Gateway Church in Austin hosted a Lunch and Learn Seminar today.
Here are the details:
Topic: Catalytic Community: Moving from Meetings to Meaningful and from Superficial to Significant
Description: We can create small groups and networks which bring life to those who come and through those who come. We can move people from attending towards growing and serving by initiating authentic community.
Here are two free online training opportunities I will be leading for you and/or your leaders:
Gateway Church in Austin hosts a Lunch and Learn Seminar
Wednesday, February 16 from 12-1pm (CST)
Watch live at www.gatewayleaders.com!
Topic: Catalytic Community: Moving from Meetings to Meaningful and from Superficial to Significant
Description: We can create small groups and networks which bring life to those who come and through those who come. We can move people from attending towards growing and serving by initiating authentic community.
Wednesday, February 23rd at 1-2pm (CST)
Topic: Not Like Me: A Field Guide for Influencing a Diverse World
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now here!
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
If you can make it, what topics do you want me to address?
Alan is the founding Director of Forge Mission Training Network. He is the co-founder of shapevine.com an international forum for engaging with world transforming ideas. Debra serves as part of the leadership team of The Tribe of LA, a Jesus community among artists and creatives in Los Angeles.
Known for their innovative approach to mission, Alan and Debra wrote Untamed which is about missional discipleship for a missional church, and they recently spoke at the Origins Event in Los Angeles.
Alan is a teacher and key mission strategist for churches across the western world. His popular book The Shaping of Things to Come (with Michael Frost) is widely considered to be a seminal text on mission. Alan’s recent book The Forgotten Ways, has quickly become a key reference for missional thinking, particularly as it relates to movements. His book ReJesus is a radical restatement about the role that Jesus plays in defining missional movements.
Listen below:
Alan & Debra Hirsch
[audio:NotLikeMe-Hirsch.mp3]
Download MP3 Here
What were some of your favorite insights? How can become better disciple-makers?
Dr. Kevin Harney has served on the staff of churches ranging from 200 to 10,000 members. Kevin does extensive speaking and training in the areas of leadership, mobilizing churches for effective outreach, and balancing the challenges of ministry and marriage. He is the author of Seismic Shifts, The Little Changes that Make a BIG Difference in your Life, a celebrated book which sparked a full-church curriculum and campaign. He also recently published Organic Outreach for Ordinary People: Sharing Good News Naturally, among many others.
Kevin also contributed one of the “Field Notes” articles in Not Like Me.
Listen below:
[audio:NotLikeMe-Harney.mp3]
Download MP3 Here
Erwin McManus serves as the lead pastor of Mosaic, the founder of Awaken Humanity (non-profit), and McManus Studios. Erwin is an entrepreneur (see Temple Bags and Native Son), filmmaker, author, and speaker.
Do you know what is most impressive about Erwin? He is a person of genuine faith and character. His wife and kids love him and love God (this is not always the case for a pastor’s family). He is one of the most generous people I know. I count the opportunity to be on his team and one of his friends a tremendous honor and privilege.
Erwin wrote the Foreword for Not Like Me and joined me for an interview during the Not Like Me online release party. Take a listen to our interview below:
Erwin McManus
[audio:NotLikeMe-McManus.mp3]
Download MP3 Here
What were some of your favorite insights? In what ways do you plan to risk?
Recently Alex McManus interviewed me on his BlogTalk Radio Show about Not Like Me (the book) and www.notlikeme.org (the new website to help pastors and church leaders create their own Not Like Me sermon series or small group series). Alex and I served together at Mosaic for several years. Alex is the author of Making the World Human Again, the founder of the International Mentoring Network and the creator of Voxtropolis, a collaboration between artists and activists, promoters and clubs, businesses and individuals designed to mobilze communities in the fight 4 humanity. Voxtropolis presently has expressions in the US, Canada and the UK as well as a mirror expression in the cybersphere at Voxtropolis.com. He has a wonderful and is a good friend of mine.
Alex created the Human Event which is coming up in Michigan on Oct. 13-14.
I will be interviewed by Alex McManus on September 29th at 8am (PST). It’s free, so join us for this conversation!
September 29th: IMN Central (call in radio show)
Our previous teleseminar featured me and Marcus “Goodie” Goodloe also from Mosaic in Los Angeles. The topic was “Innovations and Insights from Mosaic.”
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION HERE!
The winners of the resources include:
Listen to previous Teleseminars here.
Also, in a recent post, I also offered a copy of Kary Oberbrunner’s new book Your Secret Name, and the winner is Kenny J.!
If you have a resource you would like to giveaway in future posts or newsletters, contact belinda@mosaic.org.
Ed Stetzer, church planting guru and overall strategic genius, kindly featured an interview with me on his website today. Go by and let him know your thoughts. See a glimpse below:
From Ed Stetzer:
“Today, I feature an interview with Eric Michael Bryant about his book Not Like Me. This book, formerly titled Peppermint-Filled Pinatas, argues that we can become agents of change creating genuine community among people from a variety of backgrounds and belief systems through our relationships. Eric is part of the leadership team at Mosaic in Los Angeles, which is a church known for its creativity and diversity.
I had the opportunity to contribute “Field Notes” to this book, and I’ll be sharing those tomorrow here at the blog.
I appreciate Eric for taking the time to answer some questions here and to interact on the blog today.
Ed Stetzer: What is the message of Not Like Me?
Eric Bryant: Not Like Me advocates for the rights of those who do not yet follow Jesus. My goal was to help people of faith learn how to develop meaningful relationships with people with whom they disagree, differ, or even dislike. Too often as Christians we hide away from the world rather than engage in it. As a result, we alienate those who do not follow Jesus at a distance. They deserve better than that.
ES: Why do you think our churches seem to drift towards more of a “shelter from the world” mentality?
EB: Sometimes we confuse the ideas of being “set apart” and being “sent out.” We are supposed to be “set apart” in our behavior but “sent out” into our relationships. Sometimes we do the opposite. We become “set apart” from the very people God has brought into our lives to love, serve, and influence. It’s human nature to spend time with the people who are most like us because of our self-centered tendencies. Another big part of the problem would be our more consumeristic view of the church. At Mosaic, we strive to go against that. Our lead pastor Erwin McManus says: “The church is not here to meet our needs. We are the church here to meet the needs of the world.” If our relationship with God was all about me and Jesus, then my pastor should have just drowned me during my baptism so I could go straight into His presence. Instead, he brought me out of the water because there is much more for me to do. I now represent Jesus everywhere I go.”
For the rest of the article and to join the conversation, go here.
The New Website (www.NotLikeMe.org) includes articles, short films, small group materials, sermon transcripts, assessments, and other resources for a sermon series and your small group. To submit resources or an article (300-700 words) based on one of the chapters in Not Like Me, email Belinda at belinda@mosaic.org.
We are giving away a copy of Not Like Me to one of the contributors whose article or resource are included on the site as well as to those who review the book at Amazon.com! The contributors will be chosen randomly. Send in your articles and resources today!
Recent Reviews:
A Review by Marcus “Goodie” Goodloe
Recent Articles:
“What Are We Waiting For?” by Jamie Locklin
“I Am Hopeful” by Esther Mercado
“Lots of Sex in the City – Next Steps” by Barry Odom
“Adopting the Elementary School” by Doug Axtell
“The Art of Woo Next Steps” by Ryan Daugherty
“Party in Lancaster” by Nathan Kilgore
Recent Winners:
“The Beat-Attitudes” by Marlon Hall
“New Life for Unrequited Dreams” by Christi Watson
“Next Steps” by Christa McKirland
Thanks to all of those who have been reviewing the book or writing articles and to all of those who are spreading the message about the importance of serving, loving, and influencing those Not Like Me!