Tag Archive - volunteers

The Perception of Change

November 8, 2011 in Ministry with 0 Comments

I’m a change advocate.  Change has never really scared me, and I look forward to opportunities to do it the right way.  However, I’ve also learned that the the perception of many towards the change you advocate is oftentimes negative.  Strange, huh?  Yet, that’s the result of change.  There will always be the battle between perception and reality.

What was perceived to be the reality before the change, and what is perceived to be the resulting reality after the change; are different from the actual reality.  The problem is that sometimes perception can be so far from reality that it leads to a new conflict.  As is often the case when you advocate and lead change, you as the leader will bear the burden of criticism due to the perceptions of others.

Over the past few months at our church, I’ve made a pretty significant change to our mid-week programming and the change has been overwhelming positive.  It’s been a long-time in the planning, yet was done with prayerful intentions and a high-degree of reluctance to do so.  However, it’s been the right thing for our church at this time. Even in that atmosphere, there is still the battle between perception and reality.

The perception is that I never liked what was here before.  The reality is different.

The perception is that I ran off people who loved the existing program.  The reality is different.

The perception is that I don’t like programs that require large groups of committed volunteers.  The reality is different.

The perception is that now I’ve created a program of lesser value.  The reality is different.

I could go on and on and on about perception vs. reality; but I’m still left living with the perceptions of others.  And that’s going to be allright.  You can’t control someone perceptions of you and your leadership.  [WARNING: I'd tell you to keep an eye out, if the perception of everyone around you is something different than you; that could very well be the sign that you're wrong and they are right! The perceptions I speak of are from people that aren't on the "inside" of the change that's being made, I speak of those that are solely making their perceptions on what they see from a distance.]

The truth is that you can only control your own personal actions, and the steps you take to help kids and families connect with God through the ministry of your church.  Learning to live in a place of health in spite of unhealthy perceptions is not always easy, but it’s required if you’re going to advocate for change.  Being a change agent in a place that even demands for change will not be easy, but it takes someone willing to sacrifice themselves to current perceptions in order to create a longer-lasting perception based in reality.  And that reality takes time.

Are you committed to making the change in spite of the initial perceptions?  Let’s hear from your own journey…

Conference Conversations

September 20, 2011 in Links, Ministry, Personal with 5 Comments

As I prepare to head out of town for a conference this week, my kids have asked me the question, “Dad, what is a conference?”  I’ve tried to give them an answer that I thought would make it easy for them to understand and my response was,

“A conference is where people that want to learn and grow to be better at their job go to learn and get better at their job.  But really, it’s place that I go to talk to people.”

Then began a conversation about talking to people at conferences; and meeting people I don’t know; and hearing from people I’ve never heard from; and all the other benefits of getting out of town and seeing what’s out there.  If I had to explain why you’ve heard me talking about so many conferences on the blog this year here it is:

I go for the conversations. I go for the dinners with friends sharing my own struggles.  I go for the one-way conversations I have with the people teaching as I’m listening.  I go for the one-way conversations I have with people listening to me as I’m teaching.  I go to meet people different than me.  I go to meet people similar to me.  I go to every conference for different conversations.

The Orange Conference // I go for the life long friends I’ve met through Orange.  I also go because it’s a rare conference that combines denominations, ministry leaders, youth leaders, volunteers, children’s leaders, and senior pastors into one space that creates fireworks of collaboration.  It’s unique.

The D6 Conference // I go for the new people I get to meet and see.  This next week I’ll be at D6 for the first time.  It looks to be a great environment for learning the best from marriage, parenting, and church leadership leaders.  I’m real excited to also not have to travel far to this one!

The KIDMIN Conference // I’m going to Kidmin because I love kids and those that minister to them!  Kidmin is trying really, really hard to reach those that minister to children in a community settings.  No green rooms, no hideaway meals, and relationship encouraged at every turn.  Not to mention Gina McClain laying down some awesome sauce in the main sessions!

Illuminate Conference // I love Illuminate because it’s all about volunteers.  Illuminate encourages me to learn from others, yet allows me the place to teach into those that are going where I’ve been.  I love the opportunity that Illuminate presents to church leaders in Birmingham, AL; Austin, TX; and Nashville, TN to bring their key volunteers together for a ministry investment!

Children’s Pastor Conference // I’ll be at both CPC conferences this year for a new reason.  I’m believing for a change in the way INCM meets and connects Kidmin leaders throughout the world.  CPC is a place that is changing, and I’m excited for the direction my friend Michael Chanley is taking INCM and CPC.

I’m not nieve and I understand that on some level all these conferences compete for the same attenders.  However, I am not an employee of any one conference.  I am just a conversationalist looking for more conversation.  Sure I have my favorites, and I could rank them in some arbitrary order.  But why? Conversations are what I’m looking for.  Not arguments.

Simple as that, kids. :-)

Illuminate Conference News

September 15, 2011 in Ministry with 0 Comments

This just in…stop…from Mr. Kenny Conley and team…stop…big news out of Nashville…stop…Illuminate…coming to a town near you…stop…read below for all the cats pajamas…stop…you’re welcome…stop…

With two Illuminate Conferences under my belt, one thing is sure… Illuminate is like no other conference. At both Austin (2010) and Birmingham (2011) I heard the same thing over and over.

Amazing!

Incredible!

Inspiring!

Encouraging!

That’s what kidmin volunteers from Texas, Alabama and Georgia all had to say about their Illuminate experience. So, the only logical thing to do is more events, right? That’s what I thought too.

On Saturday, February 18th, 2012… Illuminate comes to the great city of Nashville, TN! Details are still coming together (like speakers and breakouts) but we do have a handful of great communicators already lined up.

  • Jim Wideman (General Sessions and Leader Q & A)
  • Jonathan Cliff
  • Amy Fenton Lee
  • I’ll be there too… plus a few others

So, if you live within a 2-4 hour radius of Nashville, TN, make plans to attend the only event bringing some of the most influential voices in kidmin to the local arena to equip volunteers. It’s one of the best investments you could make in your volunteer team. At the early bird price, you can afford to bring them all!

For more information about Illuminate, check out illuminateconference.tv. For more information about the Nashville event, visit nashville.illuminateconference.tv.

YouLead Opportunity

May 11, 2011 in Links with 0 Comments

As a reader of this site, I have a special offer for my readers.  If you’re working anywhere in the context of family ministry, children’s ministry, student ministry, college ministry, or just interested in Leadership; then I have a deal for you.  Right now I can get you a free 2-month trial offer to YouLead.  Normally, YouLead is the very agreeable price of $249 for a 5-member leadership team per year, but right now it’s free for 2 months!  Go ahead and read the description of YouLead, and then find the instructions to get your own 2-month trial offer to YouLead.

YouLead is a simple curriculum designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers.  It centers on answering three basic questions:

  • What can I do to continue learning as a leader?
  • How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently?
  • What can we do to stay on the same page as a team?

As a leader, your time is probably filled to the brim without adding one more item to your list.  That’s why we have made this development plan E-A-S-Y. In fact, explaining it will be just as easy…

With YouLead, you get:

  • Personal Leadership Development

    • Book reviews, podcasts, videos, case studies…all around a center topic each month
    • Involves no more than 20 minutes of your time each week – THAT’S IT!

  • Volunteer Leadership Development

    • Intentional communication plan around a central theme each month
    • Weekly email messages designed and ready to send to your entire team in less than 5 minutes

  • BONUS – Staff Leadership Development

    • Book review with staff discussion starters
    • Guided meeting schedule through concepts in The Orange Leader Handbook
    • Podcast for senior leadership

Remember, the goal of using YouLead either as an individual or for your entire team is to have an EASY, INTENTIONAL, ACHIEVABLE leadership development plan.  To get your free 2-month offer just send an email to me at jc @ jonathancliff.com and I’ll be glad to tell you what you need to do.  It’s easy, sneezy; and you won’t regret the opportunity to Lead Yourself in a more deliberate direction of God’s Best!

 

Let’s Illuminate this Thing

April 20, 2011 in Links, Ministry with 0 Comments

Last year I had the privilege to participate in a new volunteer conference called Illuminate. It was something Kenny Conley and his team at Gateway organized.  In an easy to read way, hear from Kenny’s own heart on why he wants to do this:

Essentially, the idea was to create an incredible experience for our volunteers at Gateway. Many times I’ve walked out of an incredible breakout at a national conference and said, “Wow! I wish all my volunteers had experienced that!” Unfortunately, most churches can’t provide a “national conference” experience for all the volunteers… unless that church brought the national conference to their volunteers. That’s what Illuminate is.

So at this time we’re all happy to announce that Illuminate Austin is coming back!  On Saturday, November 12, 2011, Gateway Church in Austin, TX will host Illuminate for the second time. We are expecting 600-800 kidmin volunteers/staff for this incredible experience. The breakout and speaker lineup is amazing!

But wait… there’s more!

Illuminate is a huge blessing for kidmin volunteers in Central Texas. Why limit it to just Central Texas? Once all the content and program is developed, doing it again in a new location isn’t really that much work, right?

So on Saturday, August 27, 2011, Westwood Church in Birmingham, AL will host the first Illuminate Conference outside the great state of Texas. How exciting is that? We’ll pack in the same great stuff that made Illuminate successful in Texas, but serve it up Southern Style.

But wait… there’s even more!

Last year Kenny recorded every session and breakout of Illuminate.  I hear that he had intended to record every session and breakout from Birmingham and Austin in 2011 as well. So, what is he going to do with all this great video content? You guessed it. Illuminate is going online! He doesn’t yet have specific dates and details yet, but plans are underway and concrete dates will be set this summer. Not everyone can get to Austin or Birmingham… but this video content can help anyone, regardless of where they’re coming from.

This year for Illuminate, I’ve gathered some of the greatest minds in Kidmin: Jim Wideman, Sam Luce, Jonathan Cliff, Gina McClain, Dan Scott, Matt McKee, Amy Fenton Lee, Michael Chanley and more to be announced. That’s a Kidmin Powerhouse!

So, whether you live in Texas or Alabama (or within a couple ours of the locations) or whether you have a computer with high speed internet, plan to connect with Illuminate this Fall. It could be exactly what you’re volunteers need most. Stay tuned for more details soon.

Don’t hesitate. Click here to visit the illuminateconference.tv

Click here to follow Illuminate on twitter

Click here to visit Illuminate on facebook

 

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