Business as Mission Metrics – Measuring Effectiveness (part 1)

Creating Eternal Value through Strategic Management

Business as Mission Metrics – Measuring the Effectiveness of BAM Efforts (part 1)

One of the root challenges for BAM leaders is managing the numerous demands on their business. The BAM leader’s responsibilities of planning, organizing, managing resources, and leading are all shaped by the availability of information, the expectations, value systems, and influence of key stakeholders, and (to the extent they are used) business and management principles and theories. Significant attention has been given by the corporate sector to studying each of these factors.

Recently, the popularity of social and environmental responsibility has increased focus on...

Business as Mission Methodology – Business Organization and Resource Coordination (part 2)

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 2)

Impact of Company/Business Attributes on...

Planning the Next Phase of Haitian Relief

The devastation of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (and the 49 magnitude 4.5 or greater aftershocks) is heart-wrenching. The pictures of the damage… of the hurt and suffering experienced by the people there… of the chaos of a massive world effort to provide the basics: emergency care and medicine, food, shelter, security… are haunting. (Click the following links to see pictures from January 13th , January 18th, January 22nd, and February 1st. WARNING: the images are graphic.)

According to a...

Who are the Business as Mission leaders? (part 2)

This is the third installment sharing highlights from the BAM Survey 2007 Report. Today we take a closer look at the global leaders of the Business as Mission movement and the beliefs that drive their efforts in spreading the Gospel through global business entrepreneurship.

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.

Who are the Business as Mission leaders? (part 2)

Embracing the Priesthood of Believers

Our research...

The Pending Squirrel/Human War Is No Laughing Matter

You may have thought I was joking when I wrote about the human/squirrel conflicts that defined the last decade. But believe me, this is serious.

News broke today that the conflict in Walnut Creek, CA has escalated to such levels that the local government has resorted to unconventional methods for annihilating the squirrel population. According to East Bay News:

There are squirrels everywhere and doing damage, but the people would rather see them plucked from the sky than be poisoned on the ground. Beth...

Strategy Principles – Looking From Different Angles

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...

Zing!… oh

Any Biblical scholar with working knowledge of John 10:10 will tell you that Dilbert just called me the devil.

p.s. It’s not...

Defining the Business as Mission Movement

The following is an excerpt from the BAM Survey 2007 Report, an in-depth assessment of the state of the Business as Mission movement that I wrote while developing the consulting services division of EC Group International. The report is based on survey responses from 497 people in 38 countries.

Though based on data collected in 2007, many of the insights contained in this report are valuable in understanding the state of the Business as Mission movement at the beginning of 2010. That is why over the course of the next several weeks I will be posting excerpts from the report on this blog. Additionally, you can purchase an electronic copy of the BAM Survey 2007 Report for $14.99.

Whether you are a BAM practitioner, a church or missions...

Online Excellence Conversations – DJ Turner of Denver Seminary

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...

Facebook’s popularity and your church’s social media strategy

Facebook is popular.

Seems rather inane to state it like that, but a lot of people don’t know what to make of Facebook. Some don’t even know what Facebook is. Facebook’s incredible growth over the past year has far reaching implications not only for how people spend time online, but also how people interact in their daily lives. And this, in turn, affects the way we as the church operate. So the question is: how does a church make heads or tails of this bellwether of social media?

Since this article is long (1860 words, at last count), let me tell you where I’m going to go with this.

First, we’ll try to understand the magnitude of growth that Facebook is experiencing. Then we’ll look at the factors that have contributed to this growth. I’ll present an interpretation of why Facebook is popular that should change the way churches approach...