What can church learn from WoW???

Been thinking about this article on Joi Ito's blog - joi(dot)ito(dot)com - about leadership and community within the online massive roleplaying game "World of Warcraft"... in regards to what I could learn for church...

Firstly, people enjoy being together...

The members of our guild and our raids are people who are paying to participate in what is often very tedious and hard work. Although there are clear goals and rewards for putting time into the game, most of the people in our guild play because they enjoy being together.

This is the fellowship element... The sharing of experience and goals... Being with like-minded people... Sharing and belonging :

Although WoW has been called “the new golf”, it isn’t about elitist country clubs and privilege but about an amazing melting pot of personalities and backgrounds tied together with a strong sense of sharing and belonging.

Secondly, the morale of the group is essential to its success...

One of the most important things about a raid is the mood of the raid. When everyone is upbeat and having a good time, mistakes and wipes are shrugged off and people continue to push forward../ However, if one person begins to complain or become abusive, the bad mood quickly spreads and what used to be fun and easy becomes impossible and tedious. People start dropping out of the raid and it unravels. The primary role of the raid leader to mitigate this kind of corrosive behavior while making sure each of the groups are communicating with each other.

The role of any leader in church should be "mitigate"/ facilitate and act as Custodian to the group rather than a formal leader.

Makes for interesting reading... Check it out: Link

Let me know what you think...

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