IMHO…

compared to most 54 year-old men, i’m a pretty flexible guy.  i’m challenged by innovation and new ideas.  i love change.  i’m way more post-modern in my orientation than a lot of 20 and 30-somethings i know.  i think if the church (our church) continues to do the same things in the same ways, we’re going to continue to lose young people in the same way.  like i said, i’m all for change.

so when i read about this new idea, well…i’m still kind of steamed when i think about it.

tim stevens is a church-leader-blogger that i like to read.  he had an interesting post about outsourcing worship leaders the other this morning at his leadingsmart.com website.  i’m curious what you might think about it…

(thanks to mondaymorninginsight.com for the synopsis)

tim met with a church leader from mississippi that temporarily hired worship leaders to come in to help them out after their worship leader left for another job.  it worked out so well, that the church decided to permanently hire temporary worship leaders.  they have settled on four or five leaders that they bring in on a weekly basis.  according to tim stevens, here are some of the advantages this church leader told him about this approach:

• many worship leaders don’t enjoy building teams, managing budgets or organizing departments. they just love to lead worship. this strategy let’s them stay in their sweet spot.
• this decision saves money for the church.  they are able to pay them really well for a weekend and still save enough money in the church budget to use toward another staff position.
• they love the variety that this brings to their church.   keeping things unpredictable is a plus to keeping people’s attention.
• they have learned so much from these worship leaders that they wouldn’t have learned from one person.

in spite of my sometimes reckless love for change and my willingness to go out to the edge for the sake of reaching people for christ, i gotta tell you that i hate this idea.  i appreciate the outside-the-box thinking, but this church has got some messed up thinking.

the premise is all wrong.  the justifications are all wrong.   the expectations are all wrong.  sorry for being so wishy-washy about my opinion on this one.  the definition of worship leader is wrong.  the motive for doing this is wrong.  what about relationship?  what about family?  i’ll stop now.

agree or disagree?

for the record, you people at north point better not get any wacky ideas about outsourcing the preaching around here…

 

Monday Morning Quarterback

you know, if you missed being with us at north point sunday, you missed a really cool day. here are a few highlights:

• i got up sunday morning and just didn’t feel like we were going to have a full house. i know i’ve been whining a little about how much i struggle with our loss of momentum during the holidays, but this year has been different.
• it was a day that broke the trend…again. great crowds in both hours.
• the energy in our singing was awesome. there are some sundays where the singing seems a little hollow. this was definitely not one of those days.
• met some new folks. it never ceases to amaze me that we get new people every sunday. every sunday.
• i really hope we are doing a good job making new people feel like they want to come back.
• we have worked hard to become a church family that is full of potential friends…and not just people who try to be friendly. there’s a huge difference.
• can’t believe i actually gave my personal new year’s goals. now you know what i’m working on.
• i would love to hear from some of you. what are some of yours?
• i feel like we’ve gotten very predictable in what we do on sunday mornings. two songs. sermon. communion. four songs. i’m all for the comfort and security that routine can bring…especially in a world of such dramatic change, but i don’t think it’s necessary on sunday mornings.
• i love variety. i love unpredictable. i love surprise. i love the excitement and anticipation that comes from not ever knowing for sure what is going to happen next.  i embrace change like it’s my best friend.  i know that’s not everybody’s style, but it’s mine.
• we serve a spontaneous and unconfined god who never  ceases to amaze us with his movement in our lives.  we work so hard to keep god in boxes, but it just doesn’t work.
• they tried to keep jesus in the grave. you know how that worked out.
• be looking for some changes.  expect the unexpected.  be ready to ask god to shake your world.  maybe he’ll even do it on a sunday morning!

Breaking barriers – three

i’m so grateful for the inspiration i receive from other writers…books, blogs, periodicals, commentors, screen writers, historians…all.  the insights that i get make a huge difference!

any parent will tell you that having a baby changes things.  going from mom and dad…to mom, dad and junior is more than an adjustment…it’s a total seismic shift.  everything is different.  you don’t do anything the same.  sleep patterns are exploded.  meal time is work.  travelling is a joke.  holidays are chaos.  finances are in shambles.  so is the living room.  

going from mom, dad and junior…to mom, dad, junior, and junior2 is another adjustment.  going from three to four in a family requires re-thinking, re-modeling, re-creating, and re-doing a lot of things differently from the first time around.

in a family, this all makes perfect sense.  in a church, we are not so quick to embrace the same reality.  we are masters of doing things the same way…whether they work or not.  often, we do things…the same things…without thinking, simply because we have always done it that way before.

good moms and dads prepare for growth.  they anticipate and welcome the change that a bigger family will bring.  they plan for it.  they spend for it.  they learn all about it.  they talk to others who have gone through it.  they start making the changes nine months before the growth arrives.  their excitement and giddy anticipation consumes their thoughts, their conversation, their decision-making, their budget, their associations…pretty much everything.

what do you think we could learn from good moms and dads…that would help us build a healthier, growing church family?