The childhood game of “Follow the Leader” may be—at times—a lot simpler and, arguably, more fun than leading a staff. But, it is not that far off base. For the game to work the group must designate someone to be the leader and everyone must buy into the decisions the leader makes. If people decide to follow someone else or strike out on their own without seeing if anyone is following, the game falls apart.
You understand church communications isn't really about controlling a brand or a message. It's about what people hear and how that inspires them to move towards the place you want for them.
Churches are great at communicating. Church leaders are often skilled at delivering a message. But the hard question to answer is, 'Is anyone listening?'
I think my first introduction (as with many) to Tony Morgan was via social networking. He is brilliant at leveraging the digital media space to influence church leadership theory and practice. When our paths crossed several months ago and we finally met in person, I realized that not only did he live up to his tweets and blog posts but he is a really cool guy to hang out with.