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2021 Church Trends
8 Church trends for 2021 with Carey Nieuwhof
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Saw Sharpening
‘Why don’t you pause and sharpen the saw?’
‘Can’t you see I’m too busy cutting these logs’
Take time to sharpen the saw! If you are not familiar with Dr Steven Covey’s phrase – google it – or check out the info and video at the link below … Covey talks about taking time for Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit – and sometimes it’s as simple as taking time to learn a new skill – how to get the most from an app on your pc or tablet, get the most from the tools of your trade.
What do you need to take time with to help you be a better version of you?
https://www.franklincovey.com/the-7-habits/habit-7.html
And a video with an overview of Covey’s 7 habits of effective people.
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OnLine Reports & Papers
A wee video from a few years ago with Bryan Kerr and Donald McCorkindale in the context of the Church of Scotland General Assembly – about going paperless and making the most of electronic versions rather than printing off oddles of paper!
Yes you can scribble notes in the margins, stick in a post-it note! Yes, you can flick between several documents. Take time to become familiar with reading and using digital documents.
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The most important meeting of the day!
All Zoomed out! Lots of online meetings on various platforms filling our days. But the most important meeting is a low tech offline one!
Are you making time for a meeting with yourself? Have you put it in your calendar and blocked off time to review, plan and priorise your day?
Below is my ‘Agenda’ for Morning and Evening meeting with self – and God.
I’m a big fan of AYOA and have used it for years to keep track of my projects and tasks – it may work well for you – it’s very visual, actually quite fun, and integrates with mind-mapping. The important thing is to have a trusted system – somewhere beyond your head to capture and process all the things that you have to do
Meeting with self – Morning
Agenda
Prayer
Previous meeting notes
Matters arising – any loose threads..?
Correspondence (Incoming External stuff)
- Check Church of Scotland News
- Tue: Schedule half an hour to process emails/ Evernote Inbox
- Wed: Check Presbytery Website
- Thu: Check Ascend Website
Review AYOA/ To Do List
- Review Projects & Tasks
- Is there anything that anyone else is waiting for?
- Who is on my mind that I will phone or message today?
Personal Development
At least half an hour now or scheduled for later today.
- Watch/ Read a MindTools article
- Watch a TED Talk
- Read
- Sharpen a saw! Schedule time to hone a skill
- Listen to a podcast
Meeting with self – Evening
- What am I grateful for?
- How have I made a difference for others today?
- What 6 Things will I prioritise tomorrow?
- Time to pray
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Co-create! Get everyone on board!
“We need a sense of ownership.” How often do we hear that – or say that.
BUT, We tend to own things that other people create!
Authorship is better – get everyone involved – all the stakeholders in from the beginning – have everyone involved in co-creating the project, plan whatever.
And when we set up an event, have it all planned and then invite neighbouring congregations and denominations don’t give yourself an ecumenical clap on the back – it’s maybe welcoming and friendly… but true ecumenical working gets together from the start!
Brainstorming
Kipling Questions
I keep six honest serving men,
they taught me all I knew.
Their names are What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who
from The Elephant’s Child, Rudyard Kipling
Six Questions to ask about anything and everything?
Use them to brainstorm on your own or with a group
- What? is it, could happen, would happen if…
- Why? Why, Why is, does it have to be…
- When? is the right time, do we start…
- How? can we do it, will it be achieved…
- Where? should this happen, is best, are the target audience…
- Who? is involved, are we involving, excluding…
Further reading:
Brainstorming
Gnim rots niarb
It’s a silent G – pronounced ‘nim rots ny-arb’ No it’s not Gaelic! It’s Brainstorming reversed!
Instead of brainstorming around what you want to achieve… consider what you would do to ensure failure!
It really works well – people will talk much more freely because it’s fun and light hearted… it’s actually really creative and generative.
eg: how to ensure poor engagement with Christmas services.
Don’t advertise, tell everyone the church is closed, hide the minister’s iPad, sing unfamiliar carols, no decorations in Church… you get the idea
And then when you flip the ‘how not to’ ideas you will have loads of really helpful insights…
Next Brainstorm – whether in a group or on your own – do it in reverse…. Gnim rots niarb!
Bonus tip: it’s always good to have brainstormers do some storming on their own first so they ‘hear their own ideas’ before being drowned out by louder voices!
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Don’t Procrastinate – Schedule!
Putting off until tomorrow is procrastination.
Putting off until a week on Thursday is strategic planning.
also check out: itsforministry.org/101-things-to-do
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Mind Map Everything!
Today 2nd June 2020 is World Mind Map Day! I’ve been an avid mind-mapper since the mid 1980s. During University studies which weren’t going too well, discovering mind-mapping transformed me from being on the brink of being ‘chucked out of Uni’ to turning in a piece of work to a lecturer who always said he marked out of 75% – and getting a 76%! It was a turning point in life! I completed the degree, and was able to help some other students to realise their greater potential too.
35 years on, I still mind map everything. Sermons, agendas, reports, shopping lists, brainstorms, decision making and so much more. It just works for me, it’s a brilliant thinking tool, mirroring the way the brain naturally works – making connections, linking ideas and keeping the big picture overview literally in mind.
www.tonybuzan.com is the go to place for all things mind mapping!
TED Talk: Hazel Wagner, explains mind mapping.
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Kandinsky Effect!
Wassily Kandinsky’s best known painting is probably Color Study: Squares with concentric circles. Behind this superficially simple image ‘that any kid could paint’ lies years of experience, understanding and creativity.
Sometimes we have to allow our training and experience to find expression in simpler ways… engaging memorable ways.
Mark Twain is attributed with the thought, “my spontaneity has taken me years to prepare”
Often ministry appears to be in the simplest and ordinary things, shaped, influenced and informed by years of ongoing honing of our craft.