Monday Morning Insights

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    It’s Time to Pack Your Bags…

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    Failure in Ministry: Turning Your Biggest Idol into Your Biggest Benefit
    Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church)
    Jacob could not become the true Israel until he limped. Paul says that God’s power is
    made perfect in weakness. We in ministry know how to preach on this to people who are
    going through troubles, but we don’t know how important it is to face and grow through
    failure in our own work. In this we reflect our culture. At a recent Harvard
    commencement, J. K. Rowling extolled the ‘Fringe Benefits of Failure,’ while the listening
    graduates sneered at the idea. Ministry in western culture has never been more risky or
    difficult. Many younger leaders show themselves to be extremely risk averse and thin
    skinned. Older writers, from John Newton to Jonathan Edwards, knew that one of the
    greatest dangers in ministry is mistaking spiritual gifts and ability for spiritual fruit and
    character. Virtually always, we make an idol of our ministry, looking to it for our
    justification and identity. Until failure comes, we are blind to what we are doing. Thus, the
    benefits of failure in ministry.

    How to Zig When Others Zag
    Stacy Spencer (New Direction Christian Church)
    Stacy Spencer writes: Memphis, TN has over 2,000 churches. We have more churches
    than we do liquor stores and gas stations put together. When we started this church we
    knew that God didn’t need another church. He wanted something radically different than
    Memphis was use to. In his book Zag, Mary Neumeier talks about how secular
    companies drowned in market place clutter, in order to stand out that need “Radical
    Differentiation.” The new rule is: when everybody zigs, zag. Radical differentiation is
    about finding a whole new market space you can own and defend. Your ministry brand
    is not who you say you it’s who they say you are. When Jesus asked his disciples who
    he was he started with who the people said he was then he asked the disciples who they
    thought he was. Who do people say you are? Are you zagging in your community?
    Standing out from all of the traditional attempts to run people away from God. Or are you
    zigging doing what everybody else is doing and complaining about that you are getting
    the same results? In this session I want to share with you how your church can zag with
    a radical departure from what everybody else is doing and reach those that haven’t been
    reach. Our mission at New Direction Christian Church to reach the unreached and
    empower them to know God through life changing experiences from the inside out.

    Righteousness, Risk and Repentance
    Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church)
    If we do not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, we cannot lead the church of Jesus
    Christ. Without a proper understanding of Jesus work, which is the source of our
    righteousness, Christian leaders are prone to pursue their own righteousness through
    success, achievement, and accolades. Failure causes despair. And, success causes
    pride, which is simply another kind of failure. The result is that many Christian leaders
    feel unholy and unhappy whether they succeed or fail. In this session we will examine
    how the gospel provides our righteousness and liberates us to risk, and also repent when
    we fail. My hope is that as leaders we can learn to lead out of the gospel in such a way
    that gives both God glory and us joy.

    Monkey and the Fish: An Alternative and Contrarian Way
    Dave Gibbons (Newsong Church)
    9/11 changed everything. It was a metaphorical harbinger of what was to come: Chaos
    and Disruptions. Market meltdowns, climate change, layoffs, decentralization, global
    power shifts and uprisings have impacted our world. What’s whispered in China is now
    heard in the bedrooms of our land. With chaotic change comes new visions. What
    emerges from destruction can actually be beautiful. To get there it takes an alternative
    mindset and will. . . called “ 3CULTURE.”

    Courage to Change
    John Jenkins (First Baptist Church of Glenarden)
    In order to influence and change a culture and a community, it will require new ideas, new
    concepts, new processes and new techniques. The techniques of the past will not reach
    this hip-hop listening, MTV watching, cell phone and texting messaging, Myspace and
    Facebook blogging culture. We must be willing to offer the community fresh ideas and
    fresh ways. This requires courage to change and confront those who say “we have never
    done it that way before.” This message will give ideas that will impact your community as
    well as challenge leaders to develop the courage necessary to ignite change.

    Provocative Leaders for a Dangerous Church
    Nancy Ortberg (TeamWorx2)
    Churches were never called to be a soft, benign presence in the community, but rather an
    unstoppable force in the world. The Dangerous Church has leaders who are able to
    move past problem-solving to tension management. They live in between infrastructure
    and innovation, between passion and humility, the past and the future...refusing to make
    a choice, but standing in the pull of those forces. Dangerous Churches have leaders who
    see the gospel as a provocative, comforting, transformational and bedrock message that
    becomes an epicenter for kingdom impact. These churches capture people’s attention,
    meet needs, align around giftedness, create momentum and a culture of innovation, risk
    and change. Dangerous Leaders come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, ages and color...be
    one.

    20/20 Vision
    John Bishop (Living Hope Church)
    Seeing really is believing. I believe churches are good at doing church for people who do
    church. Bottom line to the church in America is simply we are good at doing church for
    “us.” 20/20 VISION is seeing ONLY GOD and returning to what matters to the heart of
    God. The thread in the Bible is a God who is passionately in love with the people He
    created. The American church is in a crisis. 87% of churches in America are plateaued or
    declining in attendance. OF the 13 percent of churches growing, only 2% are growing by
    conversion. The church of the future has to begin to think differently NOW. We have to
    be better at doing church for PEOPLE WHO DON’T DO CHURCH. If we don’t change
    TODAY there may not be a church in 2020 to talk about.

    The Church On the Other Side: What Does the Dangerous Church Look Like in
    2010?

    Ed Stetzer (Lifeway Research)
    Ed Stetzer will look to the future of the church by unpacking current research and trends.
    Hype aside, the church will not die in this “last Christian generation,” it will not be all
    caught up in a great emergence, all of its children will not drop out after High School
    graduation, and 50% of the churches won’t close their doors. However, it will be
    methodologically different, much more ethnically diverse, and struggling with engaging its
    culture. In this session, we will look at what research from today tells us about the church
    of the future.

    Catching Up With the Rest of the World
    Bob Roberts, (Northwood Church)
    There two core fundamental ways in which movement and transformation take place in
    the context of society through the lowest common denominator of the disciple. The
    Western forms of ministry focus on more of a Greek model of discipleship with purely
    pragmatic metrics. After 50 years of intensely pragmatic efforts, though we have
    churches that are growing numerically, the reality is that we have fewer people in church
    and the church is having less impact on society than ever before. It is time to return to
    the Acts model of engagement.

    The Foundations of Missional Community
    Reggie McNeal, Leadership Network
    The central and most promising innovation in the church is the rise of missional
    community. This development is not being pulled off my innovative churches; it is being
    orchestrated by the Spirit of God. While it involves the church, it extends beyond the
    church into a cross-cultural-domains missional renaissance. God seems to be having a
    different conversation with the church about the church and its mission in the world.

    Lovin’ Every Minute of It
    Dino Rizzo (Healing Place Church)
    How to create a culture at your church that engages, loves and cares for people who are
    different than you are – and enjoy every minute of it!

    Challenging People to a Missional Lifestyle
    Matt Carter (Austin Stone Community Church)
    In this session we will be looking at two things. First, we will discuss the philosophy
    behind missional community at The Austin Stone Community Church and how our
    leadership is constantly calling our people to live in light of the limited time we have to
    make our mark on church history. Second, I will discuss some practical ways in which
    our church has provided for people to live out a missional life-style.

    Use the code “HANGWITHUS” to receive $50 each person you register! Register here.


    For the last year, my Leadership Network colleague Linda Stanley and myself have been hard at work creating a different type of conference experience. Innovation3 is happening next Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas...

    Maybe you have already registered. If so, you're in for a great time of connecting, networking, and collaboration with hundreds of church leaders from across the country.

    If you haven't registered, I'm going to be bold enough today to ask you to do something that may be entirely out of your character... instead of planning six months to attend a gathering of this type, I'm going to ask you to be spontaneous and bring yourself and your team to Dallas next week (yes... NEXT WEEK). There are still plenty of planes flying into Dallas next week... you can fly in on Tuesday morning (the festivities start at 1:00) and fly out Wednesday evening (we end at 3:15). And you will not find a lineup like this anywhere, or a format that allows for dialog and collaboration like you're find at Innovation3.

    OK... so I may be a little biased. But I think that Innovation3 is a great way to help encourage, motivate, and jump-start you and your team in this new year. Here's the deal: Leadership Network has invited over a hundred of the best and brightest ministry leaders to present at Innovation3. You'll hear from people like Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Dino Rizzo, Nancy Ortberg, Larry Osborne, Matt Chandler, Dave Gibbons, Darrin Patrick, Dave Ferguson, Ed Stetzer, Neil Cole, and many more. We'll be lead in worship by the Robbie Seay Band!

    We'll be talking about innovative topics like risk and failure in ministry, shaping the culture through the church, how to achieve missional community, and what the church will look like in the year 2020.

    And we'll discuss innovative ministry models, with smaller, practical gatherings centered around multi-site ministry, women's ministry, externally focused churches, missional renaissance, recovery ministries, generous church initiatives, church planting, and more. In fact, over 30 smaller breakout sessions will be offered!

    But what makes the Innovation3 gathering different than most every conference... is... YOU! We are doing our best to level the playing field... allowing you to connect, network, and collaborate with all of our presenters and attendees.

    There will be no green-room at Innovation3.. the presenters will be making themselves available to you in the lobby, in the sessions, and in the hallways. You'll eat lunch and dinner together. You'll have the opportunity to connect with over thirty authors in our small 'side conversations' throughout the gathering. You can join one of our groups of presenters for a late-night meet-up. And you'll have the chance to collaborate with your team and others in our unique live innovation lab.

    This is turning out to be a once in a lifetime gathering of North American church leaders. Leadership Network has not done an event comparable to Innovation3 for many years. And it will be many years before we do a large-scale gathering like this again.

    I can hear you say... "But it's NEXT WEEK!" Indeed it is. All the more reason to make your plans today. But don't worry, I'll help...

    1. Tell your assistant to clear your calendar next Tuesday and Wednesday. If you don't have an assistant, you can clear your calendar yourself!

    2. Go to Innovation3Gathering.com to check out all of the details (we have a complete schedule posted online so you can choose what topics interest you the most)

    3. Use the code "HANGWITHUS" to receive $50 each person you register! Register here.

    5. Go to Expedia.com or your favorite travel site and book your flight. There are some great last minute airfare deals out there. I just checked this morning, and I can get to Dallas from Detroit for $218... that's as low as I've seen it recently.

    6. Book your hotel. We have a great conference hotel patner, the Intercontinental Dallas. Use Group Code: LNI

    Here are just some of the main sessions.... You can find details of the more than 30 breakout sessions, author signings, late night gatherings and more, here...

    Comments

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    1. Camey on Mon, January 19, 2009

      As I’ve already shared with Linda…. I will be unable to attend - which is a darn shame considering how close to Dallas I am..


      BUT, I will continue to be praying for all who are connected with it!


      Looking forward to hearing how God uses I3!

    2. Sherry Surratt on Mon, January 19, 2009

      If you’re a women leader in any area, and you’re not signed up to come to Innovation 3, you’re missing it! More women leaders concentrated in one place, from all different areas, from blogging, women’s min, executive pastors, writers, speakers….there’s no end. We’ll host a late night gathering on Tuesday for just women leaders and you’ll get to talk, connect, do what women do best. Sign up today.

    3. Charles on Mon, January 19, 2009

      I’m so sick of hearing about “leaders” and “pastors.”


      Let’s send the custodians and the nursery workers to a conference.

    4. David E. Holt on Sat, January 31, 2009

      WOW!  Wish I had seen this earlier - would have encouraged the Director of Missions, Peace River Baptist Association to attend. As it is, today is Saturday, January 28 and too late.  But I laud the intent of this conference of folks who understand how desperately todays church needs to be re-structured! Would love to hear how things went, and if anything exciting came out of it. I join you in the prayer that God made Himself experienced to a greater degree than even you may have expected!


      Warm thoughts, David, retired pastor and present author of ABCs Of Ministry. For a taste of my book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzA-XHtyRS4


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    5. Pete on Wed, February 04, 2009

      Even I missed the last session but still found it very useful. Thank you very much.

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