Skye Jethani: The Church is Not a Corporation with Dave Gibbons


Do your church leaders want to use you or equip you? Pastor and cultural architect, Dave Gibbons, joins Skye for a conversation about the future of the church. Having experienced everything from fundamentalism, to the seeker megachurch, and urban multiethnic ministry, Gibbons has an interesting take on where things are heading. Hint—its about launching people not institutions. Phil and Skye also discuss Andrew Sullivan’s new article in which he argues that America’s new religion of “progress” is an empty shell that has made our politics worse. Plus, scientists are implanting mice with human mini-brains. What could possibly go wrong? And Phil tries to convince Skye not to learn golf.

 

How do you shape a community.  Its clearly not just the didactic teaching.

Generation Z is looking for something authentic that engages with them.  They can get good shows other places.

Is there a fallout from this model?  How am I going to get people in the nursery?

There is going to be suspicion of white, non-diverse churches.

There needs to be people who don’t have charisma.

Younger people are looking for individualized, authentic, customized communities.  They are suspicious of am industrialized model.

They need to be a hub, resource center.  Discipleship.

Your motivation is to love them.  You don’t have to worry about saving them.

People sense that their pastor is more interested in using them than in loving them.

Church planting -> People planting

Just have meaningful conversations, love them, trust the spirit