When to Panic?

I am reading this little book called, The Big Moo by Seth Godin (Brian you would really enjoy this!). I like to have a little something to read along with my devotions in the morning. Seth Godin may or may not be a believer, but a lot of what he talks about in terms of leadership can be put well when it comes to leading a church.

I know that there are a lot of people out there who believe that the church is not a business and should not be ran like one. I agree in part to that. There are times when we do things that the business world would scream that the move was suicide. We are following a higher calling. There are other times though that I believe it is in the best interest of the church to be ran similar to a business.

I was reading on pages 30-31 this morning about the appropriate times to panic. I love this picture that was painted. We should not panic when there is nothing we can do about the problem. We should panic months and years prior to the emergency when there is something we can do about it.

I am a firm believer that our church is primed and ready for significant growth. I believe we should right now be in the works to begin a building project. We need a sanctuary that is big enough to house 500 people. We live in a town where there is constant new construction happening. Is our current facility that holds 300 filled to the rim? Absolutely not. We average about 200 on Sunday mornings. The thought I'm thinking this morning after reading Godin's book is that we should be panicking today for where to put those extra people instead of waiting until they are standing in our foyer trying to find an open chair!

We are growing in the right direction. Everything points to the growth to continue. Our Elders are on the move with some new and exciting plans. I believe that God is sending the right waves (thanks Rick Warren for the illustration). What are your thoughts???