Dave Gibbons, pastor of Newsong Church, has mined his own
life and experiences in writing The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for
a Third Culture Church.
In embracing his
Korean and Anglo background, he has learned the value of seeing needs with
different eyes—those of the “outsider.”
In embracing his
Korean and Anglo background, he has learned the value of seeing needs with
different eyes—those of the “outsider.”
Gibbons writes, “Third culture is the mindset and will to
love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and
discomfort.” He expands this definition by
explaining that third culture is not simply a strategy but a way that believers
are to live—loving God and loving neighbor. In order to do this, we must be like
water. As a liquid, water adapts to fit
its environment. Using the metaphor of
water as the Good News for a thirsty world, Gibbons challenges the church “to
be open to creatively designing or embracing new forms, languages, customs, and
containers to deliver that water.”
Doing this will require a radical change in the way most
churches operate. In his list of
third-culture principles, Gibbons argues for humility, openness, and
flexibility in dealing with other cultures.
His approach calls for a maturity and adaptability that is open lacking in
our churches. We must give up our
preconceived ideas and let God speak through others.
In undertaking this strategy, the church can tap into a
new network of innovators and influencers in the world—artists, business
persons, and community-development specialists.
Through the use of language, metaphor, and images, artists play the
prophetic role in movements.
Businesspersons bring resources, connections, and organization skills to
the table, providing “front-line wisdom to organizations and systems.” Community-development specialists are those with
“the view from the streets”—educators, healthcare professionals, relief
workers, economic developers—with a passion to change the world. Each of these
groups has shown the willingness to respond to human need with their talents
and resources when given the opportunity.
In order to tap
into these leaders, Gibbons points out that the church must overcome its biases
and learn to work more collaboratively.
In making this point, he says, “Even people we consider to be pagan
often are much better at working together than the church is.” He charges that the “obsolete systems and
hierarchies” of the church tend to separate Christians from the real action in
the world.
Although portions of the book seem to be adapted from
sermons or conference addresses, Gibbons paints a vision of a new way of doing
church that is challenging but optimistic.
He encourages the reader to adopt a new perspective on ministry that is refreshing. The Monkey and the Fish is worth the read.
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