Take Seth Godin to Church

 
You've probably been exposed to Seth Godin's book, Tribes. But have you integrated his ideas into your thinking and leadership at church? 

Integrating new learning for me always happens in stages. For example:

•   Exposure to and awareness of new ideas
•   Understanding (distillation and re-articulation) of the idea's essence as it pertains to my leadership today
•   Experimentation and practice of the new idea
•   Continued refinement of my understanding of the idea over time 
•   Re-articulation and communication of the idea with others 

I share these thoughts regarding Seth Godin's book because it is easy to get stuck in the emotional satisfaction of having been exposed to the idea without applying it.  For example, when I met Seth hanging out backstage at Catalyst in 2008, I could proudly talk about the ideas in his book, but I had not read it. It took me another six months before I did. 

The bottom line: I think Tribes is a book worth engaging as church leaders. And I would love to help you get past a surface exposure. In fact you may want to grab a free audio copy or a free copy of his companion tool.

To help you I have prepared some future posts with my favorite quotes from the book and questions for team discussion.

My dominant thought in this series is "How are you managing a program factory (whether overtly or sub-consciously) in the name of church, rather than leading a redemptive tribe in the name of Jesus?" 

Comments

[Steve Caton]

I am looking forward to your posts on this topic Will. Seth Godin’s “Tribes” has been a powerful leverage point for our organization over the last year and we have shared many copies with our own “tribe”. I resonated personally with many points in the book and, like you, saw incredible application for the local church.

A Tribe must develop in an organic and natural fashion. They look different for each church that tries to encourage their development. A “movement” as Seth describes it can often be killed with mass production or attempts to make a formula with it. That is often driven by our inherent need to control but as the book so effectively illustrates, Tribes are most powerful when we relinquish control and give them room to “breathe”.

Being people-oriented is more predictable and sometimes messier than being program-driven but the results are much more worthwhile, especially as it relates to the impact we can have on our community.

Thanks for challenging us with your thoughts and insights on the concept!

Steve Caton