Church

"Can Geico really save you fifteen percent or more on your car insurance?  Is Ed 'Too Tall' Jones too tall?" That's the line from a new Geico commercial.  For years, I have loved watching Geico commercials ... the gecko, the cavemen, and now this guy who has his hair slicked back and looks a bit like Pierce Brosnan. Why can't the church be as creative as Geico?  We're not peddling insurance; we sharing the good news that Jesus Christ has come to redeem people from darkness and bring them into the light. Yet, in many churches we avoid the heavy-lifting required to be creative.  We offer up to those who find their way to our pews something we have warmed up from another church.  Or worse, we don't even bother to warm it up. God deserves better.  People's eternal destinies hang in the balance.

We had nine guys turn out for our first "Letters from Dad" workshop on Saturday.  It was an interesting mix of dads -- young dads and older dads.  The youngest kids represented were three week-old twins; the oldest, children in their mid-twenties. The common theme as to why each had attended was this: we wanted to leave a written legacy to our kids. I spent about fifteen minutes going over some background material and sharing a few passages about a father's responsibility to pass down the faith to their children.  And then we were off and writing. At the end, I asked how many would like to do it again and the response was ... how soon?

This snippet is from an interview with Craig Newmark, the man who founded Craigslist.  From a church growth perspective, I find his answer very interesting. Dan: Of that most important element, what do you think was most key in the site’s early growth? Craig: I think it had to do with the obviousness of the collaborative approach and the consistent culture of trust that grew. It has to do with the everyday practice of universal shared values like “treat people like you want to be treated” and “give the other person a break.” Now and then, we should be our brother’s keeper.

"Don't let your church be a cul-de-sac on the Great Commission highway" (Ed Stetzer).

This insight comes via Neil Cole, considered one of the founders of the simple church movement: When it comes to leadership don't invest in potential, invest in proven faithfulness. I have to admit that his comment startled me a bit at first.  I don't believe he's discounting potential -- but leadership is about more than potential.  Many of us have unlimited depths of potential -- to write books, make music, give speeches, lead teams -- and many of us will die with that potential still buried within us. When it comes to developing a team of leaders, potential is important but faithfulness is even more important.  Ask questions like these: Has this person taken any action steps that moved them in a positive direction? Has this person volunteered for small, minor tasks? Does this person show initiative? In the end, we aren't looking for potential change, potential impact.  We're looking…