I suppose everyone in the known universe has heard of Hugh MacLeod. He is the guy who draws cartoons on the back of business cards. This is one creative guy. At his website, gapingvoid.com, he has an article posted called "The Hughtrain."
I think it is a takeoff on The Cluetrain Manifesto. But is challenging in a lot of ways. It is challenging with its profane language and brutal honesty. And it is challenging because of its off the wall ideas. But there are a couple of universal truths proposed therein that should cause all of us to stop and think for a minute.
" the market for something to believe in is infinite..."
"We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary. We humans want to believe in our own species. And we want people, companies and products in our lives that make it easier to do so. That is human nature." --- Hugh MacLeod Can this possibly be true? And if it is true, then why don't churches automatically grow? Is it because we aren't good examples of people who believe in something? Is it because we are not good communicators?
Okay, here is another one:
"at the center of every human soul is the intense longing to be closer to God. a brand that can empathise with that is powerful..."
Here is my question, then: Why does so much of what we do in "the church" seem to be ineffective and impotent?
There is a lot to ponder in the assertions contained in MacLeod's Hughtrain. For now, I am just going to think about these two things...
 Charlie Wear is the publisher of Next-Wave. He and his wife, Loretta live in Valrico with their son, Benjamin, the real boss of the family. |
