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Moneyball

February 8, 2012 in Blog, Film & Television, Influence with 5 Comments

Table of contents for Best Picture 2012

Don't let the trailers or posters fool you. Moneyball isn't a baseball movie. Sure, there's some baseball in it, but the film is really about thinking outside the box and daring to risk.

Based on a book about a true story, Moneyball stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the General Manager for the Oakland A's. After losing in the playoffs to the Yankees in 2001, the A's lose their three key players to teams that can pay them more. Beane realizes that the A's simply can't afford to play the same kind of baseball everyone else played. That system essentially bought players the scouting system deemed best.

Moneyball demonstrates that old scouting system is highly subjective - one scout rejected a player because his girlfriend was ugly, which indicates a lack of confidence! The A's couldn't afford to compete in this system: they had a $38 million payroll compared to the Yankees $114 million. If he wanted to win, Beane needed a different game.

The subjective scouting system - and by extension the whole game - had changed little since the 1800s.

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Why I was Shocked to Enjoy "The Artist"

February 6, 2012 in Blog, Film & Television, Influence with 0 Comments

Table of contents for Best Picture 2012

The Help
The Descendants
Midnight in Paris
Why I was Shocked to Enjoy "The Artist"
Moneyball
Hugo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
"Tree of Life" is Too Big for One Film
Which Film Deserves Best Picture This Year

I was expecting to hate this movie. By the time I saw it, The Artist had received tons of buzz and done very well at the Golden Globes. I knew it was a silent film that paid homage to the Hollywood of yesteryear. So I was expecting a pandering tribute that film-industry insiders (and hipsters) would swoon over, but that would leave the rest of us scratching our heads and saying, "I don't get it."

Instead, I got a warm, creative piece of storytelling bursting with relevance because it uses the confines of its genre to transcend them.

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Jesus Got a Sex-Change (Sort of...)

February 5, 2012 in Blog, Influence, Pop Culture, The Bible with 16 Comments

Last week, John Piper claimed that "God has given Christianity a masculine feel". One of my favorite bloggers, Rachel Held Evans, asked her male readers to respond to Piper's claims. Here's my response:

In setting up his comment, Piper claims among other things that:

"The second person of the Trinity is revealed as the eternal Son not daughter…".

As a whole, Piper's claims are riddled with problems, misunderstandings and absurdities throughout, but I would like to address Piper's claim about Jesus - that he is eternally Son, and therefore eternally masculine in some defining way.

Piper is wrong. Eternally, Jesus embodies both the masculine and the feminine.

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ADVENT: Help Build a Home in Benin

December 5, 2011 in Blog, Influence, Teachings, Worship Elements with 1 Comment

Advent is how we prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus into the world. We realize that God becoming human, Jesus walking among us, was a sacrificial, costly act. Way before Jesus went to the Cross for us, he gave up Heaven to become one of us.

This year, we have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas the way Jesus did: by sacrificing ourselves for someone else - the children of the Arbre de Vie Orphanage in Benin (West Africa).

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Random Catalyst Atlanta 2011 Leftovers

November 7, 2011 in Blog, Influence with 0 Comments

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 - Be Present

Catalyst had so much great content this year that it didn't all fit into my notes. But some of it didn't merit a whole post, either. So I've collected some of my favorite leftover bits and published them here. Enjoy!

From Nancy Duarte (at Labs)

One of my absolute favorite single things Nancy said was this:

I had to let go of a whole lot and work really hard to become a great communicator.

Her dedication to the excellence of her craft is astounding and inspiring. She closed with a reflection on this image. She considers herself a standard-bearer for exciting, world-changing communication. She reminded us that the standard-bearer is the first into battle. That's why everyone else follows.

From Blake Mycoski

Giving motivates passion. Blake sold the why of TOMs Shoes. (the video is worth your time). Blake honored 1-for-1 TOMS model even during the first 2 years when it was not profitable. This is Jim Collins’ 20-Mile March. He started with shoes; now they’ve expanded the model (to include glasses).

From a representative of Compassion International

What are your expectations for the future of the poor? The people who are the most pessimistic about ending Global Poverty are Christians in America. We are in a battle with our own low expectations! In 2981, 52% of the world lived in extreme poverty. Today, it’s only 26%. That means in 30 years, we’re 1/2 way there! What will it take? The church Live out Isaiah 58 in our day. Go to www.live58.org for more details.

From two pastors working on Social Justice

Not all mercy ministries are actually merciful. The white pastor thought he was helping until "we moved into the inner city". This helped him see that the mercy ministries can actually rob the recipients of their human dignity. How we do mercy has everything to do with how people feel loved.

Four Steps to Action

Gather Data
Negotiate Resources
Self-Purification
Act

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Andy Stanley - Apprenticeship

November 7, 2011 in Blog, Influence with 2 Comments

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 - Be Present

Pop Quiz: How did Mathew set to be an apostle? (Luke 5: 27-28) Answer: Jesus selected him. The same goes for the other eleven. (Luke 6: 12-16)

We don't want to fail where previous generation has failed: we want to pass it on.

I. Defining Terms

Apprenticing: selecting, modeling and coaching for the purpose of replacing yourself. This isn't fair. But the reality is, Jesus wasn't fair. (See his opening talk)
The New Testament term is Disciple.

II. Jesus' Approach

He began with succession in mind.
He handpicked those to whom he would entrust his mission. He didn't ask for volunteers.
He rarely did ministry alone. BUT...
He gave his disciples opportunities to do ministry alone while he was still around to debrief.

The bottom line is: You won't be it forever. Be there to see it done without you.

III. "But" Removal

A. "But I'm not an expert." This excuse is deadly.

You will never feel adequately prepared to apprentice another leader.
You are not responsible for…
1. …Knowing everything there is to know about your field.
2. Knowing more than everyone else about your field.
You are responsible for passing along what you know to somebody else.
Your responsibility is to empty your cup.

We think our responsibility is to fill up somebody else's cup. But it's not. Just to empty ours. The reality is that you can't take it with you. Leave it!

B. "But what will I do?"

In a healthy organization, if you replace yourself you will always have a place.
In an unhealthy organization… why would you stay?

IV. Two Outcomes

A. You become a multi-site leader. B. You become a multi-generational leaded. Anytime someone blames a generation they've abdicated responsibility.

It doesn't matter how smart, trained or spiritual you are. If you are 1 step ahead, you have something to offer.

V. Application

A. Hire for the future. Hire young and smart. B. Don't work alone. Invite people to do what you do. You should be doing as little as possible. C. Remember your MEDS

Model - Here's what I do.
Explain - Here's why I do it.
Demonstrate - Here's how I do it.

This is the one place where preferential treatment is preferred. Your assignment: replace yourself.

Success is not measured by how capable you are at handling your responsibilities. Success is measured by whether or not you leave your responsibilities in capable hands.

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Margaret Feinberg - Hungry for God

October 31, 2011 in Blog, Influence with 0 Comments

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 Labs

"You Lost Me" - David Kinnaman
Nancy Duarte - How to Persuade an Audience Through Story
The Future of the Church - Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson
Margaret Feinberg - Hungry for God

What can I learn to grow my Church?

People show up at Margaret's church for muffins. People get excited for free food. But remember that a muffin is just a method. It fits into a box. Ultimately, we should be leading people to Jesus (not just our pet method).

What stirs the human heart to know God?

Margaret recommends several books that dwell on this question: David Kinnaman's You Lost Me, Scot McKnight's King Jesus Gospel and Kara Powell's Sticky Faith.

How do you increase someone's spiritual appetite?

When you plan, think of a specific person. It creates more cohesive conversations. For instance, when Margaret writes, her target is:

A 33-year-old, spiritually malnourished male.
He's frustrated with his career because he thought he'd be further along.
He goes home to a house he can't afford (and so can't afford to quit his job).
His wife is more tired than he is.
All he wants to do is go to his man-cave and relax, but he chooses to give to his family.

Why this person? Because he's the hardest to reach. If she can reach him, then she will pick up a lot more people.

Ask yourself this question: Do I have a clear picture of who I want to reach?

Our job as leaders is to stir up the hunger in others' lives. Margaret used the example of a lactation nurse, who has to teach some infants how to be hungry for their mother's milk.

Margaret takes us to the first chapter of John's Gospel. Here we meet people who discover a hunger for Jesus all sorts of ways. It's the same with our people today. There's no one formula or method for coming to Jesus.

Ultimately, it's God who stirs a hunger for God. Awakening people's hunger is not a burden we bear, but a privilege we share.

We live in a time where discipleship is all hands on deck. We need everyone. We need every method. We can disagree all we want, but we need to do it in grace.

How do we do this?

Depend on the Holy Spirit
Have the people you're trying to reach involved in your life.
Ask them to be involved in what you do.

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The Future of the Church - Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson

October 31, 2011 in Blog, Influence, Pop Culture with 0 Comments

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 Labs

"You Lost Me" - David Kinnaman
Nancy Duarte - How to Persuade an Audience Through Story
The Future of the Church - Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson
Margaret Feinberg - Hungry for God

Best friends Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson work in two very different settings. Darren is the teaching pastor at Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago. John leads Trinity Grace, a network of small churches in New York City. They asked each other a series of questions to try to get at the trajectory of current Church culture. Can we get a feel for where the American Church is headed?

1. What is the Future of Megachrches?

First, a definition. A "megachurch" is a church with more than 2,000ohm in weekend attendance. Next, some important observations:

While major denominations are on the decline, megachurches are increasing. "Megachrurch" as a style of church isn't going anywhere.
Megachurches have the same appeal as a Mall: you can meet lots of needs in one place.
The Megachurch model came from mixing business with church.

The bigger question we should ask is: Why are churches on the decline? A second question I would add is: Can the Megachurch be a faithful incarnation of the Gospel message in Suburban culture?

2. What is the Spiritual Landscape of NYC post 9/11?

60% of churches in Manhattan planted in last 20 years. There's plenty of room for more churches.
People are becoming more spiritual but doesn't translate to church attendance. How can we plug into that?
NYC is industries and neighborhoods. It's conglomerations. You have to be incarnational if you want to do any sort of ministry.

3. Are we Witnessing the Death of Alpha Male Leadership?

Young people aren't attracted to that... are they?
A defining characteristic of large churches is a strong point leader and/or good teaching.
The US has an obsession with celebrity. The Church should be anti-celebrity without being anti-leadership. This is a challenge, to be sure.

4. What will be the Defining Issue of the Church in the US in the next 20 years?

Jon notes that we are navigating several divisive issues right now: the Gay Question, Women in leadership, Social Justice, Racism. All of these issues are really about how people view scriptures.

In this, Jon is dead right. The battle in the Evangelical Church in the next decades will be how we understand and use the Scriptures.

Our job is to passionately live out orthodoxy in our time and place.

To move forward, we need:

To redefine the center as Evangelical with lots of room for understanding.
A biblically literate culture

5. Why did Willow abandon the "Seeker Sensitive" model?

10-15 years ago culture started to shift. This was more than just a generational change. 30 years ago, seeker churches were filled with people who felt they should go to church. That's not the case any more. People don't feel they should be in church. There's no sense of obligation. The Seeker model isn't helpful anymore. So what do we need now?

Teaching scriptures in context
The new generation isn't doing church like their parents. It's starting to look more like their grandparents.
They want a church connected to history and to Church history.

6. How will the Gay Issue play out?

Jon rightly observed that there's no middle ground on this issue. He argues that in the Scriptures, Jesus' teaching on divorce roots sexuality in Genesis, so gay intimacy is wrong. (While I agree with him, I think the issue is more complicated. Is this issue about sex? Sexuality? Gender? Power? We have to be careful interpreters of Scripture.) Culturally, Jon would like to see the Church imitate the Gay community. The creation of Gay Pride changed everything for gay and lesbian persons. Tyson would like to see the Church recover a sense of Jesus Pride when it comes to standing up for what we believe in and who we understand ourselves to be. Darren notes that church leaders will have to have a stand in the next 5-10 years. Our pastoral response to this issue will have to be at the local, human level. He predicts that in the next 3 years a high profile Christian leader will produce a Scripturally strong, pro-gay stance that will be embrace by a lot of Evangelicals.

7. What's the 1 Thing Churches Need to get Right?

One said, "Passionate pursuit of Jesus." The other said, "Be a person of prayer. Pray 2 hours per day."

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"You Lost Me" - David Kinnaman

October 31, 2011 in Blog, Influence, Pop Culture with 2 Comments

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 Labs

"You Lost Me" - David Kinnaman
Nancy Duarte - How to Persuade an Audience Through Story
The Future of the Church - Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson
Margaret Feinberg - Hungry for God

This is a summary of David Kinnaman's opening talk at the Catalyst Labs. This is not a review of David's excellent new book, You Lost Me, by the same title.

David wanted to know why young Christians are leaving the church. This formed the core of his research and questions.

Many claim this is a natural process in all generations. That young people leave only to come back later in life. David's research indicates that's not true.

Yes, there are some similarities, but there are some significant differences as well. So what do today's young adults look like?

For example:

There's a new normal: Young Adults who haven't moved into the (Modern) pattern of adulthood.
Today's young people consume 10.5 cumulative hours per day of media.
67% still believe Bible is a sacred book

How do we disciple in a totally new generation? First, we must realize that Significant social shifts are powered by massive cultural change. What kind of change? Today's young adults:

Are less connectedness to any institutions (church, school, political party, etc.)
Believe church is Anti-science
Have massively high expectations for quality storytelling

So what does it mean to Be Present with this generation? We struggle because we've tried to mass-produce disciples. How do we move forward? Discipleship begins in the home, so what are we doing to help parents? Our churches need to be producing solid, intergenerational relationships. We need to help students recover a clear sense of relationship, vocation and revelation.

It's about being able to bring up questions about evolution or sexuality without having a Bible thrown at you.

Where do we begin? What are the first steps?

Start by enlisting 3-4x as many adults. Enlisting families is vital
How we teach and inspire matters to engage our older generations.
The older generation needs to stop giving the younger generation a hard time.

What we need to focus on to teach the younger generation:

How does vocation fit into calling?
The Church isn't a safe place to process doubt. "Slick and 1/2-baked answers to our thorny and honest questions."
Be Present in doubts. Living with is more important than answers.
Doing is the antidote to doubt
Participation changes us

You can't talk a person out of doubt. You can just Be Present with them.

Young people have more Spiritual Junctions than any generation previous to us. Are we present with them in those moments?

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Which Film Deserves Best Picture 2012? Weigh in here! | http://t.co/wn1I3MQU about 1 hour ago Reply Retweet Favorite
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@jrforasteros

Table of contents for Best Picture 2012

The subjective scouting system - and by extension the whole game - had changed little since the 1800s.

Table of contents for Best Picture 2012

Instead, I got a warm, creative piece of storytelling bursting with relevance because it uses the confines of its genre to transcend them.

Piper is wrong. Eternally, Jesus embodies both the masculine and the feminine.

2011 was a big year for this blog. Here are my 10 most popular posts by number of visits. Okay, technically eleven, since there was a two-way tie for the 10 slot.

10. 26 New and Improved Reasons I Love My Wife

10. The Black Swan Review

9. Erasing Hell by Francis Chan Review

8. The Fighter and The King's Speech Reviews

7. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Review

6. A Christian Response to Osama bin Laden's Death

5. Why I Switched from a Nook to a Kindle

4. The Dark Knight Rises Previews

3. The Dexter Season 6 Reviews

2. Love Wins by Rob Bell Review

1. 127 Hours Review

This year, we have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas the way Jesus did: by sacrificing ourselves for someone else - the children of the Arbre de Vie Orphanage in Benin (West Africa).

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 - Be Present

From Nancy Duarte (at Labs)

From Blake Mycoski

From a representative of Compassion International

From two pastors working on Social Justice

Four Steps to Action

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 - Be Present

We don't want to fail where previous generation has failed: we want to pass it on.

I. Defining Terms

II. Jesus' Approach

The bottom line is: You won't be it forever. Be there to see it done without you.

III. "But" Removal

We think our responsibility is to fill up somebody else's cup. But it's not. Just to empty ours. The reality is that you can't take it with you. Leave it!

IV. Two Outcomes

It doesn't matter how smart, trained or spiritual you are. If you are 1 step ahead, you have something to offer.

V. Application

Success is not measured by how capable you are at handling your responsibilities. Success is measured by whether or not you leave your responsibilities in capable hands.

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 Labs

What can I learn to grow my Church?

What stirs the human heart to know God?

How do you increase someone's spiritual appetite?

Ask yourself this question: Do I have a clear picture of who I want to reach?

Ultimately, it's God who stirs a hunger for God. Awakening people's hunger is not a burden we bear, but a privilege we share.

How do we do this?

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 Labs

1. What is the Future of Megachrches?

2. What is the Spiritual Landscape of NYC post 9/11?

3. Are we Witnessing the Death of Alpha Male Leadership?

4. What will be the Defining Issue of the Church in the US in the next 20 years?

In this, Jon is dead right. The battle in the Evangelical Church in the next decades will be how we understand and use the Scriptures.

5. Why did Willow abandon the "Seeker Sensitive" model?

6. How will the Gay Issue play out?

7. What's the 1 Thing Churches Need to get Right?

Table of contents for Catalyst 2011 Labs

Yes, there are some similarities, but there are some significant differences as well. So what do today's young adults look like?

Young people have more Spiritual Junctions than any generation previous to us. Are we present with them in those moments?

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