Hannah Montana

First off, it bothers me a bit that I have a pic of Hannah Montana on my blog. I am a bit creeped out by it. Are you? She scares me for some reason. But my daughters LOVE her.

I’m talking to our students tonight about “What Hannah Montana Can Teach Us About Being Real”. It’s all about relationships. We’ll use David & Jonathan as our biblical example of authentic relationships. I’ll be talking about the big idea: The reward of authenticity is worth the risk.

Here are the 2 things we learn from Hannah about being Authentic: 1. It’s RISKY! Can you imagine what would happen if she really said, “Yeah, Hannah’s fake!”? I mean there are kids who believe they are 2 different people. My kids are 2 of them! Kids’s would freak! She would make half the $$$ she does now. It’s risky to be real. People can hurt us with our own story. People can turn their back on us. Life hurts. Betrayal hurts. 2. There’s a REWARD. Don’t you know she gets tired of wearing that mask (or wig I guess). I mean as she gets older, it’s got to get tired. It’s tiring for us to wear masks. We can only keep it up for so long. It gets old trying to be someone else. It’s FREEING to be us…to be authentic.

So if the risk of authenticity is worth the reward…HOW do we transition from being fake to being real? I think Hannah shows us this too.

1. TRUST – My girls have this dance step thing that tells them the exact steps to take to dance just like her to her songs. I think her steps are so mapped out. Sometimes we refuse to trust life because we are just trying to follow the right steps in the right order. God says our steps are “ordered” by HIM. We’ve got to trust people, life, others, ourselves.
2. COMMIT – Shelby has a wig for HM & wears it a lot. I feel bad for Miley Cyrus, she can’t commit to one persona. We have to choose to pull off the wig/mask and commit to being in authentic relationships with others. Even if we get hurt…we have to be us.
3. BE OURSELVES – Instead of changing our voice and being someone else…I have to be ME. You have to be YOU.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on HM or MC. Just using them as an example. Let’s choose today to be real/authentic in our relationships. It’s risky…but there’s a GREAT REWARD. Let’s be real with others. Let’s be real with God.

Thanks Lance…and Todd…

We are always looking for ways to market ourselves, create buzz, get people talking, help our church folks connect with those outside the church, get our vision out, etc.  Our Creative Worship Pastor, Todd Sturgell (or as we so affectionately refer to him “The Toddfather”), came up with the idea of taking an older idea and spinning it for the good of the kingdom.

He basically ordered a bunch of the Lance Armstrong type bracelets.  You know the LIVESTRONG deal.  He got some in black for adults & in blue for kiddos.  He had our vision put on them.  Each one says LOVE GOD. LOVE OTHERS.  SERVE THE WORLD.

Now you may think that’s a dated idea and others have done it.  And you may be right.  But we don’t care.  Why?  Because it’s working.  It’s big time working.  So many people have asked me about mine.  I usually wear 2 at a time because anytime someone asks about it, I’ll explain it, take it off and offer it to them.  Every person has taken it.  I gave my 2 and my daughters away to some kids from her school the other day.  She wasn’t happy at first.  Daddy had some explaining to do!

Anyway it goes to show the power of buzz.  The power of an idea.  The power of harnessing that idea for the kingdom.  The power of reshaping something old to get a new result.  The power of cheap creativity.

Thanks Lance Armstrong.  Thanks Todd Sturgell.  Enjoy the pic.

Sunday in the Rearview

What a weekend. I packed, I moved, I churched (I’m sure that’s not a word!), I met, I dodgeballed, I crashed. Here’s the quickest recap of my day that I can muster…

• At church @ 7:30AM.
• Did announcements in all three services.
• Not sure of total attendance. Looked great for a holiday weekend. We had 102 in student ministries. Not too bad for a Sunday attendance.
• Services had good energy. 830 was not so much, but the other 2 melted my face.
• We very tired/hungover from moving over the weekend.
• Saw tons of new faces. Met a lot of them…great people. The Creek has the best people.
• Taught in Varisty (high school group). We had around 50something students in there. It was a good vibe. I taught as a large group but them at strategic points circled them up in groups with leaders & questions about a point. They also had fill in the blank sheets & most of them were filling them in. It was VERY INTERACTIVE in there. Great responses/feedback from the kids. I loved that. Several of them talked about how much they liked it.
• Spent some time just hanging out with people in our new commons area(s). I love those spaces. So functional. So relational.
• Met with the new leaders/point couple for our college ministry during the 1130 service. They will do well.
• Noticed a few things I want to work on with our children’s check-in.
• Met with around 10 college students over lunch. Sort of a core/launch team for the new ministry. It’s going to be called FOUR:TWELVE. After 1 Tim 4:12. I like it & what we can do with it marketing wise. They are a passionate, driven, opinionated, raw, loving, mature, worshipful group of kids. I love them so much.
• They all came to the new house after we met and just sat around talking and laughing. We were tired, but it was fun.
• At 5PM I went to our youth dodgeball tourney. I don’t really know how many kids were there. I would probably say close to 50. With adults it was a lot more. We had a BLAST. I’m actually sore. Guess I’m older than I want to let on. We have GREAT students. The best I’ve had in years. We have INCREDIBLE adult leaders. Bob Ford, Mike & Kristy Burns, Amanda Boling, Rob Husted, Sammy, and several parents helped out. I’m telling you THE GREATEST student ministry in the country.
• Came home, cleaned up, ate, and watched ENCHANTED with my entire family laying in my bed. Great cap to a great day.
• Slept like a beast.

Wednesday Night Thoughts…

Last night we had the kickoff for theMIX, our midweek programming for middle & high school students. We take a break in mid-week programming for the summer, so we ramp back up this time of year. It was also the first night in our new student facility. Here are some thoughts I had going into, during & on the other side of this night…

• I was nervous. I always get nervous. My #1 fear = no one will show up. I’ve always been this way & I always will I think. We did ZERO marketing. We just told our church that midweek was back.
• I was also nervous as to how the students would like the room.
• Kids SHOWED UP! We had 122 students there. Great for a first night. Exactly 20 first time guests. Plus, there were a lot of regulars who were out.
• The room is great but the sound quality is bad. Too many hard surfaces. I’m working on sound absorption pieces.
• The band did a great job. Jordan, our worship leader, did better than ever. He really led & taught the kids.
• Our volunteers were awesome. Lots of newbies. They did well. I think we had a team of around 16-17 vols. From security to tech to cafe.
• Our registration team were overwhelmed but handled it with grace & ease.
• Honestly, it was somewhat awkward for me speaking in the new room. It still feels like we’re living in someone else’s house & playing with their stuff. And at any moment they will come home & be mad.
• I felt like the message I taught was one of the worst in years for me. I needed to give them a refund.
• Kids responded though.
• We have 2 video screens walls! They are HUGE & crystal clear.
• We gave away over 100 new shirts in about 15 mins.
• We did the grossest game ever.
• We are doing a few retools to the service flow to help out for next week.
• Some things still weren’t finished in the room…it will take a few weeks.
• I was hung-over this morning from last night. The good kind though. The Christian kind of hangover.
• Now I’m nervous again. Will they all show back up next week?