The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church | Date: 28 April 2011, 04:55
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The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church (Leadership Network Innovation Series)
By Dave Gibbons
* Publisher: Zondervan
* Number Of Pages: 224
* Publication Date: 2009-02-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0310276020
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780310276029
Product Description:
Like it or not, the world is changing faster than the latest Intel Pentium chip can process. Some, like a child trying to stop the waves from reaching the beach, plant their feet in futile resistance. Some hope only to adapt and survive. But others want to become adept and thrive--ahead of the curve. Dave Gibbons is uniquely designed by God and given to the church for a time such as this. Any who are willing not just to ride the momentum but perhaps even to contribute to and shape the future need to read this book. It is for you!
Summary: A look at how to be the church in today's world
Rating: 3
This book explores how the church can actively be the church, the representatives of Christ, in our highly globalized and multi-cultural world. Gibbons uses his personal experiences and learned wisdom to offer practical instruction to help readers open their perspective on the role of the church today.
Summary: Start Listening & Be Third Culture
Rating: 5
I recently finished "The Monkey and the Fish" by Dave Gibbons. Gibbons is one of the most innovative and foremost thinkers of how to bridge the gap between the "churched" and the "unchurched."
He writes: "What many people around the world see is a version of Christianity created in our own cultural image, a Christianity with diminishing power and influence and filled with a lot of pride, self-centeredness, and wrongheaded metrics."
My oh my, the quote above convicted me to the core.
I began to think about all these questions: What is going to my legacy? What are we going to known for? As individuals...As a community...As a church...As Christians...
That's one of the questions Gibbons asks us to consider.
The world is changing rapidly (Btw, for those who are interested in just how fast the world is shifting, check this out: [...]. The world is moving in such ways that if we don't change some of our "golden cows," our forms, our idols, we will lose lots of people for the Kingdom.
We must become like water. We must be comfortable with flow, adaptation, and fluidity. We must listen.
In "The Monkey and the Fish," Gibbons tells a fable about a monkey who grew concerned for a fish that was swimming upstream. So the monkey hopped on a tree and leaned on a branch to take the fish out of the water. Scurrying back to safety, he laid the fish on the dry ground. For a few moments, this fish seemed excited. Then it settled into a restful peace.
What's the point of this fable? The point is: We need to listen again. We don't need to just place our own agendas at the front. We need to get back to loving God and loving our neighbors. We need to return to the basics. We need to ReJesus.
What's our legacy? What are Christians going to be known for? Hypocritical? Anti-homosexual? Judgmental?
Or something more. Something greater.
How about LOVE? How about UNDYING SUPPORT? How about CARING FOR THE LEAST OF THESE? How about HEALING? How about PRAYER and MIRACLES? FLUID? ADAPTIVE? OPEN TO CHANGE? UNDERSTANDING? DISCIPLINED? SPIRITUAL? DIVERSE? MULTIETHNIC? MULTILCULTURAL?
The question is: "Did we point to HIM enough to make a mark on things?"
That's the question - the ultimate question.
What is going to be your legacy? And that's the question Gibbons answers. Become third culture. Not simple. Not vintage. Not emerging. Live life on life. Love people endlessly. Seek people on the margins. Nothing good, he reminds us, could ever come from Nazareth! Or could it?
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is willing to be challenged.
Summary: Fresh Depth and Perspective That Is Much Needed Today
Rating: 4
What do monkeys and fish have in common? It's a fair question and one that pastor Dave Gibbons explores in the preface to his new book, which is part of the Leadership Network Series. The title is a takeoff on an Eastern parable about a monkey who discovered a fish swimming against the current. The fish appeared to be struggling and needed assistance, so the monkey decided to give the fish a helping hand. At great personal risk, he climbed out on a limb, reached down and grabbed the fish. Placing it on small ground, he watched as the fish showed excitement for a moment before settling into a peaceful rest.
The parable is a powerful reminder that, in our efforts to help others, we can sometimes do more harm --- particularly if we don't understand the context of the one we're trying to help. Gibbons believes this principle is more true than ever as we are living in a world of perpetual change. Our world is at a crossroads of old systems that do not work and new systems that are still being invented. How should followers of Jesus and the church respond?
THE MONKEY AND THE FISH suggests that to handle the colossal challenges of our world, we must become adaptable and embrace what Gibbons calls "Third culture" thinking. He defines "Third culture" as "the mindset and will to love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort." He points to Genesis 12 when God called Abraham to be a blessing to the nations as a scriptural example of what it means to be multiculturally and outwardly focused. This blessing is again represented in Revelation 5:9-14 where the nations are gathered to sing a new song.
Gibbons writes: "Third culture is not only about geography or skin color or language. For third-culture people, home is wherever Jesus is. Third culture is the bearing of pain to love those who are not like you."
The layout and structure of the book is unique. The writing is fluid and at times may feel disconnected, but the author seems to be inviting his audience to step into a different "current" in each chapter. For example, "Liquid" challenges readers to adapt to the needs, people and places they are serving. "Neighbor" invites them to consider who they're really loving when they love others.
One of the most intriguing chapters, "Liquid Bruce Lee," examines how roles are rapidly changing for church leaders today. Gibbons suggests that some of the major shifts are from consumerism to cause-ism, from pastor to social entrepreneur, and from developing paths or systems to discovering rhythms.
Overall, THE MONKEY AND THE FISH is an intriguing read for church leaders today. Gibbons's diverse experience, both outside and in the church as well as within the United States and internationally, give this book fresh depth and perspective that is much needed today. Highly recommended to church leaders everywhere.
--- Reviewed by Margaret Oines
Summary: Great book. Easy to read and challenging.
Rating: 4
There's a lot to like about this author, what he has to share, and the way he shares it. The reasons I gave this book a four out of five star rating are as follows:
Gibbons is a SOCAL megachurch pastor who by human standards is a "success" as a pastor. Big church, big building, big budget, big razzle dazzle services, etcetera. Through a few life-changing overseas missions experiences, he came to realize, "What we idolize today, I think, is a form of church and ministry that revolves around bigness." Gibbons goes on to talk about the tunnels Vietnamese farmers dug to evade the napalm dropped by American troops and how small units led by women defeated the American military. Dave didn't come right out and mandate holistic small groups or cell groups, but I sure saw the similarities. He earned his first star right there.
Gibbons earned his second star when he wrote, "Now I find myself trying not to `lead' the congregation but more importantly to support them and ascertain how I can fan the flames o
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