In Latvia today we’ve had a seminar from Christian Schwarz who is the founder(?) of Natural Church Development. Now having heard a significant amount about NCD over the last 4 years of being in Latvia it was interesting to hear it from the guy who has been so heavily involved in the research that has gone into it! In fact listening to Christian made me realise that the concepts that underpin the teaching has a lot to give to the church as it struggles to fulfil its mission. I’ll probably blog more on this over the coming days!
However, in reading through one of the books I saw that they are aiming to publish 1 book on each of the 8 Quality Characteristics. If the book “3 Colours of Love” is anything to go by it seems that there will then be at least 3 different resource books that the church can buy to supplement the main text. It’s that aspect that concerns me!
It makes me think of the “Prayer of Jabez” which seemed to become a self-fulfilling prophecy as far as Dr Wilkinson is concerned, with several million copies of the original book sold, with countless spin off merchandise aimed at all different types of people. Then I think of the wonderful “Purpose Driven Life Book” which has spawned an album, journals and so Amazon.com tells me a “Commuters Audio CD set”.
It seems to me that so many tools that have been a blessing for many people end up being twisted into a commercial activity that has little to do with edifying the Church and helping it reach the lost, and more to do with lining the pockets of the Publishing companies and authors.
Added: 19th May 2006
In the light of the conversation on this post I feel I should just clarify one thing! I am not saying that the aim of the publishers of the NCD material are out to line their own pockets. There is though in any activity that touches on the commercial world a danger of the money making aspect taking on a life of its own! NCD is extremely successful at avoiding this trap at present and from what Christian said yesterday, they are guarding against it!
I find it sad that anyone would even go there. I have seen Christian commercialism and is as offended by it as the next guy. But if you read the supplementing books, you’ll find that they are not only edifying but also excellent material, and goes ever so much deeper than the more general book.
If it is an area you struggle with and want to dig deeper the book to help you is there.
I had a long talk witch Christian Schwartz (founder of NCD! and author of these books) today about copyrights asking if I could use his images and metaphors in the book I am writing, to wich he immediatly gave his blessing, saying well the reason we are sharing this is so that people will use it!
I also find it sad that as soon as somebody is in a position to actually make the money to fund an important ministry, someone is there and goes tsk. It is no wonder the SA has trouble getting the funds for all its projects when we sneer at people actually bringing in cash on valid projects. I think we as an army (and with that I mean corps) should start giving more to speakers, evangelists, apostles and authors! If we start blessing those ministries I am sure Gods blessings will flow back.
Patrik, at what point in what I said did I “sneer” at NCD? All I did was raise a concern I have personally, or is NCD not open to criticism in your eyes?
If you read my whole post I’m sure you saw that I said that after today I feel that NCD has much to offer to the church as a whole. It is without doubt a valuable tool!
What I don’t understand in your comment is how you made the leap from me questioning the need for so many books and supplements to TSA having difficulty in fundraising? What has my personal opinion on this subject got to do with the problems the wider Army is having?
By the way I have read 3 of the books and they are excellent in putting across the NCD principles!
OK, heh, first of all a disclaimer for that I might have misunderstood your post completely. Second of course NCD is open for critisism like anything else, but if you reread my comment you’ll see that I did not say that you sneered at NCD but at the fact that he was producing a lot of books and thereby commercializing the message (”lining the pockets of the Publishing companies and authors”). (Please correct me if I am wrong here, because if that is so I didn’t understand your post and my comment is about what I thought you said.) Thirdly, provided I got it right, the books are sold dirt cheap ($4 for color your world and $2.50 for the principle books) not much room for making alot of cash on them. As for my giant leap to the more general problem, I see an attitude towards money in the SA that is a reaction to prosperity gospel no doubt, but that goes of into the other corner of making money is evil. wich of course is as unbiblical as if you don’t have money you don’t have faith. Anyways, I love the books and wouldn’t be without them, they have confirmed so many things I had already found incredibly intriguing in the bible and given me ever so much more material to use in discipleship. I know your heart is in the right place Graeme and I don’t wanna start a blog war
Peace out!
The real problem of blogging is that unless you word things really precisely misunderstandings can abound!
Re-reading my post, I should have added that I’m not saying that this is what NCD is doing, but that they need to be careful not to fall into the trap!
One thought, having been part of TSA for my whole life, I do not see the attitude you do. In fact sometimes we are so eager to accept money that we end up accepting it from the wrong sources!