Lessons from the flat world

A couple of weeks ago I ordered from audible.com the audio track of Thomas Friedman's book called The World Is Flat. I have loved listening to it and am learning a ton about our world, technology, leadership, and globalization. I wish I had the text to go back to and underline and quote things to share. My handwriting skills are so pathetic that it took me about a half an hour to write this following portion of Friedman's thoughts.

The following quote comes from a CEO of a European multi-national company. That morning I also read the vision and mission of Christ found in Luke 4:43. "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose."

"If I can buy five brilliant researchers in China and or India for the price of one in the U.S. or Europe, I will buy the five. And if in the long run that means my own society loses it's skills base, so be it. The only way to converge the interest of the two (the company and the country of origin) is to have a really smart population that can not only claim it's slice of the bigger global pie, but invent it's own new slices as well. We have grown addicted to our high salaries and now we are going to have to earn them."

In reading and hearing these two things juxtaposed next to each other I immediately thought of our ministries, churches and missions. I would rephrase how I feel about where I am and where we are at. "If can can develop and work with 5 brilliant missional Christ centered laborers in a trimmed down, non event driven, activity filled ministry/church for the price of one in our current traditional/attractional/programmatic filled churches, I will work with the 5 else where. And if in the long run that means my own current church or ministry loses it's care, nurturing, energy and time and people leave to go get fed somewhere else, then so be it. The only way to converge the interest of the two (the missional and the attractional church) is to have a really smart following that can not only claim it's slice of the bigger mission (kingdom work) but also invent new ways to be part of the mission of reaching the lost (kingdom work). We have grown addicted to our programmatic/feed me churches/ministries/services and now we are going to have to bring the Gospel to others as well."

I'm not sure if I seeing things clearly but I believe this is one of the core issues behind really seeing Christ's truth and grace go to all the world. There are tens, hundreds, thousands and millions of people that are waiting for a community of believers to bring the kingdom (good deeds and good news) to them. We are worrying too much about our programs, our care, our needs, our worship services and forgetting that we are to love God and our neighbor. We are to be the ambassadors of the Gospel. We are God's only plan to reach the world.

All in all, in the past 2 years I have come to grip as to where God is calling me in this kingdom work. I have a renewed sense of vision and mission. I want to spend my time working, training, developing those that have a deep sense of following Christ and in that a humility to say, "I will do what you want me to do, be and say, regardless if it is comfortable or meets all my needs." You don't have to have all the training in the world. You don't have to be perfect. You don't even have to know all there is to know about Christ. In my opinion it is about a brokenness before God and an openness to bless others. God touching our lives with the power of the Gospel to impact us deep to the core so that we are impacting others with this life transformed.

I'm sure there will be more.
Categories: Missions, Leadership, Coaching, Books, Church, Movements