Tag Archives: Jon Ferguson
Let Pagans Play by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson @DaveFerguson @JonFerguson
“Let Pagans Play” is excerpted from “Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement” by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson. It’s listed on pages 82 and 83 as one of the Five Factors for Reproducing Artists.
Many of our artists play in local bands and perform in theater companies. Since we encourage people at all stages of spiritual growth to use their art for God, we have lots of artists who are recruited by other artists and begin doing their art at our church before they become Christ followers. We’re not only okay with that; we encourage it. Our Romeoville campus has been very successful in encouraging people playing in outside bands to come to chruch to play in the worship bands. They have recruited two entire bands that way. Not only that, but as a result of the relationships that have been formed in these bands, a number of people in them have actually come to follow Jesus!
The next time you’re in a public place, take a look around. If you are in a public place right now, go ahead and take a look at the people around you. Think to yourself, “Thirty percent of the people I see have significant artistic gifts.” That’s three out of ten. And sadly enough, most of them don’t think they have a place in the church. Yet these are the very people that you need, along with your friends, to catalyze and sustain a missional movement. So go over and ask one of them to join you!
Now.
Seriously.
Exponential is the first book in the Exponential Series. Right now through April 30 all Exponential EBooks are on sale for $2.99 wherever ebooks are sold!
“Exponential” Blog tour this week
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
“Exponential” Blog Tour and NFL Draft Day
The Exponential blog tour is right around the corner, June 7-11. The guys behind the book, Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson, created a series of videos that introduce each chapter of Exponential and that tell the story of Community Christian Church. Check out the first one here:
Watching this video immediately makes me ask two questions:
1) Do I really think “I can do it”? Even when God has proven himself faithful?
2) NFL Draft Day is a national holiday?! What would an NFL Draft Day tree look like? Or NFL Draft Day desserts? Presents? Stockings? 
Help choose the cover for Exponential
In April of 2010, the new book from Dave and Jon Ferguson will be releasing to kick off the new Exponential Series at the Exponential Conference. This book is entitled – what else – Exponential. Exponential: How You and Your Friends can Start a Missional Church Movement is the anchor book in the Exponential Series – a partnership between Exponential Network, Leadership Network and Zondervan featuring several signature books each year to tell the reproducing church story, celebrate the diversity of models and approaches God is using to reproduce healthy congregations, and to highlight the innovative practices of healthy reproducing churches.
We are working through the cover design process and would like your help in choosing the cover design. Below are four cover options. Please leave your top choice for cover in the comments section. As a thank you, if you comment and send your mailing address to multisiteroadtrip@zondervan.com I will send you a free pre-release copy of the newest Leadership Network Innovation Series book, A Multi-Site Church Roadtrip (to the first 50 people only).
The voting and free book offer ends Sunday, 20 September. Thanks!
Providing a Second-Rate Worship Experience
My favorite line from chapter 3 of Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing is: ”At Seacoast Church, nothing gets announced if it impacts less than 25 percent of the audience. If sister busybody’s quilting bee is canceling its Thursday meeting because of sister blabbermouth’s goiter operation, they can just call each other.” That’s just funny.
In this chapter Geoff Surratt looks at the worship experience and the importance of making the Sunday celebration worthy of our God. In this chapter Geoff lays out 10 sort of easy ways to improve your weekend experience.
Geoff lists, “Ask the hard questions” first, and this is (to me) the most important. The others will all be easier to tackle with these questions answered. Some of the hard questions to ask are: “What is the purpose of having a service every morning?” and “Who are we trying to reach?” Without answering those questions, issues of music, technology, creativity, preaching, and atmosphere become much more difficult to address.
Another thing Geoff suggests is to see your service through the eyes of a first-time attender. He invites readers to “imagine walking into your church for the first time.” Seeing how we do things through fresh eyes might change how we do some things, or how we say some things. Soliciting new attendee feedback, a perspective from another church, or even using a secret shopper service can help you get a read on what it is like to be a guest at your church.
Without specifically mentioning the book, Geoff references The Big Idea which was written by the team at Community Christian Church. He says, “A great exercise to streamline your weekend service is to sit down with a team immediately following Sunday morning and analyze everything that was said and done. What was the one thing we wanted people to walk away with this weekend?” Many times at church we receive so many different messages, it would be impossible to remember them all, and in the end we forget all of them.
I experienced this last Sunday at my church. I remember hearing about a men’s ministry breakfast, a volunteer fair, needing nursery workers, sign up to join small groups, and a new multi-site campus possibility. I had to sit and think to try and remember what book of the Bible was even talked about (Philemon). I remember that the sermon was titled “Runaway Love,” but cannot recall any takeaways (I probably should have taken notes). Regardless, there were so many things to remember, i forgot one of the most important things.
What advice do you have to offer that will help others avoid providing a second-rate worship experience?
Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing is available in print or as an eBook wherever books are sold.
Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, ChristianBook.com
