I am a pastor at 
I’ve been reading Organic Church by Neil Cole. I’ll admit that when I saw the cover I wasn’t too excited to read the book. The coffee cup just kinda turned me off for some reason. Then, at our Ecclesia Gathering Alan Hirsch kept raving about the book so I figured I would give it the old college try.
I’ve been really impressed so far. I love the way he talks about church and following the leading of the Spirit. It’s clear that the most important thing for him is seeing the Kingdom of God be more present in our towns, work places, cities and communities than it is to “grow a church.” While obviously these two things are not necessarily opposites sometimes it is all to easy for pastors / church planters / leadership teams to confuse the growth of the numbers of butts in the seats with the kingdom of God. Ego gets in the way, need for salary gets in the way and all kinds of other things get in the way. How we structure our churches organizationally play into this temptation quite a bit. I think the approach Cole is presenting here helps combat that temptation a bit. While I’m not ready to give up on an “organically organizational” approach to church, he makes some great points.
Perhaps one of the most convicting themes he seems to keep bringing up is when we is talking about the role of Jesus Christ ad the Holy Spirit in the leading of the church. He asks a very provocative question,
“Our churches should allow Jesus to be the leader on our team and set expectations accordingly. Someone might say, ‘Well of course we recognize jesus is on board; it is assumed.’ But the real test is if you conduct ministyr business expecting Jesus to carry the load – to carry the team. Or do you practice church as though Jesus doesn’t need to do anything, and everything is done for Him instead of by Him?”
Later he writes about this again,
“We must trust God to do His part. We must be willing to place ourselves in a position where, if He does not show up, we will be seen as complete fools. Most churches have not been willing to take that risk.”
Wow, Neil. Point well taken. Thanks for the smack in the face. I needed it.
So, does your church really need Jesus or could you get by just fine without him even showing up?
Pat said...
1When I was planting a church, during our regular leadership team meetings, I always asked the question, “if God weren’t involved in this thing, how would things look different?” – or, “How do we know that God’s active in this church?”.
I wanted our leaders to be aware of the movement of God in the church, and also I wanted us to have an early-warning-system for those times that we were going through the motions.
I think this is a huge goal: and it reveals a lot about our theology and ecclesiology to see how we would answer these things. What areas of the church is/isnt God allowed to be King over?
03/25/08 10:38 PM | Comment Link
ed c said...
2Glad you broke down and read this book. It’s one of my favorites and one that has profoundly changed how I think, pray, and minister to others. Cole has a gentle way of pushing past our assumptions and providing some clear steps to take, and that is what made it not only a profound book, but a hopeful book.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like the coffee cup on the book’s cover. I’d hate to tell you what will be on the cover of my book Coffeehouse Theology…
03/27/08 6:46 AM | Comment Link
Todd said...
3Hey thanks Ed. I think the connection between coffee and your book is much closer than the one between a coffee cup and this book… i think you’ll be alright. i’ll still buy your book!
03/27/08 8:13 AM | Comment Link
wezlo said...
4Define “just fine.” If you mean, it could coast relatively peacefully into oblivion – then that might very well be my current reality. If you mean, so some kick-butt stuff that keeps the organization going for a loooonnnnggg time – then, no, not so much.
03/27/08 3:48 PM | Comment Link
Todd said...
5Wezlo, you can define “just fine” however you want really. But, I am thinking that the organization can exist and do some “good stuff” and be a “nice place to be” and a “nice community that does some nice stuff. But, if we are without Jesus guiding and directing and calling us to take risks… If could remove the name of Jesus and be just the same, than we are no better off than the Kiwanas, Rotary Club, etc.
03/27/08 4:55 PM | Comment Link
Rob Edwards said...
6hey Todd,
Thanks for sharing about Neil’s book on here. I read it a while back (at same time as I was reading John Burke’s No Perfect People Allowed). Great stuff…..
Have you seen Neil’s newest book? Title is Search & Rescue, and in it he talks more about the LTG (Life Transformation Groups) that he introduces in Organic Church. It’s available currently from the publisher (Baker Books), but other places show it’s not released yet.
His concepts are applicable for urban churches, too!
Rob
03/29/08 9:49 AM | Comment Link