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By Richard Hamilton, March 18, 2009 11:55 pm

Let me point you to an article written by my friend Aaron Saufley called “Bible College or Church?”. Aaron is a church planter, blogger, and all around decent guy. In his typical, atypical perspective of church and christian spirituality, Aaron questions if there may be a better way to prepare people for ministry than what we typically do.

“I’m wondering why we insist on sending guys who want to be preachers and church planters off to Bible college and seminary for four years (or more). Would it not be more beneficial for a guy to be mentored and coached by the staff of his local church? He could learn the ins and outs of ministry on the field instead of in the abstract theories of the classroom. And he wouldn’t amass a huge amount of college debt that will take him at least a decade to pay off… and the chances are high that he’ll be out of “professional ministry” a few years before he gets his education paid for.”

It seems to have drawn out some helpful conversation and has got me thinking. If there were no limits, traditions, or built in assumptions, what would be the best way to train people to do ministry? I will try to wrap words around my initial thoughts in a few posts over the next week or so. In the mean time, show Aaron some love.

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By Richard Hamilton, January 27, 2009 2:53 pm

Business and marketing guru Seth Godin recently posted his thoughts on creativity. The highlight to me was this quote: “If you want to be creative, understand that you’ll need to get to the edges, even if the edges have moved.” To be creative is to constantly reinvent yourself.

Click here to read Seth’s blog post.

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By Richard Hamilton, January 19, 2009 10:50 am

With the news this past week that Steve Jobs was taking a medical leave of absence, Apple took a hit. Rumors flew on the net and their stock took a dip.

There is no doubt; Jobs took Apple from the brink to the market dominance they now enjoy. Not only is he a powerful leader, dynamic futurist, and a brilliant strategist; Steve Jobs is a rock star. His celebrity persona has captivated the hearts and minds of geeks (myself included) worldwide. His absence has brought a cloud of doubt over the future of Apple. This magnified by the fact that there is no public plan for an Apple beyond Jobs. What are the consequences? Jason Rothbart addresses this on ReadWriteWeb.

This got me thinking. What about the one-man-show type churches?

A lot of churches are built around a personality. I’m not just talking about the modern mega-church Rick Warren/Bill Hybles types. There are more than a few small churches that are built around one figure. (I assume in many cases, this is why these churches are small. That figure is not that impressive.)

What, if anything, should churches learn from Steve Jobs and his recent medical concerns?