TomPlanck.com

Middies Stun Colerain

tom — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:09:11 +0000

This will go down as one of the greatest Middie victories in school history!

Church Planting Revolution

tom — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:45:49 +0000

“The past few days I have been at Indian Creek Community Church in Olathe, Kansas (just outside of Kansas City) at the annual conference of Church Multiplication Association (CMA) for church planters. This has been one of the most significant Church of God events that I have been to in a long time.

For those of you that don’t know, CMA is a Church of God - related organization that is leading the way in our movement for church planting. They have helped plant over 60 churches and have experienced tremendous success compared to most typical church planting efforts. Founded by Robin Wood and Gary Kendall, CMA provides a high level of screening, training, and support for church planters.

There are several reasons I consider this event as significant. First, it represents an exciting, new thrust in church planting. Sadly, in recent decades church planting has been hit and miss within the Church of God. While some tremendous new churches were launched, overall it is a small number and we have lacked a coherent vision or methodology.

Second, attending this event put me in contact with some of the most gifted and passionate young ministers in our movement. Seeing the quality of this group gives me great hope for the future!

Third, CMA represents a new paradigm in how we get things done within the Church of God. Despite our struggle with becoming a ‘denomination’ the bulk of our cooperative efforts have been in centralized structures. CMA was not conceived in ‘Anderson’. It is a network that operates within the Church of God, but not within our formal structures. This may go against what we are used to, but is indicative of a trend that is developing around us, and may be more congruent with our polity. Networks have tremendous effectiveness, and probably will represent the future in many other areas of our national life, such as missions. I was impressed to see that Church of God Ministries is not feeling threatened by the growing prominence of CMA, but instead is embracing this work and cooperating with it. The evidence of that is found in the fact that Dr. Duncan brought the Ministries Council to Olathe this week for their meeting, and so that they could experience first-hand what is happening in this ‘movement within a movement’.

Finally, the event itself provided significant opportunities for personal growth and ministry development. CMA brought in some outstanding speakers and practitioners, and offered a wide range of helpful conferences and presentations. The evening worship services themselves were worth the trip. For example, on Tuesday evening I witnessed one of the most profound moments of honesty, transparency and grace confronting personal brokenness among leaders that I have seen in the Church of God.

If you are desiring to experience new vision and hope for the Church of God, I’d encourage you to learn more about CMA and to plan on attending next year’s annual conference.”

Well said Lloyd…

(Via CHOG Blog)

Nice Guys…

tom — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:56:27 +0000

Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office

“Apparently, Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office. The problem isn’t being a nice guy (or gal), the problem is in finding the right balance. It’s having the emotional intelligence to know how to interact with others without ‘giving away the store.’ This book is about finding that balance.

According to the authors – Russ Edeloman, Timothy Hiltabiddle and Charles Manz - Nice Guy Syndrome is a big problem in today’s workplace. 61% of people they surveyed said that they struggle with being too nice at work, and that they feel it has a negative impact on their success.

Most of us like to be considered ‘nice.’ We want to be liked. We equate it with traits like cooperativeness and agreeableness, but it often ends up being manifested in unproductive behaviors that come across as weak, passive and docile. This can create a whole new set of (passive-aggressive) issues as we try to cope with being marginalized. What is ‘niceness?’ How should it look? The authors define it as:

Attempting to optimize outcomes for both others and ourselves
Striving to balance assertiveness with cooperation to achieve a spirit of collaboration
Honoring the value and strength pf others and ourselves
Seeking optimal outcomes for everyone involved by emphasizing truthfulness and authenticity
Openly confronting challenges and disagreements and embracing the innovation-promoting benefits of constructive idea conflict.

They offer a Nice Guys Bill of Rights and their corresponding strategies to help you find the balance between being a pushover and being a jerk. If you are overly nice, understanding and recognizing these rights will help you to change your behaviors and how you are perceived. In the book they present strategies for practicing these rights in you life without jumping into the other ditch by overcompensating. If you happen to find yourself already in the other ditch, these strategies will help you to rein yourself in before you’re forced to.

You have the right to SELF-AWARENESS – Know your strengths & weaknesses. Before you can set a course for where you want to go, first you must be completely honest about where you are. A thorough knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses is extremely valuable.
You have the right to SPEAK UP – Let your opinions be heard. The ability and willingness to speak up is essential if you want your ideas to be heard. Learn to have an opinion, but understand that you don’t always need to express it.
You have the right to SET BOUNDARIES – Set and respect them. ‘No’ seems to be the hardest word for nice guys. Nice guys must set good boundaries and consistently reinforce them as needed.
You have the right to CONFRONT – Address issues directly and without fear. Since nice guys instinctively want to get along with everyone , conflict is especially difficult to face. It is very important to learn to address issues directly and overcome the fear associated with confrontation.
You have the right to CHOICE – Make choices without guilt. Nice guys often feel powerless, as if they have no choice in a given situation. The truth is that they frequently give away their power to choose. The key? To own your choices and, without guilt, to make the right decision for you and your organization - even if it means people will be angry or disappointed with you.
You have the right to EXPECT RESULTS – Be accountable to others and yourself. Maintaining accountability sometimes makes you unpopular. Regardless, to be effective nice guys must be willing to hold others (and themselves) accountable for results and to follow through on their commitments.
You have the right to BE BOLD – Push the envelope. Taking risks is extremely challenging for nice guys. If they want to succeed at a high level, however, they must be willing to go beyond their comfort zone and place a high value their goals and priorities.
You have the right to WIN – Finish first. The business world is highly competitive. Nice guys, however, sometimes shy away from competition because they aren’t comfortable with ‘winning’ (and other people ‘losing’.) While a win/win scenario is ideal, it is not always possible. Everyone is ultimately best served when the best ideas and solutions win, not when nice guys ‘play small.’ Nice guys owe it to themselves and their organizations to do their absolute best at all times and embrace winning.”

(Via Clippings)

“Great” News!

tom — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:58:12 +0000

Read at your own risk (link). Searching nfl.com for a new team…

Fav iPhone App Gets Boost!

tom — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:22:35 +0000

Iconfactory releases Twitterrific 1.1 for iPhone

“The Iconfactory and its chief typist, Craig Hockenberry, have been hard at work on Twitterrific 1.1, a substantial update to their mobile Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The update features much smoother scrolling, larger tweet capacity, the ability to save pictures to the camera roll before uploading them to TwitPic, and secure HTTPS server communication. It also squashes a large number of bugs. A full accounting of the changes is available on Twitterrific’s app store page and on the Iconfactory’s website.

The app was included in both Mike’s and Steve’s list of favorite apps for their respective iPhones.

Twitterrific is still available in two flavors. Twitterrific (the free version) periodically shows ads via The Deck, similar to its free counterpart for the desktop. Twitterrific Premium is $9.99, and omits the advertising.”

(Via TUAW-iPhone)

Arment on Planting

tom — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:22:52 +0000

Church Plant Rant

“Now that I’m not a part of a church planting organization where I have to toe the party line, I’m going to say it…I’m an advocate of ‘momentum-based church planting.’

Rather than starting a church from scratch with no people and no resources, this is where you get a mother church behind you, a team of leaders with you, a strong core group, and substantial start-up funds.

Sometimes God calls us to whack weeds, be pioneers, start something from nothing. But sometimes we’re guilty of trying to initiate the work of God rather than join it.

If I could make any contribution to the church planting world now that I’m out of it… I’d like to help planters invest more into their plants before they ever launch.

Church planters are a rare breed. The same idealism that drives them to face impossible odds and charge the gates of hell also causes them to… start too soon. I want to help planters pull back the reins. The effectiveness of a church plant is often determined by everything that’s done before it’s ever launched.”

Well said Ben…

(Via History in the Making)

iPhone Has Rendered iPod Irrelevant

tom — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:00:46 +0000

The success of the iPhone has rendered the iPod irrelevant

“With the success of its new iPhone, Apple is seeing something of a backlash in terms of sales of its iPod although these once accounted for nearly 50% of its yearly revenue, early this year sales plummeted sharply.

Apple’s upcoming press conference on September 9th has given rise to a frenzy of speculation among the media and Apple aficionados alike. Most believe that Jobs will attempt to reignite interest in the iPod by releasing a new version of the nano and a modified iPod touch.”

What are your predictions for Tuesday?

(Via Fast Company Now)

Sarah Palin Sharing Testimony

tom — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:18:35 +0000

I invested several hours the past couple of weeks watching the conventions. I have been most impressed with one candidate–Sarah Palin. This morning a friend of my sent me a link of Sarah sharing for a few moments at her home church in Alaska. Its worth watching.

(View Video)

Ocho Cinco…Really?

tom — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:10:01 +0000

Don’t Call Him Johnson: “CINCINNATI (AP) The Cincinnati Bengals say No. 85 is officially Ocho Cinco.
The NFL team said Thursday that they will refer to the receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson by his new legal name, Chad Ocho Cinco, in all club business. That includes the back of his jersey for Sunday’s season opener at Baltimore…”

I am not sure how I feel about Chad’s name change. Is is stupid or marketing genius? What do you think? Leave a comment.

(Via The National Football Post)

Great Work Luke!

tom — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:00:08 +0000

Luke put together a summary site of the ‘08 trip to Guatemala. Most of the pics are of Luke and Jen, but still a wonderful overview. Check it out here.

I’m ready to go back…