IBM & MBI & BIM & MIB or whatever...

I'm back... after a day or two with no blog postings.

I began a new book today entitled, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround by Louis V. Gerstner Jr. (former CEO of IBM).

This book has come to me highly recommended - especially since we are attempting a turnaround of our own. Of course, our turnaround is not on the same scale as IBM - our's is on a much higher one.

Here's what I mean... Bill Hybels said it best recently:

"If a company or business fails, they lose money. If we (the church) fail, we lose people."

Wowzers.

I've said this statement a few times publically and each time I've said it I've thought to myself, "Oh great, now the business people in this room are going to think that I don't think that their businesses are important and that I have this narrow mindset about the world and business, etc..."

I guess I just really believe in the church and the potential it has to change our world. And of course I believe that business is important. It's also a great opporunity for people to influence others for Christ. But as the "church" (made up of a bunch of imperfect, grace-dependant Christ followers) we have an opportunity to truly impact our society with a message that crosses cultural differences, time frames, and anything else that might seemingly get in the way.

It's certainly not my paycheck or the "prestige" of ministry (LOL...) that gets me up and out of bed each morning. It's the simple belief that the church truly is, (again from the mouth of Bill Hybels) the "hope of the world".