Summer Experience Improvements

Here's a few ideas that have been cooking in my head about how we improve our summer experiences. Some of them may come to fruition and some may not.

+ Teams do a bit of language study as part of their prep. Seems obvious but we totally missed this one.
+ Require reference letters for leadership roles. Another duh. Related: press our network for info on leaders that our weak ties might know.
+ Adjust applications to visit the area of humility.
+ Get a filled out application and reference letters for people we send to partners. Send these documents to the partners.
+ Each team has someone that prays. That really really prays - and that helps the team pray.
+ Each team also has someone that is in charge of logistics - where do we need to get to and when and how. If you have traveled with me, you know the gap I'm talking about is mine. I'm easily lost and this summer, I got lost trying to find a park that was 50 feet in front of me [to my credit, those were small European streets] My wife is a huge help in this area but sometimes, combined with everything else, it's a lot.
+ And from a process improvement evaluation in the Fall of 2007 - a Post trip debriefing packet - every student gets something to ponder at 2, 4, 6 week intervals after they come home.

The low water mark for emerging global student leaders gets higher every year. This type of kid gets smarter, more experienced, more passionate and has a greater bias for action every year. What doesn't change is their desire to be engaged in areas such as cross cultural leadership, calling, vocation, and the personal journeys of world class global leaders. They push us to be better and that is a good thing.

Friday Burn

Lots I've collected over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I didn't jot down where I got these links from...

::: African driven future in demographics
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::: Student discipleship meets Funding for Missions
One of the most creative revenue plans I've seen.
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::: Fantastic interview with Lorne Micheals, the creator of Saturday Night Live, on working with creatives.
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::: The Worst Destinations in the World, for your package
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::: The Lewis Model Explains Every World Culture
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::: 5 Reasons Why Millenails Stay Connected to Church
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Photo: Ember X team, on the move. CDG

Mere Exposure and Loss Aversion

These studies suggest that organizational decisions will be subject to a powerful emotional distortion. When an organization's leader proposes a change in direction, people will be feeling two things: Ack, that feels unfamiliar. (And thus more uncomfortable.) Also: Ack, we're going to lose what we have today. When you put these two forces together - the mere-exposure principle and loss aversion - what you get is a powerful bias for the way things work today.

- Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, Chip and Dan Heath.

ProtoGuides 2013

This fall, we've given our Ember intern experience a new name. I've never quite liked the term 'intern' before - it doesn't quite convey everything that we do with these students. Instead, we are calling them ProtoGuides. Proto coming from the concept of protege and Guide because they serve at an Ember staff level, having some of the same kind of responsibilities that our Guides have. The ProtoGuide experience is a lot more than busy work.

We've started their experience this Fall already. Two of their readings already include Church in the Making by Ben Arment and The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch, both favorites of mine and fantastic reads for anyone interested in global leadership. Check out their blogs for some good postings already [here and here] Those aren't ordinary reading for high school students. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't.

If you know a high schooler that might be interested in something like this in the future, here is a quick infosheet on the ProtoGuide experience.

Shots from Sabbatical

+ Started the time in VA Beach. Ended the time in Rehoboth Beach.
+ During my time off, I've given a lot of thought energy to Ember, which is a good barometer that I'm still pretty passionate about it. If I could easily walk away from it, then it might be time to do something else. But it's not - not even close.
+ Caught up on some reading. I read Multipliers because of the WCAGLAS - I felt like a lot of it was a no-brainer if you lead people. I read The Box - because of Bill Gates - it kind of put me to sleep. I'm in the middle of Decisive, which is so so so good.
+ We got a dog named Oreo from a local rescue. He has the most amazing personality, so friendly, well behaved and obedient. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue is the name of the place.
+ 7th and 10th grade have gotten off to a good start.
+ Very excited for our next season of Ember.

See You in 6 Weeks

I'm taking a little break from running Ember for the next month and a half or so. This is a self-imposed sabbatical, something that I planned earlier this summer before any of our summer projects were in the execution phase. It's been a fantastical summer - everything I dreamed of for this summer came to pass and even more. But I knew that a break would be good for me. Rest is good and sometimes, even when you have some momentum like I think we do right now, it's healthy to let it rest.

Usually the idea of a sabbatical allows people to concentrate on something else instead of what they normally do. Instead of doing something else, I'm actually just going to be not thinking or doing anything about this hobby called Ember and everything it represents. Instead, I'll be taking care of the normal things - the day job, family, getting my kids off to a good start of the school year and that kind of stuff.

I'm super excited for the break and trying not to think about past that - that's a futuristic for you. We've got some great projects planned for the Fall with some great people. But in the meantime, 6 weeks of having just one vocation. See you in September.

The Gift of Learning English

The world has a love-hate relationship with the United States. It hates our politics and our swagger, but how it loves our media, consumer culture, conveniences, celebrities... and the language we share with a few other countries. In a world where speaking English is often a ticket to opportunity, the global church will see great opportunities in coming years.

In China, the government has gone on record as promising that, in the future, every child will be fluent in English before finishing high school. This plan will require an estimated one million English teachers, so English-speaking Christians can expect unprecedented entrées to formerly closed areas.

In every country where we conducted the Listening Tour, respondents were quick to note the demand for English language skills. One respondent noted, "English is the dominant language of everything from the Internet to many wealthy Western churches, so it is important in many parts of life, including ministry."

By 2010, two billion people will speak English. Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic are among the four most-used languages in the world, their popularity due to large numbers of people for whom it is a first language. English, however, is most popular because of the huge numbers of people who learn it as a second language. More people are learning English in China today than all of the North Americans who speak English.

- Fritz Kling, The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church, writing about the global current he calls "Monoculture."

If you are interested in a future in another culture and are reading this blog post in English, maybe it's time for you to recognize what a gift you have in learning your native tongue in this time in history. And then go do something that capitalizes on this gift.

And... Fritz's book is a great read.

2013 Summer Missions Financial Model

Here is a rough picture of our financial model for this summer's experiences. Before I get to that though, here are two quotes that inspired and informed us and not just about this summer:

Don't let your budget determine your vision. Faith is having vision beyond your resources - Mark Batterson
Nonprofit is a tax strategy not a business strategy. Your idea needs to be profitable to be sustainable. - Ben Arment

2013 summer financials - all approximates:
Ember X income: 26582
Ember X expense: - 24150
Ember X overall : + 2432
* included in Ember X was $500 of 'salary' for two interns each

AZ income: 345
AZ expense: - 1752
AZ overall: - 1407
* included in AZ expenses was $500 of 'salary' for AZ Ember guide

Summer overall: + 1025

I've had some summers where the financial piece feels like it's pulling teeth. This summer was just the opposite and I've got to believe that it was a combination of our efforts in redefining missions support [via the Creative Revenue Plan] and having a team that was totally in for the vision of what they were doing. Each one of them would have easily done whatever they needed to in order to raise the funds.

We've got some good stuff planned for the Fall with our two interns and hopefully some other emerging global leaders and the excess from this summer gives us some good margin for executing these plans.

Northern Ireland Update

Ember hosted a little brunch gathering with our guest from Northern Ireland, Cathy Campbell. We are connected with Cathy via Amadeo Church and Ben Cloud - Cathy has been out to the states the last 3 years and last week, we did a 3 day crazed tour of DC with her.

Loved having some students get to know her and hear her talk about:
+ Irish culture - such as what the schooling is like, what classes they take, how long a school day is.
+ Church and youth ministry culture - what Upper Bann Vineyard is like and the kinds of community impact projects they have and what they do with their students
+ The religious and spiritual landscape of her city, Lurgan, Portadown, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
+ What it's like to go to school full time, studying to be a mid wife and work with students as a volunteer.

Friday Burn

::: Toyota Donates Efficiency to a New York Charity
When we think of support, we think of money. This is a great example of expanding that definition of support.
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::: A Youth Run Supper Club
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::: How to Read 20 Books a Year
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::: @tlubinus More Muslims in Iran have come to Christ since 1980 than in the previous 1000 years combined.

Photo: Sunrise in Marseille, July 2013.

Apostolic People Need Apostolic Structures

I continue to be amazed at the number of people whose paths I come across who have mistakenly been led to believe that if God is calling them toward some form of ministry, doing it in or connected to a local church is their only legitimate option.

It is sad to see such a truncated, warped ecclesiology hold back what could be a wave of highly committed, gifted, apostolic leaders. I am grieved at the wounds that are inflicted by such a view of the Church that is so biblically, theologically, historically and missiologically deficient....

As in every age of the Christian movement, apostolic people need apostolic structures if their contribution to God’s kingdom purposes are to be fulfilled.

- Sam Metcalf. Old post from an old blog but the whole apostolic ecclesiology category is worth the read. It's more relevant to me now than ever before.

The 30 Day Rule

I've referred to it here and there, but for Ember experiences, we seriously encourage people to take 30 days to let emotions settle before making big decisions. We call it the 30 day rule, but it's really a guideline and lots of people get mad at me when I challenge them with it. Deep down, they know it has some validity.

Anecdotally, most long term missionaries go back and serve at the first location they went on for a short term trip. This isn't necessarily bad but sometimes the short termer's first location isn't the best place for them when we consider calling and passion, the unreached and the strategic, and a theology of place. Letting these things burn in your heart for 30 days isn't a bad idea.

Our oldest daughter Katie decided to make the rule better this year - it's not just 30 days of waiting, it's 30 days of praying. I love that and we'll pivot using that for future Ember experiences. My only issue with it is, hey who is running Ember anyways?

Photo: at a gate, Paris, France. July 2013.

Happy 19th

We celebrate 19 years of marriage today. It seems like forever and it seems like yesterday and it has certainly been, and will continue to be, an adventure of a lifetime.

Future Casting from 2013

Ember exists to help prepare for leaders of the future and in order to project into the future, you must see the present clearly. Here are some of the current concepts that we saw this summer that may cast direction and intention for the missionary of the future.

1 - Multi-dimensional Connections
Combine global urban migration, digital natives and the ease of world wide travel and student mission experiences today are full of multi-dimensional connections. Students connect with lots of other people from lots of other places in the world. They continue these connections long after they come home from various medium via technology, such as sharing pictures and videos, texting each other and maybe talking via skype or facetime. One of our team still 'talks' with people from France at least a few times a week. Future student missions experiences should anticipate this and use it as an advantage.

2 - Belonging Before Believing
Both experiences in Aix and Phoenix involved significant contributions from students that didn't necessarily have a Christian world view. Now, of course, there is a sensitive line involving leadership roles and how relevant faith is in those positions. The challenge for the future is to navigate these challenges with a 'belonging before believing' posture.

3 - Creative Access and Creative Revenue
Creative access means various ways to get you to the field of service and creative revenue means generating the revenue to get you there. Our creative inspirations this summer included the Aixtraordinary Journey that ICCP put on and the fabulous community platform that Amadeo Church hosts at their 3rd Place Cup coffeehouse. Student missions in the future continue to inspire us with new and bold initiatives with regard to access, revenue and platforms. Be sure to include the idea of business as mission under this creative heading too.

4 - Sustainable Charity
Both of our hosts were passionately and deeply embedded in their communities. They exist to see these communities changed for the better. Ember uses the concept of a catalyst as our primary paradigm and it continues to help us filter our activities to spur on teams and not do anything that they couldn't do for themselves. As we think about the dynamic of self -> serve -> systems, these two hosts definitely helped us be catalysts and not create unreasonable dependencies.

Friday Burn

::: 7 Hours with Jim Collins
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::: Important Lessons from Living Abroad
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::: Experts Take Notes
and.... the starters and sponges take notes too.
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::: 4 roles of the youth worker on an international missions trip
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- @BenArment A prophet is without honor in his own country. But if everyone treated you like a prophet, it'd turn you into a real jerk.

Photo: the water balloon line, Ember X, July 2013.

Emily and Wendy

Loved hanging with them last week in AZ. Ember doesn't happen without these kinds of talented, passionate leaders.

Announcing Fall 2013 Interns

I'm thrilled to announce that Hope K and Measu B are our Fall 2013 interns. The high school internship is a core competency of Ember and it's always great fun to work with global emerging high school leaders. Both Hope and Measu were on the 2013 Ember X team, so we have worked together before and they know what it's like to travel with the Shengs.

I originally met Hope and Measu in the summer of 2011 when Ember helped prepare their team as well as visit them when they were on their mission trip in DC. Since then, they've been involved in some great global stuff, like a well project, as well as jumping in with Ember projects. Hope, you will remember, also interned in the Spring of 2013, so she's continuing on.

One day, we will call them something else instead of 'interns'. In the meantime, we are thrilled at this opportunity to learn, serve and work with these two. And we are always on the lookout for these types of emerging leaders.

If you or someone you know might be interested in the future, here's the internship info sheet.

Photo: Hope and Measu, Parc Jourdan, Aix-en-Provence, France. July 2013.

Post AZ

Our projects with Ben Cloud and Amadeo Church continue to be some of the most catalytic experiences we can dream of. Ben is one of those rare leaders that combines creativity, innovation and a passion for his community. This is one of Ember's distinctives - connecting emerging global leaders with some of the best leaders we know who are doing the stuff.

+ By all accounts the Grace AZ ladies [10 of them] had an amazing week. I was only there a few days but I saw an amazing team. They worked and served hard during the VBS and a neighborhood cleaning project. Learning deeply, at each session most of them were taking notes. They enjoyed each other and had fun together, encouraging other and dreaming together. Our last few moments together were spent in worship and taking communion - it was stunning.

+ Ben and I continue to dream about the future. It's invigorating because he's a total dreamer but got the raw nerve to actually execute. He and Mandy have just come through a very tough season of deepening community and organization clarity. Not an easy time.

+ Emily Swinburne served as a fantastic guide for this team. She represents the execution of a different paradigm for Ember - one where we sent a trusted guide to serve as a leadership resource for a team that we didn't know real well. It worked perfectly.

+ Wendy is also having a great time serving with Amadeo. Also a new accomplishment for Ember - sending someone to a trusted partner for an extended amount of time for a deep learning experience.

+ Our Katie landed from France at IAD at about 1pm on July 11. Her flight left IAD at 8am the next day for Phoenix. Well... she's my kid so I approved that...

Some more pictures here.

Third Place Cup

This is the coffee house that Amadeo has opened up to the community. Weekend nights its open for music, coffee, and community. Very much a third space.

I fly home tommorrow afternoon. The Grace ladies fly in the morning and Wendy comes back to Merryland at the end of July.

It has been a great four days. The team here has seen lots including a church so devoted to serving their community as well as a much different expression of Church. All kinds of churches for all kinds of people. They worked hand in hand with Ben and Mandy and been able to see what he does and how he thinks. That is the Ember win right there.

Noah , Wendy and Ben

Team is working on a little neighborhood project helping out some of Bills neighbors.

Also heard Johns PG version story. Its a great one.