Linchpin: Are You indispensable? by Seth Godin: Books Pastors Should Read in 2023

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For the second entry in the “Books Pastors Should Read in 2023”, my pick is Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. Seth is a successful author and expert in the field of marketing. Linchpin is not written from a theological standpoint, but the main argument applies to the world of the church, similarly to modern business. Seth argues that everyone should do their utmost to use their unique talents, skills, and knowledge in their work and life. Your life is a unique gift meant to be given away.

No More Assembly Lines

Godin believes that most modern white-collar jobs are being simplified into cookie-cutter shapes. In other words, job descriptions and processes are being created so that everyone is replaceable. Employers are not looking for people with unique gifts who stand out but who can follow instructions. A person becomes as valuable as their ability to fill a spot. However, he also believes that there are unique employees. These are the employees who exhibit high value above and beyond their position. Those with high value are known as Linchpins and are indispensable to their employer.

In much the same way, the modern church has looked to the secular world for its inspiration. We have worked to create programs to produce cookie-cutter-shaped people of faith. From a young age, we major in teaching people the rules of religion. Each denomination differs in determining the most important specifics, but only teaching people the rules of following Jesus is the easiest path. When people encounter a situation that does not fit into the box of rules they have learned, they react in many different ways. Some people are angry. Others are lost and don’t know how to move forward. And some walk away from the faith altogether.

One Service to Rule Them All

Most expressions of faith communities make one person indispensable, the senior pastor. The senior pastor is essential in evangelical protestant traditions because they are chiefly responsible for the largest weekly event. While you can argue that church consists of more than a Sunday worship service, think about where most resources flow. What activity gets the lion’s share in your church when you add up where time, money, and mental effort are allocated? Even during the pandemic, when everything was shutting down, churches were broadly most concerned about their weekly gathering. I have pastored in a tiny church and visited many other small churches, and if they do nothing else, they have a Sunday morning service.

Churches try to make the big weekly gathering a catchall for everything everyone needs. Don’t know God? Come to Sunday morning church. Following Jesus but want to know more? Sunday morning sermon. Need a place to give or serve? We have a place for you every Sunday morning! The Christian life has sometimes been distilled to mean being morally good and attending church every Sunday. And the senior pastor’s sermon is the star of the show. Have you ever heard someone say, “I think I need to find a new church. The preaching on Sunday is not what I need.” I have, probably from my mouth. And in large churches, the senior pastor is only responsible for the weekly message. The current church model makes the pastor indispensable.

Are you Indispensable?

Hopefully, I didn’t lose you in the last section. Don’t worry; I am not about to start advocating for getting rid of Sunday gatherings or firing all pastors. But I want to encourage you to read Seth’s book because it reminds you that God has gifted all people. And we should expect that God has plans for every follower of Jesus that are much bigger than just asking them to show up on Sunday. Bigger than trying to fit them into a discipleship program or some other program designed to produce “results.” I wanted to remind you that rather than teaching people a set of rules or obligations; you should teach people how to become those who produce the fruit of the Spirit—indispensable people who shine like a city on a hill in every moment of their life.

For me, Linchpin reminded me that the communities of God need every person fully engaged. Churches need people to be challenged to use their gifts creatively to glorify God. Followers of Jesus need to be encouraged by the why and how of Christianity, as well as the freedom and courage to follow where the Holy Spirit leads. As pastors, we are seen as the experts, yet we depend entirely on God’s presence. Teaching people to observe a list of rules is easy. You show them the rules and tell them to follow them. Walking alongside someone as they learn to hear and discern God’s voice through scripture, prayer, and worship is much more complex and time-consuming. But if we want our communities to produce people who produce disciples, then resources must be dedicated to the task.

Fish

An old saying is, “Catch a fish, feed a man for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” As a pastor, there is a finite number of people who you can talk to, disciple, and teach. Preaching is similarly limited. So, in addition, help your community focus on producing reproducers by encouraging people to embrace their unique knowledge, gifting, and talents in service to bring glory to Good. Don’t let people settle in the comfortable minimum of attending church on Sunday. Cast the vision of God’s Kingdom advancing through the hearts and actions of the whole church body following Jesus and glorifying God. Don’t settle for allowing empty hearts but full pews at church. Be indispensable and challenge others to be just as indispensable.

My first entry is located here.

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