Catalyst, NYWC, Open Space and Future Conventions
I've held my tongue for too long.
I need to get something off my chest.
The best conventions for pastors or youth ministry really aren't all that good. the world has changed and they haven't. Sure there are conventions like Catalyst that come off as cutting edge, (and maybe they are) but they will go the way of the pay phone in the next 4 years.
This and other conventions are put on by big-hearted good people.
Loving people. People who are using their creativity and gifts.
But it's killing the church.
If you think the best way to be a catalyst is to gather 15,000 people, sit in a big room facing a stage for 3 days then I'd like to revisit your understanding of transformation. It also says a lot about how much you actually believe in the 15,000 people you talk at/toward for days on end. It says a lot about your understanding of discipleship. It says a lot about the potential the 15,000 have to make a difference for those in the room and the world. The way you gather people says something to me. No matter what you have to say. Inspiration and motivation is nice. Giving lip-service to leadership or empowerment though is laughable. The way you convene says volumes about what you really think about the abilities of the people in the room. You know what they need. And you give it to them. You hold all the power and you probably feel a great deal of responsibility. To be fair, the people have bought in. They don't think they can do it with out you. They'll pay thousands of dollars to come hear you, the experts, speak to them and tell them the answers. The leaders need you. Their churches need you. Maybe you should supply preaching thru video to them... You and the other conventions are full of passionate people who believe what you say. again, all these are good people.
good people who believe the lie that there is an illusive answer to their problem, or situation that will save them. You save them from their ignorance and in doing so, you add to it by feeding the monster.
For years conventions have made leaders into followers and disciples into consumers. Whether it be a breakout session/lab or a main stage, church leaders give you the responsibility for their decisions and in doing so, they get to play the victim rather then the empowered. in doing this you get to meet their needs, but in reality you get to justify your own style of leadership or service that you provide. Convention attendee's collude with you by accepting your terms and definition of their needs. This is the breeding ground for entitlement. The convention providers feel the stakes raise every years (is the a world record to break? a guy to dive from a 30 ft tower into a 1 ft deep kiddie pool or the next cool artist or speaker?) Not only do the convention speakers feel it, but so do the attendees. They want more. and why not? They can burn thru a steady stream of products that claim to have the answer to all that ails them and feel the freedom of not being responsible for the actual answer.
All this in the name of the kingdom.
There's a need for a new kind of experience.
One in which power is given back. In which people are given back responsibility for their ministry and their lives and the way they gather shows it. Where the people of the church is actually valued in practice, not simply as the hope of the world. The kingdom isn't build by great leadership, but by great disciples.
Disciples empowered by God, not by you. You have no power to give them that doesn't already belong to them. Unless you've been hording it.
So it's time. Stop building pay phones. Stop stock piling quarters.
Open space at the NYWC is a good start. it's a step in the right direction.
What say you?
I need to get something off my chest.
The best conventions for pastors or youth ministry really aren't all that good. the world has changed and they haven't. Sure there are conventions like Catalyst that come off as cutting edge, (and maybe they are) but they will go the way of the pay phone in the next 4 years.
This and other conventions are put on by big-hearted good people.
Loving people. People who are using their creativity and gifts.
But it's killing the church.
If you think the best way to be a catalyst is to gather 15,000 people, sit in a big room facing a stage for 3 days then I'd like to revisit your understanding of transformation. It also says a lot about how much you actually believe in the 15,000 people you talk at/toward for days on end. It says a lot about your understanding of discipleship. It says a lot about the potential the 15,000 have to make a difference for those in the room and the world. The way you gather people says something to me. No matter what you have to say. Inspiration and motivation is nice. Giving lip-service to leadership or empowerment though is laughable. The way you convene says volumes about what you really think about the abilities of the people in the room. You know what they need. And you give it to them. You hold all the power and you probably feel a great deal of responsibility. To be fair, the people have bought in. They don't think they can do it with out you. They'll pay thousands of dollars to come hear you, the experts, speak to them and tell them the answers. The leaders need you. Their churches need you. Maybe you should supply preaching thru video to them... You and the other conventions are full of passionate people who believe what you say. again, all these are good people.
good people who believe the lie that there is an illusive answer to their problem, or situation that will save them. You save them from their ignorance and in doing so, you add to it by feeding the monster.
For years conventions have made leaders into followers and disciples into consumers. Whether it be a breakout session/lab or a main stage, church leaders give you the responsibility for their decisions and in doing so, they get to play the victim rather then the empowered. in doing this you get to meet their needs, but in reality you get to justify your own style of leadership or service that you provide. Convention attendee's collude with you by accepting your terms and definition of their needs. This is the breeding ground for entitlement. The convention providers feel the stakes raise every years (is the a world record to break? a guy to dive from a 30 ft tower into a 1 ft deep kiddie pool or the next cool artist or speaker?) Not only do the convention speakers feel it, but so do the attendees. They want more. and why not? They can burn thru a steady stream of products that claim to have the answer to all that ails them and feel the freedom of not being responsible for the actual answer.
All this in the name of the kingdom.
There's a need for a new kind of experience.
One in which power is given back. In which people are given back responsibility for their ministry and their lives and the way they gather shows it. Where the people of the church is actually valued in practice, not simply as the hope of the world. The kingdom isn't build by great leadership, but by great disciples.
Disciples empowered by God, not by you. You have no power to give them that doesn't already belong to them. Unless you've been hording it.
So it's time. Stop building pay phones. Stop stock piling quarters.
Open space at the NYWC is a good start. it's a step in the right direction.
What say you?
Labels: Church, Random Thoughts
posted by mark at
11:42 AM
9 Comments:
excellent thoughts, mark. excellent and thought-provoking.
Amen.
Wow,,,I dont even know you, and aggree 100%. This is something I have believed for years, and never had the guts to say; especially to all my pro-Cataly-vention partners in ministry.
Every year I hear, are you going to,,xyz conference, and I answer,, "Why would I spend money on that?" I usually get the awkward look indicating how pious and arrogant I must me.
I guess that I what I have always enjoyed about the NYWC conferences in the past: that I never felt that "we have the answers to your ministry" vibe. I was always told "the most important thing you may have to do here is skip sessions and stay in your room with a bottle of wine".
I never felt like the speakers had all the answers for my group, but the convention did give me a chance to sit down and pick the minds of incredibly wise and experienced youth leaders I would otherwise never have a change to interact with.
When I was fired from my first church I went and found out that alot of other pastors there had been through the same thing, and that I was just fine. I heard repeatedly that my youth group of 10 kids was fine and that I was doing God's important work if the group never grew to 30 let alone 300 kids.
But Cincinnati this year was weird. I went to Open Space quite excited about the concept, but it practice it didn't do much for me.
It seemed the groups were started by people who were stumped by a particular question, and attracted other people who were equally stumped by the question. Or be people who had an opinion they wanted to rant on, and attracted other people who already agreed with them.
I don't come to a convention believing I am going to get the answer...but I do expect it to be a place that will expose me to new thoughts and ideas, give me new perspectives and ways of looking at things and give me new tools to go back to tinkering around with my group with.
I didn't come out of Open Space with very much of that. I did come out of both the workshops, and the general sessions that I wen to with that.
Mark -
I mostly agree, but I think your pay phone analogy is bad. The problem is not that this is last-year's deal to be replaced by something better next year.
A better analogy, I think, might be to say that it is like upgrading from texting to Twitter to save the communication problems in your marriage. True, you might have a fancier tool, but that misses the problem entirely.
The short answer to this is "Yes." It is why I do what I do.
Our Learning Community is grass roots, connecting the hearts and lives of hundreds of worship leaders, musicians and artists, young and old, across denominations.
We disciple as we grow together. The short answer to this is "Yes."
Dan Wilt, M.Min.
www.WorshipTraining.com
If you are are going to a big conference because you are looking for "the answer" the problem is not the conference. It is the attendee. Cities, churches, congregations, and demographics are different everywhere, so how can there be "one solution"? I think conferences are great because they get me thinking, critically analyzing my ministry and get my creativity flowing.
I totally agree - I haven't been to a Christian conference for years and years. Yawn material - I would rather sit around at a cafe with other people interested in the Christian journey and learn and grow from them. Conferences are really for Baby Boomers.
Younger generations have a different style of learning that comes from interaction, media, real people and the shared journey.
Good on you for sharing your thoughts
Hahaha.. Sean - I totally appreciate your comments but you know that I've found conventions and conferences are what you make them.
And mostly, when I am thse things.. I find that I tend to make them much more like hanging out in cafes with my friends and new friends chatting through all sorts of interesting things.
But I love to hear people share and encounter new ideas. Doesn't mean I take it as gospel, but I believe that I have a good perspective on processing this stuff.
I think the biggest positive of conferences and conventions is the beauty and importance of the gathering.
I think most of what Mark is saying, fits into the question.. "into the future, how will we gather?".
Just saying.
My opinion - open space is a nice idea, but isn't effective. Mainly because the "presenters" in open space are the people who come, and in many cases they haven't learned how to present a thought and then back away from it. I've sat down in many of these environments and it usually becomes more of a chit-chat with a few dominant voices.
I actually prefer the speaker/presenter model because I know the people who are in front of me have been proven (if even on a small level) to share a thought that is able to be processed intelligently - and if they are a sharp presenter, they will find a way to make the session interactive.
Sort of like how you use this blog to present a thought that you hope others interact with once you're done, versus a communal blog where everyone posts.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home