Transforming Church by Kevin Ford (chs 1-4)

Importance of community (10). I understand the kingdom of God to be very communal. Drawing from the parables of the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Persistent Neighbor asking for bread at midnight, the Unforgiving Servant, etc. I know that the parables resist reduction to one meaning, but I do get some overall sense that Jesus is teaching us about genuine community.

Ford focuses on the issue of incongruence between the values that you say and what you actually do.

Leadership does not equal power and control. Rather it should mean service and sacrifice (servant-leadership) following in the footsteps of Jesus. This is how he demonstrated his power. We should participate in shared leadership and invite others to lead. (11)

I really enjoyed Ford's description of "monkey business" (13). He describes how monkeys are placed in a room with bananas attached to the top of the pole. They start to climb the pole and are sprayed with water, so eventually they stop climbing. A new monkey is brought in and attempts to climb the pole, but the other monkeys pull him down. Eventually all of the monkeys are replaced with new monkeys and they keep one another from climbing the pole. At one point, when a new monkey is introduced, it just sits there looking at the bananas understanding the code - these bananas are not for eating. However, none of the current monkeys know why they can't climb the pole. This illustrates how organizations have unspoken codes.

A transformational church exists for those outside. Ford claims that this is the purpose of the church. This is consistent with Pagitt and McNeal.

Ford mentions that even Paul was willing to change. Paul writes that he will "become all things to all [people]" (1 Cor. 9:22).

Ford mentions that we need to broaden our idea of ministry. This was an important concept in my experience of campus ministry. As college students were discerning faith and vocation, it was important for us to see that all vocations (engineer, teacher, chemist, historian, environmentalist, janitor, food specialist) were vital ministries to Christ's mission in the world.

Another leadership strategy I appreciated was to invite input from as many people as possible (use social media). In my own leadership, I've found that this is the way I choose to lead. By giving others voice, I extend the ownership of the project to them. This process usually results in less stress (more support) for me and more participation for others.

Create strategy for assimilation: We cannot just assume that people will find ways to connect in the church. We must strategically provide the necessary hospitality to help them feel welcomed, connected, and involved.

Create small groups - great way to get people connected. Ford says that 7-15 people is a good number. They can come together over a shared passion (mountain biking) or a breakfast meeting or Bible study. One thing I would add to Ford's comments is that we should make sure that the timing of the meeting is conducive to the people interested. Too many times I have observed churches attempt to create small groups in the middle of most people's work days or insist that the youth meet on Sunday mornings.

Third place - I found this concept intriguing. I have never really considered the importance of casual hang out space and more specifically, "small talk" in creating community. It makes sense. So happy CTS practices coffee break! (50)

Instead of starting a ministry with a program, it is more effective to start with a person (or group of people) with specific gifts/passions for ministry around them. (61)

Shared code of the biblical text: redemption, covenant, revelation, promise (64).

Must stay true to your code! (Authenticity) (69).

Code can be hard to find. I appreciated Ford's illustration of this in his story of the church that thought their code was family and then discovered that it was really security. Once they figured out that "church as a safe place" was important to them, they could start doing important ministry to the community around them by creating safe space for the elderly and Hispanic community that surrounded their doors.