BrianHimes.com » church

Weekend Update

Brian — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:33:01 +0000

I’m tired. It was a long busy weekend. Here are a few highlights:

In case you were unaware, I am now in charge of the volunteers for a small social services agency in Pasadena. I love working with the volunteers. They give and give and give. It’s really amazing. To honor them each year we put on a volunteer appreciation event. This year we had a picnic in a local park. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Erin and I got up early Saturday morning and worked like dogs until the early afternoon.
After the picnic we came home, and sold our Oldsmobile. It’s soo great to have that weight and added monthly expense off our shoulders. Now, if we can just sell the van we’d be down to two cars, and one project car. Still a lot of cars, I know.
Sunday I lead worship at church. I love getting the opportunity to do it every month or so, but it’s pretty emotionally draining.
Sunday afternoon we grilled with the young adults group at church and then went home to take short naps before driving out to Ventura for Erin’s cousin’s open house. It was a nice afternoon and evening, but we didn’t get home until after 10 PM, which is past my bedtime… especially for a Sunday night.

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Keeping Millennials Engaged

Brian — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:17:56 +0000

There’s a thought provoking post over on Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog titled Why Millennials Are Going to Keep You on Your Toes.

In the post Katya Andresen talks about Millennials* and how they are different from past generations. She makes many interesting observations but the one that stands out to me comes from a study by Achieve. She quotes a study which talks about millennials and their higher expectations for non-profits. The study says

Millennial donors want more than a transactional relationship. They want to be engaged,” said Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve. “They need to feel a connection with an organization, and they want opportunities for deeper involvement, such as opportunities to work with leadership and to help craft direction for the organization. Plus, they want to know specifically how their gifts will benefit the organization’s constituents.

Interesting stuff. I think it directly applies to fundraising, volunteerism and possibly even roles in the church. As someone involved in all three of those areas I’m extremely interested in this.

In our churches I would think that we need to create opportunities for millennials to take on leadership roles too keep them engaged. Perhaps they can help plan events for the youth ministry, run their own small group, teach a class, or help facilitate the benevolence program.

In our non-profits perhaps we can include them on our volunteer committees and create opportunities for them to fundraise for specific projects. There are a lot of possibilities but it’s important that we do something.

We need to make sure we are open to allowing the kind of interaction this generation needs. I’m afraid we’ll loose them and their support if we don’t. So, be proactive, look at your programs and see where this type of interaction is possible and appropriate. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the help and they’ll appreciate having a voice.

*Everyone seems to have a different definition of where the millennial generation begins and ends. In some studies I would be considered a millennial and in others I would be considered a part of generation x.

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Volunteers Make Church Work

Brian — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:37:27 +0000

Did you know that this is Volunteer Appreciation Week? In my line of business volunteers are extremely important. I work for a small non-profit and we use volunteers to help us with our jobs every day. I have a wonderful volunteer here this morning helping me with some data entry. It’s great that there are people out there willing to serve in any capacity needed.

As I was thinking about volunteering, I realized that the church is also an organization that heavily uses volunteers. At my church, I’m in charge of running the worship ministry. That means I rely on the help of others each Sunday to fill a variety of roles to make our worship service actually happen. If there were no volunteers, the only person leading our service would be our minister. He does a great job, but he can’t run the sound, lights, pass communion trays, lead singing and preach every Sunday. That would be insane. Truth is, volunteers make the church work.

So, today, and this week, if you volunteer somewhere I want you to give yourself a pat on the back. You really are making a difference. And, if you utilize volunteers, please let them know they are appreciated. They deserve a pat on the back for their hard work.

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The End of the Emergent Movement?

Brian — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:31:55 +0000

There's an interesting article over at Relevant Magazine titled The End of the Emergent Movement?.

I've always felt as though the Emergent Movement got a bad rap. If you dared to utter the the word emergent in the wrong crowd you could risk beheading, and that never seemed fair to me. Where's the honest discussion? I hold the term in the same esteem as the word Emo. Both were over-used and relatively undefinable. But that's really beside the point.

My opinion on the matter is that we should always be on the lookout for the best way to apply Christianity to our ever changing culture. That's what Paul did when he addressed the churches of the New Testament and that's what we should be doing today. What we call it doesn't matter. And, there will always be people who disagree with the change in approach, but that's their hurdle to get over. The point is reaching people with the message of Christ.

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Church Web Design: People vs. Buildings

Brian — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:38:56 +0000

I have been doing a little thinking about this topic lately. In church web design, should you feature pictures of your congregation, or just pictures of your building and surrounding neighborhood? I would like to hear where you stand. Here are my initial thoughts. Feel free to disagree or convince me otherwise.

In the world of web design and mail solicitations for nonprofits, images of people are king. It is all about emotional appeal. You want an image to touch the viewer and stir them to take action. That action could be to make a donation, volunteer, or whatever, but it is that emotional connection that you form with the person in the image that creates that connection. I argue that you cannot forge the same connection with a building. Buildings, even in the best light and at the right angle, are cold man made objects. Sure, you can take some stunningly beautiful photos of buildings, but the difference is you cannot look into their eyes and sympathize with them.

Churches are about people, not buildings. And, I think the theory behind using images carries over from the nonprofit world. Church websites should make an emotional appeal to people. As a designer you should want the people who visit your website to see the church as a warm family they could fit right into. You want them to identify and sympathize with the people in the photos. You want to create that emotional connection to pull them in. Buildings can look cool from an art or design standpoint, but ultimately that is not what churches are about. It is about people.

Those are my thoughts anyway. Please share yours. Whether you’re a designer, or an armchair critic like me, I would love to hear from you.

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Weekend Update

Brian — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:07:58 +0000

Friday Erin and I left work a little early to head down to my parent’s. From there we went to In-N-Out for dinner and then the church for my littlest sister’s baptism (she’s not really that little anymore). After the baptism a large group of us went to BJ’s to celebrate with pazookie. It was a great evening and a lot of fun.

Saturday morning the Jeffs (my brother and his friend) came over and we did a little automotive work. We replaced the throttle body, spark plugs and 3 engine mounts on my Focus in what must have been close to world record time. Now the Focus runs like new again.

Saturday evening Erin’s parents returned from their cruise so we went and visited with them, and had a little dinner.

Sunday morning I taught the Jr. High bible class again. This week we talked about Jesus being the resurrection and the life.

Sunday afternoon Erin and I cooked up our pumpkin dishes for that night’s pumpkin party. Erin made a Pumpkin Corn Chowder with Crab and Bacon and I made a Pumpkin Harvest Cider with Maple Whipped Cream. Both turned out well. Erin’s won the competition over all, and mine came in a close second place in it’s category.

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I AM…

Brian — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:29:54 +0000

I have been thinking a little about the Gospel of John lately. I am teaching the Jr. High at church this month and having been given full freedom to choose my own topic, I decided to talk about some of Jesus’ famous “I Am” statements. So, we’ll be studying gems like, I am the bread of life, I am the way, truth and life, and I am the good shepherd. Those statements taken by themselves are a little strange, and sometimes difficult to wrap your head around as an adult, so I cannot imagine what kids think when they hear those words in church or read them in their Bibles. That said, what I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around, as I prepare my lessons, is did Jesus know what he was saying when he used the phrase “I am”?

My best guess is, yes he knew. And, if that’s the case, it brings even greater meaning to those two simple words. “I AM” is the name used by God for himself when he called Moses to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. If Jesus is purposeful in his use of these words then he’s saying far more with the “I am” statements. He’s saying He is God. Would this have been evident to Jesus’ Jewish audience? Again, going with my best guess here, I would say yes. How mind blowing is that? How crazy is it that this guy went around using the name of God as his own as he taught?

It is easy to get lost in the simplicity of this but hear me out. Jesus is God, and God is Jesus and together as one they are the bread of life, the way, truth and life, and the good shepherd. Is that not amazing?