If you’ve been blogging at all during the last few years then you’ve probably heard of Problogger. Today’s post from Darren was interesting one as it compares writing effective blog posts with writing effective sermons.
Is your blog writing process similar to your sermon writing process? Or are they totally different?
The AND blog tour is already less than two weeks away, July 12-16, as we’re chatting about AND around the Z offices we couldn’t help but talk about “The Actual Modality” Halter & Smay discuss in chapter 5 “The Big AND: Gathered and Scattered in Perfect Harmony.”
Here are some quotes from the book to whet your appetite:
The Actual Modality (pp. 139-142)
The last piece of any true movement is the actual modality itself (the local church)….
In our story, we often show the movement potential by drawing what we call our “Vortex.”
In many ways, the vortex is like a tornado. If you’se seen the movie Twister, where tractors, cows, cars, and houses are tossed around like basketballs, you’ve seen the power of a vortex. The vortex gets its power from the incredible rotation created as two seemingly opposing wind forces work together. For the sake of our discussion, these two opposing forces are the sodalic and modalic aspects of church. When all these forces exist inside and are pushing out from the center together, the potential is remarkable!
…That’s the power of a movement. Though it seems counterintuitive, it’s the way God has designed his church to work. It’s a faith venture, and only those who have the courage to take risks will experience the exciting results of trusting God. Existing churches need to shake the bushes for some sodalically oriented leaders to be a part of the key leadership circles. Yes, I know, it’s easier to get rid of those cantankerously pesky prophets, evangelists, and entrepeneurs; but if you have been operating in the modalic for a long time, there is little hope of change until you find a place of influence for these new giftings to emerge and develop. It’s never an issue of being “missional or not missional,” “attractive or attractional,” “proclamational or incarnational.” The real issue is the degree to which we represent these qualities. Any church can get in the game, move at its own pace, and still be faithful to God’s design for the church.
Larry Osborne’s recent release Sticky Teams: Keeping Your Leadership Team and Staff on the Same Page exposes the hidden roadblocks, structures, and goofy thinking that all too often sabotage the health and harmony of even the best intentioned ministry teams. It’s filled with practical and seasoned advice. Larry shows what it takes to get a leadership board, ministry team, and an entire congregation headed in the same direction, sticking together, unified and healthy for the long haul.
August 9-13 we’ll be hosting a sticky blog tour (no, you won’t get doused with honey or stung by any bees). Sign up with this form [Sorry, sign-up for this blog tour has ended.] and if your blog is approved you’ll be sent a FREE copy of Sticky Teams. Then post your review on Amazon and on your blog during the blog tour days. That’s it. Nice and simple and no bees are involved.
By now I’m sure many of you have heard about the unfortunate burning of the 6-story tall ”King of Kings” statue at Solid Rock Church in Monroe, OH. (If you haven’t, Google it. It made national headlines.)
Across the blogosphere many have written statements akin to, “Well that’s the last thing you would expect to be struck by lightning,” while others have ridiculed the church for ever erecting it in the first place. Beyond that debate, I think this story raises a question that every pastor or church leader can resonate with:
What has your church lost (with time, by accident, or due to theft), and how did God meet your needs?
Dr. Charles R. “Chuck” Swindoll has been serving the church for nearly half a century, has touched millions of listeners through his radio ministry “Insights for Living,” and was honored with a lifetime achievement award at last year’s Catalyst Conference.
To my knowledge though, this is his first ever blog tour!
The Swindoll’s New Testament Insights series is a line of not-your-average commentaries that captures the voice and legacy of Dr. Swindoll’s lifetime of teaching the New Testament. It’s filled with practical application, and clear exposition of each verse in the New Testament. Each chapter is also highlighted by photos, charts, timelines and maps, not to mention Dr. Swindoll’s easy-reading style of teaching the Bible. (Peeps in the pulpit and in the pew will be blessed by the wisdom and solid Bible teaching found in these books.)
Following is part II of our interview with Geoff Surratt from Seacoast Church and author of Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing. See part I here.
Sometimes church communities can appear insular to outsiders. How can churches create a more open environment for welcoming and engaging interested and new members?
“What is a church’s front door? The ‘front door’ of a church is not the physical front door and has not been for a long time. It is not the sign in front of the building. And it is not the Yellow Pages ad. The front door is on the Web. We have found that when coming to our church for the first time, a majority of people, even if they come with a friend who is already a member, checked us out on the Web first. Churches need to be aware of this. And these researchers do not just go to www.yourchurch.org, they go to Google. Everything that appears in Google is what they check out – everything about your pastor, your Facebook page, etc.
read more »
Geoff Surratt is on staff of Seacoast Church, a successful and high-visibility multi-site church. He’s also the author of Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing. In a recent Zondervan interview Geoff shared his thoughts on how churches use technology to stay connected.
How do “old school” communications practices keep churches from growing and thriving?
“When I think some of the old school communications practices churches go back to again and again, two or three come to mind. A few years ago, the way you started a church or promoted a new event was to send out a mass mailer. I see churches continue to do that, but the response is going down and down and down. For the most part, response to mailers is completely dead. I also see churches communicate outside of their community via newspaper ads, and print newspaper effectiveness has dropped significantly too. Within the church, I see announcement services page used a lot. Public announcements are not very effective at communicating either. When you survey TV watchers after viewing three commercials in a row, nobody can remember the middle TV commercial. A few can remember the first, more the last. The same is true for announcements; most people are not hearing what is being said because they cannot. By the time a pastor hits three announcements, he has lost people.”
Nearly 100 bloggers signed up for a the Exponential blog tour this week. As discussions and reviews appear online I’ll add to the list below. You read a sample chapter of Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement here. This is the latest book from Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson, and the first book in the new “Exponential Series.”
I hope you enjoy the blog tour this week. Conversations like these can often be the Catalyst for real change in the body of Christ.
Best!
AR
Stops on the blog tour:
Mark Howell Live
Bible Dude .Net
Studium et Liturgica
Live Intentionally
Simul Iustus et Preccator
New Ways Forward
Nauvoo Pastor
Convergence
See Through
Commentaries are definitely “Goodreads”
by Andrew RogersIf you’re like me then you’re easily skeptical of a site called “Goodreads” that is, at first glance, filled with folks talking about Twilight and The Da Vinci Code. But if you’re again like me you eventually start messing around on the site with your own account and become a full-fledged, book-reviewing member, recording your own reading habits and wondering why all of your friends haven’t jumped on this particular social network bandwagon.
Commentaries, arguably, are the most critical books in any pastor or church leader’s library (second, of course, to a good copy of “The Good Book”). Where else can you find translation, exposition, exegesis, and application all in one place? (Not to mention that a large shelf of commentaries in your office instantly raises your friend’s perception of your IQ.
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