Monvee: weird name, amazing tool

I first heard about Monvee through a Catalyst lab led by John Ortberg this past October. John was promoting his new book, The Me I Want to Be and shared how this online resource dovetailed nicely with the concepts in his book. Monvee sounded like a swiss army knife for spiritual growth so I had to check it out. I was blown away by what I saw.

In my church, I am over the areas of discipleship and assimilation, so I’m always on the lookout for great resources. One of the areas where we have been weak as a church is in helping people connect with ministry opportunities that would fit them best. We will promote spots that need filling, but don’t always do a good job of making sure that they are filled with the right person. And although we’ve been offering much more discipleship options, they have mainly been in a shotgun approach – throwing out topical classes and hoping people will be interested enough to attend.

I talked with a representative to see how their program would benefit us and found that Monvee spoke to those issues and more. When a church rolls out the program (which we will do by preaching the Me I Want to Be 5 week series) they will offer all their attendees access to the quick (10 minute) online survey. The survey will assess how they learn, how they connect with God, show their main hangups in their spiritual walk, and give them a Bible character that they closely relate to based on their answers. Individuals wanting to take the next step can buy a kit which will give them an online program for spiritual development. It’s like a personal spiritual trainer. The site has videos that explain how the program works, and I can’t wait to roll it out to our folks.

One of the added benefits for our staff is that we get aggregate data on our folks that will help us know what to preach on, what discipleship classes to offer and how to better connect our people with their passion and our ministry needs! Check it out and get on the Monvee bandwagon.

Leadership: The hard look

“The fish rots from the head down.”

If this quote resonates when you think about your boss, but doesn’t seem to apply when you think about those under your leadership…it’s time to have an honest talk with yourself.

But how do you dig under the surface of your leadership defaults in order to distinguish the diamonds from the rocks?

There’s an AA saying, “you spot it, you got it.” Start with the task of appraising the leadership practices of your boss. What would you do differently if you were in his or her position? What actions (or inaction) on their part produce insufficient or unhealthy results? This part is easy, it’s human nature to armchair quarterback. We don’t have to be trained in back seat driving. Unfortunately, this is as far as most of us are willing to go. We make uninformed judgments on how things would be different if we were calling the shots. This phenomenon is easily seen in the political arena, as newcomers promise the moon before they understand the give and take necessary for getting anything done in our government.

So, let’s say you’re one of the few leaders willing to take the next step. It’s time to begin the more difficult and unpleasant chore of pealing the layer of your critique off of your supervisor and placing it on top of your own leadership skills.  If you’re fortunate, you have a friend, co-worker or spouse who can be honest in helping you see where the critiques match up. In those cases, you’re fortunate in that you’ve already figured out how you can improve your deficiencies. You solved those when you were expounding on how you would do things differently. Simply switch the names. Instead of your boss’ name, insert your own.

Our faults and shortcomings in leadership are typically only elusive to us. Fortunately, you have folks under you who think they could do a much better job than you. Take them out to lunch and give them your ear. It will help you grow, and might even give you a different perspective on your boss.

Best + Best + Best = Frustration

When big companies with great products don’t play well together, they risk losing fanatics and evangelists.
I love my mac book pro. I love the Google platform. I love my new droid x. I hate how they turn my world upside down when they don’t sync together easily.
I was in near fetal position yesterday after a week of researching forums, perusing endless apps and resigning myself to the probability that I’ll have to ditch Entourage which is a far better program than iCal, Mail, and Address Book combined.
Some companies apparently haven’t embraced the idea that making products accessible to many other platforms increases customer appreciation and loyalty. I love my Macbook Pro (but I don’t want an iphone). I love Google platform (but I want it to sync with Entourage – calendar AND tasks). I love Microsoft Entourage (but I don’t want a PC). I love my Droid X (but I want it to be an extension of my productivity tools, not just a way to play Angry Birds).
We want the freedom to pick and choose our favorites without a huge hassle. Apple, Google, Microsoft, don’t lose traction by making us go to sketchy 3rd party work-arounds.
Am I missing something? Do you have similar frustrations?

The Butterfly Circus

This short film by Joshua Weigel is an inspiring piece that has reminded me to help others reach their best instead of focusing on their weaknesses and inadequacies.

Inventor’s 2020 vision: to help 1bn of the world’s poorest see better

Professor pioneers DIY adjustable glasses that do not need an optician

http://www.notcot.org/post/17555/

you can also see Josh Silver discuss his invention on the TED podcast.

Let them Stink

The people leading thousands in worship today were once untalented, undisciplined kids making a racket in their youth group because a leader let them.
Most of us in student ministry don’t have the budget or the draw to get Chris Tomlin to lead worship in our youth group. But we can give tomorrow’s Chris Tomlin his start today.
Maybe one of the most important things we can do with students is provide a safe atmosphere for them to try new things that might just lead to a real gift to the world and God’s kingdom down the road.
The truth is, with changes in technology and media, they can just as easily grow in talent without the church and we would have missed a great opportunity.
So let the wild ruckus begin!

Dan Miller’s Thoughts on Wisdom

Dan Miller shares some great thoughts on the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Check it out.

Thoughts on reaching a new generation for Christ

We shouldn’t complain when a newer competing program is more effective than an older one. Sometimes the only way to see that you’re riding a dead horse is to have a living horse next to it.

What are the new needs and how are we meeting them as a vehicle to the truth? what are the needs of the past that we are trying to meet (that are no longer needs). Many times tradition is answering needs that no longer exist.

Everyone has an obstinate child in them that rebels against rules.  The Church in the past has been great to answer the what (Bible knowledge) and that was just fine *(they were okay with “God says it, that settles it”). The church is doing better with the how (application). But the younger generation is more pragmatic and less tied to the church and scripture as authority. They need to first be approached with the why. If we don’t answer the why, they will not care about the what and will not practice the how.

Older men and women in the church should not fear that new ideas and methods will relegate them to obscurity; but should realize that their roles have shifted, according to scripture, as mentors to the young. They play a crucial role in the growth of the church. It has been said that children are the future of the church. I would contend that the elderly and thier response to change and their shifting roles determine the future of the church.

Where the Wild Things Are

I’m so excited about the making of “Where the Wild Things Are.” This is one of my favorite books as a kid and the previews of the movie look as magical as the story in book form. I can’t wait to get immersed into Maurice Sendak’s world of monsters – and to introduce that world to my kids. They have such wonderful imaginations already. I can’t wait to share this with them. I am curious as to what they will do to flesh the story into a full length film. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the preview. See if it doesn’t give you chills!

Tech Backlash

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on my site. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve read anyone else’s posts. In fact, I’ve slowed down dramatically in listening to podcasts and even reading. I go through cycles of hitting a wall where I feel oversaturated and I need to step back and experience some quiet. During these times I just want to read/listen to a novel, or read a quick article in a magazine. One of the articles I just read (I can’t remember if it was WIRED or Entrepreneur) about Twitter regret – or feeling guilty about not being diligent in one’s post. I certainly resonated with that.
A month ago I got to go to a luncheon where Gabe Lyons was speaking about his book Unchristian. He used the term “digital pollution” and nailed me between the eyes. We get so busy and occupied with Facebook, itunes, blogging, etc. that at some point it just becomes white noise. We become overwhelmed and over saturated and we can’t process any more. He made a great point – that any new technology takes the place of something else.
In fact, he used the illustration of blogging. When someone starts a blog and posts fairly regularly, they tend to give up journalling. When this happens, we rob ourselves of the self talk and processing that takes place in journalling. And many times because of this we tend to post ideas and sentiments that we haven’t fully thought through. This can be at least a poorly communicated idea, and at worst a venomous rant. He has a point. I have saved myself embarrassment, stressed relationships and even my job by processing my thoughts in my journal. Those thoughts typically have no place on a blog. So I guess, it lets me off the hook a bit.
I’ll continue to post, but not feel that I have to put one out every week.
I don’t need to feel guilty if I’m not keeping up with every Kawasaki, Godin, Greoschel, or Ruggles blog entry. And I will make sure that journalling takes precedent over any of these technologies.