Greg Atkinson

Going on a mission trip or live in a multi-cultural area? You have got to check out the Word Lens app.

I saw this video yesterday thanks to my friend, Len Sweet. I was blown away by the amount of creativity and innovation that went into this. I wonder how far away the Church is from teaching like this? Your thoughts?

Yesterday, my friend Rob Thomas of Igniter Video posted this video on Facebook. I checked it out and was blown away. This moves me on so many levels. From the old, old story told in new, relevant, contemporary ways to the creativity, innovation and hard work that went into creating something like this. I’m absolutely amazed and encourage you to purchase it HERE and use it at your church this Christmas season. You can check it out below:

You know that I’ve blasted “Pastor” Steven Anderson on here several times in the past. Now he’s in the news for hating homosexuals and wishing they were dead.

I’ve tried to have an open and grace-filled conversation about homosexuality on here many times and even asked a gay friend to do a guest post. In his guest post, he referred to the Church as what a lot of people blame for the suicides of gay teens.

Steven Anderson, his church and his big mouth are not helping this situation at all. It makes me furious. Watch for yourself.

To all homosexuals that see this video and hear his association with Christianity: PLEASE know that we don’t all feel this way and he is a small part of a tiny vocal minority. What are your thoughts on Steven’s defense of his beliefs being based on the Bible? I shutter to think of the people that are attracted to his church and listen to his teaching every week.

Continuing on with the Church Leadership 101 series, we’ve come to a section of blog posts that start with the word “stay”. The first one is to stay humble. I know this is easier said than done, but I think it’s a sobering thought to keep our pride (which we all struggle with), ego and attitudes in check.

Some of the best advice someone gave me years ago was to not take myself too seriously. I’ve tried to live by that and laugh a lot. Does my pride sometimes still flare up? Absolutely. Does my ego pop up from time to time. Sure. But I eventually come to my senses, repent and get back to a Christ-centered, God-sized view of who I am and Who He is.

This concept is especially challenging for gifted and talented individuals. Some pastors can really preach. Some worship leaders are very good musicians. Some video editors have mad skills. Some designers – well all designers have egos, but the point is a lot of Church leaders are talented and it’s easy to see why they wrestle with staying humble.

The problem is when we start relying on our strength, skills and ability and stop praying for Christ through the Holy Spirit to lead through us, preach and teach through us, sing and play through us, edit and design through us. We must have the perspective of vessels, jars of clay and a Heavenly Potter sculpting us and shaping us and using us for great things according to His plans and His purpose.

So to keep it short and sweet, stay humble. Talk less. Listen more. Stay grounded. Keep your eyes on Christ and follow His example:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled Himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:5-11

Yesterday Facebook announced their New Messages. This is a new way of interacting with people and could definitely be a game-changer for how we communicate. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

If you’d like to sign up to be notified when this is available to test go HERE.

A little while back I blogged about Apple TV and Roku. I gave you some feedback on both and encouraged you to check them both out closely. You can read about HERE if you missed it. Yesterday, LifeChurch.tv announced their presence on Roku. Here is what they blogged:

Now in addition to your computer and mobile phone, you can stream LifeChurch.tv content directly to your TV. The LifeChurch.tv channel is now available on the Roku streaming player.What is Roku? Roku is a little box that allows you to instantly stream content from many sources including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon.com, and now LifeChurch.tv.

Version 1.0 of the LifeChurch.tv channel offers the current and recent message series in up to HD 720P resolution. Additionally, the current Talk It Over video (featuring discussion questions about the messages) is available for small groups. Future releases will offer even more content.

LifeChurch.tv is excited to be able to offer content to the more than 1 million Roku users completely free of charge. To learn more about Roku visit Roku.com. To add the LifeChurch.tv channel, visit the channel store on your Roku streaming player. Not a Roku user? No worries. You can always access our messages at http://www.lifechurch.tv/watch or download from OPEN.LifeChurch.tv to use them at your church.

*** So what do you think of a church taking a step like this? Do you think this is innovative? Effective? Do you think it’s a waste of time and effort? Would your church ever consider something like this? What are your thoughts?

I’ve had some interesting conversations and some frustrating experiences lately and it led me to this series of blog posts. Basically, after 16 years of local church ministry combined with consulting with churches around the country (and running my own business), I have formed some leadership philosophies and best practices, and would like to share them with you on here.

Please understand my heart and intent is to sincerely help you be better at what you do and help you be a better, more effective, more understanding and stronger leader. I encourage you to tune in each day as we delve into a number of topics (in no particular order). I also encourage you to share this with your staff/team.

I know some of you are my peers. Many of you have been at this longer and have much to offer. Some of you are new to ministry or are still hungry and wanting to grow in your given ministry. What I’m wanting to discuss is born out of life experience – not really book knowledge. It’ll be a combination of common sense mixed with wisdom that I’ve learned along the way. Whatever your situation, I think you’ll be able to learn or re-learn something useful as well as contribute to the conversation via comments.

For this introductory post, I’d like you to leave (as a comment) your best tips for church leadership. What have you learned the hard way? What do you consider to be essential? What one thing do you think every other pastor, staff member and volunteer should know?

Catalyst just posted this great article by my friend, Carlos Whittaker. You know I love talking innovation. See what Carlos has to say here:

ThinkSimpleNow.com has a VERY important post for people in ALL areas of life. Not just “creative teams” and such. If entire organizations begin to develop habits of innovation their end product is that much more effective. And for my organization, that product is eternal relationships with a living God.

I have taken their seven habits and graded myself on them.

1. Persistence - “Invention is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.” -Thomas A. Edison
I would say that this has always been a huge struggle for me. I have ALWAYS been a big picture guy. This is where my former time at Sandals Church has had a MAJOR impact on my life. It was J-rocka ,Nathan, Matt, and I for a LOOOOOOOONG time – and a countless number of volunteers giving their time to make ideas happen with little man power. At Sandals, ideas were more like .005% of the innovation. And without a team stronger than myself here, I fail miserably.

2. Remove Self-Limiting Inhibitions - Remember, innovation is more about psychology than intellect.
I think I am batting pretty high here. Again. Sandals. Meeting in a “borrowed space” for the last 9 years will do that for you. How can we make Pastor Matt do this…in a gym?

3. Take Risks, Make Mistakes - “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison
An hourly choice for me. Maybe even more often. When people have told you that you will not accomplish something because of A, B, or C, you have an automatic reaction to try and bunt, be semi-successful, just make contact. Every decision I make has to be the best decision for the person walking in on Sunday morning. And not everyone agrees with those decisions. So I can’t be afraid to take risks. Many times at Buckhead Church we did this. It could have bombed. But we did it anyways.

4. Escape - Our environment can and does effect how we feel.
On the money. Although I had an AMAZING facility at Buckhead Church, I found that when I walked out onto the streets of Piedmont Ave. and Lenox Rd. I was suddenly surrounded by the very people I was trying to be creative for. And so I walked. I walked all the time. I walked to Starbucks, to the MARTA Station – wherever my feet would take me. I’ve even had a creative meeting on a MARTA train just so our team could be in the hustle of the world we are trying to reach.

5. Writing Things Down - Many innovators and creative people keep a journal to jot down ideas and thoughts.
Nails. Go buy a moleskine. Then go buy this. If someone on our team doesn’t write something down while we are talking about it, I can pretty much bank on it not getting done or barely getting done. Write down everything that comes to mind. If anything, it makes you more consistent.

6. Find Patterns & Create Combinations - Ideas come from other ideas.
Doing OK. The blogging world has given us a great opportunity for this. When I started the idea of a worship confessional it was with this in mind – people sharing their sets, videos, ideas, and hiccups together. Blogging is just one step in this viral communication world we are living in. Find patterns and ideas that are working and rip them off. It’s ok.

7. Curiosity - Practice seeing things differently.
Horrible. I get a solid D here. Why? Because even being part of what I consider to be 2 of the most innovative churches in America, Sandals Church and Buckhead Church, I find myself creating nothing more than the next traditional service. If we do not question everything, then it remains the same thing. And I ALWAYS want to be part of a church that is moving forward. Not standing still. So I surround myself with curious people who don’t settle. This is essential.

I know this community is spilling over with creative people. What areas are you exceeding in and which ones could you work on?

Carlos Whittaker is the former Service Programming Director Genius for Buckhead Church – a satellite campus of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. His blog - ragamuffinsoul.com – is (approximately) the most popular blog in the world. And he’s recently started the premier creative coaching network.

I’m always on the lookout for creative and innovative videos that can challenge and stretch us all to reflect our Creator. I try to post them on here when I come across them. Yesterday I came across David Crowder’s new video for his song “Shine”. I think it’s pretty cool. What do you think about it?