post supportMIKE

Church MC and being number one on Google
27 August 2013

The internet is a strange place. One of the most constantly hit on posts on my blog has to do with being Church Master of Ceremonies or “Church MC”. You can read the full text of the original post here. It’s not a particularly great post. In fact the comments on the post flesh out more fully, what good MCing looks like. Bernie also recently posted some thoughts as well

Even if MCing a church isn’t something you think you’ll ever do, many of the tips in my original post apply universally to any form of public speaking. So for all the people Googleing “church mc” and “ getting my blog take note. Here is another shot at advice on being an awesome MC.

Confidence - This would be one of the things that I notice the most. A confident MC will make the people in the audience feel comfortable. The MC needs to bear in mind that leading confidently allows the audience to consciously or unconsciously relax, and begin to feel at home. Confidence involves what you wear, how to speak and your body language. Often one will follow the other. If you dress well, the general rule is that  behavior also lifts up a few notches. Part of being confident is to start strong.

What you wear - I always dress smartly if I’m MCing. This has an affect on how you are perceived. Ever wondered why most newsreaders always wear ties? Wondered why there aren’t many young men who read news... it’s all about perception and trust. As a minimum I recommend a shirt and shoes. If you’re going to wear a tee shirt make sure it’s a nice one. If you don’t know what “nice” is then a collared shirt is your home base.

How you speak - Speak clearly. Don’t use slang especially Christian slang. Make sure you can be heard at the back of the room. Practice before hand if necessary. Speaking with confidence sometimes involves “acting” the part. If you make a mistake it’s better to make it a big bold one. Don’t use words that visitors might not understand. Christian MCs are particularly guilty of this throwing round big words that are unnecessary.

Body Language - Use open not closed body language. Closed body language is defensive. Arms crossed is a key example. Use gestures. The bigger the space the stronger and bigger the gestures will need to be. Own the space it’s yours. You are the one steering the ship. 

Clarity - One of the things that I get most annoyed about is “fill” language. For example “So ummm errrr yeah we’re going to pray now so let’s ummmm talk to God...”. Nearly everyone does it often out of nervousness. It’s much better if you’re praying just say “Let’s Pray” then pause for a moment then start. It’s not necessary to explain why we pray, or what we’re praying for. Ninety nine percent of the time it is completely self evident. If you have planned beforehand what you want to say this can easily be avioded. Have it written down if necessary.

You will always speak for longer than you think you do. People will always get bored before you notice they bored. Don’t talk for too long. Practice what you are going to say in front of the mirror or on location if possible. I said it before don’t use Christian jargon. Always remember the outsider or person who might be new needs to understand what you’re talking about.

Feedback - Feedback is important. A good MC should ask for and welcome feedback. No-one MCs perfectly. We’re all in the business of getting better. It can be helpful to provide a short pro-forma to someone listening can access your MCing and suggest improvements (while also telling what you’re good at).

Feel free to add more in the comments to be forever immortalised on the internet.

2 comments  

tags church, linkage, ministry tips

Yes I play the drums
13 April 2013

“You play Drums?!... Really I had no idea!”

This is usually the reaction when people find out I play the drums. I love playing the drums. When I say drums I mean kit. I’ve never owned one and am entirely self taught, although I’ve had some tips along the way. I started playing when I was at school and was taking flute lessons (which I hated). When I finished school and after five years of lessons I sold my flute and have not played since. Drumming has stayed with me. Whenever I've had an opportunity I've played and practiced.

In early Crossroads Church music days, I can remember playing with four or five of us bashing out tunes, focusing on “getting thorough song” without mistakes. These days music at Crossroads is much better. We’re more focused on thinking about how we can make the music we sing (and I play) at church better. This means we spend time actually thinking about how to arrange our music. Working out who will play when, where, why and how.

As a drummer I’ve noticed it’s easy to get bogged on technical stuff and showing off cool new beats or solos. While this may show technical brilliance and how awesome you are, often it doesn’t actually serve the song or arrangement. As Anthony Rochester has said to me many times “Just play a straight eight!” Sometimes simplest is the best.

Below are a couple of videos with arrangements of older songs which I really like. I enjoy them because of the way they build toward a climax very gradually. I also like the way the drumming serves the overall arrangement.

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tags church, linkage, music, video

Evaluation
03 December 2008

One of my jobs this year has been working as part of the V100 IT ninja team.

My latest task is to access and assess the new look V100 website for usability and general user friendliness. So I'd like you to help me. I'd like you to pop on over then come back and leave some constructive feedback in the comments section.

Some thoughts I have so far

• I like the brown colour.
• I like the general look of the website.
• I think the Vision 100 needs to be more prominent.
  
• I don't like the square buttons at the top.
• The Events Calendar is difficult read. Might be better to have a year view.
• Too many tabs at the top (I'd file Newsletters with Support and do we even need the Events tab?).
• I don't like the arrows for the drop down menus in the top tabs.
• The front page calendar is hard to read and needs to spread more across the page.
• Mikey's sermon link on the front page looks ugly.

11 comments  

tags christian, church, thinking, update

Are Christians Capitalists or Socialists?
14 November 2008

It's a good question and we'll be looking at it this Sunday.

Mikey is cooking up a ripper sermon as you read this. I don't really plug my church often enough on here but you should totally come and check it out especially if you haven't been before. Details see our website.

For my international readers I'll post a link when it's up.

7 comments  

tags christian, church, linkage, thinking, update

Friendly Fire*
02 September 2008

I've begun the slow process of recovering from the Connecting Evangelism and Ministry conference held at the Anglican Cathedral here in Sydney. The stand out without a doubt was Mark Driscoll and his two lectures yesterday afternoon. When a preacher begins by saying "This will be my most controversial talk in Sydney" you know it's worth taking notes.

So here they are Driscoll's 18 thesis nailed to the metaphorical forehead of the Sydney Evangelicals.

18 obstacles to Evangelism

1. Bible guys are not missional guys. There needs to be a more awareness of the context of ministry
2. Aussie culture struggles with entrepreneurialism. In order for entrepreneurialism to flourish there must be prunning. (in fact Driscoll spoke a lot about prunning off older pastors).
3. "There is a lack of merit based reward. The system rewards ministers for tenure rather than fruit".
4. "Australian men are immature" (this was an extended point).
5. "Church Planting isn't widespread". (Driscoll talked about this as a measure of the health of a movement).
6. Tall Poppy Syndrome.
7. "Your Preaching lacks; Apologetics, Aplication that is personal and missiological, Mission that explains what we are to live like and are here to do."
8. "You have a fear and uncertainty of the Holy Spirit which then leads to a lack of entrepreneurialism. Why are so many of you afraid of being Charismatic? You can be charismatic and keep your good theology. You believe in the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Bible."
   
9. "Many of you are Anglican". Here he critiqued the parish system which organises people geographically when in reality people organise themselves socially using the internet and instant forms of communication. "People are more likely to organise their lives in three network spheres; work, play and home... Your parish system makes church planting hard.
   
10. "Denominations are built on control. Young men don't understand control and don't want to be controlled. Young men will align with your system but don't want to be under your control and so will work around and work out ways around it. Controlling will never work. Influence is what drives young men. Influence comes through mentoring."
11. "You call the trainned rather then train the called... 4 years in a bible college is too much for some."
12. "You have many 'priests' but no 'prophets' and 'kings'. The 'priests' maintain the staus quo. The 'kings' don't do ministry they go into business.
13. "There us a lack of missiologists. Your theologians are poor missiologists. You need more missiologists that evaluate culture and be missiologically aware."
14. "You raise ministers before before making them Husbands and fathers first. So much of ministry is about this. You learn more valuable lesson as a husband and a father than you do at any bible college. You must press men to take responsibility. The order is God, wife, children, ministry... not God, ministry, training, family. Your system encourages the former."
15. "You 'do evangelism' rather than 'doing mission'."
16. "There are too many number 2 guys in number 1 guy spots. As a result some of the number 2 guys who should be in the number 1 guy spot keep trying to assassinate the number 1 guy. If this mentality continues churches will survive but not multiply."
17. "There isn't a great sense of urgency."
18. "Movements become institutions in a flash. Institutions then become museums where people talk about when God used to work." Movements get off course when there is too much or to little focus on Doctrine... there is too much or too little doctrinal and organisational control... there is too much pride, a 'not invented here syndrome'... you have issues about honoring your founders. You must also honor your future by doing some things differently."
    

*Title shamelessly stolen from Mark

8 comments  

tags christian, church, linkage, ministry, ministry tips, thinking, update

Driscoll's real blowtorch

If you thought Mark Driscoll's "Burn your Plastic Jesus (Common misconceptions about Jesus)" was the "blowtorch" event to see in Sydney you were wrong.

This afternoon Marky Mark took the blowtorch to Sydney Christians and Aussie (Anglican) Christian Culture. It was breathtaking. It was controversial. It'll be talked about for a long time. I felt like I'd been hit by a Driscoll truck. More soon.

2 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry

Toilet Block Tuesdays... will you be my friend?
09 May 2008

About eight months ago we started a new church meeting specifically aimed at University students. It began on a Monday night but them moved to a Tuesday night at the start of this year. It was edgy, cool, laid back in vibe, sermons not Bible study, engagement with culture, worldview and critics. It was lumber jackets and hoodies (no shirts), minimalistic and evangelistic. As the name evolved from Monday night Crossroads to Tuesday night Crossroads the peeps in the loop have begun to refer to it as Toilet Block Tuesdays.

Earlier this year Toilet Block Tuesdays resisted the urge to join childish stampede of self promotion on such trashy sites such as myspace (it wouldn't have fitted in wearing a lumber jacket and hoodie) rather it has instead waited for the dust and hype to settle before launching a persona on facebook.

Head on over and over and become a fan. If you're not from around here but like what you see or just reckon it's damn good idea jump on board. Oh and if you haven't visited Toilet Block Tuesdays pull on your hoodie and lumber jacket and come and join us some time. Toilet Block Tuesdays takes place on Tuesday nights at the South Hobart Community Center from 7:30pm.

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tags christian, church, ministry, pictures, update

Atheism reviewed
14 October 2007

I bloged about Michael Onfray's book a while ago. For a whole stack of reasons I didn't have much time to go into any detail on his arguments etc. That brings me to Mikey's last couple of talks at Crossroads. They've been on atheism, more particularly looking at Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion. It's a thoughtful and thorough analysis (for those who like the type of thing).

You can download the first one here. I'll update when the second is up.

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tags christian, church, linkage, review

Older really is better
17 September 2007

I love old people. I went to St Johns to plug FOCUS on Sunday and was pleased to find that
they are some of the sharpest minds around. Not only did one old dude remember my name, but Christine's and which country she was from, and which one she had lived in. WOW! Many of my friends wouldn't even be able to manage that.

Now really that shouldn't surprise as St Johns have been great supporters of FOCUS over the years. In fact I began my FOCUS plug with a big fat thankyou for all prayer and dosh they've chucked in at FOCUS over the years. It was also great to also have a number of the younger duders there keen to help me with my wage... but this one is for the old people of St Johns.

Old people of St Johns you are truely Christians who I respect.

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tags christian, christians i respect, church

New Crossroads meeting...
23 July 2007

It's edgy, cool, laid back, university, all new, experimental, dangerous, sermon not Bible study, minimalistic, stripped back, praying into existence, Bible, evangelistic, messy hair, sun glasses, thinking, real authentic relationships, no music, thoughtful engagement with culture, integrity, Mark Driscoll, movie reviews... others?

8 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry

supportMIKE news III
03 June 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters

This newsletter finds me at the end of the first Uni semester. I finished the semester with five sermons in the space of a week. This included preaching at FOCUS in Hobart and in Launceston. I also had the pleasure of speaking out at Richmond Congregational Church. This left me feeling tired but with a great feeling of satisfaction. I can happily look back at a job and semester where I have achieved much.

Since my last newsletter I have, with help from one of our members, started a small weekly Bible study up at one of the residential colleges. Running a group like this has been tried before (better men than I have failed), but this time we’ve managed to get a consistent bunch of eight people each week. Benny Walter at the college has also been greatly supportive of the venture. This work alone has been a great source of personal encouragement and something to thank God for.

I also have been leading a small weekly prayer meeting down at the Conservatorium. This has around five to ten people each week. The smaller groups make contact with FOCUS more accessible and provide an opportunity to pray weekly for the other students. We’ve grown to know and love each other over the semester and are working toward an evangelistic style mission in second semester (see below).

As many of you may know I’m off for most of this month to Sydney and then Germany to get married to the lovely Christine. We’ll be married at her parents' church in Hanover on June the 29th. For those who don’t know we met about a year ago through my blog. You can check most of the story out on my blog (see address below).

We’ll be back to live in Tassie on the 8th July before heading off to FOCUS’ Mid Year Conference (MYC). MYC is the peak of the FOCUS calendar and we’ll be looking at the sometimes controversial topic of the Sovereignty of God. Please keep Christine and myself in your prayers. It has been a long and strange journey.

We’d also appreciate prayers for MYC as this will be a challenging and spiritually stretching time for many of the students. Due to my “newly married” status I’ll be taking more of a back-seat role. It will also mark the beginning of my ministry in conjunction with Christine. This will take some adjusting to - please pray that God can work effectively through us as a married couple.

Second semester should however begin with a “Bang” with the return of the “Worldview Survey”. This was a particularly effective evangelistic mission run a few years ago. I’ve been busy promoting, motivating and organising the mission. I hope to have all the organisational stuff finished before I leave. Please pray that I’ll have a restful and refreshing break in Germany.

If you’d like further updates check my blog. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.
Love in Christ

Mike

*UPDATE* my last talk available to download (here).

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tags christian, church, focus, ministry, shameless self promotion, update, wedding

Older is better
27 May 2007

Thirdly for the Christian as you age and outwardly waste away, you inwardly become renewed to be a person more and more like Christ. These older people have an amazing love for the Lord.

Old people of Richmond you get a Christians I respect award.

1 comments  

tags christian, christians i respect, church, ministry, pictures, update

The General Assembly of Mountain Bikes
16 May 2007

This will be an experimental post. I'll tell the story of my time at Presbyterian General Assembly this morning but to relieve potential boredom I'll illustrate it with pictures on how overhaul my mountian bike (which I did when I got home). Enjoy.

It was a cool morning ride. Mikey, Damo and myself took a brisk ride out to Montrose (Behind the flannel curtain) for the General Assembly (30mins if you please).


It was a... well... experience. I view these things as a sort of necessary evil.


The blokes were mostly grey haired and older (obviously they are elders). One bloke had massive thick glasses AND was using a magnifying glass that would have done Sherlock Homes proud. I felt a little out of place especially in the shorts which I wore to ride out there.


"Mr Moderator I move that we accept motion 10.1.3.4.6.8.4.5 Sub clause 3B"
"Seconder"
"Those in favour say 'I' those again 'No' "
"Motion carried"


At times I had to hide my laughter as some of the people speaking/motions were classic. There were also some delegates who acted a bit like naughty school children which made things entertaining. (I won't name names but it wasn't Mikey)


Although it got tiring at times I didn't mind the experience. I've not really ever been one to complain about church governance. Sometimes one has to work with the system rather than against it.


I also have a new-found respect for a number of the decision makers in the Presbyterian Church in Tassie.

2 comments  

tags christian, church, pictures, shameless self promotion

Preaching @ Xrds
09 May 2007

I preached at Crossroads on Sunday. I covered the topic of wealth and prosperity in this life and the next using 1 Tim 6:18-20. I also tried to use the story of Job as an illustration of how to live a life that trusts God. You can listen to it (here) or "right click" and select "save link as" to download it.

Here are my notes.

1.0 Don’t hope in wealth it’s uncertain
2.0 Hope in God

• A Redeemer hope
• Hope in a God who is in control
• Hope in a God who provides

3.0 Real Treasure

2 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry, shameless self promotion, update

Mark Driscoll
16 April 2007

Recent discussion here and here and got me again listening to Mark Driscoll. This afternoon I had a listen to a talk he delivered as part of the Desiring God Conference (with big guns including Don Carson, John Piper, Tim Keller and others). I was also particularly interested in how he presents Jesus as a "bloke".

Anyway here's the link and below I have pasted my notes.

Supremacy of Christ in the Post Modern World
1. We must contending for the exultation of Christ (Jude 3)

• Scripture
• Sovereignty of God (vs open theism)
• Virgin Birth
• Sinful Humanity Plagianism (vs corporate sin)
• Penal Substitutionary Atonement (it’s the hinge)
• Exclusivity of Christ
• Male and female gender roles
• Literal Hell (inc literal heaven)
  
• Kingdom priority over Culture (Over vs under realized Eschatology the Corinthians vs Thessalonians)

2. We must Contextualize

• Timeless truth
• Timely ministry

In contextualizing there are;

• Things you reject
• Things we can receive (and adapt) eg. Technology
• Thing you can redeem

6 comments  

tags christian, church, linkage, thinking

Culturally Engaged
07 April 2007

An interesting little discussion has been happening over on Christine’s blog (here and here) about how to engage with the culture in a meaningful way in order to bring the gospel to people. Here are some of my thoughts.

More often than not it seems Christians swing between either compromising the gospel and becoming man pleaser's or on the other hand demanding that people; use the same music, dress the same (shirts and ties of course), and have the same attitude to alcohol.

It’s important to the get the balance right between engaging with our culture while not compromising the gospel. On the one hand the gospel is always culturally relevant (we don’t need to make it relevant to culture). Our presentation of the gospel however needs to take into account the culture we try to reach (just as Paul did in Athens).

While I affirm the gospel smells like the stench of death to some, we can’t use this as an excuse for sloppy evangelism and poorly thought through evangelistic technique. We must be careful in the way we seek to engage people in our culture with the gospel. Too often in my own experience I know I have spoken in a way that has been unhelpful and insensitive.

2 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry

Email for Dummies...
07 March 2007

Tips to make your emailing life happier.... *

• Before you choose a bulk email list ask yourself, "Who's this really for?". If it's only relevant for several individuals on the list it's better to ask them for their addresses personally rather than put an extra email in everyone's inbox.
• Emails ain't for everything. Ask yourself if a phone call or face-to-face would be a better way.
• Avoid relying on emails to communicate. Email is unreliable for (at least) three reasons: people change addresses regularly; people don't check their mail frequently; people are less likely to act on something that they've only heard about via email.
• Beware of sending emails when you're feeling particularly angry, hurt, etc. It's always best to wait until you're calm and have a bit more objectivity before you click 'send'. (Honestly, wait a couple of days!)
• The subject should be meaningful: make it descriptive of the purpose of the email.
• Short paragraphs and short emails are more likely to be read.
• Consider 'filtering' your email so that your inbox doesn't become buried in emails. Most email systems offer 'filtering' a way of sorting bulk emails directly to a given folder – check your help files if you're not sure how to do it.

*(as stolen from recent Crossroads email)

4 comments  

tags church, ministry tips

Church Camp
04 March 2007

With the smaller church the emphasis moves away from the individual home groups and Bible Study to the gathering of the church on a Sunday. In effect the Sunday meeting is "church" this is where people meet and "do community". Therefore it is vitally important to get the whole church away and "hanging out" working together as a family (especially on a camp).*



*In the past our church camps have involved vast seminars and Biblical surveys making your head spin and leave you needing a week to recover. Now while I believe these style of camps are beneficial they don't always achieve the purpose of "doing community" rather they serve to train and equip.

11 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry, ministry tips

Vibe Slogans for Crossroads
03 February 2007

• Our Public Meeting is an expression of day to day life and vice versa.
• We're not a church of Christians in Hobart rather a group of Hobartians who are Christian.
• Great Commandment before great Commission.
• Leadership by example.
• Culture verses Programs.
• Integrity
• Ministry time counts as social time and vice versa.

7 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry

People Ministry

A great way to think about people strategically and holistically.

1. Sum up person in one sentance.
2. How are they related to you/your ministry activity?
3. What to know about them (What do I need to be mindful of)?
4. What can I learn from them?
5. How can I help them?

Take this an apply it to one person you know.

I found this helpfully in thinking about people who I don't have a natural tendency toward or perhaps are a little older.


(Still no laptop fixed grumble)

2 comments  

tags christian, church, ministry, ministry tips