Your Journey Blog with Gary Rohrmayer

Leadership Networks Top Trends for 2011

Solomon wrote,^"Ponder the path of your feet;then all your ways will be sure." (Proverbs 4:26 ESV) He is telling us to consider carefully our steps, to reflect, to give weight to each step we have taken and will take in the future.  In an excellent post by Warren Bird of Leadership Network he looks back at 11 trends that they identified in 2011, 10 of the best resources from Leadership Network in 2011 and 100 helpful data points for church leaders, Enjoy!

• Eleven: During 2011 we did an extensive project that identified 11 trends and innovations in top churches. Topics ranged from “team collaboration” to “community engagement.” Here’s a quick overview of the topics, with free download links to each.

• Ten: In sort of a “Top 10” series, we itemize resources released from Leadership Network in 2011. They include new leadership communities and innovation labs, books, concept papers, videos, blogs, and more. See http://leadnet.org/resources/advance/3145.

• Nine: During 2011 my Twitter @warrenbird pointed to well over 100 data points helpful to church leaders. Here are 9 from roughly a year ago:

• 3/15/11: Can a church be sued over social media issue? helpful links, Christianity Today, http://bit.ly/gxlH9c

• 3/10/11: Should you have 1 or 2 Saturday night services? See my blogpost at @warrenbird http://j.mp/eda3TJ - Add your insight as well.

• 3/1/11: What is census saying about U.S. future? Surprise: direction is suburban over back to cities, Joel Kotkin in Forbes http://bit.ly/hD2nmo

• 2/19/11: Church giving fosters generosity: The more you give at church, the more you also donate to other groups http://bit.ly/dGERb2

• 2/7/11: What's a church's economic worth to its community? Answer: lots! Study tallies 54 different types of contributions http://bit.ly/fsYcle

• 2/3/11: How underchurched is your state, county or city? US & Canada maps with ratio of population to churches http://bit.ly/grIOs9

• 1/27/11: US Muslims number 2.6M today, projected 6.2M by 2030. Globally 1/4 of world population, says today's Pew study http://usat.ly/g1mJXT

• 1/19/11: Updated American Factfinder released, do searches with U.S. census data, www.factfinder2.census.gov. Short virtual tour http://bit.ly/gEgTEc

• 1/10/11: Excellent interactive tool: find unchurched communities, map your area's religious makeup, run custom reports www.thearda.com/DemographicMap (HT)

 

TeAmerica is Now ConvergeUSA

Gary Rohrmayer as the National Director of ConvergeUSA (formerly TeAmerica) is announcing the launching a new blog, newsletter and website. It will feature monthly podcasts, articles written by our church planters, pastors and movement leaders, Assessment Center and training events stories and news, along with a lot of cool ideas from across the country.

For signing up and joining this new email list you can download Gary Rohrmayer's newest book, "Quiet Thoughts for Driven Leaders: 50 Devotional thoughts from the Spiritual Letters of François Fenelon."

Hit this link to Sign Up for our Free Newsletters

I am a Blogger!!!

I can’t believe it!  I have entered into the addictive world of blogging!  This could be dangerous for my compulsive personality.  Some might say why?  And I say why not?  If my 75 year old friend can finally figure out email, then this 46 year old can figure out blogging!

Here are a few reasons why I am a blogger: 

1.  It is all about feeling younger - as I wander through this mid-life maze, developing a new skill always helps.

2.  It is all about dialog - I’ve been sending newsletters and e-letters for years with good, but infrequent feedback - blogging makes feedback instantaneous. 

3.  It is all about connecting with the next generation of leaders - my passion, my calling, my driving purpose is to walk alongside the "20 and 30 somethings" leaders, helping them fulfill God’s missional purposes in their lives.

4.  It is all about being cool - though I know that with me now entering the blogging world could make it uncool pretty quick!

So what can you expect from this blog?

• I will continue my practice of sharing thoughts from some of my spiritual mentors of the past and present every Monday.
• I will throw out some leadership nuggets and learnings.
• I will weave in some personal stuff along the way. 

For all you veteran bloggers out there...be patience with me.  I am sure that there are some blogger rules somewhere that I have already violated!  Also, send me some advice and ideas along the way.  For all you non-bloggers…jump in, there is plenty of room and it is not that scary!

Quiet Moments With a Missional Mystic

Why David Brainerd? As a brand new follower of Jesus I heard his name come off the lips of my first spiritual mentor, Ray Friedl. Ray would speak with such tenderness and passion about Brainerd's writings and relationship with God that they inspired me to want to cultivate such devotion and focus. Twenty-five years later I found myself strangely drawn to this twenty-nine year old missionary's words and writings again.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. Brainerd was a missional leader who spent his life striving to be in the center of God's great cause.
2. Brainerd's life is an example of a man whose heart was swallowed up with the Glory of God.
3. Brainerd was a real and raw leader whose authenticity refreshes the heart of any warrior in God's service.
4. Brainerd was a man who moved from harshness to tremendous compassion for the needy souls around him.

Richard Hesler in his book, Journey With David Brainerd writes: "The reader is invited to begin a journey with David Brainerd. The journey is to be traveled on two levels: one is internal, the way of mysticism; the other is external, the way of mission." My prayer is that through our weekly journey that God will raise up a new generation of missional mystics who are swallowed up with the Glory of God!

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." NIV John 15:4-5

 

Excerpt from Quiet Moments with a Missional Mystic: A 30 day journey with David Brainerd