http://www.penumbramd.com Communicating Corporate Culture Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:28:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en

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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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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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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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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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.)

]]> http://penumbramedia.blogspot.com/2010/05/paradigm-shift-series-church-planting.html City Church, one of our 3 identities is family. The people you are connected to in a Village are your family. The people in the City Church are your family. As the early apostles lived their lives (Acts 2:45) the possessions of one belonged to all in the family. If anyone had needs, they looked to their church family to resolve them.


For most of us, when we have needs we look to our earthly family whether it be relatives or close friends. We never stop to consider our Kingdom family. Family first means that when you sit down to plan your week, the first question you ask is “What does my family need from me this week?” This is a paradigm shift in the way we plan. Normally we plan by saying “what do I need to get done at work this week?” or “what does the house need this week?” etc. To shift your thinking to a place where your Kingdom family comes first is a big step. It is why we say that City Church is a lifestyle. This shift is one of the hardest ones to make. And for some, it seems a bit out there. But not to God and not to the early apostles. We are called to make disciples and we do this by putting those disciples at the top of our list versus at the bottom. It also means these people need to be cared for and in your life more than the once a week Sunday event that you are used too. It means being willing to open your home and your heart to others – to care for the widows and orphans in the world. No one should ever need a place to stay or food or clothes or a ride. The family should always provide.

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The simple fact is that Jesus lived among the people – believers and non-believers. He made them all feel welcome. For many, it was this simple fact – that Jesus met you where you were in life – that made the difference between their believing or not. We have to shift this paradigm. We need to be an environment where people feel comfortable and like they belong – even if they do not believe. The Holy Spirit will move when it is time for them to believe. In the meantime, Scripture is a story of people (us) being sent into the world. And the only way we can do that is to meet people where they are and allow them to belong first and then believe. We have to love people in a “belonging way” and not conditional to believing. This also explains why we throw so many parties to get to know our neighbors. It gives them a way to connect to our church without feeling the uncomfortable feeling that normally accompanies visiting church.

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Before you dive in, I should mention that you will find many references to "we" in this series. The other part of we is my friend, pastor and fellow visonary Ben Connelly. He has his own blog you can check out as well. In many ways, he is smarter than me and more gifted than me and I am blessed to have been on this journey with him.

Now, let's set the stage, shall we...

In thinking about church, have you ever stopped to consider these two things:

1. Jesus was on the planet 30 years before he began His ministry.

2. What verses did Jesus give us on how to do church? Wasn’t there a sermon on the church like there was a sermon on the mount?

On the first question, my guess is building relationships, engaging the culture and praying for his mission. On the second, the answer is nada. Or is it? If He taught us that we are His kingdom and that we are His church, then when He taught us how to love and how to live and how to serve, He was speaking on how to do church. Somewhere through time, we have gotten caught up in doing of church and forgot about living the church. Somewhere we said to God, “I got this” and then went about creating our version of church. How disappointed in us must He be at times?

The largest lesson for me in this City Church journey has been the shift in my paradigms. A paradigm is a set system or model that forms the basis of something – in our case belief. I listened to the teachings in my church and accepted them as true and correct, but never looked for God’s truth in Scripture. I left the labor of obedience to Scripture to other people – mainly pastors or “holier” people than me whom I trusted and then followed what they said. I, like many, have spent countless hours debating “once saved always saved,” hymns versus contemporary worship, announcements then message then offering or message then offering then announcements. Time well spent for the Kingdom for sure.

Like most of you, I have spent a lifetime of following my paradigms. And when I ask myself “what is keeping me from living in incarnational, missional community?” the answer is simple – ME!

My City Church journey has been one of deconstruction as much as construction. Of breaking down my paradigms of old and replacing them with Biblical truth. The following is a list of some of the top paradigm shifts we have been through on this journey. These are ones that you may have to go through yourself or at the very least accept to be living on mission. These “nuggets” came through self evaluation, prayer, debates with God (guess who won) and living life with others as incarnational family.

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For the next couple of weeks, I am going to share some insight I have gathered while being involved with a church plant in Fort Worth over the last year. While it (like everything) has been a study in culture for me, it has also shaken some of my paradigms and belief systems in regards to church in America and I want to share some of those thoughts with you.

I will call this my "Paradigm Shifts" series. It is a lists of beliefs that I had held for many years that I have had to shift or alter in my year of study. The interesting thing about these paradigms is the way they have influenced my life and shaped my spiritual journey. Now, I am not going to turn this blog into a sermon, there are plenty of those available.

But for many of you reading, you do so because you enjoy the variety of content and they way it challenges you to look at your own lives everyday to see corporate culture in action. I have come to realize that the "culture" of the churches I grew up in have shaped my beliefs (as they should.) And that I never challenged these thoughts - just accepted them because the culture told me to.  (A typical corporate culture story, no?)

What is most fascinating about this journey is that I trusted the "culture" of the church to set my values and beliefs rather than studying and searching on my own. I trusted the leaders of the church that what they were saying and teaching was correct. In short, I was an "employee" of the church, not a member of a spiritual formation. I was a consumer, not a builder. I did what I was told and never asked why. (sound familiar?) The culture of the church does not reward challenging the belief system - in fact, most times, it punishes it. But we have to seek answers from the one place that provides it and we have to work to understand. We cannot let others do the work for us.

If you are not a spiritual person or member of a church, then I hope you do not mind the next series. My intention, as I said earlier, is not to preach, but share. This is not about religion. It is about my shift in paradigms. I will deal with each one separately. And if I sound "preachy", then I apologize. I hope I sound humbled and convicted.

This story is about my journey as part of the leadership planting The City Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

]]> http://penumbramedia.blogspot.com/2010/05/paradigms-and-culture.html Recently, Sony has announced the opening of a new store in Japan. The Nagoya store is a direct result of Apple taking over most of the market in Japan. Therefore, much like Microsoft has done, and Sony has done in the US, Sony has decided to launch an Apple-like store.

The 2-level store includes "backStage," a service/support group, much like Apple's "Genius Bar," that will assist with questions and training customers may need. Its first floor focuses on their notebooks, cameras, and walkmans. While the second floor is designed for home theater, led by their new 3D tv's. As you can see from the picture above, the store has elegant and hip designs with wide open areas consistent with "SonyStyle."

The question we need to ask now is "Is this the right decision?" I have blogged about Microsoft and their experiences with opening a store in the past. I thought it was a good idea for Microsoft, and still think it is a good idea for Sony. The main difference this time is, I think Sony has it right. 

Sony needed to fashion themselves close to Apple, because consumer's desire that hands-on experience. Sony already has some outlet stores in the US, but with these new stores in Japan it may spread to new openings worldwide. The Nagoya store is a touch above the current US retail chains, which I think will prove to be better. So, since Sony has established retail stores, they now need to focus on how to differentiate themselves from Apple.

I am sure you all know what I am going to say next. The differentiation comes from Sony's culture and brand. If Sony only opened these retail chains and revealed them to the customer exactly like Apple, then there would be no reason to go to a Sony store. Sony has introduced retail chains to parity themselves with Apple, but have fused their culture into the stores to separate the customer's experience from Apple's.

Sony believes heavily that these retail stores will drive in more business for them, which is why I believe they will succeed. They are fully vested in them, so they will put the necessary resources into them to deliver the "SonyStyle" culture. The store has stations connected to each of Sony's home products, allowing the customer to interact with them all. With that, the store has "Stylists" that can help the customer with their purchase decision. As you can see Sony's culture is heavily embedded in the customer's experience.

Sony needs to provide these superior experiences compared to Apple. The talent that Sony casts into the store will be critical. We have talked a lot over the past week how important your employees are to your company, and again we see here how necessary they are in retail. This will and should take an ample amount of resources to ensure accurate casting. The culture the employees bring is just as important as the overall feel and experience of the store.

Ultimately, it comes down to getting customers in the store. If Sony can't get customers in their store then these concepts will fail. There are many factors that go into retail before the customer even sets foot in the door. But, I believe that the concept of the store will be stable and will create an experience different than Apple's. This should drive more business and drive the sales Sony desires.

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