Chris Seay's fascination with the TV series The Sopranos first produced a Leadership article, then a book, The Gospel According to Tony Soprano (Penguin Putnam, 2002) and a string of national media appearances. He has since written another book, The Tao of Enron (with Chris Bryan, NavPress, 2002). Chris pastors Ecclesia, a cutting edge congregation in Houston. We caught up with him at the health club where he and his family work out.

Leadership: You find gospel lessons in places most people wouldn't think to look. How do you do that?

Chris Seay: I intentionally look for it. I think it comes with a trained eye. Having the experience of a church planter, I'm wondering, How can I connect with this person? What's our common ground? For me, it's most often through art, film, music, or to some degree current events.

Were you surprised that the article on ministry "mob-style" led to a book?

Yes, I was. I was writing the article, searching for a metaphor, and I thought, I could write a book on this. ...