I run across blogs every now and again sharing what the author is currently reading. At first I was like come on, no one cares what you're reading. However over time I've found those type of post to be helpful for me. Many times I'll hear of a book because of a blog and when I read it I realize that it has blessed me so much. There is wisdom is casting a broad net when looking for resources to enhance your leadership ability, ministry savy and relational gravitas.
So here is my current reading list:
The Me I Want To Be by John Ortberg
I Quit by Gerri Scazzero
Visioneering by Andy Stanley
Lost and Found by Ed Stetzer
Prayer: The Timeless Sceret of High-Impact Leaders by Dave Early
What are you currently reading?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Nintendo, Small Groups, and the Reset Button
When I was little Santa gave me a Nintendo with a free game, Super Mario Brothers! My brother and I played Super Mario Brothers day in and day out without stopping. It was awesome! We even had our friends over and had tournaments to see who could get the farthest, the fastest. I look back and realized that it was in moments such as those that many of my friendships grew strong roots that to this day have not been severed.
Yet, over time guess what we had to do? Come on, you know the answer. That's right, we had to begin a ritual in order to get the silly Nintendo to work! First, I would blow on the game like a harmonica, then I would blow into the interior of the game holder, then I would insert the game and rapidly bounce it up and down 6 times before forcefully pushing it into position so it would lock. Amazing. Every time it seemed to work!
But sometimes, that procedure didn't work. Sometimes, I had to focus on the console itself. I had to complete the installation ritual, then hit reset. Once I hit reset, it was a failsafe...instant gratification baby! On and on we played with that Nintendo until we eventually got a Sega. Why? Because the Nintendo no longer met our needs. The Sega became a better fit for me and my brother. Hm.
I've found that small group ministry is often similar to my experience with the Nintendo. It works well for a while and it serves as a vehicle for spiritual transformation and community but over time due to the wear and tear of life on the participants, it no longer works on its own, but rather needs some help. So we go out and begin the "Nintendo ritual" on our small group ministry. We go and infuse our leaders with more encouragement, more skill-training, refresh our marketing etc. And this even works for a while!
Yet, after a semester or two we come to the realization that it's not working any more. The participation is stagnating, groups are veering from our vision, our coaches are buckling under life's responsibilities, and we as point leaders are always frustrated. So what do we do?
I've recently found it not only helpful, but liberating to put a name on what's going on. What we're doing no longer works! Let's hit the "reset button" and start anew! I know some leaders may have a problem with this because we must admit that we're not as good as Gladen, Donahue or Willits but find solace in the words of Henry Cloud: our model should work for us, we should never work for our model.
Willits and Stanley write in their book Creating Community "Like every living thing, every group has a life cycle." and that true for ministry models as well. So, as you go about leading your people to community I pray that you are senstive to ministry needs and have the courage to hit the reset button...because at some point the model's we have in place will no longer be relevant.
Experience the adventure of starting with white sheet of paper!
JR
Yet, over time guess what we had to do? Come on, you know the answer. That's right, we had to begin a ritual in order to get the silly Nintendo to work! First, I would blow on the game like a harmonica, then I would blow into the interior of the game holder, then I would insert the game and rapidly bounce it up and down 6 times before forcefully pushing it into position so it would lock. Amazing. Every time it seemed to work!
But sometimes, that procedure didn't work. Sometimes, I had to focus on the console itself. I had to complete the installation ritual, then hit reset. Once I hit reset, it was a failsafe...instant gratification baby! On and on we played with that Nintendo until we eventually got a Sega. Why? Because the Nintendo no longer met our needs. The Sega became a better fit for me and my brother. Hm.
I've found that small group ministry is often similar to my experience with the Nintendo. It works well for a while and it serves as a vehicle for spiritual transformation and community but over time due to the wear and tear of life on the participants, it no longer works on its own, but rather needs some help. So we go out and begin the "Nintendo ritual" on our small group ministry. We go and infuse our leaders with more encouragement, more skill-training, refresh our marketing etc. And this even works for a while!
Yet, after a semester or two we come to the realization that it's not working any more. The participation is stagnating, groups are veering from our vision, our coaches are buckling under life's responsibilities, and we as point leaders are always frustrated. So what do we do?
I've recently found it not only helpful, but liberating to put a name on what's going on. What we're doing no longer works! Let's hit the "reset button" and start anew! I know some leaders may have a problem with this because we must admit that we're not as good as Gladen, Donahue or Willits but find solace in the words of Henry Cloud: our model should work for us, we should never work for our model.
Willits and Stanley write in their book Creating Community "Like every living thing, every group has a life cycle." and that true for ministry models as well. So, as you go about leading your people to community I pray that you are senstive to ministry needs and have the courage to hit the reset button...because at some point the model's we have in place will no longer be relevant.
Experience the adventure of starting with white sheet of paper!
JR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)