Measuring Success
March 31, 2009 |
It's all about the numbers. In my line of work - program consulting for Christian nonprofits - the trends and buzzwords center on end-result statistics. Assessments, evaluations, outcome measurements - all tracking impact to determine whether a ministry's achieving its goals and making a difference. Donors care about this increasingly, requiring accountability for the funds they're giving.
It's a good trend in the nonprofit arena, but how helpful is it in our own daily lives? Because it seems to me that the average American life is also becoming pretty measurement-focused. Examples: How many followers do I have for my blog? How many comments or pingbacks did a given post elicit? How many friends do I have on Facebook? What's the ?average reader rating' for that online article I wrote? How many emails, texts, voicemails did I receive today?
The technology that now structures so much of our lives is forever counting, tracking relentlessly. And we who keep up with the digitized world tend to use the numbers as a means of gauging our day-to-day lives. They're external markers - data, if you will - by which we measure the impact we're making on other people. If we're doing anything valuable; if people care.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 31, 2009 | Comments (7)
8 Ways To Connect with Us
March 27, 2009 |
Did you know that Gifted for Leadership has several ways for you to connect with other women just like you? You can also easily keep up with what's happening on the blog. Don't worry; the purpose here is not to overwhelm you with more stuff to stay on top of. Instead, the goal is to offer you a variety of ways to join the conversation ? you can pick whatever fits best into your life and the routines you already have going. Here's a summary of ways to stay in touch:
1. The Blog. (Duh.) As always, we welcome your comments on blog posts.
2. RSS Feeds. Do you see the "RSS Feeds" link and logo in the upper-right-hand side of this website? If you click that, you'll see a list of the most recent blog posts and a few sentences of each one. You can subscribe to receive this list (called a "feed"). This is great if you follow several blogs and want to stay up on their latest content without actually visiting each blog.
3. Facebook. Over 175 million people are active on Facebook worldwide. We have a group where you can connect and discuss with others through a discussion board, pictures and video, and posted stories. There's also a Facebook event page for the Synergy Conference here.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 27, 2009 | Comments (2)
Dream Poppers
March 24, 2009 |
We sat in the intimate living room with friends and family.
"I've been asked to join the Proverbs 31 Ministry speaking team," I said with excitement.
Proverbs 31 Ministries is a strong group of women who support, encourage, and mentor faith-filled women who write and speak. It was not only an opportunity to pursue my passion of mentoring, but I was tired of flying solo. I longed for the accountability and friendship that come from working with others who share the same dreams. I shared the benefits, and then mentioned that travel might increase by one weekend a month.
"You don't like your husband very much, do you?" one woman asked.
She was dead serious.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 24, 2009 | Comments (18)
Food For Thought
March 23, 2009 |
Have you ever read a biography or a great novel and felt so swept up in the story that the book's characters became real to you? As you read their story, you felt you actually were spending time with them?
Gospel meditation, or "being there," has traditionally been called the Ignatian Method, after Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491?1556). He instructed his followers to spend time with Jesus by imagining themselves in the Gospel story.
David Benner, author of The Gift of Being Yourself, writes, "Gospel meditation provides an opportunity to enter specific moments in Jesus' life and thereby share his experience. Shared experience is the core of any friendship. And Spirit-guided meditation on the life of Jesus provides this possibility."
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on March 23, 2009 | Comments (1)
Praying Together
March 20, 2009 |
I admit: I love girl-talk. Add a comfy booth and coffee and I'm in heaven. When I head out the door to meet a friend for coffee, I know I'm really heading out for a couple of hours of encouragement, sharing, and the give and take of conversation. Good stuff!
But not too long ago, I began wondering about these "gab-fests." What do I really hope to gain from all these? A sympathetic ear? Womenly advice? Shared wisdom? Yes, all of that. And yet, beyond the temporary relief of getting it all off my chest, something is lacking.
Maybe it's not really something, maybe it's Someone.
You see, for all the talk-talk-talking, we do, my friends and I don't pray together. Oh, we share prayer requests, and I have no doubt that we do pray for each other, but we don't sit side-by-side, joined by the power of the Holy Spirit, in prayer. I wonder why.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 20, 2009 | Comments (9)
The Day I Met My Dream
March 17, 2009 |
So today's a big day for me. One of the "biggies" in my life, actually. It's the day I met my dream (if I may be a tad dramatic). You see, today - with the release of my first book, Mama's Got a Fake I.D.: How to Reveal the Real You Behind All That Mom - I became an official published author. Something I've wanted to do since I was seven, when my second-grade teacher mimeographed and then laminated a book of limericks I had written. She put them in the school library. What a thrill! Not only was I hooked on words and sentences, I knew someday I wanted another one of those books in a library.
I have no idea if any libraries have ordered my book - so I have no idea if that particular dream has been met. But that a library could - because a real book that I wrote exists (though this one's neither mimeographed nor laminated) - is a repeat of that same thrill I felt as a seven-year-old. It's goal met. A dream come true.
And yet, this "big day" isn't all that different from all the rest of my days. Ever had that? I mean, aside from the sunny skies and the 75 degree temps here in Chicago - not the usual St. Patty's Day weather - the "big deal-ness" of the day has largely been in my own head.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 17, 2009 | Comments (6)
Food For Thought
March 16, 2009 |
How many times have you sat in the employee lunchroom with coworkers when a person starts to complain about a change in the office hours, the vacation schedule, or the telephone rotation? Within five minutes, everyone sitting around the table feels obliged to chime in with their own litany of job gripes. Complaining is contagious. It's hard not to become a carrier.
Complaining gives the appearance of offering relief - a chance to vent. But rehashing a stressful situation in a setting that offers no opportunity for correcting the problem takes emotional energy and doesn't change the problem. In fact, it can make a problem seem worse than it is.
Posted by Bonnie McMaken on March 16, 2009 | Comments (2)
When Women Cling
March 13, 2009 |
Today I had to have a tough conversation. A friend of mine has become invasive, ignoring boundaries I have in place. For a couple of weeks she called everyday three or four times a day and sent multiple emails (there was no emergency or urgent need). One day when I hadn't responded to calls or email due to a busy schedule and prior commitments she just dropped by. I wasn't impressed at all and we proceeded to have a very awkward and cool visit. After praying several days for wisdom on how to approach this I invited her out for coffee and dove in. I talked about how I want my time and life to be respected and about how desperate she appears she admitted that she does in fact feel that way at times. I asked if she could allow me the space and time to call her back as it suits me and she said her greatest fear was that I may never return her call.
How do we get to the place where we are looking to someone else to provide our value for us? What goes wrong when women cling to their female friends in a way that only drives them away?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 13, 2009 | Comments (16)
Emerging into Leadership
March 10, 2009 |
Over and over again in my conversations with women in the emerging church movement, I hear the story of women awakening to themselves. They realize that as women they too are created in the image of God and so in theory can serve their creator faithfully in whatever way they are called. Intellectually, they understand this. They want to engage theology, attend conferences, interact online, and visit discussion groups. They want to have a say in the direction of the emerging conversation and lend their particular understandings to shape the movement. They see in this emerging moment in time an opportunity for them to be fully alive as women, to grow their faith in new ways, and to be truly respected in the church. But at the same time they have difficulty actually doing those things.
The problem isn't so much women being told that they can't participate or lead, although there are churches in the emerging movement that still set limits on women, for the most part women are fully affirmed. The men in the conversations wish there were more women contributing their voices and stepping up into leadership. But while such stepping up might seem perfectly natural to these men, I've encountered numerous women who feel they just can't do that. Even if they believe they can be leaders, the message that the church and their culture has imparted to them over the years is that nice Christian women just don't do things like that. They don't assert themselves. They don't impose themselves on others. They don't show up where they haven't been invited. They don't make a scene.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 10, 2009 | Comments (17)
Live from Synergy 2009--Day 3
March 8, 2009 |
Well, Synergy 2009 is officially over, and we have to say we?re overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with the life-changing messages we heard this weekend, with the blessing of being surrounded by so many gifted women leaders, by the incredible calling God has placed on his people, and by the tremendous potential of what women can accomplish in responding to that calling.
Wow. So how do we summarize the experience? Well, maybe it will help to share a few of our favorite quotes from the plenary speakers at this year?s event:
On relationships between men and women: "What do people think about God
when they see how we relate to one another?" —Carolyn Custis James
On using gifts: "When women are not using gifts to the fullest extent, the
Kingdom of God suffers." —Alice Matthews
Posted by Amy Simpson on March 8, 2009 | Comments (8)
Live from Synergy 2009--Day 2
March 7, 2009 |
I wish it were possible to wrap up the thrill of a full day at Synergy in one blog post. But since that's impossible, I just wanted to share something from this morning's plenary session where GFL Editorial Advisor Dr. Lauren Winner gave a wonderfully entertaining and engaging talk on "The Perils and Promises of Being a Woman in Ministry."
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 7, 2009 | Comments (3)
Live from Synergy 2009
March 6, 2009 |
Here we are at Synergy 2009, and as in previous years, this promises to be a weekend of rich encouragement, challenge, and connection. This year's theme is "The Blessed Alliance," focused on the healthy, productive, God-ordained partnership relationships between men and women in his service. What a refreshing conversation!
In this evening's opening plenary session, we heard from featured speaker Dr. Alice Palmer Mathews. She discussed the biblical basis for the Blessed Alliance and challenged us to see partnership with our Christian brothers as a biblical mandate, necessary for body of Christ to function as it should.
Posted by Amy Simpson on March 6, 2009 | Comments (1)
"Coming to Know" in the ER
March 3, 2009 |
Today a 29-year-old woman came into the Emergency Room.
When I am not moving loads of laundry from the washer to the dryer, playing taxi driver to my seventh-, fourth-, and first-grade children, or making another meal, I work as a part-time chaplain at a nearby hospital. In the hospital setting, pastoral care is diagnostic. We are trained to understand a patient's spiritual needs with a definite, clinical assessment.
This shift I met "Sarah" from Rwanda. Her parents were killed when she was 13. She lived in a refugee camp after that. She married while living in the refugee camp. Her husband was good to her for the first year of their marriage and then he started drinking. She has spent the last 12 years of her marriage being beat up, strangled, and kicked.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 3, 2009 | Comments (4)
