WHY???

I just watched a video (link above) in which Simon Sinek was talking about "Starting with Why". It occurred to me that most churches deal with the "what" we do rather than "why" we do it. When I meet with my worship team, the first questions are always, "What are we doing next Sunday?" "What is the sermon topic?" We never seem to get to the "Why are we meeting next Sunday, and what does it have to do with our reason for being a church?" question.

In this world of "cookie-cutter" churches and people, it seems we're always trying to find another church or another leader to emulate. It is the old Anthony Robbins theory, "find someone who is successful, do what they do the way they do it and you too will be successful." The only thing wrong with that strategy is that it doesn't work. Given that each of us is created differently, with a different gifts-mix-set, we can't just emulate someone and become successful. We must determine why we are where we are and what we believe about it in order to become what God intended for us (both the individual and the church). Once we do that, and learn to communicate it, then those who are like-minded will buy into our "what" which is the result of our "why" and "how". People who are attracted to a church because of the program, will soon tire of it and be lured away to another, more interesting program. Those who are attracted to a dream (here's what we believe about why we're here) are much more likely to bond with other like-minded people in the church and remain, so long as the dream remains intact.