Friday Finds - Outside hires, Facebook, Wow
People from back home will often say stereotypical things about Texas in regards to boots and cowboys and rifles hanging in the back of pickups. In Houston, we don't see much that fits the "Texas" mold in day-to-day life. It's a melting pot city where it seems like no one was born here and everyone grew up somewhere else and moved here for a job.
Except during the Houston Rodeo. And then, for three weeks, all of that changes. Everyone one of your stereotypes are true each March when more than 1.3 million people attend the rodeo over 21-days. Faith and Taylor and I are going to make our first visit next weekend, so I'll be sure to report back about our experience. (Keith Urban is singing that night, so I'm a bit concerned Faith will come home with posters).
Here are some finds from this week to encourage you...
The Secret Weapon Of Extraordinary Teams via Jennicatron.com
As an executive pastor, I often brought in leaders from outside our church to help us gain a new view on an area of struggle. There is great power in bringing an outside voice into your church or business. Someone with a different perspective who can look at your ministries and what you do with fresh eyes. Jenni Catron makes a great case for this in her article.
Upon visiting our office, people often comment on the open floor plan. Do we like it? Does it work well for us? Yes. We believe the open office encourages relationship and breeds a strong, healthy culture throughout our team. We're not the only organization who is catching on to this concept. In this article, a Facebook employee shares how they function as the world's largest open office.
7 Ways To Grow Church Attendance By Increasing Engagement via Careynieuwhof.com
In this article, Nieuwhof suggests that the best way to increase attendance at your church may not necessarily be by creating flashy, attractive services. Instead, by providing opportunities to engage in the life of the church through serving opportunities, newcomers are more likely to keep coming back.
Bob Bouwer is the Senior Pastor of a large, multi campus church in northwest Indiana. He is an incredible leader, and spoke at a TedX event about the power of the word "wow." That simple, three letter word is now the filter through which Bob looks at everything in his life. Do newcomers have a "wow" experience when they come to your church? Do your clients have "wow" encounters with your business or employees? How could things change if your goal at every point was to create "wow" moments for the people you are trying to reach?