Today Etna and I were at our warehouse at 7 am to palletize all our resources so we can send them off to Wisconsin.
Why send our inventory to the great white north? Our printer is located in the booming town of Ladysmith, and has generously agreed to distribute our resources for us when folks like you place orders for them. Plus, when stock runs out they'll print just what is needed for orders and ship it straight out. Ain't technology grand?
This will free up Etna and I to run the ministry from a laptop and a cell phone from most anywhere in the world... and save us tens of thousands every year on an office/warehouse.
So what will we be doing with our time? Research!
I've pitched the idea of surveying small group members and leaders in a couple of megachurches in America, and it looks like we will be on location for a couple of months next year doing just that. My thought is that I will learn far more about a church's small group system and actual lived-out values if I go there and interview group members.
Of course, TOUCH is still working with authors to deliver the best and most unique cell group/small group/missional resources for leaders and members. We're still going full speed on that as well.
And one more thing... and I'd like your thoughts on this:
I'm thinking of writing a short fiction book for small group members that's akin to the Screwtape Letters, where two demons talk about their strategies and plans to keep a church's small groups from loving God, loving one another, and loving the lost to Christ. Do you think your non-reading small group members will be interested in this if it's not too long or hard to read?
Do comment with your thoughts!
1 comment:
Interesting that you are doing some qualitative research using interviewing and observation etc. There is a place for quantitative research (questionaires and statistical analysis etc) but it's not much use when trying to understand complex social systems (eg large megachurch. I don't really think Barna (phone polling) can really understand what I am interested in (how things that work successfully work) - you are not going to be able to get that depth of analysis on a set of phone calls! Natural church development (Shwarz) - again, doesn't give great understanding of what should be going on amongst people (I find his work rather simplistic). Get in there and talk to some people, that's the best way to go I think.....
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