Network Blog

A really interesting interview with Jim Collins, author of Good to Great.  I really admire and am interested in his work as he thinks about organizations and systems:

Backstage Interview - Jim Collins from GiANT Impact on Vimeo.

As many of you (especially those of you who participated in the Extravaganza) probably know, one of our own, Mindy Tillberg, suffered a health emergency while at the E.  I've been asked by many folks how she is doing.  I received the following message from her at the end of the event.  She gave me permission to share this with you.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she recovers:

I was released yesterday after lunch (on Sunday) so, I'm home! But wishing I was at the E...tell people to stop posting about the great speakers and all the free stuff they can get...making me jealous!

I'm feeling good and able to resume my normal routine tomorrow. Kinda hard at home right now with 18mo and 4yo sons ...

Despite all that has happened, I truly feel like God was at work. 

• if I had been at home I would have cleaning up from dinner and getting the boys ready for bed. I probably would have ignored the signs. 
• I was with a great, supportive friend! yeah! Marcy Colvin! Really if there is a gold star sticker award from the YM network, she deserves it! 
• it was a good thing we were at Atonement LC. If we had been at the hotel, I would have been taken to a hospital that did not have a cardiac cath lab. 

God is good. God is our oasis. 

I'm praying for everyone there at the E and anxiously awaiting E12!

Peace, mindy

The Network got word today that a couple of different people had gone online or called the hotel to book their Extravaganza rooms and were told that the hotel was "sold out" of our room block. 

Actually, that's not true.

When we set up the room block, we guess the number of rooms we commimt to for each night, and then the number of rooms with 2 double beds and the number of rooms with king size rooms.  Sometimes we guess right...sometimes we're off by a bit.

But it is fixable.  We just need to let the hotel know and have them adjust the room block. 

If, when you book your room, you get a message like this, please send an email to me at todd@elcaymnet.org or call me (toll free) at 866-ELCANET and we'll get it fixed for you.

Thanks so much for your patience!
Todd.

Dear friends,

By now, I'm guessing that most of you have heard about the deep programmatic and staff cuts at the ELCA.  If you haven't you can read the Bishop's release of the information here. 

Much conversation has happened in the blogosphere about these cuts.  The causes...the implications...the statements that may or not be made by these cuts... There will be plenty of time for analysis, and ultimately, it is not our speculation that will count, but rather the actions and directions that the churchwide organization will make in the future.

At this point, we still grieve the loss of positions for 65 people, and for those who work in the ELCA offices.  I was in Chicago for meetings last week, and the sense of sadness in the building was palpable.  Please continue to keep all of these people in your prayers.

I do want to answer one set of questions that I've heard:

• What does this mean for the Network?
• Is the Extravaganza still on for Kansas City?
• What's the future of the Network?
• Can we survive the financial cuts?

I appreciate the questions.  It affirms that people care about this Network and its future. 

While the cuts in Chicago are going to have an impact on the Network, that future is still unclear.  We don't know the implications in terms of budget or financial support yet, and we won't for awhile.  but here's the reality:  The financial support that the Network has received from the ELCA has been diminishing for years.  At one time we received $50,000 in support for the Network and the Extravganza.  This year, the ELCA has committed to $10,000 (before the cuts last week). 

A $10,000 cut would be difficult to absorb; but it is survivable. 

My bigger fear is what these cuts mean to the way our relationship with the ELCA is played out.  the questions we would need to answer include (but aren't limited to):

• What would a financial cut mean about the role and importance of the Network in the life of the denomination?
• What about the role of the ELCA Director of Youth MInistry sitting ex-officio on the Network Board?
• What about the column in the "Connect Journal?"

And on a bigger scale?

• What does the cuts of these youth ministry positions (3 programmatic and 2 support staff) in the ELCA in the last year say about the commitment of the church to youth ministry?

I don't have answers to these questions yet.  It's possible that since the ELCA can "do less" with staff that they might ask synods and the Network to do more.  These are all questions we are asking.  And we are patient, because we know that it's too early to know.  It'll be awhile. 

But I want our members to know 2 things:
1. We are asking these questions.  We are thinking about the future.  And;
2. For the moment, we are stable.  The Extravaganza is "on."  The Connect Journal is in the mail, and new stuff is in the works.  We're moving into the future, secure in the belief that God is calling us into a future that God securely holds.

One more thing: (though it's not a "Network thing")  Some have asked about the future of the ELCA Youth Gathering. 

The word is out that the ELCA Youth Gathering is secure.  While the cuts in the ELCA might mean some shifts for how some parts of the Gathering are staffed, the Gathering itself is "self-funded" by the event registrations.  The Gathering is "on" for 2012.  I just returned from a planning meeting with Gathering managers and team leaders last week, and while more information will be coming out in upcoming months, largely through the Gathering web site and the Gathering Facebook page, I'm really excited about the direction of the event.  It is going to be an amazing gift to our young people and the church!

Blessings,
Todd.

The word came down today of the cuts in the churchwide staff in the ELCA offices.  65 individuals, real people with real lives, real families and real mortgages find themselves out of work.  

This is not a unique situation.  Literally, tens of thousands of those in our congregations have faced the same thing.  But when it happens in our churchwide offices, it causes the pain of our friends, while yanking on the rug upon which we all stand.  

This happens in the church?  In our church?  

Yes, it does.  

There will be time for conversations about whether this is the right thing or not for our church to do.  There will be lots of opportunities to do Monday-morning second-guessing.  And there will be ample opportunity for missional imagination to be sparked, and to think about how the church might be church into the future.

Today, we grieve and mourn for our friends.

More details are coming.  And we will continue to post information here as we have it, specifically regarding how these cuts affect children's youth and young adult ministries.  But in the meantime, please pray for those who have lost their jobs.  Pray for our church.  Pray for ministry with the young.  And pray for all those in our congregations who still seek meaningful work.  

I've tripped over a couple of blogs that have done some nice work analyzing the cuts, that you might want to check out.

They are at:  
Koinonia
Cyber Spirit Cafe


Blessings,
Todd

I received a great e-mail question this morning from a member of the Network:

"Dear youth ministry network friends: The news that Youth Specialties is providing the bookstore at this year's extravaganza raised some questions in my mind: first, who are they, and do they recognize my infant baptism, and the baptisms of my youth members? Their website indicates that they do not consider the sacraments to be among "the biggies," by which I take it they mean things of first importance. I also gather from their website that they believe in biblical inerrancy, which is not the Lutheran view.

Finally, I wonder why the Extravaganza is not supporting our own publishing house, Augsburg Fortress? I would appreciate a reply."

I wrote back to him and thanked him for the good question, replied, and then wondered if it would be to publish both his question and my reply.  If one person asks the question, odds are that 12 others are wondering the same thing.  My reply:

Hi _______,

Thanks so much for your note.  You raise good questions.

Youth Specialties is an inter-denominational publishing house of youth and family ministry resources.  They are not tied to any one denomination or doctrinal position, although historically, they have probably been more closely aligned with the evangelical end of the faith-perspective. 

Most of their resources, however, are not doctrinal in nature, but rather are about the practice of ministry.  Looking at their list of authors, you will find people from across the theological spectrum, from Baptists, to Lutherans and Catholics.  Some of those authors probably don’t recognize infant baptism…many of them do.  Youth Specialties has put out a couple of books by some faculty members at Luther Seminary.

Their organization actually was completely independent for a number of years, and then 3 or 4 years ago, Zondervan publishing house bought them.  But then in the last year, Zondervan sold them to YouthWorks because Youth Specialties and Zondervan really weren’t that good a match…Zondervan was more theogically conservative.  YouthWorks is also an inter-denominational organization, however, they are very closely tied to Lutheran Congregations.  49% of their work is with ELCA congregations.  I know the leaders of YouthWorks and of Youth Specialties and they are all good people whose goal is to really serve congregations and organizations that they connect with.  I have no reservations or hesitations about working with them at all.  They are people of unimpeachable integrity and good hearts.

As far as supporting our Lutheran publishing house, they actually were our “bookstore” for the first 10 or 12 years of the Extravaganza.  However, 3 years ago Augsburg Fortress made the strategic decision to stop doing bookstores at all events (conferences, synod assemblies, etc) with the exception of the Churchwide assembly.  Frankly, they didn’t feel like it was a profitable venture to do these events.  They pulled out of Extravaganza 3 years ago (giving us only 3-weeks notice before our our event) and we haven’t had a bookstore presence since.  We’ve been looking for a new partner to fill this void, and Youth Specialties is, we feel, the best fit for us.  We have actually had a great deal of positive feedback on this new partnership from youth ministry people around the ELCA.

By the way, Augsburg Fortress will be back at the Extravaganza this year as an exhibitor, but with a single table, showcasing some of their confirmation curriculum.

I really appreciate your question, _______.  I am guessing that others might wonder the same thing.  With your permission, I would love to post your question (without using your name) and my reply on the Network Blog, so that others who may be wondering the same thing can have their questions answered.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Peace,

Todd

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  - Hebrews 12:1

Someone recently asked me "How does the network get its work done?"  "Well, what do you mean?"  They went on to wonder about how a completely deployed organization, made up 99.9% of volunteers, over 120 of them, in every region of the church, got all of this stuff coordinated. 

My answer:  The Network lives in the cloud.

The cloud, as in the cloud of software.

Here's how we do things:

• Our primary method of communication is our web site, at www.elcaymnet.org (the one you're looking at right now.)  It is a web-based editing suite with distributed editing rights, which means that different people in different parts of the Network have editing rights of different parts of the site.  To do this, we use the "Compass" editing system hosted by www.infusion.com.
  
• Our e-mail service uses Constant Contact.  Constant contact is the leading e-mail marketing tool in the country right now.  You hear their ads on the radio or on TV.  It too is web based and different people can access and edit the materials in the e-news. (www.constantcontact.com)
  
• We have a ton of different teams that are doing their work.  Everything from the Extravaganza Team to the Connect Journal Team to the Vision 2.0 Team.  Each team has a section in our web-based project management software.  It is put out by a company called 37Signals.  The program we use is called "Basecamp."  It is a simple, easy to use tool that allows us to stay organized and communicate.  (www.basecamphq.com)
• The Network Database is also hosted on the web, and can be accessed by any number of people who have user-rights.  We use TrackVia for this.  Our mailing lists, membership, donors, Extravaganza registration, etc is all hosted on TrackVia.  (www.trackvia.com)

None of this stuff is hosted on any one single computer.  It all lives on the web.  It is all dispersed...accessible...usable...  In an organization such as ours, that's the most efficient way for us to do our work. 

I think it's also an apt metaphor for what the Network is.  The Network is non-hierarchical.  The Network isn't "based" really anywhere (the mailing address is my house, but that's just because we need a mailing address).  There are primary points of contact, but no one person or organization can "claim" the Network as its own.  It doesn't belong to any single resource provider, to the churchwide organization or any one church, synod or region.  It is possible to draw the Network's org structure out on a whiteboard.  But if you then looked at the board, you'd have to realize that really, the Network "lives" in the space between the boxes. 

The Network belongs to its members, an life is breathed into it by the Holy Spirit.  It is hard to pin down. 

But this gives it life and Spirit.

Truly, the Network lives in the cloud.

Peace,
Todd.

Where has innovation gone?

There once was a time when an entire cottage industry (and in some cases, some big business) had developed around creativity and innovation in youth ministry.  Ok...back then, we just called it youth ministry, but you get the idea.

People were thinking around new and creative ways to communicate the Gospel to young people.  Now, have to be honest here:  It wasn't all good.  Really.  "Chubby Bunnies", while funny to watch, might not have had a lot of spiritual impact...and I'm not at all sure of the ecclesiological meaning behind the game "tapehead."  

Ministry with young people was didactic.  It was straightforward.  We told...they heard...we all went out for pizza.  <Broad, sweeping generalization alert here> There wasn't a lot of theological depth to those things.  These things were the "invitation."  They were the "right to be heard."  It could be (and has been) argued that they were the "bait" in the giant game of  "bait and switch" that we all played.

But just as I don't want to inappropriately romanticize the old days, I don't want to demonize them either.  The heart was in the right place...it was genuine.  Youth ministry wanted real Christ-centered transformation to happen.  And so a lot of time and attention went into being innovative and creative to communicate the truths of the gospel.  

It may not always have been deep, but it was often clever.

Now, we are (rightfully) much more interested in theological reflection than we were.  We aim deeper.  And we know the value of connecting the faith formation in our congregations to the faith formation that is happening in homes.

No one disputes the importance of this.  I've never heard anyone say "gee, I wish our ministry was more shallow."  But having said that, I wonder where the innovation is?  How is this deeper, more theologically aware ministry living itself out?  Lots of new material is being written about why we should be moving in this direction.  What I am not reading is "how" we can creatively think about these things.  What does it look like?  What is the praxis that parallels our theory?

I would like the Network to be the place that this conversation is taking place.  I would love it if we could make this web site a clearinghouse, and a living laboratory for this kind of thinking.  Perhaps it's kind of a free "Criagslist" for resources.  

My theory is this:  Once upon a time youth ministers depended on the resource providers to tell us what we needed to do, and then how to do it.  This was a necessary phase in the development of a ministry practice and discipline.

Now, the practitioners have the history...the education and the expertise to set the agenda and to provide at least a significant portion of the resources.

So let's be the Network.  Let's figure out a way to share this expertise.  And let's give these things to each other.  Let's suppport each other in our work and ministry.

How?

Not sure yet.

Ideas?

I'd love to hear them.  Please post comments below.

More to come, as the conversation continues.

Pax,
Todd.

Sometimes people go to conferences or conventions to see the "talking heads."  We want to see those who we admire...who we sometimes wish we were like.  As in "I'm going to (fill in event name) to see (fill in famous children, youth and family minstry person's name) speak...I'm really excited to see what she/he says!")  I've done this.  Many of us have. 

By putting people on a stage, complete with lighting, smoke machines and video on the screens around them, we contribute to the cult of personality which I think sometimes does us a dis-service. 

This past week, we were reminded that the world in which we live and work is broken.

You might have seen the e-news that spoke of Bishop Stephen Marsh, of the Southeast Michigan Synod.  He was scheduled to be one of our keynote speakers at E2011 in Kansas City.  When we booked him, we were really excited for the opportunity.  We had read his work in The Lutheran magazine, and we had heard of his great speaking and easy-going nature.  We were very excited that he was going to be with us for the event. 

A news release from the ELCA reported that he resigned his position in his synod to tend to personal and emotional issues that are connected to some form of addiction.  He would be entering into an in-patient treatment program.  We were contemplating how to best offer Bishop Marsh a release from his obligation to speak, if he wished, when we received an e-mail from him asking to be excused. 

We were deeply saddened to hear this news.  Not because he won't be with us at the E (which does sadden us), but because of the personal pain he must be experiencing.  

We are reminded that we are all held "captive by sin and cannot free ourselves."  It doesn't matter who we are.  It doesn't matter if God has called us to be a speaker on a large stage (complete with lighting and smoke machines) or if our venue is a small, musty youth room tucked in a corner room in the church basement. 

It is easy to look at a stage and admire or idolize those who come to speak.  It is easy to wish that we were like them.    But often, when we do so, we find ourselves comparing what we know about our own lives to what we don't know about that other person's life.  We forget that these people also live and work in the real world...the same world in which we all live and work...the same world in which we all trip and fall.

Bishop Marsh:  Please know that you will be in our prayers as you walk this journey.  The same God who walks with us in our brokeness, walks with you today.  The same God who called you in the waters of baptism, continues to call you out of your brokeness.  The same God who heals, brings you healing.  You are not alone in this.

And please know that you have an open invitation to return to the Extravaganza in the future; not because of your tremendous communication abilities, but becuase you are a beloved child of God, and you have a story to tell.  We are anxious to hear it. 

God bless you.

Networked in Christ,
Todd.

What is the future of the ELCA?  Of denominations in general?  What does it mean to be a part of our denominational tribe today?  What will it mean in 5, 10 or 20 years?

We are approaching the 1 year anniversary of the decisions made at the Churchwide Assembly last August in Minneapolis.  It has been a challenging year for our church.  For many of us in congregations, the ripple effects from the assembly hit more like tidal waves.  And the state of the economy led to staff cuts in our denominational offices that significantly diminished the capacity for mission...and cost many of our friends their positions.

There was a period of time when I (and I'm just speaking for myself here) really felt like the wheels were coming off of the wagon.  And I kept waiting for things to get better.  Still waiting. 

Since then, I keep hearing of congregations that are leaving...of friends whose jobs are at risk...of congregational conflict...

I started to wonder about the future.  Is there a place for denominations in the future?  Our denomination in particular?  Certainly there is a need...certainly there is a role...

I had some of my hope restored a month or two ago when I heard of the LiftELCA initiative.  A team has been assembled to look at the future of our denomination.  This is the LIFT (Living Into the Future Together) team.  "Their purpose is to develop and recommend options for the future of the ELCA in light of its identity, changes in its environment and its call to God's mission. "

2 things I am grateful for:
1.  I am grateful that someone in our denominational leadership has thought to ask these questions.  Frequently it is those in leadership that are the least aware of, or the least willing to ask the difficult questions. 
2.  I am grateful that the LIFT team has taken an attitude of transparency in their work.  Look at their web site.  It's all there.  Check out their Twitter feed...visit their Facebook page.  Accessibility has been their hallmark, and I am grateful for this.

There is currently a LIFT questionnaire that they are asking members of the ELCA to fill out. 

I care about our denomination.  I care about the work of the church as manifest within our community.  Like everyone else, I have thoughts...I have opinions. 

I am grateful that our church has a group who wants to listen to my (and everyone else's) thoughts about God's misison within our church. 

Please participate.  Please invest.  Please allow the Spirit of God to blow through you and into the rest of our church.  Speak.  And listen.

Pax,
Todd.