Liquid Leadership
There is a conversation amongst Christian followers about the role of Christ and culture. Some hold the view that Christ is against culture – that everything outside of the Church is corrupted by sin and Christ stands against it. On the other hand, some believe that Christ is for culture – that there exists no conflict between what is in and outside of the Church. Somewhere between these two views, there are some who argue for the view of Christ above culture – that there is good within worldly culture, but it needs editing by the Church. Along similar lines, some argue for Christ and culture in paradox – parts of culture and the world are good but have been corrupted by sin. Lastly, there is the view of Christ who transforms culture – culture is corrupted by sin but will be redeemed by Christ. In his book about liquid leadership titled, The Monkey and the Fish, Dave Gibbons (2009) sits somewhere between Christ for culture and Christ above culture. He describes a future generation of churches that are both impacted and directed by culture, but also bring about unity among people from different cultures.
Gibbons, pastor at Newsong Church – a church with campuses around the world – writes about a 3rd culture. While he is shallow in his description and function of this 3rd culture, it seems that this culture is a place where Christians can find themselves learning and stretching to broaden the church into cultures that are different than the majority of its members. After reading through his book, I am still confused exactly what 3rd culture is and its influence. I understand that Gibbons is writing towards a future trajectory of the Church, but much of his writing is lacking in logical progression and thorough conclusions.
Gibbons relies heavily on metaphorical language that creates a fog of ambiguity throughout his book. From the monkey and the fish, being water, having a wardrobe, a church without walls, and others, he loses the true power of his message with his confusing stream of consciousness. At times it seemed as though someone had asked this man, who is a leader of an enormous church, what it takes to be a leader and he didn’t quite know what to write. Perhaps it is because I am not a lead pastor of a church or because I don’t see myself as much of a visionary, but a good bit of Gibbon’s book was lost on me.
While his book hasn’t been one of my favorites, there is still some good insight that I gleaned from Gibbon’s book. Above all else, he is incredibly passionate about the message of Christ being shared throughout the world. What he fears is that the “culture” of church, what Christians sometimes assume it looks like to have church and to be a Christian, might push others away from ever hearing the Gospel. He reflects that, “The more adaptive we are to the Holy Spirit and to diverse people groups and settings, the more we reflect who Jesus is and impact this new flat world” (p. 48). He affirms that the Church is bigger than one gender, one ethnicity, one culture, or one country. The Church is for all people of all cultures.
By far, my favorite section of Gibbon’s book was his final chapter where he retells the round-table conversation between church leaders throughout the world. From Christian leaders in New York, Thailand, California, London, Mexico City, India, and Bangkok, the conversation they share is interesting to read. These men and women share of their experiences and testimonies among 3rd culture churches – where differing cultures are coming together to hear about Christ and impact the community. This chapter alone makes the book worthwhile because of the power of hearing about unlikely leaders in unlikely places making an impact for the Kingdom of God. This, by itself, should motivate anyone in his or her passion for Christ. Feel free to pick up the book yourself, but be prepared to walk away with more questions than answers – which just so happens to be one of his points.