You've heard of Simple Church. Innovative Church. Sticky Church. Now I want you to think about Smelly Church. No, it's not the latest new leadership book ...

You've heard of Simple Church. Innovative Church. Sticky Church. Now I want you to think about Smelly Church. No, it's not the latest new leadership book, but it is a concept I want you to consider. How does your church smell and what does that smell say to visitors?

What brings this up? Stew.

One time, Lindsay Dudeck brought in homemade stew and it tasted great! But even before spoon met bowl, every person that entered Fishhook said something like, "Oh! It smells awesome in here!"

Nobody ever says that at Fishhook. I would say our office smell is either neutral, or if it's rained a lot, we get a touch of musty smell from our creepy basement.

All this incredible stew smell reminded me that God created us with an awesome sense of smell, and what we offer for that sense to experience can be either a matter of chance or choice. So, I suggest the following:

  1. Ask some people who don't come to your church often to give you the unfiltered smell report.
  2. Consider how you want your church to smell.
  3. Take steps to make it so. Here is how Fishhook smelled on Lindsay's stew day. It smelled like home. And that smell and taste set the stage for a great meal and a highly relational team meeting.

And maybe, if you ask nice in the comment section, Lindsay will publish her stew recipe.