Eagle Brook Church Blog

What-cha Readin’?

My three-year-old grandson Isaac is a curious kid.  He can’t sit still.  And if I try to relax and read, he climbs up into my lap, grabs my chin, turns my head until our eyes lock and asks, “What-cha readin’ papa?”

My reading over the Christmas holiday underscored an important issue in the multi-site church.  I didn’t choose to read the booklet.  Those who govern the State of Minnesota made the decision for me.  When I went to exchange my twenty-year Arizona driver’s license, complete with a motorcycle endorsement, for a four-year Minnesota license, I learned that I had to pass a knowledge exam—one for the license and another for the endorsement.

More than twenty years have passed since I took a knowledge exam for a driver’s license.  Why do I need to take another exam? I questioned as I picked up the manual.  I’ve been driving since I was a teenager.  Michael Campion, the Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety, answered my question on the first page, “State laws and statutes change periodically, so each year’s manual contains something new.”  It’s important for every driver in Minnesota to understand the same laws and drive by the same rules.

What does the Minnesota driver’s license requirement have to do with the multi-site church?  In my two-and-a-half months at Eagle Brook, I’ve learned that things change rapidly, and rapid change is essential for effective ministry.  Just as good citizens drive by the same laws and rules, individuals in successful churches live out the same mission and values.

I’ve discovered that the Fast Track series of core seminars is a key resource for keeping pace with everything that is new at Eagle Brook.  For newcomers, now would be an appropriate time to begin.  For those who completed the seminars in the distant past, it might be helpful to walk through them again as a refresher course.  Unifying principles are essential as a church expands to multiple campuses.

By the way, my grandson Isaac probably inherited his curiosity from his grandpa.  I’m curious, what are you reading these days?