Mark Clement

3 Signs of a Healthy/Unhealthy Church (Top Posts of 2009)

Having spent 15  years on various church staffs and time with hundreds of church clients over the past six years, I've developed a bit of a sixth sense when it comes to the health of a church. Fact is it's not rocket science. The signs are everywhere and pretty easy to spot. But when we're in the middle of it, when it's OUR church, it suddenly gets complicated. Sometimes we're so busy we just don't see the signs. Other times we see them but ignore them in hopes that they will just go away. Finally, and this may be the worst of them all, we see them very clearly but we are quick to excuse or justify. This list is by no means exhaustive, but will help you to start asking the right questions. So let's take a quick look at three of the biggest signs we should all be watching out for.

Sign #1 - GROWTH AND FRUIT

Bottom line a healthy anything (person, church, animal, plant, organization) grows. Some grow faster or different than others, but all healthy things grow. And they can grow numerically, or by reproducing, or in strength/effectiveness. Healthy things are full of energy and life, and they produce fruit of some kind. In a church that fruit should be things like salvation, life change, spiritual maturity, giving, serving and sending. No growth, no fruit = no health.

Sign #2 - INNOVATION/ADAPTABILITY

Healthy things stay that way because they learn to adapt to their changing environments through innovation. This isn't a contemporary vs. traditional issue, it applies to all. You have to remember that the degree of innovation is determined not by the innovation itself, but by the point of origin. You have to measure your church's innovation against itself, not other churches. All points of origin are different. It's also important that we don't change for change's sake, but because it's necessary for growth. Bottom line, if your organization looks exactly the same as it did a year, two years, five years ago, your health is definitely in question.

SIGN #3 - LONG TERM MEMBERS (AND STAFF)

This sign goes hand in hand with #1 (Growth). One without the other is not good, but as you grow, if you tend to keep people a long time, that is a great sign of health. The fact is that healthy people can not and will not stay at an unhealthy church for very long. The biggest test for this is among leadership. These are the people who get to see behind the curtain, who work directly with the staff. Sooner or later they will get a true picture of the health of the church. If there is constant turnover among people in leadership, you have a serious problem. And no amount of new people coming in the front door will fix it. Longevity = health.

What are some other important signs to be on the lookout for? We value your input.

Christmas Traditions

This morning I was up kinda early and had the house to myself (and the dogs) for a bit. I turned on all the Christmas lights, the tree, etc..and sat in our den enjoying the moment. I started thinking about the things that make Christmas unique in our house and it got me wondering what unique or quirky things other people do. 

For starters at our house, every year we make monster cookies. No way to really describe how incredibly good these things are, but picture a cookie that is about 5" in diameter and 1/2" thick that is essentially a combination of oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip, M&M and sugar cookies all rolled into one. You can add nuts too if you like. They are unbelievable. One batch is enough to feed a small army. My mom always made them and now Marcus has taken it on as his thing and does it every year when he comes home from school.

The Saturday before Christmas Eve we do my mom's extended family thing. This tradition started because me and my brothers, my dad, etc...all were on church staff somewhere and Christmas Eve was a work day. That's not the case for all but one of us now, but it stuck and we like it and it works.

Christmas morning is easy. Our kids are older now (youngest is almost 12) so we sleep in and take it nice and slow. Once fire is lit and presents are opened we head to the kitchen to make pigs in a blanket and mimosa's for the adults. No idea how or when this started, but we've been doing it as long as I can remember. Inevitably a nap follows.

Christmas night we enjoy our traditional feast of lasagna. Started when I was a kid, became a big thing for us, and we've been doing it ever since. 

So what do you and your family do? I would love to know. Comment below.

God, Save Us From Our Comfort

I don't need God as much as I used to. Well, actually that's not remotely true, but a lot of the time I do in fact FEEL like I don't need him as much. Why? It's very simple. Money. I have it. A lot of it, at least by some standards. I'm not rich or anything, but I am definitely comfortable, and comfort is by all definitions the exact opposite of need.

Most of us here in America are in this same boat, at least compared to the rest of the world.

I'm not complaining mind you, but I am constantly searching. The truth is, for most of us, the times we feel closest to God are the times we need him the most. When we're broke. When we're hurting. Alone. Lost. Afraid.

But who wants that? Everybody says they want more faith, but nobody wants to be in a situation where they NEED it. Right?

These comments and this video from Carlos Whitaker today rocked my world:

Save us from these comforts.
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You

This is one of my favorite choruses on my upcoming album. It brings out strong reactions in people. I’m finding 2 reactions the most popular.

1. What? Really? C’mon. You don’t really want to sing that.
2. Oh my God. This is the chorus that my church has needed to sing for years. I can’t sing it enough. BREAK US LORD!!!

Through my conversations with the reactionaries I am finding some things to be consistent. Those who are comfortable in their faith really aren’t hip with too much disturbance and disruption in their mojo. I get it. If things are good. If things are stable, why ask God to save us from these comforts? And those who are desiring something…”more”…from whatever it is they are searching for, are singing this chorus until their voices give out.

Neither is wrong. Neither is right.

But I do know this. I grow in my faith the most when I am disturbed and disrupted. I get a spiritual fat @** when I’m not.

This chorus is taken from a book of Puritan prayers. Those guys wanted something extra. Something I don”t quite understand. Or didn’t. Until I met Danny.

Danny is a homeless guy in Atlanta who happened to walk up on me while I was shooting the EPK for my new record. I was singing the song…God Of Second Chances. Danny walks up…kneels down…starts crying…puts his hands up in the air…and…

If you listen carefully at the end you hear me saying this to Danny, “Keep trying to make it man.” He looked me square in the eye…cocked his head sideways with a confused look on his face…and said, “Trying to make it? No man. I ain’t trying to make it…I’m making it. Jah puts His soldiers everywhere. Jah says, Yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death… So He places some of us, in that valley.”

Game, set, match…

Save us from these comforts.
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You

How To Be A Great Client

During our family Christmas, my four year old nephew asked my brother to tie his shoes. He said he needed the help because he didn't know how to do it himself. Inspecting the finished work he disapprovingly looked up at his uncle and exclaimed 'you did it wrong.' My brother, a business owner himself, looked at me with a wry smile and said 'he'll make a great client one day'.

If you have clients of any type (client, customer, congregation) you know exactly why this is so stinkin' funny! Now from personal experience, over 6 years and hundreds of clients, I can tell you that the vast majority of my clients are awesome. They are thoughtful and easy to work with. We have great dialogue, passionate discussions and thoughtful exchanges, all in an effort to come up with the absolute best product. They not only respect, but value our professional input and opinions. After all, that's what they are paying us for. Right?

But every once in a while, and I mean like once every 12-18 months at most, we get the horrible exception to this rule. Every step is a struggle, a battle even. And it makes you wonder: if you guys know so much, then why in the world did you bring us on board in the first place? Bueller? Anyone?

While that question may remain unanswered, there are some things we can all do to make life easier and more productive. We talk a lot about how to be a great service provider to our clients, but today, let's flip it around and talk about how we all can be great clients. After all, we're ALL clients at one time or another.

Be Realistic. In order for a business-client relationship to work, it's imperative to have realistic expectations. Give examples if you can. Make sure everything is in writing. Make sure that your expectations match the price (money and otherwise) that you are willing to invest in the project. Don't expect to pay a little and get a lot. It rarely ever happens that way.

Be Clear. Be clear up front about what you want. If you have specific wants, concerns or issues, make sure they are communicated clearly from day one. Waiting until the work is done to express your opinions or expectations is a recipe for disaster. That's the equivalent of rolling the dice and hoping for the best.

Be Involved. Nothing is more frustrating to a provider than having to drive the process for the client. As the client, it is YOUR project. Own the process. You should care more about it than anybody. That means being proactive, meeting your deadlines, giving good feedback, providing good info and content and keeping up good communications. Don't make us chase you. Be involved.

Be Positive. Who do you think we work harder for: the client who's always complaining and negative or the one who is positive and encouraging? If you're human, you like to be encouraged and appreciated. Even if something touchy needs to be dealt with, it can always be done with love and respect. 99% of the time the one being criticized will respond better to words of challenge and encouragement than to negative and ugly comments. Golden rule baby. 

Be Flexible. While some things have to be hard and fast like procedures or deadlines, most aspects of a project can stand to benefit from some flexibility. Hold loosely the things that are not quite as critical and see how that affects the overall flow of work. Most times you'll find that things run smoother that way. 

Be Humble. Hopefully when you hire someone to do something for you, it's because they are great at what they do. An expert in their field. So bring what you can to the table, but allow them to bring their valuable stuff as well. Ask their opinion and listen to what they have to say. Ask questions. Learn from them just as they should be learning from you.

Try these things on for size and see how they, and your provider, work better. 

What are some other tips on what makes a great client? We want to hear from you.

Think Local: It Matters

No matter what you do (whether you're a church planter, existing ministry, business of some type, consultant, whatever...) it's incredibly important to think local. This affects every aspect of your process. Branding, marketing, systems, communication. Everything you do needs to be run through the 'think local' filter. In our world of books and blogs and twitter and conferences, it's easy to look at what others are doing successfully and automatically assume that it will work in our local situation as well. While some principles and practices are transferable, that is not always the case.

Case in point: A few years ago a church planting network based out of Atlanta tried to plant a new location in Birmingham, AL. It looked great on paper, but in practice it was a very different story. Birmingham and Atlanta, while similar in some ways, are drastically different in others. The planters, who were moving from Atlanta, didn't bother to spend any time on the ground in B'ham prior to launch and as a result made some critical mistakes. For example, they decided to plant the church in downtown B'ham, thinking that people would drive from all the suburbs into the city for church. In Atlanta people are used to driving 30-45 minutes to get anywhere. But in B'ham, people rarely leave their part of town for anything non-work related, like shopping or church. This combined with many other bad decisions caused the church to flounder for years. 

Check out this great video from popurls and UPS to see some great examples of how thinking local can be the difference between success and failure.

The Innovator's Dilemma: What Business Are You REALLY In?

One of the quickest ways to become obsolete in your chosen field is not having a clear understanding of what your field actually is. The question is not what product you supply to your customers, but what benefit do you provide to your customers? It's a common mistake that must be avoided at all costs. Check out this excellent video illustration from POPURL sponsored by UPS. BTW, if you're not already tuned in to this excellent source of info, check it out after you watch the clip.

Leaders, what business are you actually in?

Hanging With Rick Warren: Tweet It Or Live It?

My kids are of the age where they have grown up in perfect sync with the development of the home video camera. My oldest is now 21 and the youngest is 11. Over those 20+ years of recitals, concerts, games, plays and performances I've watched in amazement as parents have jockeyed for position with their tripods, power cords and long lenses.

On more than one occasion I've heard a frustrated parent complain of not getting a good view, or their battery going dead, having ruined the whole thing. Or a mom asking the videographer dad what he thought about their kids performance and his reply being 'I didn't really notice, but I'll watch it when we get home'. WHAT? Dude, you were THERE!? Or were you?

As ridiculous as that is, many of us aren't any better. We're often more interested in sharing a moment with our Twitterverse or Facebook friends than we are in being in the moment itself. And we miss it.

Since the majority of my network are church leaders/professionals, let me ask you this question: If you had a chance to hang out with Rick Warren for an hour, one on one, would you waste one second of that messing around with your smartphone? No way. Do you think he would do that to you?

Given a choice would you rather tweet about being with Rick Warren or actually BE with him? We spend our lives and major events looking at them through the lens of a camera or a phone screen. The down side is we tend not to BE in the room, in the moment. We're not present. Our memory tends to be informed by what we watched on the screen, defeating the point of actually having been there.

I don't know what's worse, having this done to you (we've all been there, it sucks) or doing it to someone else. I for one will tweet before or after, but never during, a special moment. Author Howard Mann nails it when he says:

We walk the streets with our heads down staring into 3-inch screens while the world whisks by doing the same. And yet we’re convinced we are more connected to each other than ever before. Multi-tasking has become a badge of honor. I want to know why. I don’t have all the answers to these questions but I find myself thinking about them more and more. In between tweets, blog posts and facebook updates.

How has this issue affected you and what have you done to make it better? Tune in tomorrow for some tips on how to avoid this.

Hootsuite vs Tweetdeck

Been a Tweetdeck (TD) fan for quite a while now. It made Twitter so much more accessible and functional. But it does have some shortcomings that have frustrated me. Now that Hootsuite (HS) has finally come out with an iPhone version, I decided it was time to try it out for a few days and see if it would be worth switching. The following is a side by side comparison.

There's a lot to love about both programs. They serve the exact same function and both work really well. But there are some simple but very important differences that need to be considered. I'll avoid all the tech talk and just stick with the practical day to day stuff that all of us regular folks can appreciate.

I definitely like the look and feel of TD over HS. I like the dark background with light text. Makes it pop and is easy to read. The overall page is much less cluttered and the columns can be thinner than HS so you can see more on a page at one time.

The HS platform is web based vs the software of TD and this is a big plus. Doesn't take as much computing power to run HS and you can log into it from any computer, no downloading necessary.

Another cool thing with HS is that you can pick which social networks your tweets are sent to and don't have to do the 'all or none' thing. It includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Ping. You can send you post to all or a combo of them, whatever you like.

Finally, the 2 features that put HS over the top for me are the ability to schedule tweets for later and the option to monitor/track your links and click-throughs. Prior to HS you had to use third parties for this kind of thing and now it's all in one place.

Final verdict, Hootsuite has one me over. Check it out for yourself at hootsuite.com.

Buy One, GIVE One

Even though Tom's Shoes has received more exposure this last year than one can imagine, amazingly some folks still aren't familiar. In essence, Tom's Shoes is a company with an amazing business model: for every pair they sell, they give a pair away to a child in need. Tom's have been a favorite of our kids for years and we are more than doing our share to support the cause this year :)  You should see all the new styles and colors. So to all those who haven't heard of Tom's, check out this really creative little video, then click on any of these links and check out their web site.

The End Of Publishing As We Know It

With the introduction of the Kindle by Amazon over the last couple of years, it was apparent that all things publishing were about to get turned upside down. That process is now going to be drastically accelerated in 2010 by the introduction of the new Apple tablet computer and this device, the new eBook from Time and The Wonderfactory.

To get some insight into how this could affect the publishing industry, check out this post from Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson.

What do you think about this brave new world? What will it take for you to stop buying real books?