isn’t that an oxymoron? It’s a fairly specific word that describes something that could be measured, right? The reason I like this word too is that it isn’t specific to any particular method. People are discipled/transformed by various methods, but just becasue someone is being discipled doesn’t mean they’ve changed.
What do you think of this word? Is it one you’ll add to your vocabulary? Can you think of any other church “inside” words that need to be transformed?
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More social media factoids
Posted on15. Nov, 2009 by Kenny.
A few months ago I posted this video about the power of social media. Then a few weeks ago I found the video below from David Wakerly’s blog. I’m probably just preaching to the choir here, but this social media thing is a pretty big deal. Are you utilizing all it has to offer for your ministry?
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Random design question
Posted on15. Nov, 2009 by Kenny.
Okay, my design question isn’t really random, it just doesn’t have anything to do with kids or church ministry.
My parents own their own tax business. They’ve been a part of a franchise for the last 5-6 years, but now they’re out on their own. They’ve selected their name, but now they’re working with a design company to develop their logo. They’ve got several really good options on the table and they’re needing to select one concept that they’re going to take further. My good friend Matt McKee had some really good advice that I think they’ll take into consideration in the revision process. However, I wanted to get some feedback from a general audience as well. Most of the readers of this site aren’t in the “tax business” but everyone has to pay taxes. So, as a general tax payer, which of these concepts do you connect with most.
Oh, let me give you the context. The franchise my parents were with last had a logo that was Red, White and Blue. Matt asked if my folks were doing taxes or running for office! 
My parents have a strong presence in their city and felt it was good to incorporate those same colors to continue to connect with their previous clients although their name has changed. Their company is in South Georgia in the same town as a large Air Force base with many military clients, which also is reason for the star and the patriotic colors.
Okay, now that you know the context, what do you think? What would stand out the most to you as someone looking for a company to do your taxes?
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
Option 5:
So what do you think? What option do you like and why? What would you revise to the option you like?
BTW, you may say “I wouldn’t really know about this because I got to a CPA for my taxes.” If that’s you, you’re probably paying too much to have your taxes done. Clergy taxes are more complicated and unfortunately CPA’s are usually better equipped to handle our taxes, but we pay for it in the end. My parents are experts in tax law, especially dealing with clergy. So, if you think you’re paying too much to have your taxes done, you should give them a call. Contact me and I’ll connect you with them. Read more about this here.
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Need Bibles or books?
Posted on26. Aug, 2009 by Kenny.
About six or seven year I ran into these guys at the CPC in Atlanta. I didn’t really have a definitive source for Bibles or other books. When I needed to buy Bibles by the case, I haven’t found anyone who can beat Harvest. When I was using curriculum from one of the major publishers, I found that I could buy it at a discount from Harvest rather than the publisher. As churches, we’re always looking for opportunities to save some money and stretch our ministry budgets. Harvest can help with that.
Here’s a little secret though. Don’t rely on just their website. Several years ago I was designing a small group/discipleship program for elementary aged kids. Depending on what grade you were in determined what books and supplies you needed. There were books that I’d picked up from trade booths at conferences and from the shelves at local Christian bookstores. Once I knew what I wanted, I sent Harvest the list of books and Bibles I needed. They always beat the best prices I could find and often floored me with the savings. So, if you need to pick up Children’s Ministry books and Bibles, be sure to check with Harvest before you make a purchase.
In case you’re wondering, I wrote this post simply to pass the information along. Harvest doesn’t know I’m writing this. Other than a case of gift Bibles for Child Dedication I ordered six months ago, I haven’t ordered from them in a few years. The truth is that I had misplaced their information and a few days ago I came across their site. I figured I’d blog about them to share the love and so that I wouldn’t loose their information again. Yes, I blog for me as much as I do for you… it also serves as my public address book and idea pot.
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TwitterChurch revisited
Posted on05. May, 2009 by Kenny.
Almost a year ago I wrote this post. It was about a church in Michigan that integrated twitter into it’s services.
Just the other day Time did a story on this church. Read it here.
I’m challenged by what this church is doing.
Twitter has been around for close to two years and too many people still don’t have any idea what it is. It’s kind of like this commercial below (pay attention at 0.33 seconds in).
Churches talk about innovation and their need to be creative, yet so many haven’t event embraced the dozens of ways that twitter can be used.
Last week I was at Orange. It was my second year. The first year it was an experience. This year I was a part of a community sharing an experience. Guess what year was better?
What too many people don’t understand is that twitter creates and enhances community. Isn’t that what churches are dying to create? Wake up church and smell the tweets.
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Budgets: Are you feeling a crunch this year?
Posted on27. Oct, 2008 by Kenny.
I’m just curious and throwing this question out there. With the economy in the condition it is in at this time, is your church really feeling it? How has that affected your budget or your budget planning for next year?
I’m working on the 2009 budget this week and I think we’re anticipating things to get a little tight, but nothing to serious.
Anyone have to make budget cuts? What areas are seeing the cuts? What ways are you having to be creative to deal with shortfalls?
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Cussing Christians
Posted on10. Oct, 2008 by Kenny.
One of the blogs I subscribe to posted this recently. I literally laughed out loud!
Lark is a news site that pokes fun at the Christian sub-culture, but in a very funny way. It’s like “the Office” of news blogs. The material is fictional, but it doesn’t read that way. The first time I came across this site I did a double take, thinking the content was real.
What made me laugh so hard was because the the situation described in this fictional story wasn’t too far off from something that I knew happened in another church. How funny.
It brings up a really good point though. More than it has in a very long time, I feel the church is becoming more relevant to the world. That is good. However, I wonder if some churches are becoming “too relevant.” Although this article talks about how the youth pastor was practicing how to drop a swear word into a sermon to get attention, I’ve had conversations with people about this very subject. I’ve met people who honestly believe that swearing may help them be more relatable to those they are trying to reach. I’m not so sure that’s a strategy worth taking.
The other thing I’ve noticed in the “authenticity” movement is a tendency to get complacent with some habits, actions or words we use. We say words or do things that are questionable and slap the “hey, I’m just being authentic” label on it and feel better about ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I love where the church is going. I love it when churches create an authentic and grace-centered environment where people don’t feel condemned or judged just by walking in the doors, but I think we all need to be careful about how “authentic” we allow ourselves to become. Grace is there to help us up, but not to be used as a crutch.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to get preachy. I actually found the article very funny because it hit close to home and this very issue has been the subject of conversations I’ve had in recent months.
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TwitterChurch
Posted on10. Jun, 2008 by Kenny.
I just read this article about a church that used twitter during a church service. You really should read it, absolutely amazing! In case you’re just skimming, I’ll give you the gist. The church planned ahead and let people know that a particular Sunday was going to be Twitter Sunday. So, people walked into the service with their iPhones and laptops. They had over 70 people following the church feed. There were big screens all over the auditorium displaying the feed as people interacted with all parts of the service. How amazing is this?
They said that there was humorous banter going on in the early part of the service, which kind of eased people into the feeling of community. Later on there were great moments of reflection and agreement and solid points displaying during the service. The end result? About half of the team loved it. The other have hated it. They didn’t say, but I’d be willing to guess the age/personality temperament of those who hated it.
Here’s what I love about this. Have you recently watched a teenager on the computer? With facebook, myspace and whatever chat clients they have going on, they have all of them open on their desktop and they are doing 3 things at once while actively participating in at least two separate conversations. It’s crazy. I’m not saying this is healthy, but it is the reality of the generation entering the adult church population. Why not create this type of experience in a worship setting? Why should a church service be totally passive for the hundreds or thousands sitting in their chairs. The lead teacher/communicator doesn’t have to “interact” with the feed, but it could happen in conjunction with the service. Here is his follow-up post about the hurdles they had to overcome to make this happen. What do you think? Would you find this a positive experience or terribly distracting?
Technorati Tags: Twitter,iPhone,Worship,Church
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Going to church is flippin’ easy (Lessons Learned the Hard Way Part 4)
Posted on09. Mar, 2008 by Kenny.
It’s Sunday, so I thought I’d keep this one light.
In the 11+ years I’ve been a Children’s Pastor, I hardly know what it is like to “attend” church. Typically I’d miss 2-4 weekends a year for the last decade. On those weekends, I’d either be on vacation or something like that. On those weekend that I attended another church, I was usually checking them out and had an agenda for being there.
So, since I’ve been “out,” my eyes have been opened. It’s just easy to go to church. I figured that I would probably become a Saturday church attendee if I could… I like to have my mornings to sleep in. However, on the first weekend I had free I was amazed at how much time I had on Sunday morning. I got up, fed my son, watched a movie on DVD, got dressed and then still made it to the 11:00 service. I was back home by 12:20. That’s too easy. I understand being busy and having all kinds of commitments, but committing local church attendance isn’t so bad… especially when you attend a casual “come as you are” church. That way I don’t even have to shower.
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I was a visitor, the first time in over 10 years
Posted on12. Nov, 2007 by Kenny.
I was on vacation last week, so I didn’t actually attend church (unless you count Bedside Baptist with Rev. Sheets). Since my weekend was open this week, I decided that I would go check out someone else this weekend. I actually wanted to visit a church just 4 miles down the road that I’ve seen and heard a lot about over the years. It was a 3 year old church plant that’s been growing like crazy. I have a friend who is a ministry intern there and and I had seen pictures of their new facility. I had seen some pictures and from the looks of it, this church plant had an incredible looking environment for kids (without having to spend a fortune on Wacky World or something at that level). [...]
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