Tribes

So a couple of years ago I was at Catalyst (a next gen leadership conference) and I got a free book. I like getting free books, but I am not always good at reading free books. The book was Tribes by Seth Godin. Well I finally read the book. I wish I would not have waited so long to read it. I found it fascinating. First it was written in an unorthodox style. One would expect a book written by a business/marketing guru to be very pedantic, organized, and filled with objectives, steps, and evaluations. Not so with this one! It was a collection of short stories around concepts in no particular order. But one could still get the message of the book, it wouldn't be much of a book if you couldn't discern the message. So here is the message of Tribes.

1. Tribes have become the main avenues for influence and change in our culture.
2. A tribe is a group of people who share a common interest and have a way to communicate.
3. Tribes that are super successful become movements.
4. Tribes have leaders not managers.
5. Leaders see the future, are not bound by the status quo, embrace change, and take risks.
6. Traditional management skills do not apply to the leaders of Tribes.
7. Instant global communication makes the formation and leadership of tribes more accessible.

These are the main thoughts, but not the only ones in Tribes. I have to say that Tribes has changed my thinking. When I consider change that needs to happen my first response is how do I form a tribe and lead it to advocate this kind of change? I hope you will give Tribes a read, I think it is worth it.

By the way this is my second blog post this week! The world may very well be coming to an end and the Cubs my win the World Series.

Missional Community

On Sunday I had the privilege to preach at the worship gathering of the young church plant of which Judy and I are core team members. I spoke about Missional Community. The Biblical text was 1 Peter 2:9-10. If you are interested you can listen to the audio of the sermon here. But, I thought I would give you the high points now. Missional Community essentially means that believers are united by their common faith in Christ in relationship and partnership for the purpose of carrying out the Mission of God which is to see people redeemed by God, in Christ, through the Spirit lead work of Church, for the Glory of God. Here is the text,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Here is how I see this text teaching us about Missional Community.

1. "A chosen race" Missional Community is God's choice or plan for his people. It is indeed God's will that His people whom He saved would live in community with one another and together live out the mission of God. If indeed this is God's will for us (his people) then it is good, pleasing and perfect.
2. "A royal priesthood" Part of what it means for God's people to be a missional community is that they, each one, would function at priests that each one would be worshipers, intercessors, and ministers.
   
3. "A holy nation" God's people must live as though they are set apart as God's possession for His purpose. I know this raises the question how "set apart" should we be? Let me offer this suggestions when something in our lives keeps us from fulfilling God's purpose then we need to be set apart from that thing, whether it be action, attitude, influence, or relationship.
   
4. "Proclaim" God's people functioning as a missional community must proclaim who God is and what he has done in Christ.

This is the essence of the message yesterday. Yesterday was definitely one of those days that I was preaching to myself. I have been thinking about missional community all day. Missional Community is not something we do, it is what we are. We can either embrace it and live it or fight against it. Which will you do?

Blogging Again?

OK, I need to say upfront this may be my only post of 2010. Let's be honest I am not a good blogger. But, there is a lot going on in my life and in my head these days. I would have to say that I am learning a lot.

Parenting - I guess I thought I was done with active parenting, but that is not the case. Don't get me wrong I like the fact that my 18 and 19 year old sons still want my advice, opinions, and help from time to time. I also find that I have a greater opportunity to disciple my nearly adult children now than I thought I would. Actually much greater. I will be making the most of this opportunity!

1 Thessalonians - I have been studying 1 Thessalonians this year and have been struck by how much Paul (writer of 1 Thessalonians) genuinely loves the church. He has deep compassion for their sufferings and a real affection for them. He takes great pleasure and encouragement from their faithfulness and growth in the Lord. He makes personal sacrifices for their spiritual well being. He calms there fears, commends their victories, and instructs their weaknesses. It is abundantly clear that his is not simply a job for Paul.

Knee Pain - So I am having problems with my right knee now. I had an MRI and I have several problems with my knee. The first is Arthritis, then a sheared medial meniscus, an asymmetrical grinding knee cap, and excessive fluid. All of these ailments are inoperable. My doctor has told me to do what I can and deal with the pain. I know this sounds a little strange, but I am kinda looking forward to enduring this pain. Pain is not always a bad thing. Pain can bring humility. I could certainly use some humility.

Family - We have had extra family around this winter and it has been great. I have found encouragement from extended family being with us. The insights, prayers, encouragements, companionship, and synergy has been uplifting for me. I love my family.

The Windy City

So, I am sitting in a meeting of Church Planting Strategist in Chicago. As we sit here, we all share a love for this city. The need here for the proclamation of the Gospel, the making of disciples, and the planting of churches is great. Chicago is one of the most under churched, under reached cities in America. Chicago is a wonderful city with a rich cultural diversity. it is truly a cultural center. I love the business of the city. Chicago is a diamond in the rough. I simply love Chicago!

DISC Profile

Today at staff meeting we spent the morning working on the DISC personal discernment inventory which is an instrument for understanding yourself and others. The instrument uses a descriptive word list to help the participant discover their personality/relational/work style. There is four categories; Dominant, Influential, Steady, Conscientious.

So I didn't really learn anything new about myself that i didn't already know. I am a high D which stands for dominant and I am also a high I which stands for Influential. But it was good to see how the other people on my team are wired and what their particular styles are.

So, have you ever taken the DISC profile?

Blogging

OK! So here is the deal. I would rather say my thoughts than write them. Not only is that true, I would rather say them to your face than record them. Otherwise I could be a video blogger or a pod-caster. The sad truth is, no matter how much I want to be, I am not wired for blogging. I am not giving up on the medium, just trying to be realistic. Maybe I will write something tomorrow....

Vision

We are at a meeting to do some planning for our organization's 2010 goals. We began the day with a discussion of our team vision which is;

"A New Testament Church in easy reach of every person in Illinois."

I really like this as a vision statement for a number of reasons.
1. It requires some thinking to unpack. We need to think more!
2. It communicates the Incarnational and transformational nature of the ministry of the Church.
3. It recognizes that what we need is a reformation not a revolution. In other words we are
talking about getting back to what is radically old not doing something that is radically new.
4. It identifies that either geographically or culturally the church in Illinois is not in easy reach
of many people in Illinois. We need all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
5. It focuses on the Biblical foundation of the Church.
6. It is easy to remember.