Defined: The study of how churches multiply.  (adding to church planting lexicon).

Coming soon: seed thoughts from the field in Vancouver and our incubator church concept.

In August, I posted an entry about our 20 year plan for our church plant.  It basically breaks down the 20 years into 4 five year segments and describes what each five year segment is about.  Recently while preparing for our upcoming staff retreat, God impressed on me a sport metaphor; "Your 20 year plan is like four quarters of a football game and you've just finished the first quarter.  You now have a proof of concept regarding your incubator church model."  Wow, what a neat picture, and what an encouragement from the Lord to know we've prototyped something that's of some value.  Can't wait for the second, third and fourth quarters.  With Coach Jesus on the sidelines, we can't lose.

One of our 5 operating principles at 5 Stones church is to leverage technology for the gospel. This is still a work in progress, but never in the history of man, have local churches been able to have such global reach and appeal through the internet, technology and multimedia. 

Mars Hill Church in Seattle says it well:

"God has often used technological advancement to spread the Gospel through the church. At the time of Paul it was the Roman’s system of roads.  For the Reformers it was the printing press. For Billy Graham it was sound amplification systems and stadiums. For Mars Hill [or local churches], we have ... the opportunity to use the advances in video and internet distribution [like never before]."

I'll be sharing more on the other 5 principles we live by at 5 Stones; it's part of our "incubator" concept for church planting.

The above picture says it all.  High tech reaching the farthest corners - may it be for Jesus and his glory.

I love both Amazon (books, Jeff Bezos is a genius) & Zappos (CEO Tony's tweets are the best; my wife loves their shoes).  When I heard Amazon bought Zappos, I was anxious to hear Jeff's (CEO of Amazon) take on the purchase, and he did not disappoint.  Listen to what Jeff has learned in building Amazon; he's reduced it to just 4 things, and how Zappos fits into the picture.  Each of his lessons can be used for the gospel, church planting and Kingdom expansion.  See my applications below the video.   Great stuff.

Application:

Lesson #1 - Obsess over customers = Obsess over Jesus (i.e. what's the one thing your org is about?) Jn 12:32.

Lesson #2 - Invent = Creativity is the lifeblood of the re-articulating the gospel in each generation. 1 Cor 9:22.

Lesson #3 - Think long term = Have a 20 year plan!  See here.  Don't be afraid to take your time.  Our culture is obsessed with instant success.  Gal. 6:9.

Lesson #4 - It's always Day 1 = There's always something new to learn.  There's never a dull moment.  Be a life long learner.  Prov. 4:18.

Great book by Pastor Craig Croeschel of LifeChurch.TV.  What is "it?"  You know it when you see it and experience it.  It's intangible, but it's real.  Great organizations have it, and aspiring organization want it.  Is there a way to grow it, nurture it, bottle it?  Not really.  And that's the fun.  IT is about moving with God and staying fresh.  Pastor Craig makes no claim to trying to define it definitively or turn it into a method, but he does point us in 7 directions that can help us get "it."  

1. Vision - you can see IT clearly.

2. Focus - you know where IT is not.

3. Camaraderie -  you enjoy IT with others.

4. Innovation - you'll do anything for IT.

5. Risk taking - you'll fail towards IT.

6. Outward focus - you want others to have IT.

7. Kingdom generosity - you share IT.

Full of good stories, good advice and hewn from real life experiences.  Great leadership book; great church organizational book.  Worth the read.