It was in the newspaper on Monday.  Contributions to non-profits are down because of the economy.  That is not good news if you are a non-profit and exist on the largesse of others.

I just attended a workshop on the subject of building relationships that will, in turn, result in a strong financial base.  Let’s Have Lunch Together was written by Marshall Howard who was the workshop presenter.

Howard is right, philanthropists get weary with continued requests for money.  Give to this.  Give to that.  At some point they want to have a personal connection with the organization/s they assist—to be treated as something more than a paycheck.  That sort of involvement takes time.

Which as been making me ask the question, “How do I go about making people interested in LifeSpring Church feel really connected to it in a way that transcends their financial contribution?” 

I was reminded of the importance of that question recently when I got a fundraising letter from a friend.  Even though I know him, I don’t feel particularly connected to what he is doing.  So he has a problem; if he wants me to give to him, he must create a tighter linkage between me and his project.

The temptation is to spend my time fussing with things that make little difference in the long-term picture.  The key to successful funding is building sincere and effective partnerships.  There is no way to make a short cut of that.

Our Chamber sponsors a monthly “connector” for our members.  These connectors are held at various City businesses which provide refreshments and a great opportunities for networking and visiting with business friends.

Today’s connector was held at our local Servicemaster.  A few months ago, Servicemaster moved to a new and much larger location, so this connector gave them an opportunity to showcase their new digs.

Coincidentally, the BNI chapter I’m a member of had a “guest day” today as well.  Guest days are an opportunity to introduce prospective members to the concept of business networking.  In our troubled national economy people are hungry for ways to effectively market their businesses, so we had 16 prospective members attend our introductory meeting.

In the beginning of our church startup, I tried traditional marketing methods:  newspaper, direct mail, and other printed materials.  I can say that they were, for the most part, a waste of money.  Our phone directory advertisement got us one crank phone call in 12 months.  Our $4000 direct mail attempt got us one set of church hoppers.  Newspaper netted nothing but cost a lot.

But networking is another thing.  It consistently creates connections with people who are interested in what we are doing.  At the Servicemaster event a person walked up and asked, “Where does LifeSpring meet?  And what is your service time?  I need to find a church to attend.”  That inquiry was entirely because of networking—not advertising.

Advertising is for the lazy and impatient.  Networking is hard work and takes time to develop momentum, but once mature, it pays huge dividends and requires less energy to maintain.  Advertising gives you the immediate impression that you are doing something for your business, but it requires constant infusion of cash in order to maintain.  Networking is free.

I was told by church-planter-trainers that it is important to be very intentional about setting the DNA of the new church.  Prior to that time I had never really thought about DNA and whether a church had it.  But I’ve decided they all do.  And once set, there is no changing the DNA.

As I think about it, I agree about the stability of DNA.  It is nearly impossible to change the basic world view of a church once matured.  Incidental changes can be made such as song choices, worship order, even the building structure.  But the building blocks of the congregation are secure and inviolate.

Today I got an interesting look at LifeSpring’s DNA.  We are filming in preparation for a LifeSpring video which will reside on our website.  It will be a way of telling website visitors the LifeSpring story through the testimonies of LifeSpring members.

Today we filmed seven of our members as they each answered ten interview questions.  The questions included such things as: Is there something for kids?  Who attends LifeSpring? Is LifeSpring accepting or judgmental.  Why do your members attend and become involved? And what motivates them?  Who gets to participate at LifeSpring? And describe your worship; why do you have weekly communion?

Even though there was no script other than a list of the ten questions, the answers almost sounded as if they had been scripted.  Why?  DNA!  LifeSpringers have a very clear view of the values and beliefs that inform LifeSpring’s mission.  The fact that DNA exists is proven by their very consistent and thorough testimonies.

The person that did the filming for us commented how clear the testimony was and how he thought he understood what LifeSpring was about.  That was an exciting moment.

Several months ago, maybe even a year, a guy e-mailed me and asked to have coffee.  He just wanted to find out more about LifeSpring.  The visit was pleasant.

We got together for coffee a couple more times, and then he moved back east.  It was a short relationship, although it has continued via e-mail and discussions about books and ideas.  All in all, it has been a brief relationship.

This morning a visitor came to church.  In one of those “small world” experiences it turns out that she was a friend of the guy I had coffee with, and she continues to e-mail him.  She credits him with being a spiritual encourager for her. 

She told him in an e-mail that she was looking for a new church home.  I don’t know what her reasons are, but she was a guest at LifeSpring today.  She was a guest because our common friend recommended that that she attend LifeSpring.

This event reminded me that nothing is unimportant.  A casual conversation over coffee.  A long-distance friendship.  A brief interaction at a party.  None of us can ever predict where such events will take us or what people may intersect our lives because of them.

We had a guest today, and you can connect her presence directly to a cup of joe at Starbucks.  The two events were separated by many months, but they were still connected.  Which gives me hope when I think that nothing is happening.

Today was the date of our Second Sunday Social. LifeSpring has been scheduling these regular monthly get togethers for the past several months, and we only change the date when it interferes with the kind of social we want to schedule.

The October social was not as largely attended as some are due to the fact that we had some people out of town. We expect that will happen from time to time. Still, today’s Lake Yosemite event was very successful because of these factors.

1. The event was planned and executed by one of our members.
2. We had plenty of time to visit and get to know each other.
3. Affection is clearly growing between LifeSpringers.

Our November event is going to be a bowling party at an area bowling alley. These Second Sunday Socials are important to the unity and encouragement of our members as well as being a great opportunity for visitors to get to get to know us better.

I really enjoy conducting weddings. My most recent occurred at a local museum. The individual that was first asked to conduct the wedding couldn’t, so I was asked if I could take his place. It was an honor to be asked. Weddings are deeply personal occasions, and to be asked to enter that space is really humbling.

I like weddings for several reasons. One reason is that weddings provide an opportunity to be creative. Most weddings are monotonous and similar. It takes some thought and attention to create a ceremony that is engaging and entertaining. People notice it when you take pains to make the ceremony interesting and often comment about it.

I also like weddings because they give a unique opportunity to say something that might be useful to the bridal couple. You’ll seldom find a person more open than at this time—provided they are not terrorized by the moment. The invitation to conduct the wedding is an opportunity to say something significant. It calls for respect and thoughtfulness.

Weddings are also just fun. The last two pages of my wedding notes got switched in my binder, and the “kiss the bride” instruction got lost in the shuffle. I had forgotten those three most important words and was about to “present” the bridal couple. When…. The bride looked quizzically at me, making a puckering expression. I instantly remembered what I had forgotten. We all laughed.

“You may kiss your wife.”

At LifeSpring Church we believe that everybody should be able to participate as fully as they would like.  So we give people ample opportunity to volunteer to lead congregational prayers, read scripture, and provide the Lord’s Supper meditation, which we call the “table talk.” 

When we started doing this over a year ago, you could see some awkwardness.  We didn’t know each other that well at that point.  Folks didn’t know what was expected of them.  Most of us had grown up believing that such involvements should be reserved for an elite group of leaders.

But now our church community has grown comfortable with our egalitarian approach to worship and participation.  Everyone feels included and appreciated.  We are often blown away by the profundity of what is shared in communion mediations, or we’re moved by the skillful reading of a text.  It’s a really neat process in which to participate.

Yesterday Sean told us about the changes he has experienced in the last two years of his life.  He said that the Lord’s Supper is like a “pit stop” on the Amazing Race television show.  It has served to slow him down and make him think about what is happening in his life and the Lord’s relationship to that.  I was thankful for Sean’s transparency as well as for the eloquence of what he shared with us.  He made the Lord’s sacrifice real for us.

I am glad that LifeSpring recognizes the strength of everyone sharing.  By getting to hear what was on Sean’s heart, my life was improved.  Now I can’t wait to hear what the next LifeSpringer shares.

I just bought a new book called unChristian.  I found out about it through an electronic newsletter and was intrigued by the premise of the book.  Author David Kinnaman works for The Barna Group, an organization that provides primary research and tools for churches and parachurch organizations.

My interest in the book began because of a resonance I have with the author’s thesis.  “Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders.”

I just started the book.  More about it in a later blog.  However, below is a CNN interview with Gabe Lyons, one of the writers of the book.  You may also enjoy looking at a site designed to create dialogue about relevance to culture. 

Today, December 1, was the day of Merced’s annual Christmas parade.  The parade route went down Main Street right past Playhouse Merced.  LifeSpring was invited to put up a table inside the Playhouse entry way, right next to the sidewalk.  We all thought that was a good idea, although we didn’t know what to expect.

In a planning meeting it was suggested that we serve coffee or hot chocolate to parade goers.  LifeSpringers also brought homemade cookies to serve, but it was soon discovered that we didn’t have nearly enough.  The parade crowd was huge.  An emergency run was made to purchase more, and by parade end, all of the cookies were gone.

Our team agreed that the event was a huge success.  We gave away 200 drinks.  We gave away even more cookies.  Several LifeSpring invitation cards were taken, and we provided a very positive image of our church community.  Probably the best outcome was the enormous fun that we all had working together to do something good.

After the parade was concluded LifeSpring conversations began about how we would improve on what we just did.  A number of excellent suggestions were made, and we’ll be even better prepared next time.

One of the greatest sins a “leader” can commit is to work alone.  Good leadership equips, empowers, trusts, and releases.  The best way to do this is through teams, and this is a good definition of team.  “A team is a group organized to work together to accomplish a set of objectives that cannot be achieved effectively by individuals.” 

Teamwork is the wisest means by which to contribute to an organization.  An organization that does not use teams is limited by the capabilities of its weakest or most fearful leader. 

Weak leaders function like log jams that slow everyone else down or even prevent forward motion.  Fears, vested interests, ego, or prejudices can hamper the health and effectiveness of an organization.

That’s why teams are important.  In teams, everyone has a vital role to play, everyone is empowered to contribute, and every opinion is important in the formation of direction.  Teams also require humility to function correctly.  A “leader” with huge ego issues will not be able to function in a team setting; it will be too threatening.

The same article about teams, quoted above, has a set of guidelines for team membership.  The whole list is not printed here, but note the emphasis on individual contribution in the items listed.

• Contribute ideas and solutions
• Recognize and respect differences in others
• Value the ideas and contributions of others
• Listen and share information
• Be flexible and respect the partnership created by a team — strive for the “win-win”

Autocratic and egotistic leaders are only able to reach to their personal limits.  In team work, individual commitment usually transcends the team. A team outperforms an individual and all reasonable expectations given to its individual members. That is, a team has a synergistic effect…one plus one equals a lot more than two.

Jesus understood the importance of “team” and its ability to transform individuals.  He took 12 men who, individually, could never have accomplished what they did as a team in a few short years.  During his three years with them, he empowered them, allowed them to fail, and when needed, supplied specific teaching.

Teamwork is vital to healthy organizations, business or religious.  An individual that tries to “lead” by himself is a danger to progress and growth, because he will function like a governor on a motor and slow the organization to his own limitations.