We laughed... we talked... we laughed some more... and it was great. Thanks to the band and the setup team and the childcare team and Nathan/Katelyn with the teenagers and to the many, many, many volunteers that created an incredible environment on Sunday. We had a lot of first time guests at Church At The Grove and we have had a bunch of great comments about their experiences... opportunities they had to explore faith at their own pace... and that is what we go for.
By the way, if you were in the 11:15am Gathering, don't worry... I will start this Sunday by answering the three questions and I will tell you the salsa story... sorry we didn't get to it this past week.
Showing posts with label Create Environments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Create Environments. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Yesterday
Yesterday at Church At The Grove was great... the setup team did a fine job... the children were well-cared for... the band sounded fantastic (the acoustic feel was a cool change of pace)... there were a lot of guests... the tear-down team was fast like lightning... and I think everyone found a comfortable place to explore faith. And that last part is why we do everything else that we do.
We create the Sunday morning environment like we do so that people can have a place to explore faith at their own pace. Thanks to everyone who helps us with the environment each week... you're doing an incredible job. And, if you're not helping, consider jumping in... you'd be surprised how fun it can be to serve.
We create the Sunday morning environment like we do so that people can have a place to explore faith at their own pace. Thanks to everyone who helps us with the environment each week... you're doing an incredible job. And, if you're not helping, consider jumping in... you'd be surprised how fun it can be to serve.
Friday, July 27, 2007
I Am A Tour De France Addict
The last two and a half weeks have been rough on me. The Tour de France is on and it usually ends somewhere around two or three in the morning. I've watched about 6 of the full stages and pieces of another 6 or 7. Fortunately, tonight, I am able to watch the end of stage 18 and it's not even 11pm. There are only 5 miles left now, and I've been watching one of the most incredible "dances" for the last 20 minutes. Four riders lead the stage of the race and they are 10 minutes ahead of the "Peleton" (the huge group of more than 100+ riders that's not in the lead). For the last 20 minutes, these four riders have continued to break away from the rest of the group using an incredibly choreographed process of riding. These four riders rotate counter-clockwise through a pattern of diamond shapes... each one taking a 20 second turn at the lead, 20 seconds at the left side, 20 seconds in the "pocket" at the back, 20 seconds at the right side, then back to the lead.
So what's so special about this process... there are four riders that have pulled more than 10 minutes ahead of everyone else. The way they've done that is to create an aerodynamic "flight pattern"... a perfect environment for these four to pull away and win. With this pattern, everyone gets to lead for a while, support for a while, and rest for a while. It is this environment, that allowed these four to have just finished the race with that 10 minute gap still in place.
Paul talked about life being a "race." He said he doesn't have time to look backward or even that much time to look around... he is running for a goal that is ahead of him... he wants to be like Jesus and is not there yet.
Paul was right about life... it is a race. But running it alone is difficult and foolish... that's why Church At The Grove works so hard to create an environment for people to explore faith. As we race, we want an environment that allows people to lead, support, and rest along the way. Our Sunday morning environment is suited for that... people lead parts of it, help create parts of it, and enjoy it on a weekly basis. And as we go through life, we journey as if in a race. Along the journey, several have joined our community and they race with us... we are working on the "choreography" that will allow us to win... but it's coming together quite nicely.
Thanks to Russ Butcher, David Odom, our set-up teams, hospitality teams, children's ministry teams, band, and all the volunteers that create the Sunday environment each week. You are awesome. And, your efforts are working... if you ever get tired or discouraged... drop back into the "pocket" and rest... but while you're back there, look in front of you, and beside you... we're in a race, but we're in it together... and the environment we're creating is the perfect one for you and your friends to explore faith... leading at times, supporting at times, and even resting at times.
So what's so special about this process... there are four riders that have pulled more than 10 minutes ahead of everyone else. The way they've done that is to create an aerodynamic "flight pattern"... a perfect environment for these four to pull away and win. With this pattern, everyone gets to lead for a while, support for a while, and rest for a while. It is this environment, that allowed these four to have just finished the race with that 10 minute gap still in place.
Paul talked about life being a "race." He said he doesn't have time to look backward or even that much time to look around... he is running for a goal that is ahead of him... he wants to be like Jesus and is not there yet.
Paul was right about life... it is a race. But running it alone is difficult and foolish... that's why Church At The Grove works so hard to create an environment for people to explore faith. As we race, we want an environment that allows people to lead, support, and rest along the way. Our Sunday morning environment is suited for that... people lead parts of it, help create parts of it, and enjoy it on a weekly basis. And as we go through life, we journey as if in a race. Along the journey, several have joined our community and they race with us... we are working on the "choreography" that will allow us to win... but it's coming together quite nicely.
Thanks to Russ Butcher, David Odom, our set-up teams, hospitality teams, children's ministry teams, band, and all the volunteers that create the Sunday environment each week. You are awesome. And, your efforts are working... if you ever get tired or discouraged... drop back into the "pocket" and rest... but while you're back there, look in front of you, and beside you... we're in a race, but we're in it together... and the environment we're creating is the perfect one for you and your friends to explore faith... leading at times, supporting at times, and even resting at times.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Exchanging one thing for another!
Amy and I just signed up for high-speed internet and cable tv. In exchange for these things, we dropped our home phone (so don't call us there any more), our dial-up internet connection, and the antenna we had in our attic that picked up channels 2, 5, 8, 11 and 81 from Atlanta. What we had before had worked fine for us for the last four years, but in the last six months we've realized the limitations of the old set up. You see, we've had friends that have dropped their old systems a while back... going from the limitations of a land line phone to the portability of cellular... going from the painfully slow speed of dial up to the fast pace of hig-speed... and going from the minimal selection and low quality picture of antenna to the quality of cable (okay, so most people dropped their television antennas a couple decades ago... we're a little slower in some areas). Of course, it is a little overwhelming to have all that we've got now and it will take us a while to adjust, but in the long run, I think we'll be glad we made the change.
The biggest problems we faced with our old setup was that we could no longer carry out the "basic" tasks we needed to perform on the internet connection we had. The web has become so complex and so media-driven in the past three years, that our dial-up connection could no longer handle things like email, checking the weather, looking up a phone number, or trying to find a better price on an item. It wasn't that there was anything "wrong" with our old system... it's just that our old system was no longer the most effective tool to use. Our old system was not designed in a way that allowed efficient (or effective) communication with the current web community. So, out of necessity, we had to try something new just to stay informed, up-to-date, and connected with the millions of internet users in the world.
Years ago, I began to notice an uncomfortable shift in the Gen-X subculture that I grew up with. When it came to spiritual things, we (as a group) became more and more willing to trade our spiritual backgrounds for another type of spiritual world-view or to completely give up spirituality as a pursuit of God altogether. In many cases, the worldviews (spiritual belief systems) of people in their 20s and 30s have become so complex that traditional "church-type programs" and "sunday school answers" could no longer keep up with the questions and spiritual crises that this generation faced. These types of things are no longer effective with spiritually reaching the most skeptical, cynical, and distant people in our community. So, out of necessity, we had to try something new just to stay connected with the thousands of spiritually disconnected people in our community.
That's why our Sunday mornings feel a little different... we've created an environment for people to explore faith at their own pace (specifically the people that are least likely to go to church). And, we didn't do it because the old system was "broken," it's just that we couldn't stand the thought of being disconnected from a generation of people that were silently slipping away. So, we had to exchange what we'd always done, for something new. Of course, it is a little overwhelming right now and it will take us a while to adjust, but in the long run, I think we'll be glad we made the change.
The biggest problems we faced with our old setup was that we could no longer carry out the "basic" tasks we needed to perform on the internet connection we had. The web has become so complex and so media-driven in the past three years, that our dial-up connection could no longer handle things like email, checking the weather, looking up a phone number, or trying to find a better price on an item. It wasn't that there was anything "wrong" with our old system... it's just that our old system was no longer the most effective tool to use. Our old system was not designed in a way that allowed efficient (or effective) communication with the current web community. So, out of necessity, we had to try something new just to stay informed, up-to-date, and connected with the millions of internet users in the world.
Years ago, I began to notice an uncomfortable shift in the Gen-X subculture that I grew up with. When it came to spiritual things, we (as a group) became more and more willing to trade our spiritual backgrounds for another type of spiritual world-view or to completely give up spirituality as a pursuit of God altogether. In many cases, the worldviews (spiritual belief systems) of people in their 20s and 30s have become so complex that traditional "church-type programs" and "sunday school answers" could no longer keep up with the questions and spiritual crises that this generation faced. These types of things are no longer effective with spiritually reaching the most skeptical, cynical, and distant people in our community. So, out of necessity, we had to try something new just to stay connected with the thousands of spiritually disconnected people in our community.
That's why our Sunday mornings feel a little different... we've created an environment for people to explore faith at their own pace (specifically the people that are least likely to go to church). And, we didn't do it because the old system was "broken," it's just that we couldn't stand the thought of being disconnected from a generation of people that were silently slipping away. So, we had to exchange what we'd always done, for something new. Of course, it is a little overwhelming right now and it will take us a while to adjust, but in the long run, I think we'll be glad we made the change.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Environmentalism?
Environmentalism has long been associated with derogatory terms like "tree-hugger" and tacky slogans like "Save the Whales." Certainly, God cares about His creation, and we could all stand to be a little more concerned about keeping the earth healthy into the future. But, for a minute, think about the underlying "cause" for an environmentalist... living with an appropriate balance of taking advantage of the incredible creation of God, while ensuring that enough effort is made to keep that creation available for generations to come.
With that as our definition, it kind of takes Sunday mornings at Church At The Grove to a new level of understanding. We only do three things here, and one of them is "Creating an environment where people can explore and encounter faith individually and together through God's word." If you will take the time to meet people on Sunday mornings, you will realize that you have done a great job at creating this environment for our guests... but as we enter the Summer and prepare for the Fall, it becomes even more important to live with an appropriate balance of taking advantage of the incredible Sunday morning environment (a lively, energetic and relevant part of this incredible spiritual journey), while putting forth lots of effort to keep this Sunday morning environment available for generations to come. This may involve something as simple as picking up a stray napkin and tossing it in the trash can, or something a little more involved (like teaching Children's Church, or helping in the Baby room, or coming a few minutes early to set-up chairs). Email me if you would like to get a little experience with it over the summer.
So, when you come this Sunday: Enjoy the environment that everyone is working so hard to create; Bring a friend or two with you who need a place to comfortably explore God; And, while you're here, if you see a way to improve the environment for others, jump in and help out... God has called us to protect the environment created in the cafeteria of Youth Middle School every Sunday... God has called us to be "spiritual environmentalists"... there are hundreds/thousands of people in this area that need to be able to connect with God... and we may be the only hope for some of our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family to hear about Christ in a way that can be understood.
See you Sunday,
Craig Story
With that as our definition, it kind of takes Sunday mornings at Church At The Grove to a new level of understanding. We only do three things here, and one of them is "Creating an environment where people can explore and encounter faith individually and together through God's word." If you will take the time to meet people on Sunday mornings, you will realize that you have done a great job at creating this environment for our guests... but as we enter the Summer and prepare for the Fall, it becomes even more important to live with an appropriate balance of taking advantage of the incredible Sunday morning environment (a lively, energetic and relevant part of this incredible spiritual journey), while putting forth lots of effort to keep this Sunday morning environment available for generations to come. This may involve something as simple as picking up a stray napkin and tossing it in the trash can, or something a little more involved (like teaching Children's Church, or helping in the Baby room, or coming a few minutes early to set-up chairs). Email me if you would like to get a little experience with it over the summer.
So, when you come this Sunday: Enjoy the environment that everyone is working so hard to create; Bring a friend or two with you who need a place to comfortably explore God; And, while you're here, if you see a way to improve the environment for others, jump in and help out... God has called us to protect the environment created in the cafeteria of Youth Middle School every Sunday... God has called us to be "spiritual environmentalists"... there are hundreds/thousands of people in this area that need to be able to connect with God... and we may be the only hope for some of our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family to hear about Christ in a way that can be understood.
See you Sunday,
Craig Story
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