7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis
December 16, 2009
I recently finished reading Seven Lessons for Leading in Crisis by Bill George. This is a short book that explains basic leadership lessons as described in the names of each chapter:
- Face Reality, Starting with Yourself
- Don’t Be Atlas; Get the World Off Your Shoulders
- Dig Deep for the Root Cause
- Get Ready for the Long Haul
- Never Waste a Good Crisis
- You’re in the Spotlight: Follow True North
- Go on Offense, Focus on Winning Now
I found the first three chapters to be particularly helpful. I have a tendency to try to take all the responsibility for getting things to turn around if I am part of a team that is facing a crisis. It was helpful to be reminded to be honest with myself, share responsibility and look for the root of the problem. While the focus of this book is on business leaders, I found solid parallels with leadership in the church. The guidance is illustrated well by narrative examples of leaders who have performed well or poorly in crisis. I found this to be a helpful technique.
I recommend this book to people looking for an easy read that provides pithy guidance on leadership.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free of charge from the publisher.
Obama’s Oslo Speech and Sermon Writing
December 15, 2009
I heard In Oslo Speech, Obama Must Sidestep Land Mines on NPR last week. I believe that the method for writing a presidential speech could be applied to writing a sermon. Here is an excerpt from the article:
Those speeches are crafted in a tiny, low-ceilinged room in the basement of the West Wing, directly underneath the Oval Office, by national security aide Ben Rhodes. … Rhodes says each big speech begins with the president himself laying out his thoughts in outline form. Then Rhodes starts writing, and the president starts editing.
A back and forth between the pastor who would be preaching the sermon and a sermon writing team with the preaching pastor having the final say could produce a well crafted, theologically sound sermon.
Will you please let me know of any preachers that are using a similar model?
Micro Church at Tallgrass Creek
December 14, 2009
I had the privilege of worshipping with the micro church at Tallgrass Creek yesterday morning. This is a community of faith that gathers around the live internet broadcast of worship through Resurrection Online every Sunday at 10:45. There were 20 people present yesterday and this has been an an average for the group. I hope to help them be a Christian community where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
Being present was an encouragement for me and brings hope for the future development of micro churches.
Qualifications and Expectations of a Micro Church Leader
December 11, 2009
This is a very rough draft of a document which may guide the life of Resurrection micro church leaders. Will you please share with me your thoughts, feelings and opinions in the comments?
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To be considered as a potential micro church leader, a person will:
- affirm the essentials of the Christian faith, enunciated in the historic creeds believed by nearly all Christians, such as the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed
- affirm all 15 core traits of a deeply committed Christian and be willing to grow in all areas.
- regularly practice prayer and Bible study.
- be able to share her or his faith story.
- understand the importance of hospitality and showing concern for others.
- demonstrate willingness to become a spiritual guide and care provider.
- be passionate about discipleship and community.
- be aware of spiritual gifts and open to exploration of them.
- focus on what is helpful and builds up the Body of Christ, and avoid judgmental statements, name-calling, harsh labeling, and efforts to describe anyone holding a different view as “un- Christian”
- embrace the Resurrection membership expectations.
- agree to be held accountable to the Volunteer Leader Covenant of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
- have previous experience leading adults (i.e. projects, teams or groups – managing, delegation, logistics, details, etc.).
- embrace the importance of establishing a group covenant, celebrate differences in group member’s personalities, appreciate differences in spiritual background and knowledge and be open to helping group members do the same.
- have volunteered for ministry inside and outside a church.
- have previous experience participating in a small group for Bible study and spiritual growth.
- have previous experience leading group prayer.
- have previous experience leading a Bible study.
- have completed Disciple 1 or equivalent.
Expectations – A micro church leader will:
- collaborate with and receive care and guidance from the Pastor for Resurrection Online.
- collaborate and be in community with other micro church leaders.
- facilitate the micro church worship experience.
- communicate with each person in her or his micro church, at least once a week, to:
- inquire how their souls prosper;
- advise, caution, comfort or encourage as necessary.
- commit to developing opportunities for each micro church participant to worship, grow, give and serve.
- communicate with Resurrection at least once a week to share:
- who are active in the life of the micro church,
- any who are in need of additional care or guidance (i.e. illness, spiritual concern, etc.),
- stories of life change, and
- any technical problems or concerns.
- look for a person who could be key in influencing a new circle of people to start the next micro church.
The Nature, Design and General Rules of the Micro Churches
December 10, 2009
This is a very rough draft of a document which may guide the life of micro churches that could be planted through Resurrection. My hope is that the venture will be both faithful and relevant. Will you please share with me your thoughts, feelings and opinions in the comments?
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In the fall of 2008, a group of eight or ten persons gathered at a care facility in Leawood, who sought to worship together facilitated by a live stream of worship from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. Thus began the idea of a micro church as a way of being the church in a way that echoes the early years of Christianity and the United Methodist denomination. This concept was tested by a small group in Lees Summit in the fall of 2009.
With this in mind, the following expectations and covenant were developed to guide the life of the micro churches. We use these standards to hold ourselves accountable to the Christian life and pursuing our purpose of building a Christian community where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians. We recognize that it is God’s grace which calls forth our faithful response, brings transformation in our communities and renews the church.
Minimum Expectations – A micro church will:
- build a Christian community where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
- make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
- live according to the theological guidelines of The United Methodist Church and The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
- have a leader that is in covenant with The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection who will guide the life of the micro church.
- offer opportunities to worship, grow, give and serve.
- encourage participants to meet to pray together, receive the word of encouragement and guidance, and watch over one another in love.
- collaborate with a United Methodist elder to share in Holy Communion and Baptism.
- create new places for new people.
A micro church worship gathering will:
- occur once a week, at the least.
- offer simple and gracious hospitality.
- begin punctually at the hour appointed, without some extraordinary reason.
- begin with introductions, reminder of purpose, an introduction to the experience and prayer.
- create space for theological reflection.
- Symbols that may provide a guide for theological reflection:
- Question Mark – “I do not understand…”
- Lightbulb – “I am able to offer insight about…” or “I gained insight about…”
- Arrow – “I have heard from God and need to do something about…”
- Symbols that may provide a guide for theological reflection:
- create space for each person to speak freely and plainly about the state of her or his soul, the faults committed in thought, word, or deed, and the temptations felt, since the last gathering.
- end with sharing joys, concerns and prayer appropriate to the state of each person present.
- have only one condition required for those who desire to belong — a desire to become part of a Christian community where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
What do you do as pastor for Resurrection Online? – Part Deux
December 9, 2009
This is one of the most common questions that I receive since starting my new role as Resurrection Online Campus Pastor on November 1. The answer is most accurately answered in two parts and the second part has to do with the in person experience.
We began live streaming two of the Sunday worship services at Resurrection on November 2, 2008. In the early months of this experiment, an care home in the area connected a computer to a television and created an in person worship experience for their residents facilitated by the the live sream from http://live.cor.org. While the initial focus of Resurrection Online was to connect through the internet, the possibility of online tools facilitating in person connection began to address two of the significant questions about seeking to be the church online – care and discipleship.
This birthed the idea of micro churches which would worship, grow, give and serve in their local community utilizing resources from Resurrection. Small groups could gather for the simulcast of worship over the internet and continue to worship at the end of the live stream through conversation, sharing in joys and concerns and praying for one another. These micro churches could be based in homes, dormitories, public space, independent living communities or anywhere that large screen, internet access and ability to gather exist.
My role with these groups is to:
- provide the resources for an effective worship experience.
- respond to questions and problems that you have about the resources each week.
- keep the micro churches up to date on upcoming series and events.
- encourage a sense of belonging through our online community.
I am seeking to invite, connect, equip and sustain these leaders. I will work with denominational leaders who are interested in using this strategy to create new places for new people and renew the church. Look for more information about micro churches in the next few days.
Ultimately, I hope to be part of building a Christian community online where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
Will you please share what you hope I would be about as pastor for Resurrection Online?
What do you do as pastor for Resurrection Online? – Part Un
December 8, 2009
This is one of the most common questions that I receive since starting my new role as Resurrection Online Campus Pastor on November 1. The answer is most accurately answered in two parts and the first part has to do with the online experience.
Since November 2, 2008 there have been an average of 1,004 people worshiping with Resurrection Online each weekend at http://live.cor.org. I serve as the pastor for this community and seek to provide leadership, care and guidance through word, order, service and sacrament. This online experience is built to connect with digital natives who are comfortable in an online space and are seeking meaning. Right now, I am interacting with this community primarily through email and I am working on a survey to gather more information about those who are worshiping online.
In addition, we are looking at ways to increase the interactivity on the website to allow for community to begin to form. I believe that this will most effectively be through existing social networks and tools that people use to interact online and not force people to create a brand new login and profile. Any website improvements will be social to begin to build community around the shared experience of worship. In addition, they will also seek to improve on the experience of spiritual formation of those that are online.
Other next steps as pastor for Resurrection Online include:
- My video presence before, after and / or during the worship experience online with a specific message for those online.
- Developing opportunities for people to grow in their faith outside of worship.
- Equipping people who worship online to serve in the communities where they are located.
- Providing pastoral care and guidance to those who worship online.
- Clearly articulate the ecclesiology of the experience from a United Methodist perspective.
Ultimately, I hope to be part of building a Christian community online where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
Will you please share what you hope I would be about as pastor for Resurrection Online?
This is the Last Post You Will Receive
December 7, 2009
That is if you are subscribed via RSS or email right now.
I am moving my RSS and Email Subscription feeds from Feedburner to WordPress.com.
You will need to visit my blog at http://andrewconard.com and subscribe to continue to receive these posts.
You can find a link on the right hand side of the page for either RSS or email subscription.
Thanks!
Iterate Fast and Release Often
December 4, 2009
This is one of the principles which has guided me in the development of Resurrection Online and the guidance for micro churches supported by the simulcast of worship. This principle is well outlined at this post – The “Iterate Fast and Release Often” Philosophy of Entrepreneurship, from which I take this quote:
The core tenet of this philosophy is that it’s more important to launch a product and new features and iterate rather than take the extra time necessary to “perfect” a product or feature before launch.
We have already experienced this at Resurrection Online as a significant number of people from our current congregation who are sick or out of town are currently worshiping with us online. We would not have anticipated that this population was there without launching while knowing that there were significant technical improvements and adjustments that would need to be made.
The website for Resurrection Online (http://live.cor.org) is still far from where I hope that it will be, but it is out there and people are finding meaningful connection. I hope we are able to release features as soon as reasonable and make changes based on feedback from congregants who are worshiping online.
Internet : Today’s Pastor :: Fields : John Wesley
December 1, 2009
The internet is the market square of today. It is a place where people who have no interest in church, faith or religion may be found and invited into a journey of knowing, loving and serving God.
Several hundred years ago, John Wesley preached repentance in the fields and the market square and invited people become part of a community in which they could grow in their faith.
I hope to be part of the same model of invitation, repentance and connection today through Resurrection Online.
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