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Champions Fax ArchiveA Lesson In How To Be Hospitable
To Strangers, Part 2 Ed Note: Bill Easum is a member of the Church Champions Editor's Board. This is the second in his series about his visit to the Disney Institute. Disney also confirmed the ancient/future thing that many of us futurists talk about. The old and the future exist side by side at Disney, from pavilions to visit and old bricks running into new forms of pavement. It's not unusual to see Postmodern churches that are experimenting with blending the old and the new. I don't mean that they throw a few praise choruses in with the hymns. It is far more than that. I mean candles, creeds, art, stained glass, Video Clips, projection systems, Surround Sound, Hymns, Pearl Jam, Gregorian Chant, etc. all mixed throughout a service. The Disney presenters referred to the importance of leaders letting the "inner child" out. In the context of "Managing Creativity" that means that creativity is often a produce of getting in touch with the child within us and exploring the meaning of things around us. What if your leaders constantly asked "why"? "Why isn't this working," or "Why can't we try that?" So much of the creativity at Disney comes from people who have a playful attitude. Could the same be true for our churches? One more thing about the inner child. The ability to let the "inner child" out is one of the main things that separates most people born after 1945 from most people born before 1945. Consider this response from one of the young pastors on my Listserve: "This (the inner child comment) hits me right where God has led me over the last 6 years since seminary. I struggle with how to do this in the context of leadership - I know when to be serious and when to goof, but because I have been set so free to be the kid I am and God is creating me to be, it seems that for others it is difficult for them to accept me as a leader. I may be projecting my fears of failure on to them, but I don't think so." Are there any "kid leaders" who would be good mentors/encouragers who have seminars, books, videos, whatever? Over and over, the Disney presenters focused us on the phrase "Yes, and...." instead of "Yes, but...." Their emphasis was on providing an atmosphere in which a teams are encouraged to expand on one another's idea, adding a creative touch to the original idea. Idea strings (one good thought often leads to another in the right environment) are one of the primary benefits of teams that say "Yes, and..." instead of "Yes, but..." "What happens in your church when someone comes up with a new idea? What systems do you have in place to encourage new ideas? Is your church a permission giving or permission withholding environment? Bill will continue his thoughts in the next issue of Church Champions FAX. He will be in attendance at our Church Champions Editor's Board meeting and General Consultants Forum on August 23-25 held near Atlanta, Georgia. To apply for an invitation call 800.765.5323. To see the Easum/Bandy Consulting web site go to www.easum.com. It has a new forum for denominational leaders.
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