Appealing To All Five Senses

I just finished reading a great book from the Disney Institute called "Be Our Guest" where they talk all about Disney's legendary customer service. There were so many great takeaways in the book for any type of business you're in but particularly for the church there were so many things to think about. One of the sections that was particularly interesting and thought provoking to me was a section where they talk about how important it is to appeal to all five senses while you are in the park and how each section of the park uses differnt means to let all five senses know you're in a different area then you just came from.

As a church we usually have different areas (ie. entry, kids area, youth area, main room for service, maybe adult classes) and it made me think "what is the church doing to appeal to peoples sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste senses?" What if depending on which area you were in there was different types of music? What is in the different areas the surface you walk on is different? What is for kids the area smelled like cotton candy or popcorn while in the adult area you have the smell of coffee or pastries? What if as you move from area to area the colors and design changed so that you knew you were in a different area?

There are so many ideas we can do as a church to make when we gather a memorable experience and then when you add the Holy Spirit into the mix as the ultimate experience maker then Wow! What are some ways your church has appealed to all five senses or what are some creative ways you can think of to appeal to them?

Building Bridges at Work

So I've been working at my new job for about three months now and one of my goals was to build bridges with people who are un-churched. In the job I had before this one I was working on a daily basis with people who are hurting and far from Jesus so it was a great experience to build a relationship with them and share with them the hope of Jesus. In my new job I've already built relationships with two un-churched people and I'm hoping that soon they'll not only come with me to church but come to small group with me. God places us in our jobs for many reasons but I believe one of the greatest opportunities for us is to build relationships with people far from God and invite them to come to church and also share the Gospel with them. I guess the question is then have you built any relationships with un-churched people in your work place and if not when are you?

Multiplication

It has been a while since I've blogged but reading "Killing Cockroaches" by Tony Morgan has hopefully inspired me to be more diligent. Basically "Killing Cockroaches" is a book of blogs that Tony has written over the years. I found it really enjoyable and it helped me realize a blog doesn't have to be some professional piece that would be published but it can just be my thoughts on random stuff.So....
Yesterday our church, McKinney Fellowship, had a big day called Equipping for Impact where around 400 people who are either already volunteer leaders or are interested in becoming a leader attended. It was a really great day beginning with Bruce Miller, Sr. Pastor, talking about how 14 years ago McKinney Fellowship was a church plant for another church in the Dallas area and now has come the time where God has really been challenging him on how McKinney can multiply into the future. So many churches have the goal of becoming HUGE mega-churches but quite honestly the stats don't bear out that mega-churches can do it all. In Collin County if all the existing churches were filled for three services every Sunday only 40% of the people that live in Collin County would fit. That is amazing!
McKinney Fellowship has decided that their new key plan is multiplication...small groups will multiply and so will the overall church through new independent church plants, campuses, and venues in places like prisons, coffee shops, and senior living facilities.
Over 42 different cities are represented at McKinney Fellowship and there is no way they could reach all those people in their present facility or in any facility for that matter. I applaud McKinney Fellowship for realizing the only way to reach those 60% of un-churched people in Collin County is the bring church to them instead of the old mindset of you come to us.
How is your church doing? Do they realize that they can't reach everyone so they need to think about multiplication or are they satisfied with the status quo?

Please Lead!

Lately I've been talking with different friends who fill all sorts of different association pastor roles, from children's to small groups to you name it roles in the church. Somewhere in the discussion it always comes around to what are the major things that you need from your leader(s). There are many different things that depending on the associates personality they want from those above them but without exception the thing that everyone mentions as top priority is clarity of the vision. I know in the past when I've been in associate level positions the thing that frustrated me the most and made my job the hardest was when I couldn't get a straight answer for where we're going and what we are trying to do. Without the leader or leaders being able to communicate to the rest of the staff and lay people where we're going and why it becomes very hard to get excited and band together for a mission.

As a leader we need to spend time communicating to those around us the vision of where we're going and why because if we don't we'll lose people along the way. Now I realize not everyone who is in a leadership position is gifted in creating, developing, or communicating a vision for the future. If you fall into that category of leader then it is important to put into place some people that have that gift. Throughout the Bible we find leaders who could either communicate with clarity the direction of the future or they had someone around them that could communicate it.

If you are a leader I encourage you to take the time and talk to all your staff and lay leaders and get an honest assessment of whether you are clearly communicating the vision of where you believe God is calling you to go and if they say they don't get a sense of clarity then take time to work on it because if you don't you'll start to lose people. God has called out leaders and I believe one of the most important things a leader can do is communicate clarity of the vision.

Temptations

In Matthew chapter 4 we read about how Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil. During His time in the wilderness the devil tempted Jesus in three areas that I believe pastors are tempted today. The Bible talks about how Jesus is our mediator and how He understands our struggles and I believe when you look at these three temptations we can see clearly how He can understand struggles we go through in 21st Century ministry.

The first temptation thrown as Jesus was a physical temptation, Jesus was hungry and the devil wanted Him to perform a miracle that would satisfy a physical drive or desire. A physical drive that affects many pastors today is their sexual drive. It is becoming more and more common to hear stories of pastors having affairs with their secretary or a woman in the church. These stories of temptation destroy families and churches but the sexual temptation that the internet provides is even more common and less likely to be found out. Jesus understands our physical desires and is their for us.

The second temptation the devil brought at Jesus dealt with pride. The devil took Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple and told Him the angels would catch Him because of Who He is and therefore nothing bad would happen to Him. In our North American church culture where pastors become celebrities because of books or conferences it is very easy for a pastor to get caught up in how cool he is or how influential he is. Many pastors start to believe the hype and lose track of who they really are and who Jesus is. Pride is what caused the devil to fall originally and he realizes that we as pastors and leaders are so easily caught up in that same struggle. Jesus understands our tendency toward prideful thinking and is their for us.

The third temptation the devil brought at Jesus dealt with accumulating material possessions. The devil showed Jesus all of the lands and promised them to Him if He would simply worship him. This temptation follows right along with the previous temptation because for many pastors the material possessions come at the same time pride starts to creep in. We live in a materialistic world where everyone is trying to have the bigger house and the nicer car. So many pastors try to figure out a way to get more money so that they can have the nicer things in life but how many times in order to get more money do we have to sacrifice the truths of Scripture. So many pastors are okay with not preaching the hard things of Scripture so that more people will come and then we'll have more money in the offering. Jesus understands our desire to have more material possessions in life and is their for us.

Matthew chapter 4 deals with how Jesus was tempted by the devil and overcame him by speaking Scripture and trusting in His Father but it is also a good place for us pastors to go today and realize that Jesus truly does understand the struggles we go through as pastors in North America today and He wants us to know that we can still go to Scripture and trust in Him for strength through those times when the devil tries to tempt us.

Where is God?

Today the pathology reports came back that Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor at The Village Church, has cancer and that it will be a tough road ahead because the doctors couldn't removed it all with the first surgery. Matt is 35 and one of the most influential pastors for the next generation. Where is God? One of my high school friends is still dealing with the fact that on Good Friday her husband fell seven stories and is still in the hospital with sever trauma. Where is God? All over the world families are being slaughtered in the streets, children are being pulled into wars, little girls are sold as prostitutes. Where is God? The answer that we find isn't always the one we want but the answer is He is right here. God is right here for us in all the pain and all the things that are so wrong in this world. God is right here when it isn't fair. Do I pretend to know why God allows these things to happen? No, but I do know based on His Word that He is here and that He is in control. God's ways are beyond our ways and His knowledge is far beyond our knowledge so all I can do in times like these and in a world like this is hold on to the promise that God is here and still in control.

Things I Learned at Disney World

A couple weeks ago Amanda & I spent a week at Disney World in Orlando. Since we don't have kids and we went in October the lines were shorter and we had more freedom to move around and move quickly from one thing so another without lots of brakes. I haven't been to Disney since I was really young so this was my first time to go and really be able to take it all in and remember things. We had such a fun time and I made a few observations about Disney that I think translate into church ministry. Now before anyone gets all riled up about me drawing any comparisons between the two let me be up front in saying the church shouldn't be an amusement park but I do think we can learn a lot from how they do things. Here are just a few observations I made that I hope to take with me when I, Lord willing, one day start a church.

1) the people there are so friendly and helpful. The first day there it was my birthday and so they gave me a button that told everyone I was celebrating my birthday at Disney. I got to tell you that we didn't pass one single employee that day that didn't say "Happy Birthday Chris". I know this may sound silly but someone you don't know smiling and welcoming you makes you feel good. What if the church was made up of people who really believed that showing an interest in a new face was important?

2) everything they do is well done. As we walked around and went on some of the kid rides I am blown away at how well and how much pride they obviously take in things being done well. At Disney you don't see trash on the ground, you don't see places that need paint work, you see the detail they put into creating the scenes of movies and stories. Everything they do is done well and people appreciate that. What if the church took as much pride as Disney in doing things well and making their facilities look clean and nice?

3) it is a fun place where people are happy. I remember commenting to Amanda one day that I haven't heard a single curse word the whole time we have been here and I can't even remember someone being visibly upset about something (other then little kids crying over something). Now I know that we as the church are called to talk about tough things and sometimes make you uncomfortable about your sin but what if the church was a place people really looked forward to going to and being a part of?

4) they make the kids experience memorable. It really was fun to see the faces of kids as Disney and know this was such a treat for them. It is also fun to watch parents and grandparents as the find pleasure in their kids loving their experience. What would the church give to have a Children's ministry that is so exciting and fun that they want to be there? How excited would the parents be if their kids wanted to be in church because it is fun and they are learning about Jesus?

5) it is a well run company. If you visit Disney you can't help but notice how well run it is from the moment you walk in. None of the other things could happen if it wasn't run well. The fact that the give you a free pass on your birthday or that prices aren't astronomical (I know they are high but not as bad as I thought they'd be or could be) is because they have a good plan and run a smart business. What is the church had a really good strategy for where they want to go in the future and how the finances play a part in that? What is churches didn't over reach trying to please everyone but instead stuck closely to their vision and goals?

Well these were a few of the things I picked up on at Disney but if you have some of your own I'd love to hear about them. Disney is truly a magical place and my hope is that we as the church can learn a few things so that Jesus is loved and is viewed as great as Walt Disney in peoples eyes.