Will Mancini

Last Sunday I was at McKinney Fellowship, pastored by Bruce Miller, is going through the Vision Pathway with Auxano. While  guiding the process, I am really enjoying Bruce’s writing. One of his books, The Leadership Baton, uses this picture to explore the idea of “seeing potential.” It’s a fantastic book. (More thoughts to come.) The painting is by Rene Magritte.

In this final look at applying Seth Godin’s Tribes to the work of church, I want to talk about tribal greatness. Jesus never rebukes his disciples for wanting to be great, but rather, shows them the different way of greatness in God’s eyes. In fact, we must never forget that even our Lord appealed to greatness when recruiting his team.  Do you remember Jesus persuading Peter, “Come on, I want you to spend the rest of your life fishing for men!” That’s a remarkable statement.

Why should your church be remarkable? Because Jesus is the most remarkable human being alive. And the gospel is the most remarkable message ever communicated. Your church is a unique expression of the body of Christ stewarding the gospel. That’s remarkable.

Enter Seth Godin’s insight on being remarkable. Allow your knowledge of Jesus and the gospel to collide with this Godin gold. It just might create some new insight or energy  for your team. Here are my four favorite quotes on tribal greatness:

#1 “The market wants you to be remarkable.”

People today are longing for experiences that leave them changed. How do people in and around your congregation “taste and see” the fruit of transformation?  How do you show them what they want to believe is possible? Remember that God has set eternity in their hearts. (Ecc. 3:11)

#2 “Whatever the status quo is, changing it gives you the opportunity to be remarkable.”

The holy discontent behind the book Church Unique, is the epidemic of photocopied vision. As churches copy one another, there is a move toward incremental improvements that make everyone increasingly  generic.  Everyone copies everyone else not wanting to be without the key feature or best practice or new program. Eventually this evolution of “generic improvement” gets cluttered or stuck as an “overconstructed” ministry. Why not break from the pack and do something remarkable? Free yourself to be yourself.  Be original and truly creative as a steward of the gospel. What could you do to pursue “blue ocean” as the place of ocean-size opportunity where no one else is swimming.

#3 “We choose not to be remarkable because we are worried about criticism.”

Ultimately, the more remarkable an idea, a dream or a vision, the more likely fear will cripple us. Consider taking a fear audit.  If you as a leader, or your church as an organization, had nothing to prove or nothing to loose, what would you dare to do to be remarkable?

#4 “Tribes that work better when they’re bigger get bigger.”

Okay, reread this quote again until it makes sense. This quote, in my opinion, is the most important observation for the church in Tribes. Why? Because the growth of mega-churches and giga-churches (more than 10,000 in attendance) leads us to many conversations about the “best” size of church. Rather than talking about the benefits of small vs. big or organic vs. organizational, what if we talked about our local redemptive movement with this idea. How does reaching the next person in our church make our church better for each person? How does ____________________ (plug in your growth or multiplication strategy) enhance the effectiveness of the whole and for each individual. What could happen if we pushed the envelope of our thinking on this? Wow!

This weekend, the leadership at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is rolling out the Vision Frame to the congregation. The “flow” of the rollout, designed with senior pastor Greg Finke and executive pastor Vince Parks, is to move from awareness to understanding to action. Many times when vision is communicated, the opportunity to deepen understanding is missed. Understanding is a bridge between hearing and acting.

The root idea behind the term “to understand” does not use “under” in the typical sense of “underneath,” but in the sense of “standing between or among.” It is a term for proximity- to “be close to.”

Since 1640, the term “make out” has been used to convey the idea of making something more understandable; making it clear and meaningful.  In fact, the sexual use of the word was not used until 1939. This adaptation of the term provides an interesting facet and connotation for leaders helping their followers “get close to” vision.

The question is, are you making out the vision for your people, not just by talking at them, but by getting close and helping them really understand it?  Consider the definitions for the verb “to understand” and apply them to vision:

• Do people perceive the meaning of the vision?
• Are people thoroughly familiar with the vision?
• Do people grasp the significance of the vision?
• Do people regard the vision as firmly communicated?
• Do people accept the vision as true and from God?
• Have people assigned their own meaning by interpreting the vision for themselves?

Keep making out the vision and don’t forget to share your ideas with others via Open Source Vision Casting: Share your ideas on twitter using the #visiondrip hashtag.

Thanks to the early adopters, innovators and everyday visionaries who are jumping on the Open Source Vision Casting opportunity via twitter.  Using the hashtag, #visiondrip people can share simple ideas of how to keep vision in the daily mix. Join in by searching the #visiondrip on twitter for ideas you can use, and please take the time to share one of your own. If you have heard of twitter but don’t know what a hashtag is click here.

Remember, those of us leading need the ideas that a few minutes of your reflection might bring.

To celebrate the birth of the God-man Jesus, is to recognize the biggest chapter break in the universe’s most impressive story. As God’s redemptive plan ripples through time, it comes in stages. 

Have you ever noticed that God’s macro-work in stages is reflected in His micro-work with individuals? 

The clarity generated from looking at life through stages or chapters is amazing.  It’s especially pertinent for me as an even-decade New Year approaches on the heels of my 40th birthday.

The idea of seeing life through stages or chapters was first meaningful to me in my early twenties, when I read Robert Clinton’s, The Making of a Leader. He opens with this observation and chart:

Leadership development theory begins with the concept of formulating a time-line. A time-line study for each person is unique. However, when you see enough time-lines you notice some overall general patterns. The following is an idealized pattern, synthesized from a study of many individual patterns.

One take-away at the time was looking proactively  at my life through the lens of decade-long stages. 

Another strong influence  toward “chaptering” my life came from reading the Sacred Romance, by Curtis and Eldredge. These guys beautifully weave the book metaphor into the process of spiritual formation using story and chapter markings in relation to God’s authorship. Also, while at Dallas Theological Seminary, the practice of life-mapping influenced me along the same lines and led to one of the most valuable small group tools I have ever used. 

Finally, my work with Bob Buford, exposed me to a helpful staging progression he uses in describing the Half Time journey- a masculine metaphor of life progression from “warrior to king to sage.”  All stages are important, but nature of contribution, energy and influence evolves over time. Since its Christmas you might enjoy the special wisdom of these four stages of a man’s life: 1) You believe in Santa, 2) You don’t believe in Santa, 3) You are Santa and 4) You look like Santa. (via @markclement) 

The bottom line is that knowing the chapters of your life can bring meaning as you look back, perspective as you look forward, and clarity for decisions you make today. 

As I begin my forties I am doing so with lens that is distinctly different from my 20’s and 30’s. Here is what that looks like for me:

• My 20’s were about Intimacy; the cultivation of habits in my life with God.
• My 30’s were about Service; sharpening my calling in a physical full-court press to honor Him.
• My 40’s will be about Sabbath; pursing wholeness, rest, eternal perspective and a deeper quality of love as a result of the the previous two stages.

Minor and major decision-making can be framed by this perspective. Today on the plane I read Anne Jackson’s, Mad Church Disease.  I wasn’t just reading a good book, but scanning for insight on a decade long journey.  At forty, I have thought about having more kids. But what frames my thinking and prayers is not having children in a repeat “warrior” stage of life, but having them in a “king” stage of life. 

What stage of life do you currently find yourself?  If you had to divide your life into 3-5 chapters today, what would your chapter titles be?  Consider how this perspective might shape your decisions in the new year.