Sadly, the world often blazes past the Christian community, leaving it to cough up dust.
Eventually, the Christian community plays catch up.
It's been this way with creativity. With music. With movies. And with other forms of art.
But the big dinosaur in the room right now is the
economy.
"Well Frank, it's about time you told us your opinion about Clinton, Cruz, Trump, Sanders and their plans for the economy."
Hold your fire: I don't mean the financial economy. I mean the connection economy.
The connection economy is an arena where the church -- the body of Christ --
should be leading. But it's not. The world has blown past it.
In the connection economy, building connections with like-minded people is valued higher than acquiring "stuff."
For instance, suppose I handed you $2,000 to spend on whatever you wanted.
Your
mind may default to a new refrigerator. Or that curved HD
TV you've been eyeing at Best Buy. Or a new set of golf clubs. Or those
rare coins for your coin collection. Or you perhaps you've been
hypnotized by William Devane and you're going to invest in gold. Or
maybe you're thinking about purchasing [fill in the blank].
By
contrast, many non-Christians would rather spend that $2,000 on an
event specifically designed to build high-quality connections with
people who are like minded.
Why?
Because they value building new relationships more that buying "stuff."
I'm
depressed to say that I find this priority of "connection over stuff"
more common in non-Christians than I do in God's people.
Very few Christian breathe this rarified air.
Sure,
they may talk about it being a priority. But when it comes down to the
two most important indicators of the human heart -- your checkbook and
your calendar (that being interpreted means, your money and your time)
-- it quickly drops to the bottom of the list.
The church should be leading in this arena for three reasons:
*
The New Testament puts a far higher premium on relationships,
fellowship, and connection with other believers than it does "stuff."
(Materialism is alive and well in the West today.)
* Serious Jesus-followers, more than any other people-group, crave connection with other Jesus-followers.
*
Christians are the loneliest people in the world. This is especially
true for those who are in ministry. Like entrepreneurs, those who serve
the Lord fight loneliness on a regular basis.
This brings me to the subject at hand.
Mastermind Groups - What Are They?
In
my next update, scheduled in 2 weeks, I'm going to talk about why it's
enormously difficult to find an authentic Christian community where you
live. And I believe what I will say will help many of you.
But today, I want to introduce you to something called the mastermind group.
Based on the conversations I've had with many Christians, a
large segment of the believing community has no idea what a mastermind group is.
People
debate who invented the first mastermind group. Ben Franklin had one;
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien also had their own version of it.
But as far as I'm concerned, the New Testament gives us the essential ingredients for a mastermind group.
A
mastermind group is simply a meeting of highly motivated individuals
who share a common goal and are looking to encourage, sharpen,
challenge, strengthen, and help each other improve in business, life,
ministry, spirituality, or some other shared interest.
Last
year, I created a special mastermind group for those who are engaged in
ministry. It's been attended by some of the most gifted pastors,
teachers,
evangelists, and missionaries I've ever met.
Next
year (2017), I plan to widen the tent and host a mastermind gathering
for actual and aspiring Christian authors and writers.
If you're interested in the mastermind gathering for those in ministry next year (it's called MinistryMind 2017), fill out this form.
If you're interested in the mastermind gathering for Christian authors and writers, fill out this form.
I'd love to see you in one of them!
In two weeks, look for my new article, "Why I'm no longer involved in organic
church (for now) & why you can't find one ..."
fv
Did You Miss Something?
Gainesville Florida 32614
USA
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