Stickiness

I was in Palm Beach, Florida last week for a Leadership Network Community on multi-site churches. There were 8 churches there from around the nation and Canada that are doing multi-site in different and creative ways. It was great to finally meet Mark Batterson and the guys from National Community. You guys rock!

One of the exercises for the week was to read a popular business/church book and relate it to doing ministry. One of the books was Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. If you have read the book, you know that one of the main points is you have to make your product sticky. Does it stick to your "customer" after the initial presentation?

I thought that the group that did the report made an interesting observation: are our churches making Jesus the sticky part of our services? In fact, I have thought about that all week. What part does Jesus really play in cutting-edge church services today? Beyond the moving lights, the gigantic video screens, the smoke, the latest secular song that proves we're cool too; what is really sticking to our "customers" when they leave the building? What impresses them the most - how cool we think we are, or how awesome our Lord Jesus is? Don't get me wrong, I am all for using technology to reach more people for Christ. After all, I pastor a campus of Seacoast Church - 200 miles away! I just think that we may be losing the only important stickiness we should have. Ultimately, it all comes down to the name of Jesus. Without that, we have nothing. Is that what they remember on Monday? Or does it get lost in the fog...