What Would Seth Do?

For my money, Seth Godin is flat out brilliant. He has one of the three blogs I will never miss checking. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ His posts are never long and they always make you think. You walk away with something that you can use right now.

In two of his latest posts he said the following:
· “Instead of spending time and insight and effort reinventing what they do and organizing for a better future, the members are lulled into a sense of security that somehow, somehow, the future will be just like today. You don't have to like change to take advantage of it.”
· “Why is it okay to have employees in any organization who look for a no? If you're out to provide a service, or organized to deliver a product, then look for a yes. At every interaction”

Which made me wonder how often in the church do we fight change when we could be taking advantage of it? And how often are we too quick to say no, when we ought to be finding ways of saying yes.

One example of the first is perhaps how we deal with training and ordination. Seminary education is going to change, it has to. If colleges are going to have to restructure how they approach education then why would seminaries be exempt? Why not move toward an apprenticeship model with periods of intensive academic work? How can we take advantage of the changes are coming?

Oh and with the budget crisis that states are experiencing and the low level of church attendance, it is not much of a stretch of the imagination to see the tax exempt status being revoked to help balance the budgets. Why should government subsidize religion? How could we take advantage of that?

As for the second quote, how many ways we do we say no in the church? In using the building, in supporting a local issue, in gathering with other churches, in changing the music or worship style, anything to do with the youth? Sure there some things we have to say no to, but aren’t those occasions rare? No ought not be the norm. Yes should the answer people hear from us.

Take some time and read Seth Godin. See what you come away thinking.