yamia

I seem to be writing a lot about Seth Godin’s book Tribes. Check out previous posts here, here, here and here. Basically, Godin’s idea is that tribes are stronger than groups or markets. What that means for the church is that if we function as a tribe, we can get more kingdom work done. If we function as a group, then we are very limited in every aspect of the kingdom.

Godin points out some ways that tribes can improve that I think are very relevant to the church today:

“- transforming the shared interest into a passionate goal and desire for change;
- providing tools to allow members to tighten their communication; and
- leveraging the tribe to allow it to grow and gain new members.”

The church should really listen to this. The ones who have are learning something about God. He wants us to be transformed and share our passions (discipleship). He wants us to communicate well (preaching, worship, corporate prayer). He wants us to grow the kingdom and add members (evangelism).

I think that many churches would say that they are doing these things. But looking at the results, we do a poor job in the church. We suffer from a sameness that is numbing and we fear the risk taking that makes life remarkable.

Transformation through passion
Sharing passion is one of the most transforming things we do because people are won over, not because of our ideas, but because of the resolve we have in them. It is also one of the scariest things we do, because it reveals the deepest parts of who we are in a way that hurts if we are rejected.

Communication
What would our churches be like if we took a serious interest in how we could better communicate?

Most churches have a very top down type of communication. The pastor and his leaders decide what to do and why and then try to communicate it to the congregation. What if lay people were able to decide what ministry they felt like God was leading them to and the church saw it as their job to help them execute it as best as they could? Better yet, the church could incorporate more people into the worship service instead of relying on only a few leaders. Corporate worship would become a community of involvement rather than a few people sharing ideas and being tapped out after a season.

The church also facilitate communication between people with similar passions and let them sharpen each other in their ideas of ministry. In business, people often work in teams to come up with the best ideas and solutions to problems. Good systems use people from every part of the process in a project, but the church often limits itself to leadership.

The church could also help people communicate easier with people outside the tribe. People do evangelism all the time and sometimes, though much less often, it is about God. Talk to someone who uses a Mac or a moleskin or plays Settlers of Catan. They will fill as much time as they have telling you how great it is and how you should try it.

Leverage
This word seems to bring to mind forcing something and the church has had enough of that. Instead, there are many possibilities in serving that have never been tried. One group I heard about gave out rubber gloves at gas stations so people wouldn’t have the gas smell after getting gas. It was such a hit that the gas station started stocking them next to the pumps. I would want to be careful about leverage, since it has been used so often by the church to the detriment of the kingdom, but I think the possibilities are endless.