What's your desire?

37signals' "Get Real" philosophy of coding is also an online book, which applies to a lot of projects beyond software -- like transforming or starting a business, or a church.

In the "What's your problem?" chapter, they suggest that the way to write compelling software (or create compelling products or organizations) is not to out-feature the competition but to solve your own problem, so you can be passionate about the solution. And in my experience this is what many missional, emerging churches do - looking at a community and its spiritual needs, and trying to address them rather than importing a fully-developed model.

The 37signals folks conclude the chapter with an interesting quote from Malcolm Gladwell, which is about writing but could inform any organization that wants to share the Good News:
When you write a book, you need to have more than an interesting story. You need to have a desire to tell the story. You need to be personally invested in some way. That was what happened. If you're going to live with something for two years, three years, the rest of your life, you need to care about it.
As I have observed churches and individuals that share the way of Jesus, it's passion for the Gospel, an investment in living that way, that sets apart those who really communicate the message.

It's a good question all of us, as church leaders, need to ask ourselves every once in a while: How much desire we have to tell the story?


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