the green room:

Shane Hipps

Shane Hipps came and spoke at mars yesterday and he stayed an extra night so that he could share with our staff this morning about some ideas mentioned in his book entitled The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture.  one of my favorite things he touched on this morning (it is also in his book) dealt with what Marshall McLuhan called "the laws of media."  these laws were a set of questions that McLuhan believed would help us tune into the four inevitable effects of media.  everything that is introduced into our culture is a counter irratant; but ends up creating a new irrantant.  these laws help us recognize what the pro's and con's of this new idea or product actually are.  the four questions that the laws of media centered around were: 

1)  what does this new medium enhance?

2)  what does the new medium make obsolete?

3)  what does the medium retrieve?

4)  what does the medium reverse into?

this might not make any sense at first; but Shane walked us through the laws of media and how it applied to something as innocent as surveilance cameras.  here is how he answered the above questions.  what does surveilance cameras enhance?  they extend the capacity of the human eye while enhancing the feeling of security and "eyewitness" accounts.  what do they make obsolete?  surveilance cameras can make neighborhood watch groups and oral testimony in a court room obsolete.  what does a surveilance camera retrieve?  they can retrieve the medieval city wall that both protected and imprisoned its citizens.  what does the surveilance camera reverse into?  when pushed to the extreme, they can reverse into an invasive loss of privacy and a new feeling of vulnerability.

as he was walking through these four questions, i couldn't stop thinking about the many things we add to our student ministries without ever thinking through what new irrantants we might unconsciously be creating.

what else is comparable?

so recently i had a conversation with moose, our programming intern and he told me about a friend of his who recently was in philly at a coffee shop near the art museum.  this is the same art museum that rocky made famous by running up during his trainings.  moose's friend said that as he was drinking coffee and reading for a couple of hours he was astonished with the roughly 100 people (some even dressed in grey sweatpants) who ran up those stairs and danced around when they got to the top.  this led to an interesting conversation about what other scenes in a movie have people gone to that place to reenact.  i remember going to FAO Schwartz as a kid in downtown New York and playing on the giant piano like Tom Hanks did in the movie big.  so all that to say, i need your help.  i want to create a definitive list of the top five places people have traveled to reenact a movie scene.  remember you have to be in that exact place reenacting the scene from the movie so listening to bohemian rhapsody in your car (which isn't a pacer) with your friends and headbanging like wayne's world wouldn't count because you're not in Aurora, IL or driving a pacer that dispenses licorice from the top.  so what would your top 5 be?

king thong...

last year in the.element we hosted a variety show where the proceeds for the evening went to the dorchester house - a ministry in the black hills neighborhood.  it was a great night, we invited students from the black hills neighborhood to perform with some of our junior high students.  we had singing, dancing and even a little art auction.  we made almost 4 thousand dollars that night; but the thing that everyone left talking about was a little art piece created by a seventh grader named Brody Norman.  this past week, his little creation was picked up by an online t-shirt company.  they took his design and made it into a shirt.  you can check it out at citizens and see up close how beautifully random the junior high mind is.

budget proposals...

if your fiscal year begins in July then you are probably beginning or in the process of having the yearly budget conversation.  i think for many leaders these 90 minute meetings can suck the life right out of you.  in those meetings, it is so easy to get caught up in the numbers and lose sight of the dream or vision you have for student ministry.  this year, i'm really trying to not let this happen.  I have a great administrative assistant in Lori Strehler and she and i put together a budget manifesto that outlined the dream first and the numbers second.  we spent the first 25 minutes walking through the mission and vision of mhs and i was astonished at how receptive the two people from our operations department were.  as the meeting continued it became clear that they didn't fully understand what mars hill students was all about.  not anymore.

they now know what we're trying to do. 

friends, the budget proposal is about more than money.  it is an opportunity for you to share your vision and get the elders, the finance advisory council, or operations department a little bit more familiar with your ministry.  don't just go in and ask them for money.  do your homework and make the time to create something memorable that they can take back to their offices that will clearly communicates your needs. they will see the manifesto, the time and effort it must have taken to put that thing together and respect you because of it.  they might not be able to give you the money or positions you want; but i guarentee you that they will fight a little bit harder on your behalf.  let's not escape this fiscal year and get lost in the numbers; but rather inspire those outlining the 09 budget with a vision that can not be ignored.

creation story...

"an important asset for any leader to have as they work to inspire and motivate there followers is a credible creation story or myth for the organization or movement they're leading." - Steve Sample, the contrarians guide to leadership.

i remember watching Steve Sample, the president of USC talk at the summit a few years back and describe the shear importance of a creation story.  Bill Hybels asked him to share the creation story of USC and in under 5 minutes he told such a powerful story that i think the majority of those in attendence were kicking ourselves for not going to USC.  that's the power of a good story. 

Sample adds, "keep in mind that leadership is all about getting followers to move in new directions; thus a creation story that enshrines the status quo is not much help to the leader.  finally, the story engenders pride among the members of the Trojan family; it inspires people to dream more audaciously than they might otherwise have done.  after all, if a tiny little college with no resourcdes to speak of, and located in a backwater village, can become an internationally renowned research university in just over a hundred years, what might the next hundred bring?"

does your ministry have a creation story?  could you in under five minutes share it with key leaders, parents or students?  does it inspire people to dream more audaciously?   

easter question...

below are lyrics from a band called Brand New. 

"Well, Jesus Christ, I’m alone again
So what did you do those three days you were dead?
Because this problem's gonna last
More than the weekend"

I had a leader call me last night an essentially ask me what he did during those three days.  How would you answer that if a leader or student asked you?

with broken fists.

Aaron Niequist is set to release a new album in the next couple of weeks.  if you don't know Aaron, he is an unbelievable worship leader.  few can lead a room in worship like he can and write the kind of worship songs that feel like daily anthems.  the new album is entitled "with broken fists" and it sounds great.  If you go to his website he not only has samples of his songs; but also the lyrics and what inspired him to write each song.  the album drops April 5th and i hope you're able to pick it up...

only 6?

as i began typing out the post, "who are your 8?" i was again reminded of a quote that Mark Howerton made.  he said, "the majority of pastors really only have 6 messages.  they just find different verses, metaphors or props to explain the 6 in new ways."  i remember hearing this and thinking he was crazy; but as i started out teaching at the.element i found myself wanting to communicate about only certain things.  Marks quote has really helped me evaluate the holes in my teaching themes so that i can help present a more holistic gospel.  if you looked back over the past school year are there a few main themes you keep teaching on?  what are they?  after typing it out, do you find that any themes might be missing?

cal state fullerton.

for the first time in 30 years, the cal state fullerton mens basketball team has made the ncaa tournament.  i still can't believe it.  tomorrow they will play the 3rd seeded wisconsin badgers in omaha.  i'm hoping that the 14 seeded titans will shock the world and send the badgers packing.  i had the privilege when i went to cal state to walk onto their basketball team.  i use to take pride in the probable fact that i was the worst D-1 college basketball player in 1999.  at one point during the season, i overheard some opposing fans asking if i was the coaches son.  i laughed so hard from the end of the bench.

but seriously, when i saw they made the tournament i was just thrilled.  this is a huge step for their basketball program and i can't wait to see how they do.

who are your 8?

i interned awhile back at a great church in costa mesa, ca called rock harbor.  i had the privilege of following Mark Howerton around a couple days a week.  he allowed me to sit in on the teaching team meetings for rock harbor, which consisted of about 8 people who gathered to find the best person to teach.  they would gather in a room once a week trying to plan about 5 to 6 weeks out by finding the passage and main idea for the teaching.  then usually Todd Proctor or Chad Halliburton would say, "who is living this teaching out among the 8 of us?" 

at this time they had no teaching pastor, so Todd, who was the lead pastor didn't want just the best communicator to teach; but the person who was living it out the best to teach.  so we would gather in a circle, look each other square in the eye and tell why we thought this person would be the best to communicate to the larger community.  it was amazing how affirming those times were even though i never got to personally teach.  this was so groundbreaking for me  because being in preaching classes learning about the proper techniques of teaching didn't really matter to these 8.  they wanted to move teaching from the transfer of ideas to something far deeper...transformation.

what if student ministries took this approach?  what could it look like to be 6 weeks out and to know the topic at hand is something the students need to hear; but be honest enough with yourself that you're probably not the best person to communicate it and find a leader, intern or friend who might be able to take it far deeper?  sure the production value might drop; but i don't necessarily think that is a bad thing because what you're declaring to your students is that the stage is sacred.  It's not just for the best communicator around; but rather for those who are living the best kind of life.  your students will begin to also understand that you can learn from anyone...even if they're a steeler or buckeye fan.