One of the things that I am committed to doing when we plant this new church is to look at things with a blank slate. Here’s what I mean:
Obviously, we are going to soak in as many ideas and strategies as we can from other people. However, I’m going into the whole planning process with pretty much all options open. Think about it…why do we do church the way that we do? We’ve been trained to believe that we have to have certain things. We have to pass the offering basket (or plate). We have to have a communication card/bulletin. We have to have small groups/Sunday school. We have to have a special song during the service. To be relevant, we have to serve coffee and doughnuts. And the list could go on and on.
Don’t get me wrong, all of these methods have had their time and place, and some may very well still be the best options for your context. But I want to look beyond those methods and look at the core concept behind them. What is the best way to experience true community? What is the best way for people to give? Let’s erase all the preconceived notions of how to do church and discover the best ways to be the church. More soon…
Well, I’ve been hinting on my twitter account that we had some big news to announce and the day has finally come. I’ll just cut to the chase. In January, we are going to be moving to Columbia, SC to plant a church! Not only that, Patty will be opening up her own chiropractic practice in Camden!
The past couple of years have been awesome here at SpringWell but we knew that it was time to pursue these dreams that God had placed in our hearts. Over the past couple of years, I have been feeling some rumblings from God about planting a church but I fought it. But…eventually God made it obvious through tons of things that He wanted us to do it and that the time is now.
I’m not going to lie, it’s a scary proposition. As of right now, we don’t know where we’re gonna live, how we’re gonna make any money until everything is fully up and running, and basically how we’ll survive. Especially with the state of the economy. But we know that God is faithful and we are certain that this is where God is leading! We’re confident that he will provide.
As for SpringWell, Scott and Bill have been supportive of me through this decision and are standing by me in support of this plant. We know that we’re really going to miss a lot of people at SpringWell. We can honestly say that we were embraced quicker here than we have ever been before and we have made some friendships that we are certain will last a lifetime. We’re going to especially miss the students and leaders that we worked with every week, but we know that God has even bigger things in store for them in the future! We love you all and we will definitely be in touch.
I’ll be talking about the church plant and more in the future. Keep us in your prayers as we seek God’s guidance in these endeavors. Pray that God will do a revolutionary work through us and that thousands will come to know Him.
As sort of a side note, what has God been speaking to you about doing? Whatever it is, just do it. Don’t let life pass you buy without surrendering to the things God wants you to do. More to come…
While I’m on this music kick today, I tought I’d share with you Isaiah’s three favorite songs right now. Everytime he hears these songs, he dances like no other. He even does the “la la la la…” with the first one: Here ya go:
1) Neverending by the David Crowder Band
2) Vida la Vida by Coldplay
3) Whatever You Like by T.I.
What did you expect? The Wiggles? Sorry…he only likes good music.
What does your 14 1/2 month old listen to?
Note: Isaiah does not really own an iPod. Heck…I don’t even have one anymore. Someone stole it out of our car. 
Yesterday was a tough but necessary day for me.
I sold my Strat (For those that don't know…it's a Fender Stratocaster guitar).
Over the last few years, I have played the strat at tons of events and it has been
my guitar of church to rock.
However, with some endeavors coming up that will demand more money from me,
it was time to let it go.
Thanks for the memories Fender Strat.
I will retire the white and black star guitar strap in your honor.
You have a new owner now and I don't love my acoustic any more than you.
You will always be remembered as a part of Half Mile Marathon.
Sorry…I needed the money.
Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. I am making it a goal to blog at least 5 times in a week starting this coming week so prepare yourself. Also, we have some huge news to let everyone know about this Thursday so make sure you check in.
Anyways, our lives have been crazy lately! We have traveled tons for the holidays and we have a lot more coming up. Yesterday we got some new pictures made for Christmas. Too bad all of us were sick for the pics (major colds)! They aren’t the best pics ever, but they aren’t bad considering none of us could breathe clearly.
Remember…check back often next week (or subscribe over at the right).
It's been a while since I posted pics of Isaiah. He'll be 14 months old in a week. Here are some pictures that show some of Isaiah's favorite things from this week.
His favorite thing to do: Throwing the ball. Right handed and…
left handed too!
Isaiah with his sippy cup.
He thinks he's getting adjusted by his Dr. Mommy.
Eating some corn with daddy.
Playing in a pile of towels…and…throwing a ball, of course.
On Thursday, I posted this blog about what Starbucks would look like if it marketed like the church. The video reminds you of how silly a lot of the methods are that churches use today and, honestly, I felt guilty watching it because I've fallen into some of the same stupid methods in my past.
It really got me thinking….what can the church learn from Starbucks? Based on some principles that I read in a book called The Starbucks Experience, here are some quick hits about things that churches can learn from Starbucks.
1) Starbucks encourages both employees and customers to "make it your own." It blows my mind how welcoming the whole Starbucks experience is. If you are a frequent customer of Starbucks, you know what I'm talking about. I get so pumped up about my favorite drinks and even going through the drive through can be a fulfilling experience. Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems that Starbucks has created an experience that people buy into. Starbucks has begun to play an important role in a lot of people's lives.
Churches need to be the same way. People want to buy into something that is bigger than them. They want to have such an incredible experience that they find something they can buy into.
2) Starbucks knows that everything matters. Did you see earlier this year that Starbucks closed for a day to train all of their baristas on how to make the perfect drinks? They wanted to ensure that the Caramel Macchiato that you buy at your favorite Starbucks location will taste the same at any other location. Let's face it, every single detail of your trip to Starbucks has been thought through by management: the graphics and images, the taste of your drink, the "treat receipt."
I'll keep it simple. Churches have to realize that things seemingly mundane like changing a child's diaper can make just as much of an impact as the worship song on Sunday morning. For instance, when Patty and I visited New Spring Church recently, two little things really left an incredible impression on us. One, they put a really nice luggage tag on the diaper bag for us to keep that helped keep bags separate (and give us a great reminder of their church every time I see it). Also, when I went to change Isaiah's diaper later that day, I noticed he had a sticker on his diaper that said something like "changed with care at 'the Majestic'" (their children's ministry). It was a small gesture, but it left a lasting impression.
Everything should matter at church. Those crappy graphics, cheesy church words, and "greeters" that stare at you might be just the thing that keeps people from coming back to your church.
Part two tomorrow!
