How to start a movement (for Christian ministry)

I have been a long time 'fan' of Seth Godin and so enjoyed his book 'Tribes' which discusses how to set up and lead a community of common interest (whether it be an idea, a ministry movement, or some kind of project).

A few days ago my friend Roger Scholtz posted the following video from the TED conference, 'How to start a movement'.

I think it is crucial that persons in ministry understand the importance of social dynamics and how to work within those (and in spite of them) to achieve the aims of Christ's Gospel and the establishment of His Kingdom of grace.

If you have the bandwidth and can watch this video I would love to hear your thoughts (on the video in general, the concepts discussed, and the relationship between this video and the Christian ministry).

Update on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 10:41PM by Dr Dion Forster

'The first follower is what turns a lone nut into a leader' ~ Derek Sivers (how to start a movement).

Movements are critical to Christian ministry.  Theologically we can trace this  back to the central importance of relationship in God's economy for the world (we are created in the image of God who is a relationship of three persons). Of course the ministry of Jesus illustrates this truth more clearly than any sermon ever could.  The carpenter from Nazareth who dies a premature death in the prime of his life starts a movement that transforms all of society from that moment onward.

Watch this short 3 minute video and let me know what you think...

Perhaps one of the great problems with contemporary ministry is that we have too many leaders and not enough 'first followers'.

What do you think?

How to live before you die!

If you knew you were going to die in a month's time what would you do with remaining time?  This is not a rhetorical question!  Please do leave a few comments in the comments section at the bottom of this post!  I would love to hear how you would spend your final month living!

This great video clip below is a youtube video of Steve Jobs, the founder and CEO of Apple Computer, speaking at a graduation (in the US it is called a commencement) at Stanford University.  I got it from the TED website.

I would love to hear your feedback on both Steve Job's speech, and the concept of 'living before you die'.  Is it possible to live with that kind of intensity and determination for a sustained period?  Or is this just the stuff of motivational talks and popular 'self help' theories?

Here's the little blurb from the TED website:

At his Stanford University commencement speech, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, urges us to pursue our dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself.

On this note, I would once again recomend Gretchen Rubbin's fantastic book 'The Happiness Project'.  I so enjoyed reading it and found the book itself to be a source of great joy and inspiration.  I made a post about it here: Be intentional about finding joy in life! 

Update on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 9:44PM by Dr Dion Forster

What I forgot to mention in the last post is that Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a form of cancer in 2009 that attacked his liver and he was desperately ill - eventually needing to have a liver transplant.

Amazingly, after his transplant he returned to work!

I'd love to hear your comments and input!