Leadership Journal

When I began my ministry in Halifax more than 15 years ago, I asked, "How can we reach into the community and encourage good relationships with our neighbors?" Well, like most cutting-edge pastors, I quickly concluded, "By becoming a porpoise-driven church."

Now for those who need another cup of java to figure that out, let me explain.

Growing up along the Atlantic Ocean, I spent many hours fishing with my father, observing the porpoises that swim the waters by our fair province. From them I have learned many lessons for the church.

The particular porpoise we are talking about here is the Harbor porpoise or the common porpoise (necessary in establishing the church's corporate vision).

One description of the Harbor porpoise is a "short, stocky animal with a blunt head and no visible neck," which means it's very similar to a lot of men.

With apologies to Rick Warren, let me explain how our church learned its "porpoise" in our community.

1. The porpoise-driven church is warm blooded.
Like terrestrial mammals, porpoises are warm blooded. The church needs to be a warm, inviting place. When people describe our congregation, they talk mostly about this. It has happened by our being deliberate about it.

From the way we answer our phones, to the way we serve Communion (or ice cream!), to the way we listen to people's problems, we try to show the reality of God's love and patience.

We have the police, firefighters, school teachers, business leaders, and politicians regularly on our property. A warm smile is not often what they expect from church people, but they receive smiles from us.

2. The porpoise-driven church has a healthy sense of fun.
Porpoises have a lot of fun. I remember hauling fishing nets on crazy windy days and watching porpoises circle under the boat endlessly and jump through the wild frothing waves. Catching fish, which seemed like work to me, was fun to them.

Several weeks ago we welcomed in our building 250 Cub Scouts, leaders, and their families on a Saturday for their annual Race Day. The boys raced small model cars they built. They set up the track in our sanctuary. We had a team working for the day to make sure it was lots of fun for them. We also had lots of conversation with people about God and what this fun church was about.

We want people from stress-filled lives to learn to value fun. We not only want them to find the gospel, but also to find the humor in life.

3. The porpoise-driven church must surface often for air.
The porpoise has lungs and must br /eathe air, unlike fish, which take in oxygen across the gills. Usually, the porpoise will surface eight times in a row in one-minute intervals.

The church is like this, too. We are designed spiritually to pray often. We don't do well when we hold our br /eath spiritually.

We want to see prayer multiplied in the church in many different forms. In fact, one prayer we have prayed continually as a church is Psalm 90:17: "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work ...