In 2002, I was drowning. On the edge of a breakdown, I walked into a psychiatrist’s office, fell down on his couch and bore my tortured soul.
After 45 minutes describing my life- working a full time job along with 3 part time gigs (1 in ministry), I told him, “I’m pulled in every direction… and I can’t finish anything I start….I can’t even finish a book without quitting and starting another….” With that, Dr. Dingfelder gave me an assignment to complete before my next stint on his couch. “Well then, finish 1 book.” So I read the Purpose Driven Life (I think I finished it.. thanks Pastor Rick for keeping me out of the nuthouse).
Today
Almost a decade later, I’d like to talk about a book I just finished, and the therapy it can provide to churches riding the Multi-Sites wave -a powerful movement, but 1 with fierce undertows. As churches launch into this movement, Road Trip is a virtual sit down with some early adapters who’ve navigated these riptides. Taking time to finish this book could keep unprepared staffs from clinging to couches like Dr. Dingfelder’s…
The Undertows
When I grabbed that couch, I was working full time at a school and part time at a church, a Subway sandwich shop, and an after-school program. If you asked me what I did, I’d probably say, “A little bit of everything…hey would you like chips and drink with that ?” I was road weary and was having an identity crisis to say the least.
Road Trip will save you from both. The book can help you know who you are and how it translates to campuses, withouth having to burn up that lonesome trail. As you get on the front end of the wave, it helps navigate the currents:
- The Internet Campus concept: is it reality or not?
- Church Mergers: a how to, and a how-not-to (I think the next book in the series should be solely about this).
- Multi-site in your genetics: getting rid of the ‘us and them’ mentality by being a church “of” multiple sites, not just a church ‘with‘ multiple sites.
- Lego land, not Starbucks: how to be built of the same DNA, but have local expressions with variety
- Global Campuses: my favorite chapter. My thoughts on this below.
Legs the Locals can walk on: International Campuses
I work at a Multi-site church, and on a trip to our Costa Rica Campus, I skipped right to the chapter on International Campuses. I was pumped to view our progress in the burroughs of San Jose through the lens of global campuses detailed in Road Trip.
“International ministry is about taking the best of what you have to offer, and adding to it that which is appealing to the local population. Then you have a combo that works.” p.138
Having a local church expression not only gives a platform for worship services, but also for the outreach components to have a global and local expression. International Campuses take Jail ministry, adopt a school partnerships, and Dreamcenter concepts and provide legs that the locals can walk on…not just the missions teams sent periodically.
My thanks to the authors for taking the trip for us: Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird. You saved us travelling budget, and I’d say counseling budget as well. Ideas birthed by your work will translate to multi site churches expanding to more people in a healthier way. Keep it up.
-bigJohn
Tags: Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, Multi Site Church Road Trip, Warren Bird
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