Rantings of a Pastor/Gamer/Historian/Geek
So, have you ever been afraid to visit your own website? I have. Actually, I’m currently terrified of even looking at lifepointchurch.tv. Why? You may ask. Because on that seemingly innocuous page, there is a countdown. A timer slowly working its way to zero. Now, it’s not that I don’t want that counter to stop, it’s just that when it does, it’ll be time for our first preview service. And that’s a little overwhelming. Despite God’s providence thus far, I still feel so under-prepared. What if we miss something, what if no one shows up, what if something goes wrong…and on and on the "what ifs" go in my head. It’s enough to drive you insane. The truth is, I think that this preview service is a lot like having a kid. You do everything you can to prepare, but despite your hard work, you are never really "ready". There are always things that catch you by surprise. God hasn’t called us to worry about everything we can’t control. He’s just asked us to do everything we can do and leave the rest up to him. I just need a reminder of that sometimes. And by sometimes I mean everyday.
Well, James and I just posted the first ever Getting There From Here podcast. That’s right, for the first time ever, you can not only read our crazy ramblings on this blog, but you can listen to them in glorious stereo! Our debut episode is all about finances. In our first segment, "Now and Then", we talk about the current financial state of LifePoint, as well as how we got to where we are today, and where we want to be in the future. The second segment of the podcast is entitled "Cutting Corners" and
gives you some of the ways in which we were able to shave off quite a
bit of launching expense. As we’ve said before, we don’t claim to know everything about church launching, but are simply chronicling our experiences with what works and doesn’t work for us. It is our hope that someone can learn from our mistakes, and hopefully, our successes. Below are some websites that you will find mentioned within the podcast itself. If you haven’t downloaded the podcast (what are you waiting for?), just pretend they aren’t there.
“A new way forward”. Before this became the en vogue mantra about the future of American involvement in Iraq, the President and his administration used the ever popular phrase “Stay the course”. There was a time when you couldn’t turn on the news without hearing people arguing over whether we should “Stay the course” or “Cut and run”. (The use of specific words to sway people’s opinions about controversial topics may be the subject of a future, unrelated post.) Now, before you go and say to yourself: “Hey, I came here to talk about religion, not politics” or “What does that have to do with Church and Getting There From Here?” Hear me out.
James mentioned a few posts ago about our experience with one of the assistant managers at the theatre. I’d like to extrapolate on one of the insights I think I gained from our very in-depth conversation. (Stay with me, it’s all going somewhere, I promise) He had asked us the question, sort of rhetorically “How do you create a church that is organic, but that isn’t over systematic or traditional”. We didn’t really dwell on the topic, but after our conversation, God kept bringing that question back into my mind. How do we do it? The laws of physics tell us that everything is moving towards entropy. A state in which there is no usable energy left. Everything, it seems, breaks down over time. Many bright people, such as Andy Stanley, have warned us that everything moves towards complication (really another form of entropy). So how do we fight what seems to be the inevitable flow of nature? The answer: “Stay the course”.
When ancient sailors navigated the various bodies of water they inhabited, they didn’t rely on compasses or even detailed maps. They used the stars to determine their location. From the movement of certain celestial bodies, they were able to find the correct course. In other words, they fixed themselves upon certain stars, and were able to follow them, even in the daytime. As a church body, the way in which we fight entropy is to keep our eyes fixed on the vision, even when it would be easier to focus on something else.
I’m sure that I may catch some flak for not saying that we should keep our eyes on Jesus, so let me explain why I didn’t say that. Everyone has a different idea of what “Jesus” means in that sentence. Or, more correctly, what “keeping our eyes on Jesus” means. To one person it may mean having a youth ministry, to someone else it may mean having an outreach to shut-ins. While these aren’t bad things in and of themselves, they can be distractions from what God really wants a church to do. Plainly stated, the phrase: “Keeping the church’s focus on Jesus” is just too darn general and therefore open to interpretation. Plus, the church is supposed to be the body of Christ, so should the church keep looking towards Jesus? Duh. Here’s your sign. The vision, on the other hand, is a much easier goal to measure because it is much more specific.
Maybe an example is in order. Let’s say I work in a factory making widgets. Let’s also say that I have a boss, and just for the heck of it let’s say that my goal is to “make my boss happy”. Well, I may very well achieve my goal, but it will be much more difficult to measure and to accomplish. How will I know when I’ve made my boss happy? What makes my boss happy? On the other hand, what if my goal was: “To make my boss happy by increasing productivity during every shift I work.” Now that is a goal that is much easier to attain and measure. How am I going to make my boss happy? By making him more money. I know my boss likes money. See the difference? The vision is the “by increasing productivity during every shift I work.” I didn’t take “making the boss happy” out of the equation, I just made it easier to accomplish.
Well, I’m pretty excited. Tonight we get to go to the Premiere Theatre and test the projector and sound system we are going to be using for service. I can’t wait. I’m a little nervous because we are going to be working around literally thousands of dollars worth of equipment. We’re also going to do some measuring for stage stuff. It looks to be like a fun night, even if it’s wwwaaayyyy too late.
Hello everyone out there in internet land! This is Kevin Stover. aKa Assistant Pastorman. James invited me here to help him post stuff on this blog. That’s right. It’s time for a little shake and bake. (If you haven’t seen Talladega Nights yet, stop whatever you are doing and rent it.) Now that the silliness is out of the way, let me introduce myself to those people who may not know me. I’m the assistant pastor of LifePoint and James’ best friend. I graduated with my BA in History last year, and I am eventually going to get my doctorate. I like like long walks on the beach, and romantic sunsets. My favorite colour is blue. I also like to play some Halo2 when I get some time, although that has been less and less frequently as of late.
I noticed that James hadn’t posted a bio or anything about himself really, so I’m going to tell you the true story that I just made up about James Laws:
Back in the misty recesses of 1975…a child was born. As he grew, his parents knew that his awesomeness needed to be harnessed, so they enrolled him in the martial arts. Fame as a world renowned action star would have been sure to follow, had tragedy not reached out its cruel hand. As fate would have it, his brother was killed in a mixed martial-arts tournament somewhere in Asia. James was on the first flight there, ready to avenge his brother’s untimely demise. After defeating every contestant thrown at him, it was time to face the man upon whom his ultimate vengeance was to fall. The tide of the battle began to shift towards James as he landed roundhouse after roundhouse. Unfortunately, his partner in this deadly dance refused to fight with any scruples. As James knocked him to the ground, the sinister fiend threw dirt into James’ eyes, blinding him for a split second, but long enough for the attacker to land a bone breaking blow to his leg. Hurt, hobbled, and hungry, James refused to surrender. Only one man was leaving this ring alive. Amazingly, James fought through the pain and defeated his opponent. Instead of killing him, however, he allowed him to live. The only penance the poor, broken killer was to perform was to sing the Sonny Curtis of The Cricket’s I fought the law, and the law won. (Cleverly replacing the word law with the word Laws, of course.)
Back in America, and with a bum leg, James knew that life as an action star had fluttered away, like a beautiful butterfly on a warm summer’s evening. Perhaps in future posts I will share more about the man, the myth, the legend that is James Laws.
Until then…keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.