I've been a fan of Seth Godin's for a long while. He's a marketing expert, but much of what he says has very direct application for churches as well. He recently wrote a blog post entitled "The reason social media is so difficult for most organizations". As I read it, I though, wow, this is exactly what we as churches need to think about. Just replace the words "social media" with "discipleship" and replace the word "organizations" with the words "churches". So then his title would become:

The reason discipleship is so difficult for most churches

As you read the post with this new thought in mind, the key thought is exactly the same for churches as for businesses: "It's a process, not an event...Events are easier to manage, pay for and get excited about. Processes build results for the long haul." What if we as churches would put far less energy into planning series of events, and far more energy into the process of discipleship - growing in faith for the long haul?

(Just for clarity's sake, I do need to emphasize that I would not include the regular corporate worship life of the congregation as "events". I'm speaking more of "special events" that, in and of themselves are good, but shouldn't be a replacement for the ordinary, every-day process of discipleship. These are "mountain-top" events - conference, youth gatherings, retreats, concerts, etc.). Not bad things at all, but if they are the only things we do outside of worship to facilitate the spiritual life and growth of people, we inadvertently create a life of living from "mountain-top to mountain-top" rather than a steady, everyday life both on the mountains and in the valleys. Tortoise and hare, and all that good stuff.)

So what would happen? What shifts would we need to make as churches to see it happen - shifts in focus, in energy, in finances? Maybe even the shift to thinking of this whole thing as a process is a process as well. So what shifts would we first need to make in ourselves as church leaders to start this process?

So many questions. I love it.