Archive - March, 2010

Why some people should change churches: Part 2

March 31, 2010 in Church Culture, Church Planting, Leadership with 2 Comments

In Part 1 of this thread, I talked about reasons people should NOT change churches. The Church (all over the world) is plagued with “church hoppers” who bounce from one church to another for typically selfish reasons that benefit neither the church or the individual.

On the other hand, I believe the Church is also hampered by the fact that tons of people stay involved in churches when they really should leave. I know that’s an extremely controversial statement, but let me explain my thoughts behind it.

I believe the Church (made up of all Christians everywhere) is beautiful for many reasons, one being it’s diversity. The church I’m a part of looks different than others around here, and vastly different from churches in other countries. That’s a great thing. To take it one step farther, I think all churches have unique personalities and characteristics, and people should be part of a church they can fit in with from that standpoint.

However, the questions SHOULDN’T be:

  • Do I like the music style?
  • Is the preaching something extremely helpful to me?
  • Will this church let me ______ (fill in the blank with some personal agenda, like sing, preach, be an elder, etc)?

Hopefully you see the common thread there, with me being the central focus. To spin that a little, here are good questions to ask when choosing a church:

  • What is the church’s theology, doctrine, or “essentials” in terms of beliefs?
  • What is the church’s mission? (why do they exist)
  • What is the church’s vision? (what future do they hope to create)
  • What is the church’s strategy? (how do they accomplish their mission and vision)

Then, in light of those answers, ask yourself:

  • What is God’s purpose for my life? (The Chazown book would be a great start)
  • What are my core values? (list them out and compare to the church)
  • How does my personality, giftedness, skills and abilities fit with the church’s strategy? (if you’re a great organist, you may not fit with the hip-hop worship style church)
  • Could I invite my friends & co-workers to that church?

Essentially you are searching to see if your greatest potential as a Christian servant, is found within that church. Your church should allow you to leverage your time, talent and resources in the greatest way possible to serve your community.

In the next part, I’ll talk about the problem I see, and one of the major challenges in overcoming that problem.

Why some people should change churches: Part 1

March 30, 2010 in Church Culture, Church Planting, Leadership with 0 Comments

For a while now I have wanted to write about this topic. People change churches all the time, for numerous reasons. Some valid, some not. I believe one of the biggest problems in the church today is that some people who should leave their church, don’t. I’ll write my thoughts about that in the next post but first I’ll mention some reasons NOT to leave a church.

To be clear, I am not talking about leaving a church because of one’s faith struggle or problems with God. I am specifically talking about leaving a church and going to another church. Here are some reasons NOT to do that:

  • Don’t leave because you disagree with small changes
    Change is inevitable. Great leaders steer change to help push the organization forward. Churches change small things often, if they want to continue making disciples in the midst of a changing culture. Some examples might be removing a program, adding a projection screen (if it’s 1998), changing service times, etc. You probably know some examples if you’re part of a church. Change is necessary, and every church won’t be right every time. Give your church freedom, and only consider leaving if changes go against your theology, morals, or strategy-fit (I made that phrase up, and I’ll expand in the next post). Even in those cases, consider the possibility that you may not be right, and be open to grow and learn.
  • Don’t leave because somebody hurt you
    Remember the church is people, and people are imperfect. If somebody hurts your feelings, talk to them about it and respond with forgiveness and grace. If you leave a church because somebody hurt you, you’ll probably leave every church you’re ever a part of.
  • Don’t leave because you were challenged to live differently
    If your church challenges you to live in a way that contradicts your sound understanding of what the Bible teaches, that may be a reason to leave. But, if you get offended because you are challenged to be free from a specific sin in your life, because your are challenged to give financially, because you are challenged to serve consistently or get connected in a small group, that’s not a reason to leave. That’s a prodding to live more like Jesus.

In the next post I’ll talk about reasons to change churches. As a hint, I think the key is not to look at how you fit with the church in terms of what you want, but how you fit with the church in terms of the church’s mission and strategy and your purpose, strategy, style and values sync up with that.

Friday Five

March 19, 2010 in Friday Five with 0 Comments

Here are my five favorite blog posts from the week:

Tim Stevens – Frustrated – Tim shares openly and honestly about his frustrations with core church members who do not tithe, and his frustration is because of what they’re missing out on

Vince Antonucci – Vivalaverve, Take One – Vince shares thoughts from the official launch of Verve Church – www.vivalaverve.org

Michael Lukaszewski – Nine Random Church Thoughts –  I really like 2, 5 & 8

Buckhead Church – And the Survey Says… – Jeff Henderson shared the results from Buckhead being evaluated by atheistic first time visitors, a service provided by Church Rater

Brad Lomenick – Making Ideas Happen With Scott Belsky – A great video interview (2 parts) with Scott Belsky, founder and leader of Behance.com and the the99percent.com

What Would Help Children’s Ministry Leaders Most?

March 17, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

Part of the reason I moved this blog to WordPress was so I could easily create pages that could hold resources for Children’s Ministry leaders. I started added some resources, mostly information about curriculum, networking sites and links to other children’s ministry blogs and bloggers.

I plan to upload everything we use at Community Christian Church in hopes that it could be of some help but I’d like to hear from you.

What could I, or any children’s ministry blogger, provide online that would be helpful to other children’s ministry leaders?

Please comment and let me know your thoughts

Google Organizes Most of My Life

March 16, 2010 in Systems, Web/Tech with 1 Comment

A few months ago I switched from Outlook to Google for email, calendar and contacts. The move was prompted when I knew I was going to get an Android phone, specifically the Motorola Droid. Google designed the Android operating system for phones so it seamlessly connects with all of Google’s applications.

I would highly recommend using Google for email, calendar and contacts. I can access any of that from any internet-enabled device. It’s really great for productivity and it’s great to know I don’t have to worry about backups.

For email, Google acts like an email client (Mac Mail, Outlook, etc) and manages email for all of my accounts. I use the labels (like folders), to organize it all and keep different email accounts separated. Switching was a bit of a pain because I had to move 45,000 emails.  Yes, 45,000! I used the process described here, that leverages IMAP. It took 3 days and I transferred a bunch over night.

I use the following Google applications regularly, if not daily:

Between Google and Remember The Milk, that’s how I stay organized (at least the church stuff).

Friday Five

March 12, 2010 in Friday Five with 0 Comments

Here are my five favorite blog posts from the week:

Church Leader Insights – Field-Tested Advice For Church Planters – Nelson Searcy re-posts a great post from Jimmy Britt

Perry Noble – Top 7 Money Mistakes I’ve Made – Great wisdom on financial matters.  Read the rest of his mistakes here

Tony Morgan – “And” Instead of “Or” – This really needed to be said by somebody and Tony does it well

Tony Morgan – The Loudest Voice – Another great post from Tony.  He had a good week.

Doug Foltz – How Big Should the Launch Team Be? – One of the hardest parts of planting a church, right up there with raising the necessary funds.

Easing the Transition from Preschool to Elementary

March 12, 2010 in CCC, Children's Ministry, Leadership, Strategy with 0 Comments

Originally posted on OrangeLeaders.com Blog last Saturday

One of the toughest transitions for a child is going from preschool to elementary school. Think about all the possible changes they have to deal with such as a full day of school, progress reports, reading, and most importantly no nap time. That transition can be tough in a church environment as well.

Two of the most intimidating parts of transitioning children from preschool to elementary in our church are entering the environment and the large group time. Entering the environment can be overwhelming because unlike our preschool rooms, elementary is completely open until large group is over and kids from grades K-5 are all together. Large group can be intimidating as well because that type of production is completely new to them.

To ease the transition, we created an event that provides an opportunity for the incoming kindergartners to experience the elementary environment with their parents. The parents check them in, stay with them during the plug-in activities and large group. Once large group is over, the kindergartners are placed in small groups just for them with a leader who gets to know them and help them connect. During that time, we get the amazing opportunity to sit with the parents and walk them through our strategy for elementary children, talking about the environments, events, and resources available to help them continue the conversations at home. That time with parents allows us to address the 3 things that Reggie says parents are silently asking when they come into our churches:

1. Give me a plan
2. Show me how it works
3. Tell me what to do today.

Parents – How else can we help you ease the transition?

Church Leaders – How do you ease the transition from preschool to elementary in your church?


Get Your Benjamin$ Straight With Mint.com

March 11, 2010 in Leadership, Strategy, Systems with 0 Comments

Jennifer and I have tried numerous budgeting systems (envelopes, mvelopes, Excel, spend it all, spend what’s left, etc).  Last year we switched to Mint.com, and coupled with a few other tools it has been amazing.  I hope that by sharing this it will help other people manage their money better as well.

  • We cut our food budget by 25% simply because we became more aware of how we were spending.
  • We reigned in what I categorize as “personal expenses” and have a better idea of everything that is in that category.
  • We’re saving 5% more monthly.

In addition to that, I can see all of our accounts in one place (checking, savings, credit union, investments, retirement).  At any point I can know where we are in terms of each budget category, and I can check it from anywhere with internet….including my phone.

Here is everything we’re using to really make it work…

  • I started with Dave Ramsey’s Gazelle Budget Lite form to see how he recommended dividing up the pie.  That was mostly helpful for grabbing the categories and percentages to use as a starting point.
  • I created a monthly budget in Excel.  On the left I listed all the expenses, grouped in the categories from Dave Ramsey’s site.  On the right I had the income sources. So, individual expenses had dollar amounts and percentages (of the overall budget), calculated from the income total on the right side. It also lists Dave’s recommendations right there for comparison, and I didn’t stick exactly to what he suggested.
  • I set up our Mint.com account and added all our financial accounts.  Mint will try to assign expenses to categories, but it’s not always right and every Friday I go in and assign the previous week’s expenses to the right category and tag.
  • The primary categories in Mint can’t be changed, so I created tags that exactly matched my Excel budget, which uses Dave Ramsey’s system.  So, on Fridays when I go through, I tag every expense appropriately.  Essentially every expense has 2 labels, the Mint.com category and the custom tag, but I only rely on the tag.  That probably takes 15 minutes a week.
  • At any point I can go to the Trends screen and click on “spending by tag” and see a pie chart of how things are broken down for that month, and I can compare month-to-month.

It’s a lot to set up but it’s really easy to maintain.  Just a note, Mint.com has a budget feature but it tries to rollover surpluses and overages from month to month and that’s not how we roll.  Plus, I didn’t like not being able to change the primary categories.

How do you manage your benjamin$?

StrengthsFinder 2.0 – My Results, What Are Yours?

March 10, 2010 in Leadership with 0 Comments

(reposted from the old blog)

A few months ago I finally took the Strengths Finder 2.0 assessment.  You have to buy the book, and with it comes a code you can use to take the assessment online.  I really enjoy learning more about my strengths and weaknesses and how I can manage both for success.  Here are my results, along with a summary from the book of what that means:

Analytical - People who are especially talented in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes.  They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.

Arranger - People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Maximizer - People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

Learner - People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Command - People who are especially talented in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

For those of you who know me, does that sound like me?

If you have taken the assessment, what are your strengths?

Blog on the Move, New Design

March 8, 2010 in General, Web/Tech with 0 Comments

I’ve moved my blog from Typepad to WordPress.  If you subscribe by RSS or Email, and you’re getting this through that subscription, then you are good to go.  No changes necessary.

However, if you’re seeing this on nickblevins.com and didn’t get the RSS or Email (wait a day or so), you probably need to update your subscription.  The old root feed was http://nickblevins.typepad.com/blog/atom.xml

The feedburner feed, which was in place for most of the old blog and is still the same for the new blog, is http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/nickblevins/blog

I’m going to post something on the old blog/feed today and later in the week so it will be easy to tell if you’re still subscribed or not.

As for the move, it was the logical thing to do now that I’ve learned a ton about WordPress after moving our church website to that platform.  Wordpress is free and Typepad isn’t.  Plus, I can customize WordPress and host other sites under the same installation without any trouble.  I’ll post in the future about migrating from Typepad to WordPress, and all the bumps I hit along the way (some still need to be crossed).

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