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17 Career Lessons from IDEO's David Kelley
"The greatest responsibility of any leader is to make new leaders." & "Do not allow hierarchy and status into your teams, and your workplace because it will destroy collaboration." & more

6 Areas of Clear And Effective Communication In Web Design
by Smashing Magazine

Top 50 Countries that Persecute Christians
(1) North Korea (2) Saudi Arabia (3) Iran (4) Afghanistan (5) Somalia (6) Maldives (7) Yemen (via)

Which Religions Believe in Evolution?
The Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that views on evolution differ widely across religious groups.

U.S. Facebook Users by Age
Women over 55 are the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook. (via)

Kids Are Growing Up Faster
They're kids for a shorter period of time. More is expected of them academically, responsibility-wise. Tweens have their own sense of fashion in a way we didn't have before and their own parts of the popular culture targeted toward them. How will this shape their personalities? Time will tell. We don't know.

13 Tips for Good Blogging
(1) Pick a Unique Topic (2) Develop a Unique Voice (3) Design (4) Useful Content (5) Be Prolific (6) Love Your Readers to Death (7) Be Original (8) Express an Opinion (9) Get Visual (10) Use Titles with Bling (11) Longevity Counts (12) Build Momentum (13) Drive People to Your Archives

THE REVIEW OF 2008
- Jesus' Ministry Marketing (1 of 4) :: The 4 P's

Housing Crisis Causes Families to Live Together and Divorces to Dwindle
According to 2007 Census Data, nearly 3.5 million siblings live in a sibling's house (3 million in 2000). And 3.6 million parents live with their adult children (2.3 million in 2000). About 6.7 million householders live with other relatives (4.8 million in 2000). Couples used to be able to divorce and easily sell their homes, but now couples are reluctantly staying together until the housing market turns around.

More Kids are Sharing Rooms Because of the Economy
With the economy and housing market in a slump, some growing families are making do with the space they've got instead of moving to a bigger home. That means their kids may start doing something that kids don't do much these days: share a room. (via)

Church Attendance is Up 5% in the UK but Stagnant in the U.S. Despite the Economy
In these tough times, we need to ask ourselves where are people turning and why aren't they turning to the church.

50 Great Web Design Icon Sets
If you are looking for that perfect icon for your web site, blog, web app or application, you will find them here.

13 Things Consumers Want in a Church
Funny but true.

Internet Usage by Generation
The web continues to be populated largely by younger generations, as over half of the adult Internet population is between 18 and 44 years old. But larger percentages of older generations are online now than in the past, and they are doing more activities online.

Religion and Spirituality on the Path Through Adolescence
In terms of religious affiliation, there was a decline in the number of Protestant adolescents (-8.16%) and an increase in the number of adolescents with no religious affiliation (+8.33%). Over the three-year period, there were decreases in believing in God (-6%), believing in a judgment day (-3%), believing in angels (-6%) or some form of afterlife (-3%), attending religious services (-10%) and religious education classes (-14%), reading scripture alone (-8%), and praying by themselves (-3%). There was an increase in believing in demons (+5%), reincarnation (+5%), and astrology (+4%).

THE REVIEW OF 2007
- Teenagers Value Marriage
- Find the Perfect Domain Name for Your Church Website with DomainsBot

YourFonts
Turn your own handwriting into a TrueType font in 7 easy steps. (via)

The Casandra Report (Sample Pages)
Get an in-depth look into the lives of 14- to 34-year-old consumers. 74% of young people feel personally impacted by the recession. 54% of young people would rather give up TV than give up social networking. The top three hopes/dreams for the future are (in the following order) have one marriage partner for life, have good physical health, and work in a career I love. (via)

Multi-Site Church Self-Diagnostic Tool
How can your congregation know if a multi-site approach is right for you? Try this self-diagnostic tool to gain insight. (via)

The Economy is Hurting U.S. Families
Requests for therapists have soared and domestic-violence and suicide hotlines are reporting increased calls. The demand for therapists surged 40% from June to December at ComPsych. Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline have also increased. For example, there were 21% more calls in September than in September 2007. In October, there were 18% more calls than in October 2007.

4 Steps to Laying Someone Off
(1) Predictability, (2) Understanding, (3) Empowerment, (4) Compassion

The Key to Achieving More...
The ROOV guys say, "If you'll do now what most people won't. You'll be able to do, for the rest of your life, what most people can't."

Is Microsoft's Internet Explorer dying?
IE's drop of 7% since February last year is a continuing trend. Microsoft lost over 9% of browser market share in the preceding two years.

Unsupervised Socializing Increases a Teen's Probability of Using Marijuana
According to the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the more frequently adolescents reported going out with their friends in the evenings, the more likely they were to report using cannabis. Unsupervised social time is a critical ingredient for cannabis use for many young people.

Of course, some are trying, but are they effective?

In an effort to answer these questions and more, a professional research study is being conducted to examine the State of the Church Online. But it needs your help.

Please click here to take part and complete a brief survey.

DESIGN

• 22 Most Used Free Fonts By Professional Designers [iShift]
• 50 Must-Have Photoshop Brushes [Smashing Magazine]

MARKETING

• 5 Steps to Going Viral on Twitter [Copyblogger]
  (1) Call to action. (2) Timing. (3) Links. (4) Social Proof. (5) Value.
• The Do's and Don'ts for Expanding Into the Hispanic Market [Chief Marketer]
• Top Tactics for 2009 [eMarketer]

RESEARCH

• 2009 Facebook Demographics and Statistics Report: 276% Growth in 35-54 Year Old Users [iStrategyLabs]
• Boys With Unpopular Names More Likely to Break Law [LiveScience]
  Boys in the United States with common names like Michael and David are less likely to commit crimes than those named Ernest or Ivan.
• Income Distribution Within U.S. Religious Groups [The Pew Forum]
• Infants Draw On Past To Interpret Present, Understand Other People's Behavior [ScienceDaily]
  University of Washington psychologists have learned that 10-month-old infants use their prior exposure and understanding of familiar actions by a person to unravel novel actions. However, this ability is limited by the location in which the new action is performed.
• Remember That Time? New Study Demystifies Consumer Memory [ScienceDaily]
  Our findings suggest that marketers may engineer experiences to maximize customer enjoyment by improving the most memorable events. For long-term customer enjoyment, marketers should attempt to make consumers' initial experiences with a service or product very positive.
  
• Repeat abortions among teenage girls have risen by 70% [Daily Mail]
  In 2007, 5,897 girls under 20 had their second, third or even fourth termination. Sixteen years earlier, in 1991, the figure stood at just 2,934, the journal Contraception reported. Abortions in the UK have reached record levels.
• Teens and Cell Phone Use [Harris Interactive]
  40% say they would die without their phone. 42% say they are able to text blindfolded!
• Video games linked to poor relationships [TechRadar.com]
  Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah talked to 813 university students across the US and found that as the amount of time the students spent playing video games went up, the quality of their relationships with friends and family suffered. The more people play videogames, the more frequent their involvement in 'risky' behaviours such as drinking and drug abuse.

THE REVIEW OF 2008
Jan. 28th - How to be a Better Listener in 3 Easy Steps
Jan. 29th - 7 Church Leadership Mistakes to Avoid

THE REVIEW OF 2007
Jan. 26th - Women Prefer Direct Mail More Than Email
Jan. 30th - 4 Things Young Adults Want in a Church
Jan. 31st - 4 Qualities of Successful, Growing Churches

Pastors are Leaving Rural Churches
America's rural congregations, thinned by age and a population drain that plagues much of farm country, have gotten too small and too poor to attract pastors. (via)

Eugene Peterson says...
"The great weakness of North American spirituality is that it is all about us: fulfilling our potential, getting in on the blessings of God, expanding our influence, finding our gifts, getting a handle on principles by which we can get an edge over the competition. And the more there is of us, the less there is of God." (via)

Child Predators on PlayStation?
PlayStation 3 has a virtual world community called Home. Unfortunately, there may be child predators lurking on it.

iwantanewmarriage.com
NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC) begins a brand new sermon series next week called "I Want a New Marriage." Apparently, television journalists still can't resist reporting on churches advertising a new sermon series with a provocative url posted on a billboard. (via)

THE REVIEW OF 2007
Feb. 1st - Portrait of Generation Next

At Innovation3, Ed Stetzer discussed what does the dangerous church look like in 2010.

IN CULTURE

The dangerous church over the next few years will have seized economic opportunity. If the current trends continue, some church workers will loose their jobs, and churches will loose money. But more people will come to Christ because in a bad economy they seek God more.

The dangerous church will address sexual brokenness. Homosexuality is an issue that the church must address in the next decade. Most churches don't know how to address sexual issues of homosexuality, marriage, and other sexual issues in a biblical way.

The dangerous church will wrestle through the issue of gender inclusion. Can women be pastors?

The dangerous church will face increasing intolerance.

IN THINKING & METHODS

The dangerous church will have navigated the post-seeker movement. The dangerous church will have found new ways to reach people for the world.

The dangerous church will have regained confidence in the gospel. They will have clarity and biblical discernment.

The dangerous church will have addressed evangelical confusion. Evangelicalism is a broad term, a broad label.

The dangerous church will have rethought discipleship. Many churches are not making disciples well. Only 16% of Protestant church goers read their Bible daily.

The dangerous church will have worked through denominational catharsis.

The dangerous church will learn how to network will other churches. Networking should be more than interacting with clones of your church.

The dangerous church will innovate.

At Innovation3, Nancy Ortberg of TeamWorx2 discussed how to be a provocative leader for a dangerous church.

Sustainable innovation is imperative because of the gospel. Innovation should not be because of a gimmick but because the gospel of Christ transforms people. Innovation reminds us that the gospel is always provocative.

What must leaders of dangerous churches do?

#1 :: Manage Tensions

• Infrastructure and Innovation
  You need both, but you must find your balance. Infrastructure stabilizes and supports an organization. Innovators like to create and compel. Change is always two-fold - incremental and exponential.
• Passion and Humility
  Passion without humility takes us in the wrong direction.

#2 :: Have Teamwork

Innovation happens best in teams. Team is the word the world uses for community. An ego in check says I will put people on the team who are better than me. There is a magic of being on a team that is wired to do what God has called them to do.

What are the behavioral values that are necessary to set a culture of innovation?

Values inflict pain. They cause you to slow down and think about what you do.

#1 :: Learn to be a great question asker.

#2 :: Embrace risk.

Realize that risk comes with failure. What risks have you taken in the last six months that have failed and what have you learned from them? If you are innovating, you should have just as long a list of failures as you have a list of successes. Fear is the biggest thing that stands in the way of risk. The best way to get rid of fear is to increase curiosity. Fear and curiosity do not coexist.

#3 :: Collaborate.

Do not have silos in your organization. Learn how to work well together

#4 :: Trust

Needed everyone on the team and communicating that builds trust. Trust is something that is built. You have to do things to intentionally build trust.

Innovation3, Bob Roberts of NorthWood Church (Keller, TX) discussed how we can catch up with the rest of the world.

There are two core fundamental ways in which movement and transformation take place in the context of society

We know how to help our local church, but we are old school about global ministry. Being missional is more than just doing a couple of projects for the poor.

What does the Great Commission say?
As you are going, make disciples.

How did the early church produce disciples so quickly, yet we take so long? When they make disciples, they abandon themselves to live for Christ. If we could follow Christ today, where would we go? Where it is tame? Or where all hell is breaking loose?

What does it mean to make disciples? When Jesus says make disciples of all nations, what is that all about?

Abraham in Genesis 12 is the ultimate disciple. He was a blessing to all nations.

The lowest common denominator is the disciple.

Gospel > Disciple > Society > the Church emerges

What is the Non-Western Church Like?

1. We focus on the Holy Spirit, and the West is pragmatic.
2. We focus on obedience to the Word of God.
3. There is gratitude towards Abraham for what he did, but there is a focus on Ishmael.
   The Great Commission will not be fulfilled until Muslims come back to Christ.
4. It is an integration of faith, and life, and everything.
5. They is an absence of money that causes us to trust God for everything.

We need to engage the world. God is going to do it with or without you. Your only responsibility is obedience.

At Innovation3, John Bishop of Living Hope Church (Vancouver, WA) discussed how to have 20/20 vision.

Innovation for the future is less about innovation and more about simplification.

To us, our plans sometimes trump God's purpose. However, it is God's purpose will ultimately prevail.

A dangerous church cares less about having a breakthrough idea and more about having a broken heart. God does His best work in our weakness, but we hate weakness.

You have to be listening to the Spirit of the Holy God. You don't have to candy coat the gospel. People want the truth. The gospel is powerful.

Pray that your church is rid of fears. Let yourself have a broken heart.

We have to be less about competing with each other and more about celebrating each other's wins. That is when God will release the Holy Spirit in a way that brings revival.

Am I hot, cold, or lukewarm?

Over time you can get indifferent. You can grow hard. You can use people. Be okay to be broken. People matter.

At Innovation3, Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York, NY) discussed failure in ministry. Specifically, he addressed how to turn your biggest idol into your biggest benefit.

Everybody in ministry essentially bases their salvation on how our ministry is doing, and therefore, our hearts our contradicting our message. Until you experience personal failure, you will not even know it.

You have got to go after God for blessing.

Jacob (from Genesis) spent his life trying to get blessing, but he did not get it until he went after God in Genesis 32.

Human blessing will kill you because it never seems to last more than 5 minutes.

You have to take the gospel, and you have to see where you are not believing the gospel, and you must pound it into your heart day after day.

At Innovation3, Stacy Spencer of New Directions Christian Church (Memphis, TN) discussed how to have a radically different church.

Radical differentiation is about finding a whole new market space. Your ministry brand is not who you say you are, it's who they say you are.

How to Protect Your Brand

1. When you start growing... the more cream you add to the coffee, the weaker it gets. As your church grows, do not forget why you are called.
2. Protect against misalignment. Your vision is not in align with your values. You promise more in the showroom than you have in the stockroom.

Churches that zag can fill in the blank - "My church is the only church that _______."

If you do what you are supposed to do, you will be blessed. When you get comfortable with who called has called you to be, you will be blessed.

The brand must be consistent with who you say you are. Whatever it is that called has called you to be, do it better than anyone else.

At Innovation3, Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) spoke via video about how leaders who have "it" are willing to fail.

Often leaders who have "it" succeed. And sometimes they fail, but they learn from the failure. Leaders who don't have "it" often are afraid to take risk and possibly fail.

Failing is often a big part of success. Think about learning how to ride a bike.

When Peter experienced the grace of Jesus after his failure, he was able to preach in a way that few others could.

Sometimes you have to try and fail and learn and adjust. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And before long through your failures, God does something very special.

Failure is not an option. It is absolutely necessary. You must be willing to fail.

Often what works is born out of what did not work.

DO THIS

1. Create a culture that allows for failure.
   You could call things "experiments." You can let people know ahead of time that you will fail but fail aggressively.
2. Do not internalize failures.
   Failing at something does not mean that you are a failure.
3. Debrief
   Learn from your mistakes
4. Don't give up.
   The only thing standing between you and the next level of ministry success might be a failure that will teach you something.

At Innovation3, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) discussed righteousness, risk, and repentance.

#1 :: Righteousness

Righteousness is an effort to make ourselves righteous. We have a tendency to base on righteousness not on the gospel but on our own works. We try to be validated by others and not God.

1. Does success or failure effect how close you feel to God?
2. Does success or failure cause you to feel more or less holy?
3. Do changes of success or failure in any way alter how you see God?
   If attendance goes down or someone does not get healed, do you question God?

Works righteousness is pervasive. Righteousness is very hard to measure, but we can measure attendance, giving, etc.

Ministry does not flow not for righteousness but from righteousness. We should not minister to get righteousness. We should minister because we are righteous.

#2 :: Risk

Having the proper mindset about righteousness allow you to be able to take risk without fearing failure.

Having a works righteousness mindset makes you risk averse or risk addicted because you always have to have more because Christ is not enough.

#3 Repentance

We need to repent whenever we use people to achieve works righteousness.

Do not religiously repent. Religious repentance repents with a religious motive so that God will help your works righteousness. It seeks to use people, use the church, and use God.

Understand the source of your righteousness.

At Innovation3, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) gives 5 reasons for why churches should use a multi-site format.

1. Theological
   Jesus wants us to multiply and expand to make disciples.
2. Missiological
   In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says that he will do all things and use all means to reach people.
3. Historical
   The church networks of the early church
4. Technological
   Technology has given us new opportunities. Seats, pipe organs, printed words, microphones, and multi-site are all "innovations" that have been implemented into the church with resistance at first. All ministry is culturally contextualized, but the question is, "What year?"
5. Practical
   It allows you to get "big" and "small" at the same time. You can improve your production and preaching and consequently grow big without having to sacrifice community and your small groups. The multi-site allows more people to specialize in their areas of ministry.

At Innovation3, Dave Gibbons of NewSong Church (Irvine, CA) discussed how our world has changed and is changing but how the church can adapt.

There are new rules being created. Things have changed. How do we navigate the change?

There is hope. The church can find hope in these four things:

1. Bad news is better than no news. Bad news]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:11:22 -0800 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1056842 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1056841

   At Innovation3, John Jenkins of First Baptist Church of Glenarden (Upper Marlboro, MD) discussed having the courage to change.

   Change scares people. And all leaders must face the fact that people don't like change.

   Out of all the kings of Judah, there was none like Hezekiah. God was with him. He was an agent of change. Hezekiah removed the false idols from Judah.

   If we continue to do what we have always done, we will never get what we have never had. If the church doesn't change, we are going to die.

   He broke the bronze serpent that Moses had made. Long after what was intended for a brief season, people were still focusing on Moses' bronze serpent. It took courage to remove it.

   The greatest hindrance to a new move of God is the last move of God.

   What are the things you are doing actually doing to address the problems you need to solve?

   Sponsored by: Make An Impact With Your Website This Year 85% of people attend your church based on your website. What does it say about your church? faithHighway offers unique design, professional consultation and expert production management. Click for free CD and consultation.
   
   ]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:11:21 -0800 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1056841 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1056840

   At Innovation3, Matt Chandler of The Village Church (Highland Village, TX) talked about you (i.e., church pastors, leaders, and teachers).

   Many church leaders are divided into two camps - one says the church should be all about engaging culture and one says the church should be about building spiritual depth in community.

   Paul tried to train Timothy how to engage culture and how to create spiritual depth in community. you need a balance of both.

   1 Timothy 4 lists out 7 ideas to be mindful of...

   1. Doctrine matters.
      Getting the gospel right is always primary to everything else. it does not matter the praise given if the worship is wrong.
   2. Avoid myths, pursue godliness.
      When all you know about God is learned through someone else's relationship with God, you cannot truly know him.
   3. Don't be timid.
   4. Be the example.
   5. Have confidence in the Bible.
      If you do not decide early on that the Bible is the sufficient Word of God, it will not be long before you latch on to the next big idea.
   6. Remember the call.
      Remember the call that you received from the Holy Spirit.
   7. Keep growing.
      Progressive sanctification is for pastors, too.
   Sponsored by: Fellowship One Fellowship One is a web-based Church Management Software solution that helps churches of any size or denomination to effectively care for people, efficiently manage resources, and enable real growth.
   
   ]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:11:20 -0800 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1056840 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1051404 I often find myself wishing I had the time to attend more conferences each year. If I did, Catalyst West would definitely be on my list this year. Taking place at Mariners Church (Irvine, CA) from April 22-24, 2009, Catalyst West brings the experience of Catalyst Atlanta to the west coast.

   SPECIAL DISCOUNT

   Because you read Church Relevance, you can get your ticket for $199 (20% savings) if you register with the code "CR" before Friday, January 30, 2009.

   SPEAKERS INCLUDE...
   

   • Francis Chan :: Cornerstone Church (Simi Valley, CA)
   • Craig Groeschel :: LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK)
   • Brian Houston :: Hillsong United (Australia)
   • Guy Kawasaki :: Garage Technology Ventures
   • Erwin McManus :: Mosaic Church (Los Angeles, CA)
   • Perry Noble :: NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC)
   • Nick Nujicic :: Life Without Limbs
   • Catherine Rohr :: Prison Entrepreneurship Program
   • Andy Stanley :: North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA)
   • Jud Wilhite :: Central Christian Church (Henderson, NV)
   • Ravi Zacharias :: Ravi Zacharias International Ministries

   WORSHIP BY...
   

   • Hillsong United

   You can even start the conference early by registering to attend the Catalyst Labs on Wednesday, April 22 and then partying at the "Before Party" that evening.

   You can register online at www.catalystwestcoast.com or by calling 888.334.6569.]]> Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:42:38 -0800 http://virb.com/churchrelevance/posts/text/1051404