Auxano

Starve a Blog, Feed a Twitter

Posted in Auxano, Innovation3, Twitter, blogging, facebook, i3, linked-in, myspace, plaxo, social media on January 27th, 2009 by Steve Bradley – 1 Comment

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been majorly ignoring my blog of late. This is mainly due to the fact that I discovered twitter (go here to see my profile) over the holidays.

The result has been that the time in my schedule normally allotted to blogging has been eaten up with twittering. Which may seem strange if you’ve not yet succumbed to the crack-like addictive properties of twitter…

Because it’s not just twitter itself that’s addicting — it’s the ability to connect instantaneously with so many people, which then opens the door to a whole host of other resources, blogs, tech tools, etc. Which means you never have to stop twittering!

Plus I’ve been busy. In fact, today and tomorrow (weather permitting - please pray for non-ice) I’ll be at the Innovation3 conference, where I’ll get to meet up with other members of the Auxano team, see some old friends, and meet some new ones - many of whom I’ve met on twitter, by the way…

So there you have it. I haven’t given up on blogging, it’s just that I have yet to find a rhythm in 2009 that allows twittering and blogging to co-exist peacefully.

Does anyone else have this problem? What’s your experience with social media tools, like Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In, Plaxo, or twitter? If you use them, how do you incorporate them into your day? If you don’t use them, why not?

How to Turn Vision into Reality

Posted in Auxano, Will Mancini, clarity, leadership, mission, uniqueness, vision on November 17th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 3 Comments

Wanted to pass along a link to a great article by Will Mancini, which was published on the web a week or so ago [link to the full article is here]– here’s an excerpt:

What if the real challenge of translating vision to reality is something inherently wrong with our current models for vision? What if strategic planning models and long-range planning teams spend countless hours developing a vision or a plan that, by its very nature, is unrealizable? What if we changed our paradigm or working definition of vision in a way that made it naturally and organically more likely to blossom? What if we could make vision so clear that action was inevitable?

I believe the real challenge of turning vision into reality is one seven-letter word: clarity.

This resonates with me on so many levels. It’s part of the reason I joined up with Mancini and the Auxano team in the first place.

For when leaders pursue clarity, they find a unique vision from God that nourishes them and compels others to join. It’s not about the latest tricks, trends, or techniques then. It’s not about coercion or manipulation. Rather, it’s about leaning into, living, and casting a clear vision that invites others to participate in God’s mission — catalyzing folks into action to become part of something larger than themselves, a unique expression of Christ’s body on earth.

What is your experience? Do you see a connection between vision and reality in your life, or in the life of your church?

The One Thing All Bloggers Must Know!

Posted in Auxano, Evil UGA, Georgia Tech, Jane Monzures, Stephanie Blank, Zakk Tyler, blogging, power of words, radio on October 22nd, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 6 Comments

I’ve been blogging for several months now, and have learned a lot. But one lesson became especially clear to me today — a lesson that I feel compelled to share with anyone who enters the blogosphere…

What is that lesson you ask?

People might actually read what you write.

Case in point, I wrote a post yesterday that was inspired by an interview I heard on a local FM radio morning show (The Zakk Tyler Show) between Zakk and Stephanie Blank. Later in the day, I got an email from none other than Zakk himself!

It seems that someone had passed along the link to him. So he read it and sent me a very nice note, thanking me for pointing out that he was joking when he implied that he would treat others like servants were he wealthier. I responded that I thought it was only fair, since it was clear to me he was making a joke on himself to bring out a positive story about Mrs. Blank (her serving folks despite the fact that she’s very wealthy).

Fast forward to this morning — when I received an email from his co-host, Jane Monzures, asking if I’d like to go on-air with them. Before I could respond, Zakk called me, and a few minutes later I was on the radio with Zakk, Jane, and someone named Mike, I believe. Fortunately, they were gracious hosts, reading my post on the air, and allowing me some time to mention the work I do with churches through Auxano.

Overall it was a very positive experience — with one possible exception, perhaps. When Jane brought up a similar story about the wife of Mark Richt (University of Georgia head football coach) serving water to the players, my true colors came out. I had to admit my passionate allegiance to Georgia Tech, which of course requires me to have an equally passionate dislike (ok fine — hatred) for UGA. Don’t believe me? Then consider the fact that the words “To Hell with Georgia” are featured prominently in Tech’s fight song…

So while I’m not proud to admit it, I think I did utter on live morning radio something to the effect of: “Well it’s hard to hate them [i.e., the Richts, who seem to be really great people, by the way], but I find a way to do it anyway.” Hopefully folks will understand that I, like Zakk, was in fact joking…kind of :-)

The moral of all of this?

Words have wings. You never know where they’re going to land.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. Luke 12:2-3

Have you ever been surprised by the effect your words have had on others? What words have had the greatest impact on you?

Church Unique Giveaway Winner

Posted in Auxano, Catalyst, Church Unique, Will Mancini, free stuff on October 13th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 2 Comments

We have a winner! Or more accurately, we have 11 winners!

That’s right — upon further review (and with the help of Will Mancini, who graciously supplied me with some extra copies), I decided to relieve my lovely bride of the burden of choosing just one winner. So everyone who recommended someone or responded to this post about our Catalyst Conference related giveaway will receive their free copy of Church Unique! This includes:
  1. Boz (Brian)
  2. Evan Courtney
  3. Joel H. Williams (if you’d like your own copy)
  4. Anonymous (you know who you are, I hope)
  5. Aron
  6. Brian Miller
  7. Joel Story
  8. Jimmy (if you’d like your own copy)
  9. Jonathan Brink
  10. Kathy Escobar
  11. Tiffany
To claim your prize, please send me an email with your name and mailing address (and/or the name and address of those you’ve recommended) to: me[at]visionnavigator.com.

Still Time to Get Your Free Copy of Church Unique!

Posted in Auxano, Catalyst, Church Unique, Will Mancini, free stuff on October 10th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – Be the first to comment

There’s still time to get your free copy of Will Mancini’s book, Church Unique (http://www.churchunique.com/)!

If you’re at the Catalyst Conference, TEXT “catalyst-buzz” TO 95495 — you’ll then receive instructions on where to go to get your FREE COPY.

Not at Catalyst? Then go here and leave a comment for your chance to win.

Free Copy of Church Unique!!

Posted in Auxano, Catalyst, Church Unique, Will Mancini, free stuff on October 9th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 11 Comments

[Update, 10/13/08: Check out this post to see the winner]

Like free stuff? Well, you’ve come to the right place…

The Auxano team (of which I am a part) is giving away free copies of Church Unique, by Will Mancini (http://www.churchunique.com/) at the Catalyst conference today, starting at 9:00 am EST.

If you’re at Catalyst, do the following:

TEXT “catalyst-buzz” TO 95495

You should then receive a reply that will tell you where to go to get your FREE COPY (when you get it, tell ‘em Steve sent you).

Not at Catalyst? Bummed you’re missing out?

Well, I have one free copy of my own I’ll be giving out to anyone who is not able to be at Catalyst this year.

To claim it, leave a comment on this post, explaining in 25 words or less why you’d like a copy. If your case is compelling, or otherwise strikes the fancy of my lovely bride (who will serve as the final judge in this little giveaway), you win!!

Tune back in next Monday at 9:00 am EST, when the winner will be announced!

How Do You Measure a Church’s Success?

Posted in Auxano, Church Unique, Will Mancini, life marks, megachurches, mission measure, missional, vision, vision frame on September 19th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 2 Comments

In a post last week on Megachurches and Church Growth, I asked the question, “How do you measure the health or growth of a church?“

The temptation for most churches (and those writing articles on churches) is to measure only the ABCs (Attendance, Buildings, and Cash).

The problem here is that while such measures are informative, they do not adequately capture the true measure of a church’s missional effectiveness.

The reason? Because the ABCs focus primarily on organizational metrics, ignoring the more elusive and difficult to quantify relational dynamics that mark true missional success.

Put more plainly, if a church’s mission is to make disciples, they need to have some idea of what they’re trying to make.

So how does a church know this? By asking questions such as these:

  • How do we determine who and who is not a disciple?
  • What is our definition of spiritual growth or maturity?
  • What characteristics or qualities does a disciple exhibit?
  • How do we measure spiritual fruitfulness?

Such questions move beyond the mere accounting of resources, towards a more relational model that measures success in terms of character qualities or missional life marks (for more on this, see Chapter 15 of Mancini’s book, Church Unique).

How does your church measure success? Do you have a common target or bull’s-eye that you’re all aiming at?

Silver Imagination

Posted in Alan Hirsch, Auxano, Will Mancini, church stuff, imagination, missional on August 15th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 3 Comments

[Silver frame photo courtesy of Michal Zacharzewski, SXC]

Auxano’s founder, Will Mancini, is one of the presenters at the PGF conference (Presbyterian Global Fellowship), going on this weekend. Sharing a coaching platform with Alan Hirsch yesterday, Will relayed on his blog a great quote from Alan, which ties in with my recent posts on doing church and kingdom imagination. He writes:

My favorite quote of the day was, “There is no silver bullet, but there is a silver imagination.” “Constantine is still the emperor of our minds” when it comes to how we think about church, Alan states. The silver imagination is about re-calibrating to our founder- Jesus; a process Alan calls radical traditionalism. He urged the presbyterian leaders wrestling through missional transformation to think like beginners and not experts- “we have to be OK with not knowing all of the answers.”

These are great thoughts. Rather than a quick fix or silver bullet, we need silver imaginations.

Minds that are transformed and renewed by our willingness to sacrifice everything at the feet of our Savior. Minds that are taken captive, and are captivated, by Christ. Minds fueled by the Spirit to see beyond current circumstances and past experiences. Minds that can only imagine where God is leading…

Do you tend to look for silver bullets, or silver imaginations? What has God placed in your imagination?

A Journey Worth the Taking

Posted in Auxano, Jonathan Brink, Thrive, communitas, community, journey, unreproducable on July 24th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 2 Comments

Jonathan Brink’s post, An Unreproducable Journey, really resonates with me. It captures the tension I feel working with church leaders and faciltating my own small group.

On one level, I’d like to tell folks we can find a detailed mapquest printout of where God is leading us. But only God holds the future and knows the plans he has for us.

We can, however, create some useful travel plans based on past travels, including road maps, rules of the road, driving tips, reviews from other travelers, etc. That’s what Jonathan’s doing with Thrive, and what we’re doing at Auxano. These things are great, because we all need fixed points of reference, as well as some guidance and navigation along the way.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t warn folks that each trip is different, and unpredictable. Because God is the consummate ad libber.

It’s not that he’s unreliable. Certainly not. It’s just that he’s infintely creative. And he often has to take us on detours to break down trust in our own plans, so we can learn to trust in him instead, and see what he has in mind.

That’s what makes each journey unique — and unreproducable. Because the journey has as much to do with our hearts as it does with the destination. And only God knows both of those things well enough to lead us where we need to go.

Cool thing is that God gives us great companions for the journey, if we’re open to traveling with them. Others who can challenge and encourage, speaking truth into our lives from a perspective we don’t possess on our own…God with us, in communitas…

What about you? Are you on this kind of journey? If not, what’s holding you back?

The Power of Words

Posted in Auxano, giving, movies, poverty, power of words on July 22nd, 2008 by Steve Bradley – 1 Comment

One of our favorite sayings at Auxano is “words create worlds.”

Ran across this short film today that illustrates this more powerfully than I can describe…

The winner of the NFB Online Competition Cannes 2008, the film is entitled Historia de un Letrero (The Story of a Sign), by Alonso Barreda:

Have you seen this?

How important are the words we choose? What words have had an impact on your world?

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