Grow to the Fifth - Launched

Some time ago (2010) I posted an idea that was dubbed "Grow to the Fifth". It was an idea to help our community grow in fruitfulness in five areas of discipleship. Additionally, it could be used as a tool to help people talk about their local faith community. Finally, it had both "insider" and "outsider" language which allows it to resonate with different kinds of people.

I am please to announce that after much work by many people at AHUMC, Grow to the Fifth is a go!

UPDATE - Here is a PDF version of the front of the Grow to the Fifth card. Also you may want to check out this site for inspiration as to how you might grow in these five practices.

 

Spiritual Entrepreneurship and new churches

Back in 2009 I wrote a bit about Spiritual Entrepreneurship as a concept that I encountered at a conference I was at.

I am not sure what it means to be a spiritual entrepreneur but at the heart of the matter is one who is willing to risk.

Around this time of year, ministers in the UMC are on a bit of an edge as there is a chance that different ministers might be moved to different churches. This creates a number of distractions, which I have come to welcome as best as I can.

For a number of reasons that I do not understand where they all come from, I am commonly asked if I want to start my own church. Words like, entrepreneurial, young, spirited, motivated and creative are used to butter up the person and get them thinking about starting a new church. This is something I have never been interested in at all. The church has a lot of communities to tend to much less ditch the old in order to start a new one just because that is where the new tract homes are being built.

I know that to start a church takes a lot of drive and motivation and grit, but to be honest I do not have those attributes when it comes to starting a new church. I many ways I feel starting new church would be easier than to revitalize an existing church and that is often overlooked.

The UMC is able to move those who are are spiritual entrepreneurials to where ever needed - but it seems those people are asked to start new churches rather than work to revitalize the established communities. What would it look like to move leaders who are willing to risk to established churches? What would it look like to infuse a stale church community with the spiritual entrepreneurship of a leader?

Ultimately what I pray for is that in our efforts to be creative in ministry and start new churches or new models of ministry, I hope that we are not boxed into thinking that spiritual entrepreneurs are best used in non-traditional ways.

Because sometimes (perhaps many times) they are not.

Spiritual Entrepreneur

Spiritual: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit

Entrepreneur: one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

David Kinnamon spoke at the Fall Summit this past Saturday and he spoke very well. Of the many things which he brought up was the idea of we need to be and allow others to be "Spiritual Entrepreneurs". That is we need to allow people to imagine ways of doing ministry in their context. The great and scary thing about being a spiritual entrepreneur is the energy that is involved with it. There is so much energy which goes into creating something and that energy is exciting and can inspire others to also become passionate. The scary side of this energy is the amount of work it takes and how it forces each of us to be involved in growing. If I am growing a business I would need to know not only my product but also marketing, advertising, sales, taxes, employment, etc. So if I am going to be a spiritual entrepreneur, I need to know not only things about Jesus but also Buddha, Bible, MLK, politics, history, etc.

If I am going to be a Spiritual Entrepreneur then I must be willing to study and go into areas which are not just about theology.

The problem is I have a limited time and energy. This means that I really need other people to teach me and show me other areas which I do not (but need to) know about. Dialogue, conversation, and relationships must become the center of what I am doing as a minister if I really want to be the best spiritual entrepreneur.