Toluu : THINK DIFFERENTLY

THINK DIFFERENTLY

“Christians Are the Worst Tippers Ever.”November 24

I told a story last week at Immersion that made people gasp. It spoke to the notorious stinginess of those who follow Jesus. I couldn’t tell if the gasps were “agreement gasps” (“Oh no you dih’int!”) or “horrified gasps” (In Sunday School, I once saw a little boy pick his nose and munch on his nasal treasure like it was a crisp, autumnal apple or a fistful of Cheetos. That was a horrified gasp moment). But they were gasps nonetheless.

I told the story of how when I used to work in the service industry, waiting tables, no one ever wanted to work Sunday morning brunch. I could never figure it out. Even the hardiest partier could drag themselves out of bed by 10am and paste on a “server smile”. Right?

“What gives?” I thought.

“It’s the Christians,” was the reply from my co-workers. “The Christians always come in on Sunday mornings for brunch after their church service and they don’t tip. At all. Christians are the worst tippers ever.”

When I heard that, it was like a kick in the gut.

Why?

Mostly because it was true. We don’t tip very well. As a ma

BeDeviant.com Interviews Anne Jackson Pt. 1November 21

I’m always looking for people in ministry who share my love for social media. People like Rhett Smith, Tony Steward, Cynthia Ware, and John “Human3rror” Saddington inspire me to dig deeper into what God is whispering through Web 2.0. New mediums like Twitter, Facebook, and UStream.tv, I believe, have yet to fully realize their potential. These people help me to see new ways in which they can be used.

A few weeks ago, I contacted Anne Jackson of FlowerDust.net. Anne’s another one of those “social media ministry” people who get it. She’s got a new book out, “Mad Church Disease“, which takes a look at church burn-out and the toll which ministry can take on individuals. She’s also a whiz at getting people to congregate on her b

The Life of the Internet IntegratedNovember 19

Texas A &M Communications Professor Heidi Campbell says, “Ten years ago not everyone had e-mail accounts. Now most of us find it almost impossible to function without the Internet, whether it comes to banking or doing business or keeping up with friends.” She then goes on to suggest that we should expect no different when it comes to our religious lives. How have you found the macrocosm of the internet making its way into the microcosm of your church? Twitter? YouTube? Webcasting? Online campuses? Or, like Jonathan, are you finding it hard to even get your church to use Microsoft Word? How has the internet affected your religious life?

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

The Simple Church.November 13

Is your church simple? I don’t mean simple as in, “Hey you Simpleton, take that dunce cap off your head and figure it out!” But simple as in, “I know what we’re doing. I know why we’re doing it. And, most importantly, I know how we are going to get it done.” Here’s a taste of simple:

Google has one image, a few links, and a search box on its main page, yet it is responsible for 75% of the searches conducted on the Internet.
Apple’s iPod is one of the best selling pieces of technology of all time, yet it essentially has one big button (scroll wheel plus a select button in the middle) that controls the whole device. There are other devices that have more robust features, but none have managed the simplicity of navigation that Apple has. (This, of course, is to say nothing of the iPod Touch which has no “physical” buttons at all!)
Fast food restaurants like Chick-Fil-A have literally one item on the menu: Chicken. They also have about a bazillion ways in which they prepare said chicken (I know, I counted once), but the point is clear: We do chicken and chicken alone. In a word, simplicity.

Megachurch v. Mini-churchNovember 12

I have so many thoughts about the webinar I attended today, put on by Digital.Leadnet.org, but I’ll save those for another post. There’s a good recap and discussion going on over at Barker Banter and a gem of a recap at Digital. Suffice to say, the mind was officially blown.

I read a newsletter recently from 2002 written by Greg Johnson of the Center for Christian Study. I then promptly sent it out to my leadership team and the leadership team of my church. The whole piece was full of prophetic insight, but my favorite passage discusses what the church has looked like, currently looks like, and will need to look like in order to be effective. Greg Johnson:

1. The church without small groups, which worked fine for congregations of thirty in pre-modern contexts where everyone lived in close proximity, such that shared community life was easier. If small enough, the church essentially was a small group.

2. The church with small groups, where small groups exist as optional extracurricular activities within the church. This is by far the dominant model today.

3. The church as small groups, a more radical community- driven model. Membership is not gained by taking a class or by at