MIM Ezine, March 30, 2009

-- Purpose-Filled Ministry: So, You're Looking for a New Pastor: Part II--Determining Your Church's Needs and Direction,by Teena Stewart.

-- Running A.M.O.K. Creative Arts Ministry:Got Talent? How to Glorify God with What He has Given, by DC Weiss.

-- BOOK REVIEW:Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with Destructive Conflict, by Kenneth C. Haugk, reviewed by Tom Hanover.

-- BOOK REVIEW: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin, reviewed by Teena Stewart.

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So, You’re Looking for a New Pastor: Part II--Determining Your Church’s Needs and Direction

In my last article we looked at the preliminary steps for starting a pastoral search. This time we’ll look at determining your church’s needs and direction as you form your search committee.

Before you put your search committee in motion, you’d best know what you are aiming for. Many a team has gathered together and made a laundry list of wishes, based on the desires of individual team members. Then they experience frustration when they can’t find a person who can meet all their criteria.

Begin by meeting with key leaders/elders to determine current ministry needs and the direction the church should take. Here are some key questions the leadership should ask:

Why did our former pastor leave? Did s/he leave under amiable circumstances, or because s/he had a different vision from the leaderships? Was there conflict with elders, or a forced resignation? Many churches fail to address these questions because of the discomfort it causes. Knowing the answer can be crucial to your church’s future. Some churches have a history of forcing pastors to resign.

If there is a pattern of forced resignations, the hurts that linger in a church body can leave deep wounds that remain with a congregation for decades, creating an unhealthy climate and most likely having a negative impact on any new leader that follows.

What does God want our church body to become? Are you on target or are changes in order? You’ll need to find someone who can guide your direction accordingly.

If your church could be exactly what the church should be according to Jesus’ teaching then what would it look like? Again, what type of changes are needed, if any are in order, and what kind of person can steer those changes?

What are we doing right? What is going well? Does your success reflect that you are following God’s plan? If so, you’ll need to find a leader traveling the same path.

What are we doing wrong? (This is not be intended by God.) Now would be a good time to look at other churches, ministries, or books that exemplify churches that are doing well in areas where your ministry is weak. What can you learn from them? What adjustments do you need to make?

Are we growing? What qualifies as a growing church? Is it numerical growth or spiritual growth? Can you put it on paper? What’s causing the growth? For example, are you growing because you are bringing non-Christians to Christ or are you growing numerically because of attracting people from other churches? Does your church show evidence of spiritual growth? What are the indicators? Look for a leader who can keep you on the growth track.

What is our mission? Is it still pertinent or do you need to revise it? Whatever you think your church’s mission is, make sure everyone on your search team shares the same understanding of the definition. I know of one church that calls itself a missional church. The term confuses those in the church body. To some, “missional” centers on community service or inner city evangelizing. In reality, the church’s missional involvement focuses more on supporting missionaries and having guest mission speakers.

You might consider holding a public forum with your members to discuss ministry needs, visions, growth points, etc. before you start working on your pastoral search.

Bathe your pastoral search process in ongoing prayer. Enlist prayer warriors to pray for unity and church health. The adversary often sees the opportunity to divide pastorless church bodies and their leadership, but prayer safeguards against such attacks.

Your church’s chief visionary leader should be involved in the search since this leader can look to the horizon and see in which direction leadership must head.

Determine how the committee will be selected. The elders of one church I am familiar with nominated the nominating committee who nominated the search committee. That’s a pretty drawn out process. Another option would be to call a congregational meeting of members and have them nominate people for the search team. You might also consider announcing that you are looking for volunteers to serve on the search committee. From those names you can have your leadership team or elders choose team members. We’ll look more at the actual search process in my next article.

This concludes Part II of “So, You’re Looking for a New Pastor.” Be sure and read my next column as I continue with this topic. “Part III—Kicking Off Your Search Committee.” Feel free to write me with suggestions or additional topics you would like covered. smartwords@embarqmail.com

This month I have been preaching through a series on vision, mission and “giftings.” In my study for the series, I was drawn to the parable of the talents and in the process I had one of those God-moments where I saw something I’d never seen before. This observation made me really check myself and I believe it will cause some self-examination in my readers as well.

I’ll admit it. I’ve lived most of my life with something to prove. Being an artist in an industrial household will do that, as will being one of those kids that seems to wear a target in school. I was going to “show them all.” That attitude led to much frustration and some very destructive behaviors. Then I “found Jesus,” which went well for about fifteen minutes before I began doing the stupidest thing I have ever done: I began trying to prove myself to God. I know it sounds really dumb, but I think we all do it. We want to show our value to the Kingdom, we want to show that we matter, that we are worthy of the price Christ paid. I think I know why we do it. It’s because we don’t have a true image of God. We assign him the traits of people who have hurt us and demanded things from us that we could not deliver. That led me to the Parable of the Talents. (Read it for yourself in Matthew 25:14-30.)

In case you’re not familiar with the story, Jesus tells of a master who gave three of his servants sums of money (called “talents,” which I believe is more than coincidental) to invest for him before he goes away on a journey. He gives one servant five talents, another two, another one, EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY. That’s important, He’s not a taskmaster who demands the impossible. He knows our exact capabilities, expects our obedience and handles the impossible Himself, because nothing is impossible for Him.

The guy who received five talents did not complain that he was over worked, he was in his zone and did what he was asked. The guy who received two did not complain that he didn’t get five, he was in his zone too, and he got to work. The scripture says these first two servants did as they were told “at once.” They invested the master’s money and doubled it and here’s where I got messed up. You see I used to think that was the point of the story. They were successful and were praised by their master. That’s not the issue.

Think about it. These talents were not theirs. They were given by the master to serve the master’s purposes. The same thing is true of your talents, but I’m getting ahead of myself. They invested the master’s money. Now I don’t know how the market was in first century Israel, but I know how it is today. Investing is not a sure thing; it’s an informed gamble. The market could have gone up (it did) or it could have gone down. They won, but they could have lost. Success was beyond their control. They simply did the best they could with what they had, obeyed their master and trusted in his righteousness. When the master returned to settle accounts, they both showed what the master’s talents had gained and the master said to both of them. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” (Matthew 25:21-23 NIV) Please note, he is not praising their success, he is praising their faithfulness.

But there is a third servant in the story. He received only one talent, but the instructions were the same. He took the master’s money and buried it in the ground. His theory, that way the master will get back what’s his and not lose anything. The master would break even, which can be a pretty good day in the financial markets. You could say he played it safe. When the master calls him forward, this one talent servant already has his excuse ready. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” (Matthew 25:24-25)

Note what happened. He excused his disobedience reasoning that the master was unfair and unjust. Because he did not trust the master and disobeyed. The master was livid with him, not because of his lack of success. After all, the master lost nothing. No, the master was displeased because the servant didn’t trust him and he didn’t obey.

What’s your talent? You might have five or you might have one, (everybody has at least one) but the expectation is the same. The expectation is not success. That is beyond your control. Your talent is God’s, given to you to be invested on His behalf, for His purposes. No matter what your idea of Him may be, He doesn’t change. He is always good and always righteous. He knows everything you have ever done, every mistake you will ever make and every sin you will ever commit and still He invests in you. He loves you. Stop assigning Him characteristics that are not His. Trust Him, obey Him, put away the shovel and get to work with what He has given you. Invest your talents in God’s Kingdom.

DC (David) Weiss is pastor of New Creation Fellowship in Reading, PA and has been a professional in the graphic communications/visual arts field for over 20 years. A few years ago, he felt led by the Spirit to combine his love for art and ministry and A.M.O.K. Arts Ministry Outreach for the Kingdom was Born. A.M.O.K. is a ministry dedicated to helping people of all creative disciplines and ability levels to use their God given gifts to serve the Lord in preaching, teaching and reaching. More information on A.M.O.K. including free and low cost resources for preaching teaching and reaching can be foundhttp://www.amokarts.com. To hear the message that spawned this article, go to the message archive and select “Drive and Desire.”

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Have you started planning for your annual stewardship campaign yet? It is not too early to start thinking with your key leaders about your strategy. Doing a little each month grows a program that is far more effective and less stressful than trying to throw something together at the last minute.

If the ministry leader or pastor is uncomfortable talking about giving, the key leaders will likely shrink from it as well. The end result will be significant ministry that will not get done because the church will under perform financially.

An alternative is to face those fears and anxieties by looking for some training in this area. There are a number of books available that help frame the stewardship ministries, especially financial stewardship. A recently published book from Moody Publishers is A Revolution in Generosity: Transforming Stewards to Be Rich Toward God, Wesley K. Willmer, editor. Revolution in Generosity is a collection of articles from a variety of leaders on Christian stewardship. It is an excellent textbook on the topic.

Googling these authors will reveal a number of other books and resources on the topic of stewardship.

There are a number of marketing and development seminars tailored to the church environment. Some of these approaches adapt well to the local church setting and others fit better in an institutional setting such as colleges and hospitals. The better versed the leader is, the more natural it will be for him/her to talk about financial matters with the leadership and the congregation.

Not all marketing and development approaches are appropriate for Christian stewardship. Money back guarantees and door prizes may work well for secular fund raising, but the church has a higher mission and calling. People give out of thanksgiving for what God has already done. The church is not simply raising money. The church is inviting people to invest in the Kingdom.

However, not everyone is at the same place on the journey. Aunt Sophie caught me in the hallway to complain about the latest stewardship campaign. She thought it was a bunch of hooey, (whatever that is). I listened to her speech. Then I patiently explained that if everyone was like her; we would never do stewardship campaigns at all. Aunt Sophie gave all she could joyfully and cheerfully. If she ever missed a Sunday, she would give twice as much the next week.

Aunt Sophie is a generous giver. (Lovett Weems uses this label to describe groups of people in every congregation referenced in my Login Leadership column article Stewardship

Generous givers are motivated to give from a spirit of gratitude for all that God has already done. All they need is someone to announce that the ushers are coming, and they are digging in their wallets to find something to give.

The effective stewardship leader will tailor there message to this group differently from the others. The leader does not need to motivate this group to participate in giving. What they need is information and connection.

To affirm their generosity, generous givers want to hear about how giving is changing people’s lives. Testimonies of other people or examples of how the church’s ministries are touching other people are exciting to generous givers. They want to know how their giving is making a difference in the world.

Most generous givers do not give in order to gain influence. In fact, many of them might even shy away from any sense of control or manipulation of the church’s direction. Yet, generous givers are generally the most invested in the life, health, and vitality of the congregation.

That is why it is critical for the pastor or ministry leader to know who gives what. The squeaky wheel is frequently not a generous giver. The person who uses their giving and the implied threat of not giving to get their way in the church is not a generous giver. The effective ministry leader will know who they are listening to.

Weems’ second group, active givers, are already attracted to the ministries of the church. They come to support their favorite ministries such as the music program or the homeless shelter or the youth program. They give because they want to support that ministry. However, their support is generally with left-over dollars.

If Cathy and I have money left over at the end of the pay period, we might treat ourselves to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. (Have you ever had Cincinnati Skyline chili? Hmmm!) If we don’t have left over money, we pack baloney sandwiches. I love Skyline Chili, but it is not a high priority for me.

On the other hand, our YMCA membership is budgeted. Not only do I plan on that bill each month, it is paid automatically. I have signed the paperwork for them to debit my account each month. I have made a serious commitment to this. It is a high priority. I will give up other things before I give this up.

What makes the difference between the two decisions? It connects to value systems and priorities. While we may appeal to active givers and invite them into a deeper level of commitment, it is most effective when we connect to their value systems and priorities.

Active givers have already demonstrated their support and interest. The message they need to hear is about increasing their level of involvement. Some leaders have the disease of “mustitis.” Their conversation is littered with the word “must.” We must increase our giving. We must increase our involvement.

A better way to invite people to increase their level of involvement is to create opportunities for active givers to rub shoulders with generous givers. Whether they are eating together at a potluck or building a ramp for a neighbor, the increased relationship will nurture increased involvement. After all, our goal is to deepen discipleship, not just raise some cash.

My father used to say, “Reach for the heart, and the billfold will follow.” Today I would add that the heart still needs to be trained what to do with the billfold, but he is correct in keeping the sequence and perspective in proper relationship. Without relationship and connection (the heart), the giving and investment (the billfold) will not happen.

Nominal givers and nongivers will be perplexed by our attempts to ask them to pledge to the church. It feels like the stranger calling on the phone to ask for a donation to an unheard of charity. This group may have little or no background in the faith or a church. Or they may have had some negative experiences with a church in their past.

A better message for this group is to invite them into relationship. What programs or ministries of the church connect to their perceived heartfelt needs? Do they have children they want to learn about the Bible? Are they new to the area and looking for new friends? Are they passing through a key passage in their life and looking for support?

Focus on the basics of faith. Giving comes as a result of spiritual maturity. Remember, these concepts are planning concepts for stewardship leaders. The distinctions in the messages may be quite subtle. Publishing a list of members and which category they fit in would destroy all attempts to win credibility and trust in your stewardship efforts. Every gift is needed. Every giver is valuable. The effective ministry leader is merely attempting to speak to each giver in a manner that communicates well.

Tom Hanover is Advertising and Promo Director of MIM ezine. He has served in a variety of pastoral leadership roles for more than 30 years, including seven as a District Superintendent supervising the ministries of more than 100 pastors and churches in southern Ohio. He is currently Senior Pastor of Sulphur Grove UMC, a multisite ministry in Dayton. He has a BA (cum laude) from Taylor University, and the MDIV and DMIN degrees from United Theological Seminary in Dayton. You can contact Tom at hanover@dbmim.net.

Successfully leading any organization requires creating measurable, duplicable progress. In a sales organization, the company goals focus around meeting specific targets, or closing 'x' number of sales contracts in a given time period. The same can be said about manufacturing, service or any company. The challenge often revolves around differentiating real progress from those activities which just keep us busy. As a writer, I can spend my time researching, planning, organizing, networking with other writers etc. Until I put words on paper and move those completed ideas into the marketplace, I am not a writer.

The heart of ministry is the process of people change. Jesus called us to make disciples, and thereby influence the world in the direction of his kingdom. The challenge we face as a Christ follower or a ministry leader is measuring the change. How do I differentiate between activity and ministry?

Herein lies the heart of the conflict. Ministry isn't about creating cookie cutter Christians who all do the same thing and act the same way. Is it? If I attend church regularly, get baptized, participate in the sacraments and can recite a few bible verses, does that make me a Christian? These activities identify me as a member of a group of people who all do the same thing, act the same, and believe the same things. But am I a disciple of Christ? What can I say about successfully creating a group of people who look alike, talk alike, and participate in some of the same activities? Is this the church, or a social club that is organized around Christian ideas?

While running an organization requires creating measurable benchmarks and then moving individuals through those benchmarks in order to create sustainability, leading a church is a much more organic process. Conforming to rules and developing identifiable habits is not the measure of Christianity. We are not called to simply conform. I believe we are called to be transformed into the image of Christ. We are called to return to the image in which we were created, the image of our God. And transformation is a messy process.

Transformation is disorderly. At my heart, I am selfish, and want my own way. Yet Jesus calls me to become self less, and seek the well being of others. Transformation isn't smooth and often I relapse into my old way of doing things. It seems just when I'm getting the hang of really loving my wife in the way Christ would, something happens and we are back to communication failures, and hurt feelings.

On the other hand, conformity is neat and clean. When I am conforming to the Christian ideal, all I have to do (or so it seems) is remember this five point sermon, or apply that seven point action plan. From the viewpoint of a leader, conformity is controllable. If a person is out of line, I remind him of the rules. "If you are really a part of our group, you will . . . (fill in the blank). . . " The church I call home grows on the holiness branch of the protestant tree. Looking back, the church's social emphasis could be easily summed up as:
Don't drink
Don't dance
Don't smoke
Don't chew
And don't hang out
With those who do.

This isn't transformation, and when our message devolves in this direction, we have lost focus on that which Christ called us toward.

Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may test and know what is the acceptable, pleasing and perfect will of God. (Rom. 12.2)

Transformation requires fundamental internal change, while conformity is external. Transformation involves surrender to another set of priorities, while conformity is attained by self will, and personal effort. More importantly, because we are relational beings, created to be in relationship with each other and with our God, transformation only happens within the context of the vulnerable relationships, while conformity can be learned from text books, sermons, podcasts, and memorizing rules.
The Point

In the scriptures we are called is to be "conformed into the image of Christ" (Rom. 8.29). This goal is measurable and duplicable, however it is not simple. Becoming like Christ requires fundamental transformation of our self focuses lives and carnal inclinations. Becoming like Christ requires knowing Christ personally, and then engaging others in meaningful relationship as we pursue him together. Transformation is not an individual sport.
The Gauge

How do you measure your progress on this journey toward Christ likeness? If you are a leader, where is your focus? Conforming to rules is easy, and on some level satisfies the flesh. We can say "Look at me, look what I can do" However, transformation requires that our flesh dies, and we allow the Spirit to live within us to pursue Christ's priorities.
The Next Step

For the next 30 days, push aside the rules. Whatever measuring stick you use to evaluate your spiritual life, push it aside and focus of Christ. Ask yourself one question. "What is Jesus like, and how can I be more like him?"

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Timothy Burns lives in West Michigan, and has written professionally for six years. Timothy’s writing reflects a deep connection to cultural influences, Christ centered living, and how often unwritten patterns can influence our behaviors and beliefs, because while people differ by continent and decade, human nature does not. The ability to identify the human element or organizational culture sets Timothy’s work apart from what can be otherwise commonplace copy. His writing spans topics of Christian living, apologetics, and the hidden benefits that often surface through personal trials.

I don't know if you are aware of it, but I am the guy who invented Kiss-Jeep. There are some parts of the country where Kiss-Jeep hasn’t caught on yet, so let me explain.

Let’s say you’re driving down the road with your loved one(s). The first one in the car that spots a Jeep Wrangler (Jeep Cherokees don’t count), yells “Kiss-Jeep!” and receives a kiss from the other party.

(Note to guys: This game should not be played when it’s just you and your male friends in the car. Once you go down that road, then the next thing you know, you’re all crying, sharing your feelings, and shopping together. You don’t want to open that door.)

Why Wranglers? I like ’em. I might want one someday. Some have advanced the theory that this is a symptom of a rapidly approaching mid-life crisis. Be that as it may, that’s the vehicle you use for the game, and that’s that.

Now I realize that this whole thing sounds a bit mushy and, well, stupid, but I had to invent this game as a defense against Punch-Bug.

I just heard of Punch-Bug about six or seven months ago. I was driving around with someone when suddenly they yelled, “Punch-Bug!” while simultaneously reaching over and whomping me on the arm. When I demanded an explanation, they looked at me with that look of mingled pity and disbelief that, if it were spoken, would sound like, “What a moron.” It turns out that Punch-Bug has been around since the Garden of Eden and is played with Volkswagen Beetles and punching, rather than Wranglers and kisses.

This is an incredible concept to me—that there is actually a circumstance where it's not only okay to hit someone, but it's considered a good thing.

Amazing! I could’ve been assaulting people all my life and getting away with it, had I just known. I wonder now if there are other crimes one may commit and get away with if one knows the right thing to say. You see a nice car, yell, “Steal Mercedes!” hop in and drive off. What a world!

So I hear about this Punch-Bug thing, go home, tell my wife, and before you can say “black and blue,” we’re driving down the road knocking the fool out of each other. After a while, I realize that she’s much better at this than I am because, while I’m driving and looking at the road, traffic signals, speedometer, etc., the only activity she’s engaged in is spotting Volkswagens and hitting me. She’s a very competitive woman.

Seeing I’m getting nowhere with this, I expanded the rules to include Slap-Van, Pinch-Truck, Hair-Yank-Import and Gouge-18-Wheeler. Even so, she soon caught on and was beating me senseless.

That’s when I had my Kiss-Jeep brainstorm. I thought, Which would be better—being punched or being kissed by one’s sweetheart? Hmmm. (Oddly enough, I can actually give you names of couples that would choose the punching.)

Now, since my eyes are automatically drawn to any Wrangler on the road, I’m spotting them left and right and having the time of my life! But the cool thing about Kiss-Jeep is, even when you lose, you win. Cool, huh?

Which gets me to my point, and that is: If you don’t like the game, either change the rules or play a different game. I wonder if that might be what it means in Romans 12:2 when it says: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

Every day we’re bombarded with ideologies and standards that we didn’t choose. We’re told that to be loved and/or accepted we must have a certain look, wear a particular style of clothes, drive a nice car, or live in a nice house.

We find ourselves in the middle of a game that we can’t hope to win, and the funny thing is, a lot of us don’t even question the game. We just jump in and try to compete.

But here’s an idea for you: What if, instead of playing this game, we measured our actions, values, and standards, not according to popular opinion, but by the Bible? What if we looked at our lives and measured our thoughts and attitudes, not by what the media or even our friends say, but rather by what God says?

Why keep playing a game that God never intended for us, only to get beaten up? What if we chose to change the rules and play a different game rather than trying to hit harder and quicker than everyone else? What if we invested ourselves in a kingdom that is to come instead of a system that will one day pass away?

In the meantime, you can keep playing Punch-Bug if you want. Me? I’m keeping both hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road.

Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with Destructive Conflict

This is an old book by our usual standards for reviews. However, my leadership coach recommended reading it and it proved useful.

Haugk, pastor and clinical psychologist, is founder of the Stephen Series system of lay caring ministry and executive director of Stephen Ministries. He has authored a number of books on care giving and dealing with conflict.

Haugk defines an antagonist as “individuals who, on the basis of non- substantive evidence, go out of their way to make insatiable demands, usually attacking the person or performance of others. These attacks are selfish in nature, tearing down rather than building up, and are frequently directed against those in a leadership capacity." (pp 25-26) He continues in distinguishing three different types: hard-core antagonists, major antagonists, and moderate antagonists.

Not every conflict or disagreement is fueled by an antagonist. Some criticism and conflict is healthy, even if uncomfortable. But the antagonist’s behavior is unhealthy, hurtful, and not honorable.

Haugk offers a tremendous gift in sharing insights on how to respond and not respond to an antagonist. This is not an issue to be resolved by the ministry leader alone. Often antagonists survive because a dysfunctional system allows them to continue in their damaging behavior. Other church leaders do not know how to respond, or sometimes feel it is the Christian thing to do to tolerate such destructive conduct.

Here are some of the elements of the book most helpful to the ministry leader. Haugk shares from a variety of personal encounters; either his own or people he has known. It is easy to recognize dynamics in these examples that are similar to the reader’s experiences.

The author also shares some key patterns and habits that will help the ministry leader to stay healthy in the midst of these excruciating moments. Dealing with an antagonist is usually not a time confrontation. It often takes time and patience to manage such a dynamic effectively.

In addition to offering some basic theory on group conflict, Haugk recommends several steps to creating an environment which does not encourage or resource an antagonist. These include educating your leaders on the dynamics of antagonism, ample communication about decisions, transparency about governance, following policies and procedures faithfully, wide sharing of the responsibilities and authority of decision making.

In a time when ministry leadership is as challenging and demanding as it is today; leaders will want to have a number of tools and resources to help them navigate the white water rapids of today’s world. Haugk provides one of them in this book.

People naturally congregate in tribes—groups of like interest—whether they be religious, ethnic, economic, political, musical, or other. The Internet and modern technology makes connecting much simpler and has enabled the propitiation of thousands of tribes. According to entrepreneur and top-ranked blogger Seth Godin, Bestselling Author of Purple Cow and The Dip, business and organizational leaders would be wise to acknowledge and harness the power modern day tribes hold because they are often cutting edge and can create movements which can lead to substantial change.

Resources such as the Internet, blogs and blog devices, such as Facebook and Twitter, can help interface with and assemble tribes into movements of individuals with common interest and passion. Many tribes may already be connected through like-minded causes and interests, but may be lacking a leader. If we can connect with these groups, we can harness their power. According to Godin, everyone can lead. It’s primarily a matter of providing these tribes with good networking opportunities and communication regarding your organization, or company’s interests and focus. This can create momentum that gets you, your organization, or company more exposure and support.

The type of leadership Godin is alluding to is not for those who are satisfied with the status quo. Many organizations and businesses which began as innovative tribes have fallen into a rut of what Godin calls safe “balloon factory” style of operation. Consequently, they have lost their cutting edge and may even be on the verge of extinction. Those with the entrepreneurial spirit are willing to take risk and break out of balloon factory, making their own way, often with lack of affirmation that they’ve made the right choice. Though it may seem daring and foolish to those who wish to remain safe, Godin gives countless examples of those who have broken away from the balloon factory to start something new which has gone on to achieve monumental success.

Those who aren’t a part of your movement are almost as important as those who are. Exclusion is an extremely powerful force which promotes loyalty and grabs attention.

Godin’s book is written primarily with secular business leaders in mind, but much of what he says can be applied to ministry. His methods are not for those who wish to continue doing business/ministry the way it has always been done but rather for those willing to try something risky in order to connect and harness new tribes of people.

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