Postmodern Path

A few weeks ago I talked about a new phase of my life – I’m now working with the music team of Seacoast Church here in Greenville. You can read more about it at this blog.

At my first staff meeting, campus pastor Chris Surratt announced that the Seacoast campuses were going to make a big change – head pastor Greg Surratt wanted to implement prayer, Communion and offering stations into the worship.

I was so excited I nearly jumped out of my chair. After reading Dan Kimball’s “The Emerging Church” a few years ago I became interested in this new wave of worship and thought it would meet a need in the Greenville area. A big rule in marketing is to find a need and meet it – and since no church that I know of in Greenville is doing the stations thing, why shouldn’t we be the first?

Greg takes a few weeks off each summer, and last year he visited many of the leading postmodern ministries in the country. He felt that God was nudging him to help the people of Seacoast experience a richer, more involved time of worship.

It’s rare that a pastor of a megachurch would be willing to rock the boat and try something so radically new, but I suspect that’s why Seacoast is as successful as it is – they’re not afraid of new things.

The first Sunday, Greg reported that the new format was a hit – he witnessed a shift from a few people participating to hundreds. Since the main campus is a week ahead of the rest of us, we saw the results the following Sunday. The beauty of the stations concept is that people can choose to actively participate (or not) by moving forward to take Communion, give their offering or have prayer, all options during the praise set. I’ll describe these stations in more detail in the future.

Now that we’re having Communion every week we’re keeping an ear out for more Communion-ish worship songs. Chris Sligh, one of the talented worship leaders here in Greenville has written a fantastic Communion song. I don’t know why this guy doesn’t have a record deal yet – he wrote the music and lyrics, sings on the demo like a Nashville session singer and played the guitars on my track. It’s my first collaboration with a Seacoast artist, and you can download a free mp3 and lead sheet here:

https://worshipideas1.wpengine.com/CommunionSong.html

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Worship Leader Mentoring

By Tom Lane

Two things I remember from very early in my life, one is I loved my music and two, my identity was heavily attached to it. It was a challenge any time someone else got promoted or was praised besides me. I felt less than for some reason, funny how it starts early on.

Later I learned there’s so much talent in this big world and how sad if my worth is based on a comparison to any other. A friend who’s a legendary guitar player in his own right helped change that for me. He would stop in mid performance as if he was amazed at something I played or look at me across the stage with such affirmation and praise in his expression. It floored me because I knew in truth he was the amazing talent. What I realized is that it didn’t cost him anything to acknowledge and build me up. It made him stand out all the more and freed me to do the same with other players, feeling good about just being the best me I can.

We each can take steps to move over and make room for those around us. It’s a good practice and helps us to see who we are more honestly. It may be hard to prefer someone or pass an opportunity along that will lift another’s spirit but it will always come back to you! Give these a try if you haven’t already:

1. Adopt a younger Muso you know that needs encouraging in their gifts and talents.

2. Schedule regular time with them, to befriend and teach them anything you know and that has helped you. Pass it on!

3. Affirm their strengths and praise them any time you can. Gently encourage their weaknesses!

4. Bring them with you to do what you do, let them learn from you in a professional or ministry situation.

5. Develop your own internship program where they can begin to assist you on a regular basis for a specified time with any and everything from small to big.

6. Model and teach responsibility in all areas of life. Be available!

7. Give them the platform and opportunity occasionally with the grace to learn and fail in the process, fade into the background and let them shine!

8. Train your own replacement or sub.

9. When you’ve done all you can, help find another mentor or opportunity to usher them onto.

10. Commission and bless them as they go and let them go!

Mentoring sounds like and old man’s job really, that’s at least how I always thought of it. Sadly it took me too long in life to wake up to the truth that it’s a part of discipleship we’re all commissioned to do by Christ Himself. In fact the youngest of you can impact someone in your own world.

Hopefully you don’t feel threatened or guilted into anything but excited that what you have as an individual musician and as a band in any setting can be given away! Make it a part of who you are and what you do-you’re Vision!

Our positions and titles only entitle us to serve. Move over and make room!

The Next Big Thing Part 2

Last week we talked about the new multi-site church movement that’s happening all over the country, and specifically about Seacoast Church in the southeastern part of the USA.

The brand new book “The Multi-Site Church Revolution” by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird talks in depth about this phenomenon, and I recommend it to anyone who’s interested.

Most churches are familiar with the multiple services format (i.e. 9am & 11am.) Multi-site can be thought of as an extension of this idea.

There are two points I’d like to make that might help churches to prepare and participate in this new wave.

1. You don’t have to be a mega-church to be multi-site. You can replicate yourself and reach the community in other, less costly and time-intensive ways. Imagine small home churches that are in cahoots with a larger church, sharing resources and maybe even the pastor’s video sermon or podcast. Or how about an office Bible study that’s supported by a larger ministry.

The Biblical idea of “church” does not mean a physical building with sanctuary, pulpit and organ, but the Body of Christ. I like how Hillsong London leadership addressed the congregation as “church” when I recently visited (as in “church, we need to reach out to others…” etc.) When you stop thinking buildings and start thinking outside the box, the possibilities are endless.

The multi-site book I mentioned talks about a fire station church! “North Little Rock fireman Jeff West attended an equipping class about taking his faith to his community and workplace. The class was taught at his church, Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock, Arkansas.

“Jeff’s mind went immediately to the community he knew best: firefighters. ‘What about fire stations?’ he thought, aware that a lot of firefighters are stuck at their firehouses on Sundays. Jeff also knew that his church would soon be opening a video venue on campus. ‘Why couldn’t we do the same thing in our firehouses?’ he asked himself.” The book goes on to tell of how Jeff’s vision became reality – in 2005 the church was supporting up to 20 local fire station churches!”

2. The multi-site revolution will be a call for churches to get their act together. You hear much whining in the press about how Walmart is destroying mom and pop stores all over the country (my, how we Americans love to whine!) In nearly every issue of a Christian retailing magazine I read letters from mom and pop Christian bookstores who bemoan the fact that big-box stores are putting them out of business.

Walmart isn’t exactly guiltless, but what you might not realize is that many of these little stores don’t have the business sense to stay open past 5 o’clock, or don’t sell some contemporary Christian music because it’s “too worldly.” By the time these stores realize we’re living in the 21st century it’s often too late – as a customer, I just might want to shop at 9pm and pick up the latest Kutlass CD.

Likewise, churches, if you insist on operating like it’s 1963, you might not be too long for this world. If you’re just now considering using contemporary music in your worship, you’re 20 years behind. If your church is full of politics that strangle your ministry, you just might be put “out of business” by churches who are more concerned with seeing people reached for Christ.

As a blogger put it on the WorshipIdeas blogsite last week, “I have to wonder when we will start supporting each other and leave all the tearing down aside. It might be a good idea to go visit a multisite video church, sit through an entire service or two and even speak to some of the members before deciding that these newfangled churches are superficial and kind of like a social club.”

Love it or hate it, we’re living in a new world.

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The Next Big Thing

What would happen if Rick Warren started a church in your town?

Would it suck the life out of other churches, much like Walmart sucks the life out of mom and pop stores when it builds a local supercenter?

Get ready, because this just might be The Next Big Thing: multisite video churches. Back in September 05 I wrote about Seacoast Church and how they’re taking over the South. When Seacoast plants a church, they do it right – supplying the new plant with graphics, signage and ministries to make it appear like it’s an established church of five years, not to mention a tried and true methodology that works.

While some churches are sitting around, twiddling thumbs, debating whether they should or should not be relevant, reach out, have contemporary music or [fill in the blank], churches like Seacoast have a successful strategy of meeting needs and people are flocking – they had 11,000 people at Easter between 10 campuses!

What’s interesting, and how a Seacoast church differs from a typical church plant, is how the churches are structured. The plant considers itself part of one congregation and watches a sermon video from senior pastor Greg Surratt. They call it “one church, many locations.”

The video thing might seem weird at first, but after 30 seconds of watching you’re engaged. I had visited a local megachurch recently that televises on screen the pastor as he preaches. I found myself watching the video instead of the live guy, simply because I sat so far back I could see the video image better!

Each plant has live worship and a campus pastor who doesn’t have to preach [although he may from time to time] but is more like a shepherd.

The video venue movement appears to be a God-thing – it’s happening all over the country… LifeChurch.tv, Northpoint and Willow Creek to name a few. Saddleback started their first video church at Easter with 1800 attending the first Sunday! Not simply a growth strategy, the multisite church movement is about fulfilling the Great Commission.

What I find interesting is the concept of “the genius of the and,” a term coined by Jim Collins in his book “Built to Last.” With a multisite church you have the resources of a megachurch with the feel of a smaller church (grow larger AND grow smaller), a brand new AND a trusted brand, a staff with generalists AND specialists.

In his article “”The Multi Site Church,” Greg Ferguson says “new churches usually begin with one church planter, a generalist who has to oversee everything. If there is a team, it might include those over broad areas: a worship leader or perhaps a children’s pastor.

“The multi-site church, however, allows you to start a new location with the existing staff in place. Instead of hiring more generalists, you add specialists such as technical arts, administrator, or director of creative arts for children. The big win is that now all locations have the benefit of the generalists, and the added specialists.”

Most impressive are the results – these churches have a high percentage of converts. 1/3 of the congregation at Seacoast Greenville are new believers.

For more info, check out the new book “The Multi-Site Church Revolution” by Seacoast’s Geoff Surratt at Amazon.com.

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