Telling the Story

Hi, all:
I intentionally took a break at Christms. I didn't intend for it to last this long - and there are a variety of uninteresting reasons I took a longer break, but I'm back.

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I was reading this morning in Generosity Rising by Scott McKenszie.  This sentence, from a millenial in an open letter explaining why he does not give to the church, struck me:  "Are you [the church] building the kingdom? Or are you building your kingdom?"

McKensie's premise is that the church IS building the kingdom, but it is not telling the story of HOW.

As the communication coordinator for my church, this started me thinking. How do we tell the story? I know, from the work I do, that the STORY is what convinces people to give. Do we tell the story?

Do we, as a church, tell the story of how the church is changing the world? Do we tell the story, as individuals, of how God is changing our lives?

Terry said on Sunday - we are the only evidence that some people will ever see that God exists.  Are we convincing?

Team: Ready, Set, Recruit

Are you ready to recruit your team? How do you do it?

1. Define what gifts and talents are necessary for the job you are about to undertake. Don't fall back on assumptions. For example, in your church, do you always recruit bankers for the finance committee? What work will the finance committee need to do? Will it need to communicate about stewardship with the congregation in addition to monitoring spending? Then you need people with different gifts.  Are you recruiting a team of people to explore why Sunday school is failing? Don't just include those who attend Sunday school - find people who don't and see what they can contribute.  What gifts do the team members need to bring?
2. Be honest about the expectations of service as a member of the team. How often have you been asked to serve on a committee, to be told that the group doesn't meet very often, and if they do, you could miss the meetings? Be honest about the expectations of service, and then share them. 
3. Know the vision - and share it. Are you excited about the vision you have defined? Is it important (if it's not, then why are you doing this?). Share the vision. Find people who are as excited about it as you are.

God's blessings as you build your team!

Team: Start with Yourself

As I planned the lesson I talked about yesterday, the following song came to mind (it's written by Glen Ballard and sung by Michael Jackson):

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

If you are building a team for a vision that is important enough that God has called you to lead the effort, then the first place to start is with yourself.  

What change do you need to make in your life in order for you to lead the team you are trying to form?

Are you trying to form a team to lead an evangelism revolution in your church? Do you invite people to know Christ? Make a change.

Are you trying to form a team to discern God's vision for your church? Is your heart and mind open to whatever the answer will be? Make a change.

Are you about to lead a team to recruit new officers for the church? Does that team need to lead a revolution, asking new people to serve? Seeking officers with unexplored gifts? Are you willing to ask the hard questions of yourself? Make a change.

Team: What's the Vision?

A few weeks ago I taught a Sunday school lesson using the book Generosity Rising by Scott McKensie. The chapter I used as the basis of the lesson was chapter two, and it's theme was how to build a revolutionary team for a generosity ministry in a church. As I taught it, I thought much of the lesson could apply to any team any of us are building. 

First, it is important to define what your team's mission will be. Do this before you form the team. 

What change is God calling you to lead? What is this team supposed to do?

To often I have seen teams that are formed only because we've always had a team assigned to this particular task, and with no goals at all. The goal seems to meet, so we have meetings. How does that change the world or start a revolution?

What change is God calling you to lead? Define it. And then decide if the change you are trying to bring about is important. Is it necessary? Is it life changing? Does it bring us closer to the Kingdom of God? Is God in it at all?

If you can answer yes, and if you can define the vision, then you are one step closer to forming a team.