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Matthew Hudson | October 4, 2010

Another title of this blog could be a line from the old Talking Heads song, same as it ever was. (gotta love David Byrne) Anyway, I had a meeting last week with a group of executives and we discussed a topic that was exciting to them and repeat for me.

You see, this group of execs was different from the last ones, but it was the same company. They were telling me how they were headed down this new path - but by new, they actually meant old. I shared with them my experiences from before and how the idea had failed. And then came the magic words, ‘oh, but this time it will be different!’

Ah, yes, this time it will be different. We hear this line in organizations of all sizes, shapes and types. Whether for profit or non-profit, we have talked many times before on how the principles of corporate culture are the same.

So, why tell this story. Simple. Becasue when someone says to us “this time ti will be different” what we look for is the change in their culture that supports that statement. 99% of the time, it is not a corporate culture chnage, but actualy a personel change. A new person is brought in to lead and they want to try an idea that was attempted before. Sometimes they do not even know that it had been attempted and failed. Often times, thought, they do, but they beleive in the magical, mystical words “this time it will be different.’

When what caused the idea to die a slow death before was the culture, no one person or even one team of persons can make it work the second time around. While logically it might make sense that having more people in the boat rowing with you will make a difference, you have to understand that you are rowing upstream in the rapids of corporate culture. (insert image from all those river wild movies scenes you have seen)

I remember sitting at lunch with Milton Moskowitz at the “100 Best Companies to Work For” symposium. I had commented on the fact that I was impressed with all the new initiatives being presented by the various winners of the disctinction who were asked to speak. Milton said, “my prediction is that 90% of these initiatives will never work. The company’s culture will never except it.” (He knew I was a coportae culture guy, so he was speaking right to me.) The example he gave was paterntity leave, which was the hot new idea being presented. He said, “most companies who add this benefit see no results. The culture of the company is such that a man would be afraid to take advantage of this benefit for fear of the repercussions.”

Exacttly. If the culture of the company will not except it, then it will not work. So, next time you hear those magic words, first ask the team, “what is different about our culture this time that will allow this to work?” After everyone looks at you bizarrly for this question, you can feel assured in the fact that you are actually saving the team a bunch of heartache and avoid them being cast in the sequel of Groundhog Day.

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Matthew Hudson | June 3, 2010

This is part 5 of the series looking at organizational culture in churches.

Join a Movement. I think this is one of the tough ones for everyone – especially those prideful people like me. If you are truly going to be obedient to God, then you have to stop trying to start a movement in your city. I’ll bet that got your attention. After all, isn’t a movement to Christ what our city needs more than anything? Well, yes it does. But the movement is already there. The paradigm shift here is away from programming and planning and creating a movement in the name of Jesus toward looking for and joining God’s movement in your city right now. I think we have all been part of small groups who want to change the world. And I think many of us are so thankful for the blessing of salvation and the relationship of our Savoir that we want to do things for Him out of love and appreciation. Our thoughts may be in the right direction – bringing people to Jesus. But our hearts are out of alignment. Go back to Matthew 28:29, we are called to make disciples. We are not called to start a movement. We are called to love. And the best way to love God is through obedience.

I am especially guilty of this one. I cannot tell you the number of ministry groups I have been part of starting over the years. Or the amount of clever “seeker” events I have helped plan with creative themes, logos and t-shirts. How disappointing to Him I must have been. How disappointing to Him I am now if I believe that City Church is anything more than His movement in the city of Fort Worth.

When we started our journey, our focus was on targeting downtown. But after we let go, stopped planning and let ourselves join God’s movement versus starting our own, something amazing happened. In our first five Villages – none of them were downtown. God’s movement is for the city, but in His way, not ours. We did not start City Church as a new movement for the city. We looked for what God was already doing and joined in. (This philosophy is true for our global missions as well. Now there is a real paradigm shift!)

But remember the pride comment a few paragraphs before? Even as we write this, we wonder if this magazine is prideful. Are we doing this to get attention? Are we trying to show the other churches in the city how cool we are? I can honestly say as I write this, the answer is no. But I can also honestly say that for most of my life, the answer would have been, yes. Since we have started City Church, there have been people from all over the US (and even outside US) who have contacted us and asked Ben, “Tell me how it works?” “How did you come up with it?” “What is your plan?”

The answer is simple. First, you have to shift your paradigms. You have to love as Jesus did and be obedient. And you have to commit yourself to a lifestyle modeled by the apostles in the first churches. And you have to begin with believing it is His movement, His church, His people, His plan.

The city doesn’t need any more clever programming. It doesn’t need any new ideas. It just needs God’s people to live out His ideas – the ones He gave us – the ones that were modeled for us by the apostles in Acts.

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Matthew Hudson | May 30, 2010

Your Mission Field. For most of us, we see missions as something we do in other parts of the world. Perhaps it is a short-term trip to a foreign country or maybe just a week in a town devastated by a disaster or poverty. If we believe in God’s sovereignty, then we must accept the fact that the place he has us living right now – be it an apartment, dorm room or home, be it temporary or permanent. This place is your mission field.

This shift corresponds with the first one – belonging enables believing. Get to know your neighbors. You know, those people who live around you that you see on a regular basis but do not know their names. God put you in their midst so that they might get a glimpse of Him through you. This also connects to the last shift. These people are not projects. They are people. Do life with them and get to know them. Earn the right to discuss spirituality by meeting them where they are without judgment. This is what our city is missing. The simple fact is that more of your neighbors are former church-goers who gave up or got disillusioned than are simple non-believers. They believe in God, but have no relationship. And they have been so burned by the “church” that the topic of church or spirituality is out of bounds with them – at least not until they see you are different or they can trust you.

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Matthew Hudson | May 27, 2010

People are not Projects. This is one of Ben’s favorites. We typically look at someone, analyze their situation, their problems, their needs, etc and then we do the worst thing possible. We try to “fix” them. Non-believers do not need “fixing.” Believers do not need “fixing.” They both need Jesus. Period and end of sentence.

Okay, end of sentence, but not end of paragraph. This one is easier written than done. It almost feels weird as a believer to not see the world around you and feel for them, knowing that they are missing out on the most important part of life. But that is not the shift here. Think of it this way. When you have had a hard day or a bad situation at work or school, it helps if you can talk about it. The thing that drives you crazy is after you have told your story, the person says, “here’s what you need to do.” They try to fix you. Frustrating right? Imagine being the person in the cube next to yours as work or in the seat next to you in class or the mom on the bench next to you at the park – these people have pain, hurt and holes in their lives that can only be filled with Jesus. But it is His job to fill those holes and heal them – not yours, not mine.

Try to shift and start seeing people as people. Nothing more. Love them. Serve them. Meet them where they are in life. This is what God asks of us and this is what they need. It also helps with belonging if everyone understands you do not have to be “fixed” to belong. Life is messy. Family is messy. And churches tend to hide this part for fear that the world around them will reject Jesus because of it. Please show us where it says that in Scripture?

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Matthew Hudson | May 24, 2010

Church Planting. There are actually two considerations here. The first is this – we do not plant churches, we plant Villages. Paul went from city to city and house to house gathering people into community and putting them on mission for their neighborhood. He did not order a demographic study of the town, find an abandoned Wal-Mart building, put up banners, pass out flyers, and go on TV and radio announcing the new church. He stayed in homes, ate meals together, lived in community with them and preached and lived the Gospel.

We do the same. Our focus is on one person or family at a time –one block at a time. Your mission field is your neighborhood (more on that later.) It starts by planting a Village of people who live out our identities (God, Family, Mission) together. And from those people, a group being “sent” out to plant another Village. If we follow this, eventually, we have Villages all over the city. Villages full of people and people = Kingdom.

The second part is that we never stop planting. During our core group sessions before the launch, the question was asked, “When do we stop being a church plant and become a true church?” What a great question. It’s one of those planning questions we all are thinking, but not everyone asks. It was a watershed moment for us as a small group. It was the moment when we got to say this – we never stop planting.

Too many churches today get “planted” and then the team moves on to the next town to “plant” another church. We mark our scorecards and pat ourselves on the back and take pride in the advancement of the Kingdom we have caused. It’s similar to the many mission trips around the world where a team comes back with a number of people they have “saved” for the Kingdom. The fact is if you add up all the counts from all the teams, we have saved the world over a few times already.

The biggest mistake a church can make is to make itself so planned and programmed that it no longer needs Jesus! Look around. It’s happening all the time!

To be part of City Church means you are part of a plant – not just today or for the first year, but for all time. (Or at least until His return.)

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