Comments for glocalnet

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Daredevil Sons & Daughters by Bob Roberts Jr.

Fri, 16 May 2008 20:10:41 +0000

Kevin - they don’t come any better than a Colo’n! If they can be in a team, it’s even better Randy BUT, I want those 4 things in all of them - different doses OK.

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Daredevil Sons & Daughters by Randy Ehle

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:36:35 +0000

Wise words again, Bob - especially to the NFL player. On the planter profiles, do you look for all of those to reside in a single person, or are those characteristics that could be present in a church planting team? On one hand, I see a huge correlation in those; e.g., someone who reads widely is likely to see things others don’t, talk to other people about it, and take action to do something about what they’ve read or seen. But what if you were to have a team (2-3 people) with some overlapping and some complementary traits. For example, what if Peter is an entrepreneur and evangelist, Paul is a mystic and designer, and Mary is a mystic and evangelist - could those three be the nucleus of a “successful” (or maybe better, a “well-positioned”) church plant?

[In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m trying to place myself in this transforming work. I’m probably more the mystic/designer by your definitions, but I see myself as a strong second to a visionary leader - someone who could round out a team and help put hands and feet to the vision.]

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Daredevil Sons & Daughters by kc

Fri, 16 May 2008 15:52:36 +0000

Thanks for seeing that stuff in me before I saw it in myself….

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Mentoring Young Leaders by Randy Ehle

Thu, 15 May 2008 01:03:25 +0000

Bobby, it’s not so much that I’m waiting to be mentored - or that I’m avoiding mentoring someone myself - it’s more a matter of time commitments, and credibility. That’s part of the challenge of making a major mid-life change; on top of being a husband and father to three kids (5, 8, & 13), working full time, and being involved in a variety of church activities, I am also now a seminary student. That’s the time challenge; the credibility challenge comes from “others”, and is primarily derived from the fact that we moved 1000 miles to attend seminary and now find that we have to “prove” ourselves to our adopted church community - a frustratingly-slow process.

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Mentoring Young Leaders by Bobby

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:14:46 +0000

Randy,
Just a question, but why are you waiting to be mentored? Why not mentor someone with all that life experience you have? Don’t wait any longer to get in the game! You have so much to offer (even without a seminary degree… or maybe even especially without a seminary degree)!

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Mentoring Young Leaders by Randy Ehle

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:10:19 +0000

I went to an American high school in Germany - small (300 students 7-12) and 40% non-Americans - so in spite of being athletically average, I was able to play varsity football and soccer throughout high school. My senior year I decided to try out for basketball, which I hadn’t played (on a team) since probably 5th grade. I didn’t make the team, because - as the coach told me - if he’s going to play a rookie, he wants it to be someone he can work with for 3-4 years. Makes sense in high school sports - even for a small school, and especially one with a historically strong basketball team.

Fast forward a quarter of a century, and I feel like I’m in very much the same position: I have 20+ years of lay ministry leadership experience, almost 20 years of professional work experience, and have (finally!) responded to what I believe is God’s call toward full-time church ministry by enrolling in an MDiv program in seminary. (Which I really enjoy, even just one class at a time!) But I often feel like I’m a high school senior trying out for the basketball team: too old to be a rookie but no “professional pastor experience” to get a role in an established church.

Maybe I am just crying out (whining?!) to God to give me the chance to participate alongside these young, passionate up-and-coming leaders. I want to have a part in this transformation that begins with individuals, impacts the church, and flows over into the world. Maybe I just would add a couple notes to your list:

8) Don’t neglect those middle-aged folks who have seen the good, bad, and ugly of church-as-we-know-it. Give them a chance to bring their “secular” and “lay” experience to bear on the process of transformation…’cause I think they (we) have much to offer.

9) To you passionate young (20- & 30-something) leaders out to change the world: don’t write off those “ancient” 45-year-olds believing that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Contrary to popular belief, you may not actually know everything, and could probably benefit greatly from the experience of those who really have seen the good, bad, and ugly of church-as-we-know-it…and who can cull out the good; or, to use more biblical terminology, can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Comment on TMC - Highlight #7 - Mentoring Young Leaders by Aaron Snow

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:08:43 +0000

You did these things for me, Bob. I can never thank you enough! Keep rockin’.

Comment on TMC - Highlight #6 - Starting Transformational Churches by Randy Chestnut

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:51:53 +0000

Great dialogue! I have heard Reggie McNeal (and others) say we need to develop a new “scorecard”. Much of what we measure are the aggregate (total attendance, total baptisms, total giving, etc…) without looking at the life transformation of the individual. Also, we tend to measure what happens “in house” with little consideration of the impact our churches are having in their community and around the world.

Albert Winseman’s book “Growing an Engaged Church” is also a good read on this topic.

Comment on TMC - Highlight #6 - Starting Transformational Churches by Aaron Saufley

Wed, 14 May 2008 03:59:33 +0000

Just to build a bit on Aaron’s point about resetting our defaults and getting back to Scripture for our definitions…

We only see two cases in the New Testament where our western notion of success–specific numerical growth–are mentioned: Pentecost’s 3,000 in Acts 2 (which, for a Jewish readership, would lead them back to the 3,000 deaths at Sinai), and the 5,000 men in Acts 4:4. That’s it. The only other indications of growth are just that–a statement that people became Christians.

But what do we see in the rest of the Scriptures? Imitation of Jesus is success; imitation of leaders who imitated Jesus is success. I love Paul’s opening words in 1 Thessalonians–these young Christians weren’t praised for how many new butts were in the seats on Sundays, but for their “work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Success is Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-empowered life transformation that is lived out every single day, in such a radical way that people notice and (as Acts 2:47 says of the new church’s life), have favor among the people.

Comment on TMC - Highlight #6 - Starting Transformational Churches by Bob Roberts

Tue, 13 May 2008 21:03:54 +0000

Really good point Aaron