It may come as a surprise to people who know me. In fact some will flat out not believe me. But the reality is, is that I have not watched the Grammy’s in years. Now I remember in middle school and high school we would have watch parties and ask to stay up past our bedtimes to watch these lip syncing mega stars wow us into believing we needed what they had. However, as I became more of a connoisseur of music, or as some say,”a music snob”, I simply did not want to watch anymore. In a market that has been saturated with sub-par musical ability and bad versions of Glee on stage I have had no desire to engage.

Now for a myriad of reasons last week I chose too. In fact I was quite engaged. Maybe it was because my kids went to be early and were out cold. Maybe it was because my wife was sicker than a dog, and in an attempt to not catch whatever she was throwin out, I decided to let her rest in the comfort of the bed versus laying on the couch with me. Maybe I slipped into a time-space continuum where I had my brain sucked from its recesses and had lost all sense. For whatever reason, I was deeply enthralled. Now the show was not as bad as some have said and not as good as others have professed.

It was simply…ok…

Nothing wowed me really. I was super impressed with Adele. The Foo Fighters are one of my favs and they delivered. Bruno Mars was as cool as a they come with his vintage throw back flare. But for the most part…it was…Eh!!! But as I watched I began to learn some life lessons and as a church leader I think these lessons could easily be applied to the church world as well.

1. Shock Value for the sake of shock value never works. Sure people will be talking about it for a week or so, but what is the real payoff. Usually those that are talking are not impressed. There was a performance  that I have heard numerous people talking about this past week. I heard people in line at lunch talking about it. I heard it on the radio. I heard it Starbucks. I even heard it in the church offices. If you watched you know what I am talking about. If you did not it was a performance by Nikki Minaj. The whole thing was bad. It was not that I was offended. It was just bad. I guess it takes more to offend me than others. I was not impressed, because there was no payoff for her statement of shock. It was shock for shock sake. We do this in the church sometimes too. We say and do things sometimes for the sake of shock without thinking about the payoff. Is it worth polarizing an entire crowd to say something that could have been said in a completely different way, that would have gotten a much better response and opened up dialogue for deeper conversation. I am sure that many live by the mantra that “whether it is good press or bad press, at least they are talking about me.” Not sure I want the church to be talked about the way we make ourselves out to be sometimes.
2. People Still Like Authentic Way More Than Produced- Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters got on stage to give an acceptance speech. First off you have to know that I LOVE the Foo Fighters. They are the real deal. In fact their acceptance speech for their award did more than convey that. Dave said that their entire album had been recorded on reel to reel. There was no digital mix down. There was no manipulation. He said that the best thing you can do for your talent, is learn to play your instrument. The crowd went crazy. Even the artists who are so deep in lip syncing an auto-tune stood and applauded. Why? Because at the end of the day people don’t want something manufactured, they want the REAL DEAL. The church is no different. People walking in the doors of our churches no longer are satisfied with us putting on a slick show. They want to experience authentic and real people. They want to experience a real and authentic God. They simply want the reality of who God is. Maybe we should consider stepping away from our productions from time to time and strip it all back to exposing the reality of God to people. It seems that these are the moments that people are longing for and respond too the most.
   
3. People Will Put Up With A Lot To Be A Part Of Something- Now in a bit of a contrast to the last lesson I noticed something else. Even though they all applauded the real, which I really believe they wanted, they still put up with a lot of bad performances, or sub-par performances. Why? Honestly, I think it is because we all want to be a part of something. It is interesting to me that when people feel a part of something bigger than themselves they will put up with a lot. I have been to churches where people will put up with ok preaching, ok worship, ok children’s areas, ok…etc. just because they felt as if they were a part of something. Now this is not to dismiss the fact that I am a huge proponent of excellence in ministry, but sometimes we get so consumed with being perfect, that we miss the mission. The beauty of the church being human, is that people don’t always expect us to be super human. New people tend to have more grace on the church than the church has on the church sometimes.
   
4. No Matter How Good You Think You Are People Stop Watching Long Before You Want To Be Done- As the night of electronic glow came to end I noticed something begin to trend on social media outlets. Many people were turning it off. Some complained that there was too much music (very ironic being it was a “MUSIC” awards show). Others complained there were too many commercials. Some even complained that there were too many old people performing. But the common thread was that about an hour and half into this three hour program people were done. Whether we like it or not, this is the nature of people in our churches too. No matter how great we think our preaching, singing, ushering, coffee, children’s areas, youth areas, or any other areas may be, when people are ready to leave…they are going to leave. They are going to go home. How do we remedy this? I am not sure there is an answer, but I think it goes back to the second lesson. Give them something so authentic, that they don’t ever want to leave the presence of God.
   

So there ya have it. What have you learned from the world around you lately?
Let me know HERE and HERE!!!

I have seen all the video clips.
I have heard all the performances.
I have seen all the interviews.
I have seen all the controversies that led to this rock altering event.

In other words I was not looking for anything new. It was fresh hearing the perspectives of the artists that performed, and the attenders who were, well, attending. But nothing earth shattering.
Each person gave a great account of what it was like. It was almost as if you were living it through them and felt as if you had been there too.
Just as I was about to turn the channel a man came on the screen that I had never seen in these documentaries before.
He was the producer of Woodstock.
He booked the talent.
He was the one that literally pulled it off for the guy whose brainchild this was.
His insight was new.
His insight was different.
He talked about the festivals that followed Woodstock in 1969.
He talked about how they each tried to mimic what happened at Woodstock, but it never happened again.
These other festivals ended in riots. In fact one of them ended with four students killed at Kent St.
Then he said this, “Woodstock was nothing more than a great moment in history. We wanted it to cause a movement, but these other festivals were proof positive that even though it was a great moment…it was nothing more than that. Movements alter history forever, and even though Woodstock altered music forever, history itself went back to business as usual.”

My jaw was on the ground. I immediately wrote it down. I paused the DVR and played it back again. This was such a profound statement.
I began to look at my context of life.
I eat, breathe, and sleep church world.
I long to see the church create a movement in the Kingdom that will alter the world towards Christ.
But I realized something…
Every weekend in churches all around the country we are creating something.
I would love to say that we are all creating little movements for the Kingdom, but could it be that we are just creating little moments that are simply not as effective as we could be.
Now stay with me. I am not saying that we are ineffective. But keep reading.
Could it be that we, much like those other festivals after Woodstock, have become more prone to mimic other churches and try to create a moment that we thought was cool instead of creating a movement in our own communities?
I have done it.
I have gone to the cool church, in another state, doing creative stuff, reaching their community, and thought…WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT!!!
But why?
My heart is right. I want people to experience the movement that I experienced there. But usually I end up creating a second rate version of what I experienced. Why?
Because the church that I deemed cooler than mine really was not cooler. They have simply grasped that they are to create a movement for their community. Each of us have been called to create a movement for the Kingdom, but unfortunately we get wrapped up in creating moments that are second rate mimics of other churches instead of being a unique voice for our corner of the Kingdom.
So what about you? Are you creating Moments or Movements in your life and church?

Join the discussion on twitter and facebook with me.

Today for a brief moment we mourn the loss of a friend. This is a friend that we all know well. He seems to always have been there for us. He was always there to pick us up when we felt down. He seemed to be the consummate encourager and friend. It seemed as if when everyone else was looking to tear us down he was there, to well…

pick us up!!!

Even if it was for a moment he always worked to make us each feel better about who we were. However, the reality of the matter was that he was a liar. He never wanted to satisfy you or me. It was all a terrible rouse. He did nothing more than feed the deep and dark areas of our soul. Today I will not be reading any eulogies of Psalm 23. There will be no sheep in green pastures. There will be no quiet waters. But today I gladly and willingly bury you. Today…

SELF GRATIFICATION IS LAID TO REST!!!

How so you may ask?

Now I am not naive enough to think that you, me, or any other person can seriously claim on a website that self gratification will be completely laid to rest. But I know that for me it has to start somewhere and for me it starts here. If I am to be honest, my whole life has been spent, for the most part, looking for acceptance and affirmation from others. It is funny what self seeking will lead one to do. Insert multiple forms of media and social networks and the appetite began to grow even more.
We all want to be known. We all want to “know” somebody. We all want that somebody to tell somebody that we are somebody. We all want someone to tell us we have value. We all want someone to tell us that we have worth. But the realization I have come to is not a new one. In fact many before me have written and warned of it. I have come to the decision that it is time that I start slaying the things in my life that are self seeking. If I do not do so, it will ultimately kill me first. And honestly if you are not careful…it will destroy you too.

So where do I start? As I said, right here. I love to write and create. This space will be for that. This space will be raw. It will be a place where I work through life, love, and creativity. I hope you will journey with me. However, in order for this space to be what I long for and need for it to be I have disabled the comments section. Now for many that may not seem like a big deal. However, for me it is huge. That means that I can stop worrying about who is going to read and who is not. I can create and not care if one person or a thousand read it. I can create and not worry about whether people affirm it or not. I can be what God has always wanted from me…

ME!!!

That last phrase was liberating for me to write. I am not perfect. I have issues. I am messy. I deal with things inside that no one will ever know because of my need for affirmation. However, the beauty is, is that God is working something greater in me and in you than our self gratification. Gratification of self leads to nothing but emptiness, bitterness, and rage. However, living in the freedom of the Creator of the Universe causes us to live out what he has placed in each one of us. So today I say, to you Self Glorification…,

R.I.P.

My hope is that you will journey along with me. I would love to hear your stories, but I would rather hear them in person or in the very least through email. For more places to read about what helped me make this decisions here are two great posts by two great places I like to read:

HERE & HERE

So with that said…

Here is to a new day, a new beginning, and a new us!!!

there were a few in the internet world that were stoked to have filled their instant gratification desire. the world that we live in is funny. there is no longer a save and buy mentality. we live in a buy and pay off world now. however, what i have noticed is that it seems that we are a lot more unhappy and less satisfied with whatever that thing is that we used to instantly gratify ourselves. what would happen if we waited, saved and then purchased?

first, i wonder if we would even buy at all if we waited?

two, i wonder if time would allow us to appreciate and purchase things that would matter a little more?

three, i wonder if we would still feel the emptiness that stuff seems to bring?

your turn…what do you think?

i have a good friend named shelby.

he and i played music together what seems like eons ago.

he has a new band called minor characters.

they are good.

i like them…

so should you…