Tall Monastic Guy

A current gap in the conversation, Part 2

(I'm not sold on the title. Didn't mean for it to sound so negative.)

Anyway, the 2 ideas here...

1) Mission or Social-Action as centering point of missional/incarnational community development.

2) An emphasis shift from missional to missional discipleship.

 

Why buddhism is often more attractive...

“Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, and Christianity presents itself as a system of belief… I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that’s what people are searching for today. That’s what they need most” 

– Brian McLaren, Finding Our Way Again

"Smashable" Brands

“To sum up, our research showed that the emotions we experience when we are exposed to iPods, Guiness, and Ferrari sports cars are similar to the emotions generated by religious symbols such as crosses, rosary beads, Mother Teresa, the Virgin Mary, and the Bible. In fact, the reactions in our volunteers to the brands and religious icons were not just similar, they were almost identical.” (p125)

Author and branding expert (and only 38 yr old!) Martin Lindstrom spent three years and $7 million to examine what parts of the brain are stimulated when exposed to various brands, products, and logos. The brands listed above, iPod, Guiness, and Ferrari are what marketers term, “smashable brands”, meaning if you threw an iPod against the wall and it broke into a hundred pieces you’d still know that it was an iPod. In the same way, if you poured just a drop of Guiness out of the tap, because of the distinguished foam and dark color, you’d likely know it was a Guiness. The idea came from the Coke bottle still being recognized as a coke bottle if you saw it smashed to bits on the street. “Smashable brands” are head and shoulders above weaker brands in terms of recognition and consumer response and as the study showed those brands illicit nearly an identical emotional response as spiritual images like the cross.

The book has been a fascinating read as I’ve been thinking a lot about the branding craze of our culture. After reading the chapter about religion last night, this morning I woke up wondering if I’m a smashable brand. If we are images of God according to the creation story, his representations, perhaps we could say we are products, logos, brands, of the triune God.

But, am I a smashable brand? If life for me ended today, could you associate me as a poured out, sold out follower of the one true God? Or am I just another brand?

Think about it. Are you a smashable brand? Does the life you live reveal the design and qualities... the power of your maker? 

(thanks to CRM's branding expert, Andrew Taylor for the recommended reading!)

letting the quiet speak loudest

On Tuesday I met with a fella who is looking to start a church here in Denver and he’s looking to do it within a missional/incarnational paradigm rather than the traditional modes of his sending denomination. A large looming tension that he expressed and that so many of us feel, was how to respond to the “So, what do you do?” question.

That’s a common tension and one that I confront within myself on nearly a weekly basis. What do I tell people that I do that can make me sound like somewhat of a professional? How am I utilizing that Master’s in Divinity degree that I spent three and a half years on?

Keeping it Simple

In response to my last post we are going to begin getting at some of the practicalities of our missional communities this evening at our Adullam gathering which by the way is at a new time and place beginning at 5pm located in Hope Community Church. I meant to have created a post last week about how after our last gathering at 1st Reformed Church, Adullam took 1.5 hours to completely change locations to our new spot. I've never been in another church that could have pulled up their stakes and moved down the road to set up camp in another spot in and hour and a half. Pretty cool.

Also, a good article...

Brian McLaren says Dr. David Dunbar of Biblical Seminary gets the definition of missional right. Read Here

missional/incarnational: a current gap in the conversation?

It would seem that two of the hottest topics within the church multiplication conversation are the multi-site model practiced by such churches as Willow Creek and North Point and the missional/incarnational conversation led by Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole, along with my mates, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay.

 

brief last thoughts on 08 and looking ahead

I’ve been meaning to get up my final post of 2008 and my 2009 outlook for several days now but with the holidays and a week in Indiana visiting family it’s not getting posted until now. Angie and I are overcome with gratitude when it comes to the gifts and blessings of 2008. The arrival of JP in June was and continues to be one of the most fun and transformative experiences of our lives. No words could adequately describe the gift of having a child, so JP makes 2008 a special year unlike any other.

Rather than focus too much on reviewing 08 I’m energized to explain a fresh focus that has been developing as we look forward into 09. But, real briefly…