What is it with models?

There are some supermodels of church out there, beautiful shiny examples of the grand and polished, full of wonderful musicians and really attractive people that sit on the front row. When you see their videos the camera man always focuses on handsome of or beautiful worshipers or even someone from a different ethnic background to give it a mixed feel! The speakers are polished and there words are profound and make lots of sense. God has blessed them.

Without wanting to detract from these churches or knock them I feel they could lead to lazy leadership.

You're leading a church or some form of ministry there are more successful forms of what you are doing out there so you decide to copy the supermodel!

You buy the books, Purpose Driven, Willow Creek or you watch the event, Hillsongs, Abundant life etc.. and decide you want to be like them!

Where does that leave us when it comes to dependancy on God, on finding a style and method that works in our own situation with our specific people group.?

I feel people go to the books and models before they go to God. I am not knocking the models that are out there they work and actually a lot of the books, CD's and DVD's have some great stuff that will help anyone. We must never be to arrogant to think that we can't learn from these people.

But what I don't like is the franchise nature of these models, they are not necessarily selling the franchise we just adopt it.

It is lazy.

I heard a guy once explain the cell model in mathematical terms it all sounded brilliant but when we introduce the complexity of humans the maths doesn't all work.

By the way I think the cell model is a very helpful tool for focusing large communities into manageable authentic communities that care for each other and reach the lost.

There will never me a super model one size fits all type of church community.

Leaders need to not feel insecure when confronted with seemingly more successful churches, learn from them but don't replicate them. The other thing about female supermodels is they are actually unusual, they are not the norm. Woman throughout the world spend hundreds of pounds trying to look like someone in a magazine but it will never happen, most women aren't 5 foot 11 inches and weigh 8 stones! Do we end up doing the same in church, trying to look like something we will never be?

I think what God is looking for is dependent leaders, people who will lock themselves away, and find out the way forward from God. Then use the books and models as tools and add ons to help them accomplish their own God given vision.

We're all beautiful, we're just not all supermodels.....