Keith Bower

How Does Disney Do It?

Walt Disney World Resort is the largest single site employer in the country, they draw from the same labor pool as everyone else in Orlando, they pay the going rates – and they deliver a legendary Guest Experience every day! How does Disney so consistently instill that “Disney difference” in its people?

Lee Cockerell knows the answer. More than that, he led the answer for over a decade. Lee’s voice and influence resonate throughout Walt Disney World, continually recreating and reinforcing the Disney culture, creating not simply a great Guest Experience, but a great “Cast Member” experience as well.

A lot of books have been written about creating the “Disney Magic” in your world. This is the first book written by one of the leaders who actually made it happen. Creating Magic will be released in October. I can’t wait to read it! You can pre-order now it a big discount at Amazon.com. I also recommend Lee's outstanding blog, Lessons in Leadership.

The Top 5 Reasons to Join This Movement

"A multi-ethnic, multi-denominational movement driven by young adults creating communities of spiritual and social transformation across urban Houston."

1. You will experience the amazing, multi-ethnic Kingdom of God (Revelation 5:9; 21:26) -- right here, right now!
2. You will live the way the Disciples lived, do the things that Jesus did, love the way that Jesus loved.
3. You will make a difference in the lives of the hurting, the hungry, and the forgotten, bringing healing and wholeness to our great city.
4. You will be a living, breathing bridge across the vast cultural chasms that divide people from people.
5. You will learn to lead and to follow in a global context as part of an ethnically and culturally diverse team.

Our 4-Stage Strategy: A New Approach

Most church plants launch with a worship service. But...
What if a church launched with Community Service?

Click here to learn more.

A VERY Cool Quote

"The church is not here to meet our needs. We are the church here to meet the needs of the world." Erwin McManus, An Unstoppable Force

Q: What would it mean for the way we do church
      if we were to take this ABSOLUTELY SERIOUSLY?

Imagine a New Kind of Network of Urban "Churches"

• Imagine a network of simple churches -- small, intimate, authentic, spontaneous, decentralized -- expanding virally across urban Houston.
• Imagine these churches actively engaging their community and their world -- tackling issues of compassion, inclusion, and social justice -- with their entire program built around being the church.
• Imagine the community efforts of these churches supported by a shared "Community Development Corporation" committed to developing, resourcing, and facilitating the dreams of these young adults.
• Imagine many of these simple churches gathering for shared times of worship, while many of their sister church choose to worship in smaller settings.
• Imagine these churches operating efficiently and multiplying rapidly through a shared administrative core -- one that provides support, guidance, resources, leadership development, and much more.

Help me imagine this new kind of network of urban churches! Let me know what you think!

Why isn't there a "Megabucks" in your Community?

Many communities (including mine) seem to have a Starbucks on almost every corner.

Question: Why, instead of multiple locations, doesn't Starbucks just build one huge thousand-seat MEGAbucks in your community? What does Starbucks know that we don't know?

The Post-Modern Challenge

The Modern Challenge (before, say, 1970): “Prove to me rationally that Christianity is true.”

Christianity in Response: The Church as Truth Delivery System

• The Leader: Pastor as Scholar
• The Setting: The Classroom (the Auditorium as BIG Classroom)
• The Deliverable: Information (preferably the Knock-Down Argument!)
• The Delivery System: Instruction
• The Objective: To be seen as being right.

The Transitional Challenge (1970 to mid-1990s): “Demonstrate quantitatively (numbers) that Christianity is relevant.”

Christianity in Response: The Church as Thriving Enterprise

• The Leader: Pastor as CEO
• The Setting: A hybrid (ideally) of Performing Arts Center, College Campus, Child Development Center, Bookstore, Recreation Center (indoor and outdoor), Mall Food Court…and huge parking lot. Usually suburban.
• The Deliverable: Fully Occupied/Consumed Families
• The Delivery System: Full-service Programs
• The Objective: To impact, including redemptively, as many lives as possible.

The Post-Modern Challenge (today): “Share with me experientially how Jesus makes a difference.”

Christianity in Response: The Church as Incarnation          

• The Leaders: Anyone who Incarnates the Culture of Christlikeness
• The Setting: Life (“at church” and everywhere else)
• The Deliverable: Transformation, both Spiritual and Social
• The Delivery System: Relationships with God and People
• The Objective: To connect people redemptively with God and one another.

Question 1: Is my account of Christianity in Response to Post-Modernism “fuzzy” (lacking in concreteness and specifics) because we just haven't done enough of it yet? Or is it fuzzy because there will never be “One Best Way?”

Question 2: Why is the Post-Modern Challenge the best thing to happen to Christianity in centuries?

The Disciple-MAKING Church?

Spiritual Outsider: So, you're a pastor. Tell me about your church. (OK, so I've wandered off into fantasy land. Humor me.)

Stunned Pastor: (stunned and disoriented...) What do you mean?

Outsider: What does your church do?

Pastor: (recovering...) We Make Disciples. (We can hear the capitalization. This, we realize, is his church's Mission Statement.)

Outsider: Wow, that sounds intense. What's a "disciple?"

Pastor: A disciple is a fully devoted follower of Christ.

Outsider: So that's what your church does? You make disciples?

Pastor: Yes, we're a disciple-making church.

Outsider: OK, but I'm still a little unclear. What do you DO? What do fully devoted followers of Christ actually DO?

Pastor: Well, they love God and love people.

Outsider: That sounds great! How do they DO that, exactly?

Pastor: Lots of ways, I guess. Caring for hurting people, feeding the hungry, providing shelter— that sort of thing.

Outsider: (delighted) So your church does those things!

Pastor: No...well, not exactly. We teach people, mostly, and then they do those other things themselves.

Outsider: How is that working?

Pastor: (stunned and disoriented all over again) Well, uh....

WRONG MISSION(?): Make Disciples

RIGHT MISSION(?): Be Disciples

OBJECTION: But aren't we supposed to make disciples?

RESPONSE: Sure, that's what Jesus said. But what if the best way to make a disciple is to be a disciple and bring someone else along?

QUESTION: How would our churches be different if our Mission wasn't to MAKE disciples, but to BE disciples? How would that simple change impact our people development processes, our ministries, our staffing, our schedule, our architecture...our EVERYTHING?

Awaken 2008: A Mosaic Event

On Monday, March 31, the day after my final Sunday as Pastor of Grace Community Bible Church, Richard Hunt and I were in the Los Angeles area for the Awaken 2008 Conference. The conference was sponsored by Mosaic, an amazing multi-ethnic church, with several gatherings around LA, that sets the standard for ministry to among and through young adults in an urban envirnment. (Do you see why I was interested?) Mosaic's pastor, Erwin Raphael McManus, is among the most respected and creative Christian leaders, thinkers and authors in the country.

Richard and I attended Awaken 2008 with our new friends from City of Refuge church, Pastor Rufus Smith and Worship Leader Russell Thompson. City of Refuge is a pioneering, multi-ethnic congregation located south of the Medical Center near 288 and OST. During the conference the four of us had the opportunity to visit with Mosaic's Navigator, Eric Bryant, about the possibility of a Mosaic movement in Houston. We also spoke with Erwin McManus, as well as with other key Mosaic leaders.

When it comes to possible partnerships, Mosaic is very exciting. They know how to reach across ethnic lines to respect and empower young adults as cultural leaders and influencers. They  know how to unleash the creative spirit in the context of urban ministry. That's why, before leaving LA, I joined the Mosaic Alliance. It's not clear what the nature of our partnership might be, but Mosaic will be part of my journey.

Mission Houston: A HUGE Heart for Our City!

Great cities inspire great ministries!

One of the greatest in our city is Mission Houston. Today I had the pleasure of sharing visions with Steve Capper, Mission Houston's Executive Director. The goal of Mission Houston is simple and ambitious: "We seek nothing less than the spiritual and social transformation and revitalization of greater Houston--each person, neighborhood, and community." Mission Houston's vision includes, "Christians in every community of greater Houston united in actively addressing the needs of their neighbors." You can see why I am so excited!

Collaboration is critical to our shared task of building the Kingdom of God in our city. Sharing my vision and discovering fellow travelers like Mission Houston is a BIG part of what God has me doing right now. It's the very essence of this stage of my journey. (For details on the "4 Steps" in my journey, click here.)

I encourage you to visit Mission Houston's website (click here). Find out who they are and how God is using them in our great city. You will be inspired!