JasonCurlee.com is about developing and influencing others to make a difference in their world. It is our goal to share principles of leadership and insights that you can apply to your ministry, business and life.
Where To Find Me
To get more into my head visit my Twitter Site @jasoncurlee
This blog contains the random inner workings of his mind and in no way reflects the thoughts or opinions of Bay Area Fellowship, the BAF staff or the people who attend BAF.
Blogging is not gone…it’s still there and many many people still read them. When it comes to blog length many bloggers often struggle with how long of a blog post should they write.
Personally, I try to keep each of my posts short to medium in length unless I have a more technical post.
My goal is to make my posts easy enough for someone to scan through as most are busy.
From a reader standpoint, I also look for exactly what I try to put out. I often have about 100 plus posts a day that come through my google reader so often I scan the title and first sentence to see if its worth reading farther.
I also asked my twitter/facebook friends what blog length do they prefer to read? Long, Medium, or Short and why?
Christopher Young – Medium, because I have such a busy day so i wanna get my information in a compact, powerful way. Blogs that are too the point and don’t turn into a commentary are the ones I prefer most.
Jason Ewart – short. for time, straight to the point, quick takeaway that I can chew over or act upon
Rich P. Nifong – I like blogs that meander wittily around a point for a while and then just nail you with it.
Rod Pitts – It just depends on how i feel at the time. I like medium, well-discussed posts most of the time. And sometimes I like short, to-the-point posts. Never do I like super long posts, though.
Plays Piano – Jason, that’s hard to answer. Different topics require varying lengths. I prefer blogs to completely cover the topic – providing sufficient support in a succinct manner. Whether it is short, medium, or long, it has to be complete. The actual length is relative.
Dave Ingland – I like short blog posts because…they are short. Blogs posts such as Steven Furtick’s are quick bursts that help me immediately when I read them. However, as much as I like short posts, I have to say that I really appreciate some long posts I read. They show a good thought process and support of the subject as well as passion. In most cases, they are more substantive. Of course, long is a subjective descriptor. I don’t mean long as in pages and pages, but maybe 5 or 6 paragraphs.
Allen Phillips – when i see a long blog I don’t read it. I say i’ll come back to it later and usually forget. I like a short to medium blog
James Scott Jr – I prefer conciseness. If you can communicate fully in brief, great, but often briefly won’t be very profound. So it will depend on the topic. But even something of a full content should be concise. It shouldn’t be long unless it really requires that to say what needs to be said.
I’m reading Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels and he makes a great statement in it about leadership and churches that are growing.
He says:
“What flourishing churches have in common is that they are led by people who possess and deploy the spiritual gift of leadership. Whenever and wherever I have found a high-impact, Acts 2, prevailing church, I have also discovered a little band of brothers and sisters who were humbly and prayerfully providing the vision, the strategy, and the inspiration that enabled an entire congregation to bear fruit abundantly. Please understand, it’s not that I believe the gift of leadership is more important than other gifts. It’s simply that people with the gift of leadership are uniquely equipped to come up with strategies and structures that provide opportunities for other people to use their gifts most effectively. Leaders see the big picture and understand how to help others find their place of service within that picture.”
What do you think…is church growth tied into church leadership?
Pastor Bil’s goal is to provide the insights that helped Bay Area double from 200 to 400, then double again to 800, then double to 1600, then again to over 3,000 and even then, double to over 6,000!
If you are interested, the first scheduled day is December 8, all day. Bil will meet with no more than 15 to 20 leaders, and will help create a customized plan for growth. Here’s what you will learn:
How to raise money for the dream and go beyond “financial survival.”
How to create a buzz in your city about your church.
How to attract and keep a crowd.
How to break growth barriers quickly.
How to change your leadership to accommodate what is needed to sustain the growth.
“Losers assemble in small groups and complain about the coaches and other players. Winners assemble as a team and find ways to WIN.”
Are you assembling around the water cooler to complain? Are you complaining about your boss or pastor or leader? How about the next time you assemble you assemble to pray (and not those gossipy types of prayers) pray for your leaders and lets make a difference in your organization.
It’s no wonder Disney delivers the difference in excellence and customer service…it’s drilled down to every employee cast member. I happened across these points in an article on excellence and think there is a huge take-away for churches and church staffs.
The Disney Difference:
It’s what sets us apart from other companies.
It’s the way we do things at WDW Resort for our cast and our guests.
It’s the pride we feel because we’re a part of this special family.
It’s an environment where people feel comfortable and welcome.
It’s a place where people care about their jobs and each other.
It’s that feeling of being a part of something really special.
It’s the basis for everything we do.
These are points that every cast member at Disney is infused with as they set out to create environments of excellence that keep crowds coming back again and again.
Imagine if every church could add that kind of difference to their organization.
If you want your church to grow…you will need to deal with six barriers that will hold it back:
Vision - Do you have a vision to reach out? Do you have a vision to grow? What is it that you want your church to do and be?
Leadership - You want your church to grow…it starts by growing yourself as a leader…you will have to become a different leader at every level to break each barriers.
Team - Do you have the team to break through these barriers? You either need to grow them or replace them.
Presentation - Hands down you will need to be a dynamic communicator. You need to work on your communication skills.
Follow-Through – You must be able to follow-through with your vision and goals with your team. Execution is a key trait to getting to new levels.
Community - You must find ways to connect with your community. Most churches want the community to beat down their doors…but…are we beating our doors down to the community.
What are some other barriers you have found? Or how do you see breaking through some of these?
Here are two great FREE resources to help you go to another level by planning out your teaching/preaching for the year:
Developing a Preaching Calendar – This is a great series I created here at JasonCurlee.com to help get you started. Loaded with practical tips and guidance this is a great resource to get you going. Click [HERE]
Develop Your Preaching Calendar Training – This is a great audio resource free from Nelson Searcy at Church Leader Insights. Nelson says that by planning your preaching calendar in advance, you can lower your stress, increase the creativity of your team and leverage the calendar more effectively than ever before! Click [HERE]
