“God’s networked kingdom finds expression as people cluster together, centered in Christ, living in the way of Jesus.” –Dwight Friesen

Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight Friesen

[<Disclosure> I received this book to review through my participation in The Ooze's Viral Blogger program. I have not been compensated financially in any way for reading or reviewing this book. </Disclosure>]

Thy Kingdom Connected is written by Dwight Friesen, associate professor of practical theology at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. In it Friesen uses Network Theory to describe various theological implications, perspectives and applications pertaining to the kingdom of God. Friesen’s goal in writing the book is to shine light upon the inter-connectivity of creation and prepare readers for “living into the image of God” and “incarnating the mission of God.”

I Like This Book, But…

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The other day I was cooking a quick dinner for my family. We have two small children (a one year old and a two year old), so “quick” is critical to our dinner preparation. I needed to cut up some chicken so I reached over to our knife block to grab the necessary tool. Instead of grabbing the 7″ Santoku or the 8″ chef’s knife, I grabbed a steak knife. As I was doing so, the following conversation occurred in my head:

Me: “That’s not the best knife for cutting chicken.”
Also me: “We’re using the steak knife.”
Me: “Bad idea.”
Also me: “We’re using the steak knife.”
*Kid yells and our attention refocuses on getting dinner ready.

That’s the set up to this story: I’m tired, hurried, and distracted. And I just grabbed a tool that I know isn’t designed for what I’m doing… How do you think this story ends?

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The following is another excerpt from the BAM Survey 2007 Report. The BAM Survey 2007 Report is an in-depth assessment of the state of the Business as Mission movement based on survey responses from 497 people in 38 countries. You can purchase an electronic copy of the BAM Survey 2007 Report for $14.99 here.

Creating Eternal Value through Strategic Management

Business as Mission Methodology – BAM Business Organization and Resource Coordination (part 1)

In order for Business as Mission objectives to drive the strategic management of BAM companies, the structure of a BAM company must align with those objectives. Analysis of the survey results suggests that correlations^[1] exist between respondents’ perceptions of key elements of a BAM company (structural elements and management considerations) and perceptions of key BAM objectives. (continue reading…)

I was reminded of this by a post I read on Abraham Piper’s blog. Earlier this year, Target introduced a new look for it’s private label, commodity product lines. The brand is called “up&up” and has received a lot of positive attention from the design world.

From a consumer’s perspective, I personally welcomed the change as the new brand distracts me from the reality that we shop at Target because we do not have excess discretionary income and they sell mostly quality products. The new brand really emphasizes the quality of Target’s products when compared to other low-cost competitors (like Walmart or Meijer in the mid-west). The message is clear: “up”; which has a positive connotation (i.e. “Things are looking up.”)

Strategically, the new brand seems like a great concept that aligns with how Target approaches its market. No problem, right?

Look at the new logo upside down:

It’s still a clean, aesthetically pleasing design. But now it says “down”.

Is this catastrophic? No. But the brand message is lost every time Target product gets placed upside down in the consumers home. For me, all I see now is “dn&dn”. Probably not what Target’s marketing team wanted.

As strategists, it’s our job to shine light on the unintended and unexpected by asking “What would this look like from a different angle?”

As part of the Excellence in Online Ministry research project, I have gotten to speak with a number of thought leaders in the area of online ministry. Recently I spoke with DJ Turner, Director of Communications for Denver Seminary and she shared with me about their challenges and success in leveraging the web to serve their broad audience. DJ provided tremendous insight into how strategically approaching your online activities can help a ministry to be excellent. Here are some highlights from our conversation:

In your experience, how does research contribute to online excellence?
I think research is very important for ministries to be excellent online. I wish I had more time for it because it’s so important. If you don’t know where your audience is, you can’t achieve excellence. Having an understanding of where audience is is very important. You also have to understand how they interact with the different sorts of things that are online and what their goals are. Say we have 900 students who are fans of our Facebook page, but only 200 want to interact with us on it; it isn’t realistic for us to push the other 700 of them to engage more online. In this way, the understanding we develop through research helps us to set realistic goals.

What about the use of analytics?
Where research helps us establish our goals, analytics helps us to determine how we are doing in achieving those goals. In addition, there is research that comes from analytics. If our analytics shows that we have 50 hits a month from South Africa, that tells us maybe there is something going on there we need to pay attention to.

What other factors contribute to excellence?
This may fall under research, but you have to have an awareness of what your peers are doing. Not for comparison, but so you can gauge and have the opportunity to dialog with them and explore other things and stretch your horizons. There are a lot things that can be learned from that.

If we’re continually sharpening each other… but not for comparison, balanced by knowledge of who your audience is and what your mission is – I think that can contribute a great deal to being excellent.

I also think that learning an important part of excellence. If you’re not aware of what’s developing, you’ll find that you’re left behind because your audience will have moved on. Research is not something you do one time, but has to be an ongoing process. Being able to learn and grow and understand and be aware of what’s going on is important so that our priorities shift appropriately.

Online excellence is a process, not something you achieve in a one-time “oh we’ve arrived” sort of thing.

You can learn more about Denver Seminary and the great work they are doing advancing the kingdom here.

And you should definitely check out DJ Turner, she’s doing great things in online ministry. Find her on Twitter here.

Jesus Christ is on Facebook

I personally am a huge proponent of Christians leveraging the power of the Internet to advance the Kingdom and to give glory to God. I recognize that the web is changing the way people live their lives, I see it in my own family. My nigh-two year old is already comfortable with video calls and would rather look at pictures of her mother and brother on the computer than look at them in person. It is apparent to me that Internet will be a integral aspect of the lives of future generations of Christians.

As Christians around the world are exploring new expressions of faith within the virtual context of the web, people are forming strong opinions on what it means to be a church online. Though there has been some discourse on these issues, most of people’s attention is focused on making online church a reality. As a result, foundations are being laid for future generations without truly understanding what it is that is being built.

People argue that subjecting online church to examination and measurement will stifle progress and even discourage people from coming to the faith by online churches. While those are both valid concerns, I believe our generation has an obligation to study online church, subjecting our theories and practices to critical analysis and testing, and debating the issues. Here’s why:

15 reasons why “online church” should be debated:

1. We have a limited capacity to discern God’s will

Scripture tells us that we can not achieve the fullness of knowledge of God and his will. So if our desire is to build God’s church, then we must acknowledge that no individual or no group of people will be able to fully understand what or why or how we are supposed to be the church online. If we recognize this to be true then the natural response is to humble ourselves and say, “If what I know and believe is incomplete and may not be right. Then I should supplement it with counsel from diverse backgrounds and beliefs.” (continue reading…)

First off, I am very happy for this: http://rcpc.com/blog/view.jsp?Blog_param=44. Tim Keller is a gifted preacher and his perspective on many issues facing churches and the Church is great. Very insightful, yet humble and consistent in valuing progress toward redemption and fulfillment of our Kingdom calling.

Second, over the past year I’ve been able to spend a significant amount of time discussing strategic issues facing Christians and the church with Drew Goodmanson. Drew is a strong believer in a “triperspectival epistemology” (aka the belief that true human knowledge has three perspectives: normative, situational, and existential (based on John Frame’s work The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God).

Though I still wrestle with the nuances of triperspectivalism (it’s pretty darn nuanced), I’ve come to appreciate the its value and believe that thinking provides a complete picture of the nature of things. (continue reading…)

You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. –Winston Churchill

In an article in The New York Times Magazine from August, 2007 William Safire discusses how title “Strategist” is replacing “Adviser”  in American politics and the nuance behind the shift. What says it reveals a desire to differentiate oneself from the overused “campaign manager” and “political adviser” and while implying high status within the ranks of a staff.

I personally have been frustrated by how most business labels which describe my profession, skill set, or the value I offer are either so commonly used that they’ve become sterile and weak or carry some negative connotation (think: consultant). I have often struggled with how to succinctly and accurately describe myself (while trying to remain humble) and have routinely settled on “strategist” after much soul-searching and field testing (What word comes to mind when you hear the word: AWESOMESTAR?) (continue reading…)

In 1999, energy bar producer PowerBar ran an advertising campaign with the tagline “DON’T BONK.” To “bonk” is to experience a sudden loss of energy or exhaustion, brought on by failure to eat and drink enough, during a race. The ads featured athletes (runners, bikers, etc.) who would come close to winning a race only to have victory suddenly (and humorously) snatched from them because they lacked the energy to push all the way through. The claim was that a PowerBar would provide the needed substance to help you push through to the end, allowing you to claim victory.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this in the context of strategy, well honestly I’ve been thinking about it in the context of a lot of things: life, relationships, entrepreneurship, parenting, ministry… because DON’T BONK is great advice for anyone who strives to create impact in the world, be it in your community, the  marketplace, or your own home. It’s advice that is especially poignant and pertinent in my life right now as I run the race that has been laid out for me. (continue reading…)

“We often speak about wanting to be light in the darkness. America… has plenty of darkness, although it masquerades as light. Are we really providing illumination? Could we do a better job of being love in the midst of ambivalence, hostility, and fear, or of delivering wisdom in the middle of a confusing and distracted culture?” –George Barna

The Seven Faith Tribes by George Barna

I am not sure what George Barna set out to achieve by writing “The Seven Faith Tribes” given that the book is a combination multiple themes: a segmentation analysis of the American population based on spiritual beliefs and behaviors, social commentary on the decline of American culture, a call for Christians to live differently by embracing love and service to others, and laying a foundation for a vision of how society can be restored. My challenge with this book was that Barna addresses each of these themes with a different tone (stark and alarmist when decrying the decline of America’s culture, analytical and moderated when discussing statistical differences between the faith tribes) and their juxtaposition made the book feel inconsistent.

But, Barna does tie the points together and reflecting on the book I do feel that the message of this book is good and important, even if that wasn’t always clear during the process of reading it. (continue reading…)