It was great reading N. T. Wright’s slant on the idea of worldview.  It’s even better, perhaps, to see someone outside of the realm of religion write about it.

Seth Godin, marketing thinker, has been posting responses concerning his previous books each week on his blog.  In a recent response to Tribes, he made a point about worldview that many people, especially those who use it in the religious realm, forget about.

In reflection on the fiftieth anniversary on the March on Washington and how change was brought about:

Worldview isn’t sufficient, and worldview isn’t impossible to change. But what worldview does is give you the bridge, the ability to engage people in the tribe, and then, and only then, do you have the privilege to change the conversation.

The goal isn’t to find people who have already decided that they urgently want to go where you are going. The goal is to find a community of people that desire to be in sync and who have a bias in favor of the action you want them to take.

“Worldview gives you the bridge.”  I like that.  Too often, worldview is seen as an end to itself.  “If we can just get everyone to believe the same thing then we’ve accomplished our task.”  Hogwash.  A common worldview is the starting point, not the end point.  A worldview without world-engaging implications is ultimately meaningless.

You can read more of Godin’s article here.  As always, I highly recommend his blog (even if you’re not into marketing).