Marketing guru Seth Godin (author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside) has released a previous book in a free PDF format for a limited time only: The Bootstrapper’s Bible.
The 103-page PDF covers the typical “bootstrapper” in business, the person who picks themselves up by their own bootstraps, making a business happen with few resources. It strikes me that these are the kinds of people needed in the church to make things happen. Often, they are pastors. But let’s face it: pastors can’t do it all on their own. Pew-warming lay people need to step up and help the church to be more.
As a side note, Godin comments on his own blog about the successfulness of spreading an idea when it’s offered for free.
UPDATE: The limited time to download “The Bootstrapper’s Bible” has expired, but Godin gives permission for others to post it online, so here it is:
The Bootstrapper’s Bible by Seth Godin (PDF 1.1 MB)
SteveV
December 5, 2004
Hi Kevin,
This is my first attempt at commenting so here goes. The Pastor, Hmmm where did that role, as we know it today, ever come from? What most pastors do for 103% of their time has nothing to do with the Kingdom and everything to do with baseless traditions and as you say lazy pew-warmers. In defense though of lazy pew warmers where did the concept of sitting quietly on a wooden bench ingesting prechewed food come from anyway? Consider for a moment a picture from the life cycle of a human being; there are only two times in our lives when it is socially acceptable to be fed, when we are infants and when we are dying. In between those times we feed ourselves. I’m not suggesting a lone ranger, boot strapper mentality, far from it. I am an active advocate of a radical (Latin for “root”) old way of being and doing church. I am for the gifts being at work and the gifted ones working, that is all believers with pulses. Finally, as for pastors not doing it all, the it we think of the it the Bible presents are unimaginably different. I’ll try and get back later to keep this thought going.
Joseph Martino
July 22, 2010
this is my first time to respond as well . it is not myintention to be hurt full however you really have no concept of what sheparding a flock entails .some are absolute babes in christ who can do no better than as you so eloquently put it pre chewed food if a graphic example of this is what you need you only need look as far as nature itself to see a parent feed its child .
being a pastor entails alot more responsibility than you may realize and requires a level of commitment generaly relagated to someone who has been called for if it were haphazardly given to the novice he could not handle it , it suffices to say that God qualifies the called not the other way around and as a levite who has been in training for a decade to prepare me for the greatest job there is I can only tell you in love that there are a ton of responsibilities to be tended to try looking up the phrase five fold ministry once you have a grasp of this concept and what it entails you may begin to see the light , once again dear freind this is said in love not antagonisim the answers you seek are in the Bible read it and you can find them for youself with the good Lord”s help of coursefor the holy spirit will bring all things to your rememberance