The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

Music Mini Retreat

I've been looking forward to this week for a long while.

Three of the most prolific and talented musicians from our little music guild are with me at my cabin today. We spent the night around the fire at German Lake listening to Todd Ernster's arrangments of 20 of the songs written in the mountains last year. Today we're at Todd's with the Revs. Jon Anderson and Mike Lee, finishing the polish and adding some new tunes to the mix.

Wednesday while most of you are Ash Wednesdaying, we'll be with Robert Robinson and Sam Reeves from the Twin Cities Gospel Choir and engineer Tony Axtell laying down the final five songs in the project to redo all of our confirmation music.

Nine albums will result from this year of work that winds up on Wednesday. When we're through, the Faith Inkubators music guild will launch into the three-year lectionary project.

I have the funnest job in the world.

iGod?

They just sold their billionth iTune.

Apple and their college drop-out CEO know how to market.

What are they selling? Music? No, music is only a part of it.

It came over the airwaves only a few short years after the first one was sold, changing the way my kids think (and expect) things should be delivered.

Immediate. Cheap. High Quality. At their fingertips. What they want when they want it.

They invented the category and the delivery, and own 80% of the market.

So what are they selling?

Cool.

Now, on to Jesus.

Consider this: You're a marketing executive in charge of getting the word out (evangelism). You've got the most wonderful, life-saving, grace-filled, abundance giving product in history. You have an unlimited supply, and people need it. It has transformed billions of lives.

And your company (church) is growing by leaps and bounds, right?

No? It is losing as many customers (funerals) as it is gaining (baptisms and transfers). You are at a net-zero. Most of your fellow sales people across the country are losing 3% of the market each year to the competition.

Do you keep doing what you've always been doing, or do you start examining your marketing plan (or lack thereof)?

Back to Apple

People carry their iPods with them where ever they go. They wear them on the outsides and are tuned into them constantly. They tell others about them. They are happy to be seen with them. When something goes wrong, they run right to the Apple store and get it fixed. (By the way, Joseph's iPod broke a week after the warrenty expired and the kid at the "Genius Bar" - the cool place where they fix all Apple products at Mall of America - said: "Ah, what's a week! You're an Apple customer. Here's a new one.")

Now, back to Jesus.

Do your people carry Jesus with them wherever they go? Do they tell others about him? When they come to the Church for help, do they get that much grace from you?

I think it is time we get the best marketing people in our churches - and out of our churches - to have a little sit-down to help us figure out the spectacular marketing disaster we are perpetuating.

We've got the best thing out there. We've got the REAL real thing. Lives depend on  our getting the product out. And we're doing a lousy job.

Rich

(PS I have refrained from using the "You're fired!" line, but for those who believe in hell, it may literally apply.)

Wisconsin, Kids & Hell

I had some fun this weekend with 120 junior high kids locked into a Bible Camp near Milwaukie. Tim Tahtinen ran a retreat for six churches in the area and brought in a band, me, and the coldest day in 60 years. The heat in our dwelling gave out on Saturday night, and I found myself sticking my legs into the arm holes in my parka and sleeping with every blanket and quilt in CheezeLand over my face.

What I learned:

1. Junior High kids are cool
2. Wisconsin is cold
3. Hell could be a fire, and that would be heaven for some who live in Wisconsin

Menschdom by Guy Kawasaki

Here is original Apple employee Guy Kawasaki's humble attempt to help you achieve menschdom from his blog.

1. Help people who cannot help you. A mensch helps people who cannot ever return the favor. He doesn't care if the recipient is rich, famous, or powerful. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't help rich, famous, or powerful people (indeed, they may need the most help), but you shouldn't help only rich, famous, and powerful people.    

2. Help without the expectation of return. A mensch helps people without the expectation of return--at least in this life. What's the payoff? Not that there has to be a payoff, but the payoff is the pure satisfaction of helping others. Nothing more, nothing less.

3. Help many people. Menschdom is a numbers game: you should help many people, so you don't hide your generosity under a bushel. (Of course, not even a mensch can help everyone. To try to do so would mean failing to help anyone.)    

4. Do the right thing the right way. A mensch always does the right thing the right way. She would never cop an attitude like, “We're not as bad as Enron.” There is a bright, clear line between right and wrong, and a mensch never crosses that line.

Who's Happy Now?

According to the Pew Charitable Trust, people who attend worship are a lot happier than those who don't. Why do you think this is?

Rats Brains, Adolescence & Dopamine

So it turns out that frequent breaks in study time allow the brain to play what you just learned over and over and over, thus reinforcing the learning and solidifying it into long term memory... also giving you more dopamine to make the learning more desirable.

Lecture for 50 minutes and think you're an effective teacher? Nope.

You may have taught the material, but you didn't teach the kid. You may have thought you were an effective teacher, but you were a lousy steward of the brain.

If you've only got a hour, you are much smarter going 7 1/2 minutes, then created a break or diversion. (FINK calls it a creative interruption that focuses on the same theme in another way). Then go 7 1/2 more, and divert attention again. Then again. Then let them talk about it. Then quiet things completely down, put on some soft music, dim the lights, and go over everything you just did one more time.

That's our method. We took 16 years to figure it out and systematize it.

Here's the article, complete with links.

Denominational Plugs

I just spent two days at a national denominational headquarters, trying to figure out the future of Christian education with them. They were very gracious and kind.

Most of the people I hang out with these days are telling me not to waste any energy or effort with the dying mainline. Let someone else bury them. I don't quite agree, although I do see God doing amazing things outside of the traditional arenas.

Will death come with a bang or a whimper? Will anyone know or notice when the last mainliner turns to a flat liner? When I started on the road 12 years ago there were 11,000 churches in my denomination. Now there are 10,000.

Is it time to pull the plug on the denominations and head off to see what God will do next? Here's a fun piece from Cliff at Church Resources that might shed some light:

Subject: A room with a view

It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this may help get you started... During a visit to a Mental Asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized. "Well," said the Director, "We fill up a bathtub and then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub." "Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup." "No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug." Do you want a room with or without a view?

Superman's Pal: Anonymous Lutheran

And here's one for thought.

Jimmy Olsen, Superman's cub reporter photographer friend, is listed as a Lutheran on a "Famous Lutherans" website.  He is a Lutheran like all too many other Lutherans. The reason he is listed?

Has he ever discussed his faith with his friends?

No.

Has he ever been seen going to church?

No.

Has there been any evidence of his faith in his words or actions?

Questionable.

But he's a Lutheran, right?

Yup.

His name is Olsen.

That's it.

Sex, the Pulpit & He

Today's Washington Post has an interesting article on Sex and the Pulpit. You might find it worty of a preaching topic - or a mention - in your Valentine's Day sermon.

We managed to place “Song of Solomon”  a work of our Faith Inkubators artist, He Qi, in the piece  in a 6 ¼ inch by 6 ¼ inch in beautiful full color print next to the article on preaching about the erotic Bible Book.

The Post has an adult readership of 1.8 million.

Not a bad forum for an artist.

Alcohol, Coffee & Friends

A note from Ben, doing a Masters in Family Therapy, on my Starbucks Reflections

Coffee shops and bars, what do those two have in common? Something addictive... It was interesting to me that those two spots, with the central theme a very addictive substance is our society's means for meeting people. If you need to partake in an addictive substance to hang out with friends, no wonder addiction is one of the top concerns in the health/mental health system! Hope you have fun in Chicago! Ben