The Church of the Purple Cow

Mark Batterson:

"One of my favorite marketing books is Purple Cow by Seth Godin. The book revolves around this metaphor: If you've seen one brown cow you've seen them all. But a purple cow, now that would catch your attention. One statement in the book has profound implications: 'If you aren't remarkable you're invisible.'

"Every church needs to paint itself purple. I'm not talking about gimmicks. I'm not talking about being different for difference's sake. I'm talking about making such a remarkable difference in our communities that we are unignorable.

"So how do we paint ourselves purple? For starters, dare to be different. You might offend some Pharisees, but that isn't who you're trying to reach. Secondly, disrupt the routine. I think it starts with your personal routine. Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. You need to get out of your routine so you can have some purple thoughts.

"As a leader, you need to cause confusion. Jesus didn't do orientations. He did disorientations. You need to find new ways of saying old things (see the parables). You need to find new wineskins. You need to sing a new song. Neurological studies have found familiarity stimulates the left-brain. Novelty stimulates the right-brain. We need some Spirit-inspired, right-brained ideas that capture the imagination of the church and the world."