Jonathan L Cobler

Have you ever notice how things can quickly go from bad to worse?  It can happen in a relationship, a business or a church.  I’m slowly making my way through a book called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell.  In Chapter 4 they describe a social theory that they call "The Broken Window theory", I think we could also call it the bad to worse theory.  This theory was developed by two criminologist named James Q Wilson & George Kelling. They suggest that if one window is broken and goes unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon more windows will be broken and anarchy will spread.  They observed that if minor crimes go unpunished in a neighborhood, more serious crimes quickly follow.  The reasoning is that if criminals see graffiti and aggressive panhandling (for example) going unchecked, they will feel that it is less likely that more serious crimes will be dealt with. 

Imagine how this principal can affect your church or business.  If leaders allow "minor" issues of quality control or integrity to go unchecked, they become the broken windows in our neighborhood. Leaders (pastors, fathers/mothers, coaches, teachers
) must set and maintain the standard from the "basement to the rooftop" in their organization or it will easily begin to slide down the slippery slope of compromise.

Talk about a church that "Gets It".  Fellowship Church, one of my favorites, has launched a
new series called "ineed2change.com".  The new series challenges people to, that’s right, change.  It looks like they have taken a serious approach to empowering their community to spread the word and invite their friends, neighbors etc.  We can all learn a lesson from Fellowship Church about what it means to compel people to come.Link: ineed2change.com.

How to Promote a Sermon Series Like Fellowship Church

Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) is starting a new sermon series this weekend called ineedtochange.com that will challenge people to consider how they need to change for the better. Here 7 ways they are promoting it:  (Click Title to Read More)

Talk about a relevant post for everyone.  Bellow is an excerpt from an Ally of mine named Jeremy Nicks.  He brings some great insight personally and from some of our favorite authors (See Perry Noble’s original post here).  I was encouraged by much of the content and it reminded me of an eternally important fact: "It costs you nothing to encourage somebody else".  It’s a universal fact that people around you and I are dealing with discouragement on a daily basis.  It takes nothing more than a few meaningful words to speak encouragement and hope into somebody’s life.  If you’re like me, you think encouraging thoughts more often than you say them.  I am challenged to be a voice of hope to the people around me.  I imagine that the more often I speak hope and encouragement to the people around me, the more encouraged I will be.

Everybody Gets It

You’ve had it and probably even got it from someone else.  There’s a good chance you’ve even passed it on as a carrier.  It’s contagious, it’s dangerous, and sometimes getting over it can take years.  DISCOURAGEMENT is one of the most common infections of people today, especially leaders.

Link: One Big Crate: Everybody Gets It.

Here is a powerful example of how teachable our kids are.  My wife wrote this down after an experience she had tonight.

I had an awesome moment tonight at church and I want you all to hear it and let your hearts be encouraged…

I helped in the 4&5 year olds class tonight at church and while
we were at the playground I started pushing one of the little girls on
the swing. I thought I should try to make the most of the moment I had
and speak some encouraging words to her since I had her attention.

So I said to her, "Did you know that God loves you soooo much? And
you are so special to Him. God made you special and beautiful. Did you
know that?"

She looked at me with her precious little face, nodding her head, and said, "Yeah. I went to VBS."

And I thought, "We’re doing it!!! She says she knows God loves her
and that she’s special, and she learned it at VBS!"  So for everyone
who worked at VBS, and everyone who works every week to reach our
kids…be encouraged by knowing that little lives are being touched.

If you serve others on a regular basis, it’s easy to miss how much your input effects people.  This is just one example of a little girl who’s life was changed because she went to VBS.  But, that impact never would have happened if dozens of people hadn’t taken time out of their week (and some much more time than that) to serve.  Way to go TEAM!

Last night I had dinner with Gregg and Jessica Johnson, the leaders of J12 & iFaith.  Hearing their passion and expectation about what God is doing in the Next Generation got me even more excited for this weekend!  In the midst of all of the challenges and negativity that our young people face every day, God is raising up a generation of Passionate Followers of Him!  Don’t miss out on the iFaith event this Saturday at the church.  It’s not too late to sign up and enter your kids for a chance to win an iPod.  The event starts at 9am and we’ll be done by 2. 

Also, parents of Elementary kids – next weekend (8th&9th) we launch our new Curriculum "Elevate".  Our first 8 week series is called "On The Trail"-it’s a western themed journey with Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt.  It’s an exciting blend of big group and small group learning.  Your kids will be engaged by the teaching and challenged to go and make a difference in the world around them.  We still need adult’s who to be small group leaders for 8 weeks.  Even if you’ve never led a kid’s small group before, this is an awesome opportunity to be a hero in the life of a child. (and don’t worry, we’ll walk with you through the whole process ;)

We also have brand new curriculum for our pre-schoolers!!! More about that later…

This year has marked a significant turn for the Foursquare NextGen movement. Our national leader James Craft has provided an incredible forum for youth of all ages and backgrounds to come together and understand how they can make a difference in the world around them. Whether you are a youth or young adult, Foursquare or not, this Summit will impact your life and challenge you to evaluate your priorities. Take some time to browse the site and be inspired to make a change.

As a young leader that hopes to be on old leader some day, I’m carefully watching my mentors and trying to learn something new about life and leadership daily.  One characteristic that I greatly value about my pastor is his willingness to surround himself with people that are very different that he is.  Although I realized today that I’ve seen many seasoned leaders fill their staff with a variety of people  and claim to have a diverse team.  But here’s the realization, there’s a big difference between surrounding yourself with a diverse group of people and surrounding yourself with diverse people AND giving them a voice.  My pastor empowers his leaders with  a voice, and that’s what makes up a strong team.  I have a feeling that when you choose to live with a team like that, you’ll always live with the tension of chaotic synergy.  It’s synergy because when the team is on the same page you can rock and roll; it’s chaotic because when you have a room full of strong leaders, it’s a battle to get them on the same page. 

I will say for certain that I wouldn’t want the alternative, uniform antagonism.

Research in this article shows that the majority of young adults will stop coming to church after high school.  While some may return later in life, what can we do as a church to "close the gap"?  Two insights that I believe we should consider are as follows:

1. Build relational bridges between youth and adults.  When youth have relationship with adults in the church, it provides an outlet for them ask questions and share frustrations as they make transitional decisions.  Most youth and young adults feel mis-understood by their elders.  Whether or not that is reality, creating avenues for youth to be heard by the adults of the church is a power bridge builder.  This can happen exceptionally well when adults serve in youth ministry (especially as small group hosts), and when Men’s and Women’s Ministry leaders reach out to the youth through special activities and even special promotions for events they are hosting.

2. Invite older High Schoolers to be a part of leaders decisions.  This may sound a little intimidating, but in order for a young person to stay connected past High School they need to have a sense of ownership about the mission of the church.  This can happen through "open forum" discussion with church leaders where youth can share input, it can also happen by inviting mature youth to be "Ambassador Leaders"  on existing Adult Leadership  Teams. 

Moving from youth to young-adulthood is an extremely volatile time for many young people.  The more the church intentionally builds bridges to keep relationship flowing between the generations, the more likely we are to see upcoming generations catch the vision of the local church before they turn 30…

Young Adults Stop and Start Going to Church

Here’s Mark Driscoll sharing some interesting thoughts about different ways churches are trying to be effective in today’s culture.

Take a look at this map of the 25 fastest growing churches in the US last year. Interesting to note that the trend is towards the East. Map of fastest growing churches