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the problem with sermons

Here's my new column at CreativeWorshipTour.com  

Right up front I know this one may come back to bite me later on down the road.  Hopefully you’ll stick with me long enough to really hear where I’m going with this . . .

Think about this statistic for a moment; in the past 15 years our country has grown by 52 million people, yet church attendance remains virtually unchanged (The American Church in Crisis, Dave Olsen).  Now consider for a moment all of the fundamental changes that have taken place in our society during that time.  Think about the changes in the way we communicate.  Think about the changes in the way we interact with our world. 

For instance, today I carry a phone in my pocket everywhere I go.  It allows me to call, email, text, to surf the web, to connect to Facebook, to tune my guitar, to order my favorite burrito from Chipotle with one touch.  It’s my Bible, the latest book I’m reading, my teleprompter, my storyboarding client, my GPS device, my camera, my contact book and my iPod.  And it goes everywhere with me, in my pocket.  Talk about a revolution. 

Now think about the worship experience you participated in last weekend. 

the rainbow

UPDATE: Thanks so much to all of you who have called, texted, emailed and Facebooked your support.  My mom's memorial service will be at 4:30PM, Tuesday, March 23rd at Foundry Methodist Church in Great Bend, KS. 

My mom passed away this morning, and although we're grieving her we're also grateful that she's finally gone to be with God. While I'm not one who's always seeing signs everywhere I look, this was a nice reminder that we're not alone right now. (thanks to all of you who've been praying)

crossroads concept video

This is a new concept video my buddy Sandy Thailing let me take a pass at editing last weekend.  Crossroads is (aspiring to be) an addiction recovery ministry targeted to younger addicts in our community.  The preparations for this ministry are at a critical stage right now, so if you could fire off a prayer for them we'd really appreciate it.

(The song is "Rest My Chemistry" by Interpol)

worship narratives and the element of surprise

Hey all - here's this week's column from CreativeWorshipTour.com .  

Last night I had a chance to attend a sneak preview of the new movie “How To Train Your Dragon.”  Being a Dreamworks film I was confident it would be a crowd-pleaser, and that’s exactly what it will be when it comes out here in a few weeks.  All you’ll need is a Coke, some popcorn and your inner 10-year-old and you’ll be in for some good times. 

Having said that, my expectations for the story itself really weren’t that high.  The title itself gives away a whole lot of the journey the protagonist is going to take.  Plus, animated movies cost of lot of money to make, so studios have a finite amount of risk their willing to take when it comes to messing with safe storytelling formulas. 

So imagine my shock when the movie ended with a genuine surprise.  A surprise that was devastating and poignant and symmetrical and beautiful.  It doesn’t happen until the very end, but it blew me away with its unexpected power.  Completely made my night. 

storytelling and worship

Here's my first column from CreativeWorshipTour.com

Imagine for a moment you were planting a church from scratch with a group of people who had no experience in Christian worship expressions of any kind. Would you adopt the same kind of worship format you’ve always known? Would you blend different aspects of various experiences? Or would you take the opportunity to step back and reconsider every element from a fresh perspective?

Growing up I always experienced worship as some variation on a ‘hymn sandwich’ – open with music, community stuff, long sermon, close with some music. Liturgies (traditional, charismatic and contemporary) always felt like predictable checklists, with one element having no discernable relationship to what proceeded or followed it. In some churches they even gave out printed orders of service so you could prejudge the experience before it even began.

new writing assignment

Hey all.  Tomorrow I start a new gig as a writer for CreativeWorshipTour.com.  I'm really looking forward to exploring some of the things I've been assigned to write about - we'll see if everyone else is too.  I'll be posting the columns to this website as well, so stop by tomorrow at check it out!

my mom

I've debated a bit about whether to share this in this forum, but over the course of the past few months I've come to realize that some of my best friends in the world keep up with me from afar through this blog.  My family could use your prayers right now.

The doctors have announced that my mom probably has less than two weeks of life left.  Soon she's be starting the next part of her journey with God, and the part of me that's held her hand as she's suffered through four years of cancer is celebrating.  But the other part of me, the part of me that sees her first as just my mom, is dying a little bit with her. 

I wish I had something more profound to share right now, but I don't.  All I've learned to this point is that there comes a moment when you've done all you can humanly do, and sometimes it just isn't enough.  It's not even within my power to convince her to rest now and to be at peace.  I know the death of a parent isn't unique to the human experience, but this is the first time for me.  And it's hard. 

being in the moment

“People respond to something that happened in the moment much than they will respond to the most brilliant thing was thought of ahead of time and prepared . . . When we see something that unfolds naturally and is real, people love it.”   - Conan O'Brian

ahead of the curve a bit

So Panasonic is releasing HD cameras and mixers designed for 3D this fall.  Here's the problem - no one has 3D TVs yet.  There are no 3D Blu-ray standards in place yet, let alone any discs coming out.  Avatar isn't even going to be released in a 3D disc.  ESPN is hoping to launch a 3D channel . . . next year (maybe). 

In my world, there are only a hand full of megachurches that have jumped into HD at this point.  COR has 15,000 active members and we weren't even shooting in HD until I asked for a Sony Z1 to shoot with.  It will likely be a decade or more until HD is the standard.

And Panasonic already thinks we're ready for 3D workflows!?!?  That's . . . quite a gamble. 

24 hours series promo

Some of you have been emailing and texting about the new series we're advertising on TV right now (it's actually hitting the Olympics broadcast tonight).  This series is why we did all of the video shooting in Israel last year.  As of this moment over 2,000 churches across the country are going to be using our materials this Easter in their own worship.  Cool stuff.  Here's a version of it from YouTube that you can check out and send your friends to.  It's available to view in HD here. 

the problem with the iPad

As someone who has (somewhat reluctantly) become something of a Mac person over the past couple of years I was looking forward to hearing about their "latest creation" today.  Turns out the new creation is a device called the iPad, a tablet-style device that . . . does stuff.  After taking a few minutes to read more about what it's supposed to be I have to admit to being a bit disappointed. 

But let me give you some context first before I unload my disappointment.  I currently own a 15" MacBook Pro (which I have warm fuzzies for) and an iPhone (which is like the twin brother I never had . . . wait . . . never mind)  I also got a Kindle as a gift last year, which I used all the time until I realized that the Kindle app on the iPhone worked even better for my lifestyle.  Anywho, I really dig my Apple stuff.  Which is part of why the iPad may be such a bummer for me. 

inside/outside

Tonight I'm struck by the gulf between what it is to be inside and what it is to be outside. By what is it to be with and what it feels like to be alone. For me this is a good experience. If you're involved in fostering a Christian community give this a shot sometime soon - go by yourself to a worship service at a church you've never been to before. Now, take those feelings of 'outsider-ness' and multiply them by ten. That's what it feels like for someone to attend your worship experience if they've never been in a church before. Anything need to change?