Spreading a Message? Why Leaders Always Scan for a Roman Road

Effective leaders are constantly on the lookout for “Roman Roads” in their vicinity.

Because they know that the sooner they identify their Roman Road, the sooner their message can start spreading with increased velocity.

A Roman Road can best be defined as an accelerator for a movement or message you’re seeking to spread. It is usually characterized by:

• Having a pre-existing infrastructure,
• Having been developed by others,
• Having a distinct, separate purpose,
• Being able to be re-purposed to carry your message.

The original Roman Roads were used by the Apostle Paul to carry the message of the Christian faith throughout Europe. These roads were already in place before Paul arrived; they had been developed by the Romans, were designed to serve and unite the Roman Empire, but were easily adapted as a means to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, effective leaders continually scan around, looking their own system of Roman Roads. Consider these examples I came across on my trip through Asia, New Zealand and Australia:

• The churches in China who have taken advantage of the phenomenal spread of the internet throughout the country to spread the message of Jesus Christ. For the Church in China, the World Wide Web has become the Roman Roads.

• The churches in Hong Kong who, because of exorbitant real estate prices, are often forced to hold services in office buildings. In many cases this has provided them with immediate accessibility and profile they might not achieve in a traditional church building. For the Church in Hong Kong, the very high rises that dominate the landscape have become the Roman Roads.

• The churches in Australia who have accepted the invitation of the  government to provide Chaplains for all of the public primary and high schools in the country. For the Church in Australia, the invitation into public school system is a Roman Road.

Do you have a message that needs to be spread quickly? Your best play might very well not involve creating a vast communications network. It could very well already exist.

Just look for your nearest Roman Road.

What Roman Road network have you used to carry your message?