organic christianity

fish market

I found an inspiring illustration from a fish market in Seattle Washington. You all probably know about it. It's the one where they throw fish around and gather a huge crowd to see if they will drop one. I have been there a couple times. It's called Pike Place Fish Market and here is a statement that was at one time on their website:

"A few years ago, we at Pike Place Fish Market committed ourselves to becoming "world famous." We've accomplished this-not by spending any money on advertising (we've never spent a dime), but by being truly great with people. We interact with people with a strong desire to make a difference for them. We want to give each person the experience of having been served and appreciated, whether they buy fish or not. We love them.

At World Famous Pike Place Fish Market, we stand for the possibility of World Peace and prosperity for all people. We believe that it's possible for a person to impact the way other people experience life. Through our work, we can improve the quality of life for others. We are committed to this belief. It's what we do."

People can get fish from anywhere but they go to Pike Place Fish Market because of the experience, the excitement and the affirmation that the employees give to each customer. I read this and was challenged to be a part of a church that has a similar belief in what they do and impact on the world like this fish market has. Sadly, I almost shed a tear reading this statement because I was so inspired at the level of passion and purpose that this market functions at. I guess fish markets are great places to be inspired.

by design or default

Last Sunday was my last service at the church that I grew up in. A team and I are venturing out to plant a church in Brentwood, CA. My wife and I are so excited about the future and it seems that every person we run into has encouraging words to say about what we are going to be able to accomplish. I have a few weeks until I transition fully into this new season so I have some time to hang out with my family, read a whole bunch of books that I'll talk about later and spend time nurturing the gifts that God has given me to lead. I hardly know anything about church planting, developing thriving church cultures and leadership so I am having to learn as much as I can from accomplished pastors and business leaders through books, podcasts, coffee appointments, conferences and blogs. I am starving to be around successful leaders so I'll devour any leadership materials I can get my hands on.

The book I am currently immersed in is By Design or Default, by Kevin Gerald. This book proposes that every church has a culture, unfortunately, church culture is most often created by default-coming into existence through the life patterns and inherited habits of it founders. Kevin talks about culture-creating leadership and how it not only teaches but also models and cultivates a life-giving spirit-a spirit of encouragement, a spirit of confidence. So much of what we hear about leadership development focuses on what leaders do instead of who they are. Culture in a church often times is created by who the leader is rather than what they say from the pulpit, the spirit is caught by the people.

Every church has a culture and it will grow whether it is a negative or positive one. My goal is to help create a culture that works and produces good fruit. I'll be sharing in future posts some of the nuggets of truth I receive from books like this one about leadership, church planting and creating church culture.

No matter how old you are or how many times you might have failed pursue your dreams at any cost and in the words of Winston Churchill "never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give in...never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."