I have been following (via twitter) pastor Shaun King, of Courageous Church in Atlanta, for a few months now.  I am inspired by his story, his call, and his passion to empower others to live the courageous life.  If anyone thinks a life with Christ is supposed to be calm, tranquil, with no conflict, they have another thing coming.

In fact, I wonder sometimes, if we send the world we are evangelizing to, the wrong message. We tell people, “…oh are you hurting? …life feeling hopeless? Try Jesus, and He’ll make all your pain go away, and you’ll live happily ever after.”  No wonder many new believers feel like they’ve been bamboozled by this bait and switch theology.

Shaun is a pastor of a multi-ethnic church who’s mission is “Love God, Love People, Prove it!”  That statement is what characterizes Courageous Church.  Everyone knows about the devastation in Haiti from the earthquakes.  But it’s one thing to know about devastation; it’s another thing to decide to do what you can, with what you have, right where you are to “be” the difference in devastating circumstances.  Shaun King has taken this to a whole new level.  Leveraging the power of social networks (i.e. twitter) Shaun has done more to mobile his network than anyone I know.  Check out how he used Twitter to help Dr. Sanjay Gupta (medical journalist for CNN) get 5 neurosurgeons into Haiti when political red tape left Haiti with zero neurosurgeons available to help the people of Haiti.  Cool stuff!

Any how, that’s not what this post is about.  What I wanted to highlight here is how Courageous Church is dedicated to not just “being the church” abroad, but is just as dedicated to helping those in need, in a relational way, right where they are.  Take a look at the video above (…like you haven’t already).

What will you come up with next to mobilize your church, and your network to BE the church? Please share your stories here!

(This is a re-post from Donald Miller’s Blog)

Next week I’ll be launching a video podcast called All Things Converge in which I interview scholars and entertainers on various subjects. I’ll give you more information soon about where you can sign up for the podcast, but for now I wanted to share with you a bit of an interview I did with Dr. Henry Cloud in which he talks about New Years Resolutions.

Henry Cloud is one of my favorite writers. In this interview he reminds us that people don’t change quickly. Maturity and change take time, and in order to change we have to put ourselves into a context where change can take place. I’ll let Dr. Cloud say it better. Enjoy.

*All Things Converge is a podcast based on a DVD series called Convergence. Convergence is a DVD designed to stimulate conversations for small groups. The Podcast, however, will be free, and cover topics not covered on the DVD.Down Load File

New Years Resolutions – All Things Converge Podcast preview from All Things Converge Podcast on Vimeo.

Happy New Year!

There is something about the New Year that brings with it a renewed sense of hope and possibility.  I can not put my finger on “why” this is exactly, but I am reminded of a verse in Isaiah (Is 40:31) that reads,” but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  It would not surprise me a bit to  find out one of the reasons God created seasons was to give us physical metaphors and reminders of renewal.  His very ministry to humanity is founded on “renewal!”  If anyone is in Christ, ‘…he is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17)

With each new year our Lord gives us new opportunity!  That is why I am excited personally, and that is what excites me with what God would allow us to accomplish together through Dream Of Destiny in 2010.  What we want to achieve has not been, to my knowledge, accomplished before in the history of the Stone/ Cambell, Restoration movement.

By the fall of 2011 Dream Of Destiny seeks to help at least 250 students of diverse, ethnic background attend bible college or seminary. Why students of “diversity”? For a few reasons:

Fix cost of college had increased dramatically and continue to increase every year.
The per-student cost is higher at smaller schools since the costs are distributed among fewer students.
In general, college enrollment has historically increased during a recession, until now. The tightening of credit requirement and student loans has made it very difficult for students to secure financial aid.  EVEN LESS AFRICAN AMERICAN, ASIAN, AND LATINO are enrolling in bible college.  As America continues to increase in its diversity, we MUST find a way to prepare the next generation of diverse leaders to minister to meet the needs of America.
As Europe has trended, the US is experiencing a mass secularization of general thought by the younger generations, including Christians in high school.

Relativism is in, absolutes are out.
Students are finding it less and less compelling to choose more expensive, private bible college over it’s larger, less expensive, public competitors.

While cross cultural studies and missions exist at most bible colleges, ethnic and cultural diversity in it’s student body and faculty does not.

Every year the cultural landscape on bible college campuses looses pace with the changing diverse cultural landscape of society, rendering bible college more irrelevant and outdated in the minds of students more than ever before.

Yet it’s more important than ever to help next generation leaders NOW by helping more students of diverse ethnic backgrounds attend bible college and seminary.

That’s why we are asking you to partner with Dream Of Destiny!
Dream of Destiny desires to help make attending bible college viable for more students who represent ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Dream Of Destiny is committed to doing it’s part in reversing these trends, but we need your help.

If just 250 churches within our brotherhood, each, decided to scholarship one student we reach our goal.
If just 500 ministries, out of the 5000 within our association, decided to scholarship half of one students scholarship,
we reach our goal.  While it has never been done before, this goal is very achievable.
We just have to be intentional!

Will you start off the New Year by being a Destiny Leader and help this goal happen?
Over the next 52 weeks will you be a part of making this dream come true for 250 students?
What will you do with your next 52?

Please click the link below and make a pledge to help students to bible college!
http://new.dreamofdestiny.org/donate-or-pledge/

Teamwork is the Only thing that will make this DREAM WORK!

This post is a re-post from John Saddington, over at ChurchChurch. This blog post launched a myriad of ideas and questions in my mind, when it comes to reaching the “unchurched”  and the diverse landscape of our changing America.  A lot of good and healthy questions!  I decided to share this blog post with you. Enjoy!

“MySpace is nothing like it used to be.

It’s a nuclear disaster. It’s a stain in Silicon Valley of a hopeful-gone-terribly-wrong and it’s loss of online equity, prominence, and fame is legendary. It’s the butt of too many jokes to count and the platform technology is becoming even more laughable as time marches on.

It’s old, outdated, all but abandoned, neglected, forgotten, and definitely passed over. I haven’t signed in to the service in over a year; in fact, it’ll be 2 years this coming January, and I plan on staying out indefinitely. Their product is stagnant, senior management is bailing, and the future looks desperately dark.

But want to know something scary? The above doesn’t sound too far from the Church and some local congregations may find themselves in the same metaphorical boat: Loss of attendance, neglected, forgotten, with very few new visitors. Sounds like the death knell to me!

So what can the Church learn from MySpace? Here’s my technological perspective on five things that the Church could take notice of and learn from one of the biggest falls in high tech history:
1. Pride Comes Before the Fall

In 2008 Murdoch told the world that MySpace would easily break 1 Billion in target revenue. This not only stunned the world but also the executive team. It was outrageous, a boast that represented a blind attitude that this was the future of social networking. Too much was banked on an industry that was un-bankable.

They missed that target. Big time.

Regardless of what was done and predicted and what wasn’t done (or should have been done) the fact is that no one can really adequately predict the success of web technology and products in the high tech space. No one.

And the Church should take note. Remember that your strategy, especially your web strategy, is not a tool nor a piece of technology. Don’t force your leadership or ministries to put all their eggs in one basket and promise the world significant change and improvement through a tool.
2. You Must Stay Nimble, Flexible

It has been documented in more areas that News Corp would like that MySpace was the best darn thing that the internet has ever created (not in those exact words, but essentially) and how competition to the likes of Facebook, etc. was nothing.

They were wrong. MySpace has since, of course, given up the race with Facebook and has accepted it’s decreasing valuation and traffic as truth.

Users have abandoned the site not because it wasn’t a neat place to hang out but because the technology wasn’t able to keep the pace of the changes within the space. What was once a nimble and non-bureaucratic system became bloated with leadership, ego, and communication-guile.

The Church needs to make sure that they can stay nimble and limit the amount of red tape that may exist from a technological perspective. This is absolutely necessary to be, and stay, effective in this new online landscape and culture.

This, of course, does not mean that the Church must be bleeding edge, but that leadership and ego doesn’t get in the way of continuing to advance forward. Stay nimble, stay humble, and don’t for a minute believe that you’re in any competition with other ministries.
3. It Takes the Right Mix of Leadership

When the purchase was finalized of Intermix (the parent company of MySpace) and the acquisition done Murdoch put one of his most trusted lieutenants in charge: Ross Levinsohn. Ross had a great background with the likes of Alta-Vista, and knew the space well (or at least Murdoch thought so).

The problem was that before the ink was dry Levinsohn having “issues” with DeWolfe and Anderson, the two co-founders of MySpace. They were world’s apart in terms of vision for the site and has been oft-said that DeWolfe and Anderson never really liked being told what to do.

Leading well in the technology space requires the right people first, talent second. You see, you can always hire the latter, and fill in the gaps necessary, but the right type of leadership is required to be successful.

The Church needs to be aware that it’s quite possible that the current leadership isn’t the right leadership to lead that ministry into the tech space. This could mean some significant changes and challenge the way in which we lead in those areas.

Levinsohn made a calculated error on the way in which he lead MySpace and the cost was great. In fact, for a large part, it was simply based on a difference of focus. He eventually had to leave.
4. Shared Vision and Focus

Levinsohn, to his credit, was a phenomenal businessman. He made Fox Interactive Media money. He did it well and he pleased his boss.

The problem was that money was the chief end of what MySpace became: a channel of dollars for partner businesses, Google, and other advertisers. What their focus should have been user experience.

It didn’t require a degree in rocket science to begin to see the rapid decline of the user experience as more advertising space was created, and filled, in every single page on MySpace. In fact, the user experience had now become subordinate to ad slots with weight-loss products rather than anything else.

The management team (and the developers) didn’t share the same vision (or core values). The product became a mess, and pressures like the 1 Billion sales mark didn’t help either. What was nimble, responsive, and fair to the community became sluggish, biased, and hell-bent on green.

They simply didn’t have a shared vision and focus and the Church knows far too well what happens when differences like this arise. The Church has been about the people, building relationships, and meeting the needs of those in pain; our web products should continue to do just that.
5. Continued Interest by Leadership

Murdoch had made the buy with as much flair and fanfare possible. His research was sound, execution well-played, and his interest was obvious. He and DeWolfe went to trade shows, conferences, and events touting the future of online and how MySpace was going to be the arbiter.

But it didn’t last.

In 2007 Murdoch purchased Dow Jones, and it was obvious the interest, time, and attention by the person who made it all happen was gone. DeWolfe himself had become the internet playboy of the digital age and tensions had already been noted that his ego was getting in the way of the product advancing.

The Church’s future doesn’t sit with web technology alone, but it sure is important, and it’s going to require an increased fascination and dedication to it as a serious communication channel if we’re ever going to fully realize it’s full potential.

Leaders must commit themselves, their ministries, and their congregations to investing in the online space and must engender a sustainable model to become effective long term. Don’t drop interest like Murdoch.
Where Now?

I must admit that, to be fair, this type of flame-on/flame-off story isn’t anything new, and to give credit where credit is due it’s really because MySpace had not only the potential to become a giant but because it was also the first to show that type of potential.

Why else would Uncle Rupert have purchased it?

But they executed poorly and their vision was limited. And the future doesn’t look too bright for MySpace (although anything can happen).

The Church, though, has far longer and deeper history than any web product, and has proven its worth to shine brightly through even the darkest of times. But we can always learn more, and learn we must.”

John is the Senior Editor @ ChurchCrunch and Chief Blog Junkie. He enjoys Triple-Tall Americanos, Twitter, and a few other random things.

Unity Through Diversity!