Ironically, the third most popular post in 2010 had nothing to do with church leadership or strategy or communications or any of the topics I typically address. The post simply provided a list of my favorite Android apps. I guess it’s just another confirmation that 2010 was the year of Android.

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My 21 Favorite Android Apps

After several years of being a Blackberry guy, I recently switched from the AT&T network back to Sprint and picked up an HTC Hero using the Android operating system. It’s been fun discovering new Android apps over the last few weeks. Here’s my current list of favorites:

• Amazon – It allows me to scan barcodes on books in Barnes & Noble and see what the comparable price is on Amazon.
• Barcode Scanner – I can scan anything with a barcode and shop online usingGoogle Shopper.
• Evernote – It’s the primary way I document everything I do in meetings including capturing pictures of whiteboard sessions.
• Expensify – When I travel, this app let’s me track expenses, upload receipts, track mileage and request reimbursements.
• Fandango – I can browse movies, find theaters and purchase tickets from my phone.
• Golf Channel Mobile – This app is going to come in handing this week as I follow the Masters coverage.
• Google Voice – It’s one of the key reasons I never switched to an iPhone. I use Google Voice for all my calls.
• Live Scores – Provides updates on NCAA, NFL, MLB, etc. scores.
• NewsRob – This is an app that allows me to read Google Reader content offline.
• Pandora – It’s still my favorite mobile app for streaming music. (My favorite is the Justin Timberlake channel.)

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The fourth most popular post of the year provided an introduction to Google Reader and then the list of the blogs that I follow using that free tool. I’m thinking people were more interested in the list, but you should really be taking advantage of Google Reader if you aren’t already.

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The 100+ Blogs That I Follow

It’s been some time since I did a post on Google Reader. If you’re not using Google Reader, you need to try it out. Don’t worry…it’s FREE.

If you read several blogs or news websites daily and you’re not using Google Reader you’re wasting time. Either you clutter your email inbox with lots of unnecessary e-newsletter subscriptions, or you’re surfing from blog to blog trying to keep up. There’s a better way.

Advantages of Using Google Reader

• It constantly checks news sites and your favorite blogs for new content.
• It brings all the content to one place.
• It recommends new content based on your reading habits.
• It creates an “easy button” for you to share content with friends.
• It goes with you everywhere, so you can read content on any computer or your phone.

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For the number five most popular post in 2010, I had to reach all the way back to the first week of January. This post on “platform” generated a lot of feedback. And, by the way, “platforms” exist for people who don’t speak for a living.

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Platform

There are no shortcuts to having a platform. You have to earn it.

No one owes you a platform.

Sometimes someone who is trusted can help you get a moment on the platform, but you still have to deliver to keep it.

The harder you try to have a platform, the harder it is to get it.

If you do what you’re designed to do and you are faithful to stick with it over time, there’s a good chance you’ll have a platform.

Not all platforms are created equal, but all have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of others.

Relationships are the foundation of a platform. If you can’t build relationships, you can’t have a platform.

The person who yells the loudest doesn’t necessarily get the platform.

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The number six most popular post of 2010 was one of my personal favorites. It led to a lot of comments and discussion on the site. I’d love for you to add your perspective to the conversation.

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“And” Instead of “Or”

Why does it have to be attractional or missional? I’ve seen lives impacted by both approaches. Why can’t it be attractional and missional?

Why does it have to be evangelism or discipleship? Christ-followers need to be engaged in both. Why can’t it be evangelism and discipleship?

Why does it have to be teaching from the platform or teaching in the living room? I’ve been stretched by God’s Word in both settings. Why can’t it be teaching from the platform andthe living room?

Why does it have to be worship with an amazing production or simple, stripped-down worship? I’ve experienced powerful worship in both environments. Why can’t we do both?

Why does it have to be corporate gatherings or one-on-one relationships? I need both to be encouraged and stretched in my faith and my leadership. Why can’t we embrace both ways of connecting with others.

One of the things that most frustrates me about church blogs is the “or” approach to writing. I don’t get it. Honestly, it’s probably one of the reasons why in most cases I’d prefer to read marketplace blogs. In marketplace writing, if someone thinks they have the “right way” of doing something, they just go do it. Then they write about how it worked or didn’t work. In church writing, if someone thinks they have the “right way” of doing something, they write about how the other church is wrong.

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Andy Stanley

You can’t have a top ten list without including a few thoughts from Andy Stanley. Andy is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church near Atlanta. Every year, he’s one of the keynote speakers at the Catalyst Conference. The #7 most popular post in 2010 captured some of the highlights from one of Andy’s talks at the conference.

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Andy Stanley Notes from Catalyst

As is tradition at Catalyst, Andy Stanley opened up the conference. This year the theme is “tension is good.” Here’s what Andy had to share on the topic:

• “We are a bundle of appetites and desires. And each appetite creates tension because it wants more.”
• “Every time you get more responsibility in an organization, you want more.”
• “No matter how many times you win, you want more.”
• “God created your appetites and sin distorted them.”
• “Your appetites always whisper ‘now’ and never ‘later’.”
• “I couldn’t name two people in ministry who have lost their ministry of bad theology.” …compared to people who have lost ministry because they didn’t properly manage appetites.

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Will Mancini and his team

Back in August, I had the opportunity to interview Will Mancini, the founder and Clarity Evangelist of Auxano. Will is a consultant, strategist and vision architect for churches and ministries across the country. The Auxano team provides churches with consulting about the clarity of their vision, rather than marketing and promotional consulting. Here’s what Will had to say about vision and clarity in the modern church.

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5 Questions to Clarify Vision

TONY: From your experience, what does a great vision look like?

WILL: Just like wind, we can describe either the wind itself or the effects of the wind. When most people think about great vision, they think about the effects. Things like enthusiasm for being a part of something big, a real sense of togetherness or freedom to take risks. The list goes for miles.

But in describing what great vision itself looks like, I boil it down to having a clear, concise and compelling answer to five questions:

• What are we doing?
• Why are we doing it?
• How are we doing it?
• When are we successful?
• Where is God taking us?

In the end if individuals on the team don’t  “own” a common response to these questions, than vision clarity work is an urgent need that should be developed before other decisions are made. The “Vision Frame” is a great diagnostic tool to help these five clarity components stick in the daily life and leadership of the team.

Most important, we have created a question that must be answered before developing the Vision Frame. That question is, “What can your church do better than 10,000 others?” This question is important because most leaders tend to photocopy vision without even knowing it.

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Merry Christmas! I hope you’ll take a few minutes today to share the Bible in your social media spaces (using #Bible on Twitter). Share the Christmas story or your favorite verse. As we do, we’ll be helping the world remember what Christmas is all about: the incomparable hope and love of a God who is with us.

Brian Dodd

The #9 most popular post of 2010 was actually a guest article from Brian Dodd, Director of Market Development at INJOY Stewardship Solutions. As I mentioned back in August, it’s begging for a response from a woman in the crowd who’s willing to write about how a man should value his wife. Any takers?

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Ladies, How to Welcome a Man Home

“He’s home! He’s home! He’s home!” My favorite part of each day takes place between 6:30 to 7:00 PM every night. That is when the garage door goes up, the car pulls in, and I walk in the door arriving home from a hard but productive day at work. It has become our family tradition that when I arrive, my wife and daughter shout those six wonderful words in unison. There are then hugs and kisses and a general mini-celebration. I love my job but I also love coming home!

Hollywood experts tell us the initial scene of any movie is critical. The opening scene creates conflict. Man against man; Man against nature; or Man against himself. The opening act sets the stage for the rest of the movie. When a man arrives home, how he is welcomed sets the stage for the rest of the evening.

The following is what I experience and feel because of the way my wife and daughter welcome me home every evening:

1. Confidence – The level of a man’s performance is in direct proportion to his wife’s confidence in him. They make me feel so valued and important that I feel I can accomplish almost anything.
2. Encouragement – Whatever redeemable qualities I have as a husband and father are reinforced and their attitude compels me to build on those qualities and be the best leader that I possibly can.

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It’s a bit of a tradition around here to recap the top posts of the year as we approach the new year. Not only does that give me a bit of a writing break to prioritize time with family, it’s fun to go back and see what created buzz in the last year. Over the next several days, I’ll count down the posts that generated the most traffic. Feel free to continue the conversation associated with each post.

Let’s start with #10…

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18 of My Favorite Churches

Over the last year or so, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of great churches throughout the country. I’ve had the chance to provide training to staff teams and consulting on a variety of topics including staffing, structure, volunteer strategy, discipleship strategy, weekend service environments and more.

12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia

Along the way, I’ve connected with many great leaders. It’s given me the opportunity to hear some great stories of how God is working in churches across the country. Here’s a sample of the churches I’ve been at:

• 12Stone Church (Lawrenceville, Georgia)
• Avalon Church (McDonough, Georgia)
• Christ Fellowship Miami (Miami, Florida)
• Cornerstone Church (Auburn, Alabama)
• Harvest Church (Byron, Georgia)

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The question has popped up again related to tickets for Christmas Eve, so I thought I’d take a moment to address it. Leaders from other churches are always curious to know why churches including West Ridge offer tickets for these services. I’m sure there are a number of advantages, but here are the first that pop to mind…

• It helps us make sure we have seats for everyone to invite their friends and family. Crowds are bigger at Christmas, and folks tend to have preferred service times. If everyone showed up at the same time, we wouldn’t have room. It doesn’t make sense to build bigger buildings to accommodate holiday crowds. Instead, we use tickets to spread out people in in multiple services.
• It helps us determine when we need to offer more services. If multiple services fill up, we have the flexibility to add additional services to accommodate more people.
• It makes it easier for people to invite their friends. The number one reason people show up to a worship service for the first time is because a friend invites them. Having a ticket with all the details on it makes it easier for people to have those conversations. It also gives the impression they’re offering something with value.
• It communicates something special is going to happen. We are very intentional about our service programming every Sunday of the year, but certainly we give special attention to Christmas Eve services. Having caught wind of some of the elements in this year’s services, I know they going to be an incredible experiences. Having tickets helps us communicate something unique is going to take place.
• It communicates these services are open to the entire community. This may seem obvious to church insiders, but people outside our churches sometimes don’t realize we expect guests. In fact, there are a large percentage of folks that would join us for a service, but they are just waiting for someone to invite them. Offering tickets helps us get the word out that everyone is invited.

By the way, the reason why I personally advocate this is because I’ve seen it work at all three churches I’ve been connected with in the past.  When we implemented this at West Ridge last year, we eliminated all the expenses we used to incur for direct marketing our Christmas Eve services (we saved money) and our attendance for the services jumped by almost 70%.

Ultimately, more people at Christmas Eve services mean more people hearing the message and more changed lives. We’re pretty committed to life change here at West Ridge, so we see that as a good thing.