Archive for November, 2006
Arctic Blast hits Dallas
The local news this morning alarmed in big bold red letter, “Arctic Blast,” as the southbound interstate in front of my hotel was shut down for hours when a tractor trailer flipped over on the icy roads. The temperature has dropped almost 40 degrees overnight, but it’s not That Cold. Come on, it’s in the 30s, a little ice and sleet on the roads, not that hard to maneuver, and nowheres near Arctic cold. Now, explorer Ben Saunders would know what cold really is – his TED talk about solo skiing across the North Pole was most inspiring!
So, been on the phone for 4 hours, after 2.5 full days of liveblogging. Loved finding out what’s happening with 2 churches that are responding to the move of the Spirit in personal transformation and empowering leaders. Shared an overview of the self-publishing print-on-demand process I’ve gone through 2x this year with someone who might use that process to get a book published. Checked-in with a colleague on a forthcoming blog on leadership books. Launch date is December 11th, and we’re on schedule. And, dinner in 15 minutes with Jason “el mol” Mitchell. Life is good – and I’m wearing one of their long sleeve tees today too!
free conference for church planters
Yes, it really is free. I was so excited to see this, and I’m sure many church planters would be happy about this too!
Journey Church (NYC) Hosting Free Church Planting Conference
In conjunction with the release of the book Launch: Starting a New Church From Scratch, authors and pastors Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas of The Journey Church will host a free National Church Planting Conference, January 22-23, 2007 in metro New York City.
During this two-day event at The Korean Church of Queens, Nelson and Kerrick will explore from scratch to success in launching a new church. The conference is designed for church planters, pastors and church leaders planning to start a new church or anyone looking for the latest insight into church planting success.
Nelson started The Journey Church of the City in New York, NY in 2002. The congregation has grown from a handful of people to more than 1,000. The Journey is an innovative, multicultural church in Manhattan and is one of the fastest-growing churches in the Northeast.
The conference is FREE with RSVP at the website ($35 at the door). For questions, contact Lauren at (212) 730-8300 x212 or lauren[at]nyjourney.com.
For my church planting friends in DC (or Philly or Boston), you can hop on a Chinatown bus to get to New York City on the cheap. I’m thinking about doing a 1-day trip to NYC myself to celebrate Joseph Tsang’s ordination (a long time a coming!), but haven’t decided yet.
[update 12/7] found another one, hosted by Pastor Ron Sylvia (who I’d met in Oregon in October, great guy) –
FREE “Starting Churches on Purpose: Strategies for the 21st Century” Conference – Tues & Wed, Feb 27 & 28, 2007 in Ocala, Florida (note: $15 fee per person during registration to cover the cost of snacks and drinks)
A successful purpose-driven church is launched, not planted. Every stage of a new church is essential for a successful launch and each of the five stages of a new church should be fully understood and developed for a successful first year and beyond. This conference begins with the drawing board and takes you through developing an actual weekend service: from dreaming about to actually leading a church that impacts this generation. This conference will take you from the drawing board to developing an actual weekend service, and it is a great opportunity for you to bring your entire team! For planning and registration control, there is a $15 registration fee per person to cover the cost of snacks and drinks.
managing processes in church
I don’t have a handy link to such a resource, and I’m just ramping up with my Leadership Network work, so I don’t know the best resources right off. But I do know that it takes processes and infrastructures to run a church, especially as a church grows in size. I hope you can help us find some helpful resources that would address this topic. I’m posting this inquiry with permission, and we both would appreciate your help in locating this specific Keller article, as well as other related articles and books.
From: Rebecca Chapman
Message: I was given a copy of a Tim Keller article some time back called ‘Process-Managing- church size’. I’ve since lost that article, but have not been able to find it again. Could you help me? It’s about the challenges that churches may encounter depending on their size.
nobody knows the Christians I see
Rick Warren who? 72% of Americans haven’t heard of this best-selling author; 63% of Christians haven’t heard of him. James Dobson who? T.D. Jakes who? Tim LaHaye who? Joel Osteen who? According to the latest Barna Update, Major Christian Leaders Are Widely Unknown, Even Among Christians. The email teaser also noted this ethnic distinction: “This week’s update shows that black Christians are more in-tune with their spiritual leaders than are white, Hispanic or Asian Christians.”
Maybe Christian people have heard of Jesus Christ or Billy Graham, at best, but the majority don’t know who’s who. The majority seem to only know celebrities and politicians. And if you’ve seen one of those Jay Leno street interviews, many people don’t even know who is the Vice President or Speaker of the House. Plain clueless. Don’t even try asking them about a blog or podcast.
why Santa wears red
No, Santa’s not part of the Red campaign. I heard on the morning radio with Casey Kasem that Santa Claus was a popular folk lore for decades, dressed in blue or yellow, often skinny and tall. And then in 1931, Coca-Cola did an ad campaign with a chubby red-suited Santa Claus, which matches the Coca-Cola colors, and now it’s become part of pop culture. The power of advertising at work — not only is the Coke brand (one of?) the most recognized around the world, it’s also shaped the image of Santa Claus as we know it.
This excerpt is from the Coca-Cola website:
Most people can agree on what Santa Claus looks like — jolly, with a red suit and a white beard. But he did not always look that way, and Coca-Cola® advertising actually helped shape this modern-day image of Santa.
2006 marks the 75th anniversary of the famous Coca-Cola Santa Claus. Starting in 1931, magazine ads for Coca-Cola featured St. Nick as a kind, jolly man in a red suit. Because magazines were so widely viewed, and because this image of Santa appeared for more than three decades, the image of Santa most people have today is largely based on our advertising.
But the crack research team at Snopes deconstructs the legend and declares it not entirely true:
This legend is not true. Although some versions of the Santa Claus figure still had him attired in various colors of outfits past the beginning of the 20th century, the jolly, ruddy, sack-carrying Santa with a red suit and flowing white whiskers had become the standard image of Santa Claus by the 1920s, several years before Sundlom drew his first Santa illustration for Coca-Cola. As The New York Times reported on 27 November 1927: “A standardized Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardized, as are the red garments, the hood and the white whiskers. The pack full of toys, ruddy cheeks and nose, bushy eyebrows and a jolly, paunchy effect are also inevitable parts of the requisite make-up.” … All this isn’t to say that Coca-Cola didn’t have anything to do with cementing that image of Santa Claus in the public consciousness. The Santa image may have been standardized before Coca-Cola adopted it for their advertisements, but Coca-Cola had a great deal to do with establishing Santa Claus as a ubiquitous Christmas figure in America at a time when the holiday was still making the transition from a religious observance to a largely secular and highly commercial celebration. I
Now I’m off for Dallas for 10 days…