Blogged before on the issue of change and have to admit that my life in many respects has become about managing change (personally and helping others manage change). It was Erwin McManus who once said, “we serve the changeless God of change.” God doesn’t change – He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. He’s the Rock, the Fortress, the Strongtower. However everything around Him changes. He changes lives, culture changes, the seasons change, the world has changed, take a quick look at church history and you’ll recognize that He’s constantly changing His church.
Changing something, changes perspective. And I think its perspective that often fuels our resistance (passive or active) to change. Our perspective, mindset, or disposition toward something doesn’t change on it’s own. Something in our surroundings, our circumstances changes, it creates conflict (oftentimes internal that spills out) and the result is growth. We’re stretch not just to see the new thing, but why the new thing was put in place – the bigger issue.
A great example might be a church that changes how it’s weekend services work. Perhaps its been done a certain way for a long time, and never because that’s just the way it’s always been done. When it was first instituted years ago it was for a reason – to build disciples, to teach people to pray more, to go to deeper depth or higher heights in worship. All good reasons. But perhaps over time a leadership recognizes that church isn’t just for church people, but for everyone including those who are faraway from God. That team realizes that Jesus came to seek and save those who where faraway from God and His church should do the same. They begin to change how a weekend experience works, maybe it’s lights, media, songs and style of worship (the values remain the same, but the methodology changes). While those are symptoms of change that oftentimes produces conflict, the real change started at the point of recognizing that church isn’t for the believer only, but for those outside of faith – that in relevant, faith-filled environments they might embark on the same journey. While that’s where the change began, it ends with a perspective at an the individual level that allows people to engage… it’s growth. It’s change.
I’ve twittered and written about my favorite show on TV on a number of occasions… for those that have not heeded my advice and check it out here’s a mouth watering sample… BBC America Monday 8pm and lots of other times throughout the week.
After a great conversation with Sam Luce a couple of weeks ago I’ve been reviewing how I can more effectively use twitter a tool not just to communicate with people, but learn and perhaps help others. There’s been so much helpful information I’ve gleaned from those I follow on twitter I find it to be a great tool… however in the light of those these thoughts I stumbled upon the following (enjoy):
My wife often accuses me this time of the year of getting philosophical and reflective… and maybe I do (after all its the end of the year and I get one year older). As I was looking back on 2008 I was struck by God’s incredible faithfulness and blessings on our life. Some highlights from 08:
An incredible week of prayer and fasting in January and so many promises both personally and corporately to our church
10 days in Ireland in February with my family.
An awesome trip to Kansas to serve a church there.
The opportunity to visit many wonderful friends and family in Portland.
A great staff retreat in June… I work on one incredible team.
A first ever visit and game in the right field bleachers of Yankee Stadium.
One unbelievable week in Disney winning an evening in the castle. Can’t tell you how much we felt God love and pleasure as a family.
Riding Big Thunder Mountain with Aidan, Sophie and Madeline (Mads was just crazy funny).
The opportunity to meet Mark Batterson (his book is part of the reason we ended up here in Albany).
The opportunity to spend a couple of days with my wife in Montreal to celebrate our 13th anniversary. I can’t tell you how much I couldn’t do life without her.
Having the opportunity to go to the Catalyst Conference (a dream came true).
50 Thanksgiving food boxes to families in our community
The opportunity to go to Soldier Field and watch the Packers play the Bears in the coldest game ever played there (-12).
An incredible Christmas season… in a little over two weeks across all three campuses we gave over $60,000 to local and global charities. Incredible generosity!
I’m filled with gratitude when I look back at 2008. This year has not been without its disappointmentsand failures, but I can’t tell you how blessed I feel. God is good all the time. I don’t know what 2009 has in store my I know that I’m going after God with everything I’ve got.
Recently a good friend of mine sent me email he had received from Bill Marriott (obviously a corporate email, but I really appreciated the attempts to make the experience a personal one… which is a mantra for the Marriott group). Anyhow it was a letter to rewards customers thanking them and sharing a little of what’s ahead for 2009. What caught my attention was check out “my blog.” Bill Marriott has a blog? I’m intrigued.
One of the best stories I’ve ever heard and a letter I read all the time when talking about the kind of culture we’re trying to create at Cornerstone is one a lady wrote to Mr Marriott when she ended up in one of his hotels on business and really needed to get back to home for her sisters funeral. She thanked him for the thoughtfulness, attention to detail and personal care that the Charles and the night staff treated her with. They had treated her as an individual. Anyhow when I saw that Mr Marriott had a blog I had to check it out… he’s a man running a huge corporation, travels to 300 of his hotels every year to give them his version of the white glove test and he writes a blog. Genius! You should check it out. Mr Marriott tells personal stories of why he does things the way he does, and why his hotels have ended up being the kind of hotels they are. He gives people the opportunity to share their stories, ideas and experiences – good, bad or indifferent. He’s having a conversation with his guests. Very smart and totally sincere.
I think the key to great customer service is to listen. The guest may not always say something, but if you listen carefully you’ll hear something, see something, perceive something that will allow you to serve them. Mr Marriott has created a culture on this idea, and created venue or vehicles by which his guests can participate, and they do so. I’ve noticed an increasing number of churches doing online surveys for their guests which is a great step. But if the Church is one of the only organizations on planet earth that exists for the benefit of it’s non members (and of course so that they can experience the kind of change those who have crossed the line of faith are experiencing) then how do we work at creating a culture, venues and vehicles where people are served. In the words of the Marriott organization it’s the “spirit to serve.” Let the conversation begin.
On a personal note, I’m so proud of what God has done amongst us at Cornerstone this fall. We’ve spent the entire fall and now the Christmas season talking about and putting into practice service as a value… and people have jumped in and been dreaming ways they can serve and make a difference. Whether it’s how we treat people when they come through our doors, deliver a Thanksgiving foodbox, serve at a homeless shelther or partner with an organization that’s already making a difference in our community. It’s that “spirit to serve” that has permeated our culture this fall. Way to go Cornerstone!
As a church we’ve been asking ourselves how can we can make a difference in our community and around the world this Chris
tmas… after all Christmas changed everything, and it still does. Out of this desire to make a difference we’ll be hosting some special, and perhaps uniquely different services for the Chirstmas season. This weekend we’ll be hosting Rob Morris from Love146. An incredible organization working to end the trafficking of kids in the sex trade industry as well as safehomes to restore these kids. If you’re in town and don’t have a church your at this weekend drop by and hear about the incredible work this organization is doing. Your Christmas can still change things! Check out some Love146 videos here.
There’s no doubt that one of the things that separates Disney from every other theme park in the country is the fact that they haven’t just “themed” the rides and sections of their parks they’ve told a story. Everywhere you turn there’s a story unfolding. Some of them we know well (especially the princess stories in our house), but regardless of whether it’s ToonTown, Big Thunder Mountain or Toy Story Mania there’s as much effort into developing the story that unfolds getting to the ride as there is in the actual ride. Once again a trip up the road to Great Escape and you’ll find a runaway mine roller coaster – metal track that curves and weaves, a few “props” to look at as you whiz around, metal railings as you wait in line. I get that it’s supposed to be a runaway mine car… but it’s minimal. Disney on the other hand immerses you in a story, and you’re a part of that story. As you wait to get on the runaway mine car roller coaster you walk deeper into the mine, the wooden railings are worn and aged, the train tracks are buried into a mountain, as you ascend into the mountain, the rocks shudder and the lanterns sway because of the earthquake… they developed a story and you feel it! You experience it. It’s not just a ride that get’s your heart pumping… they’ve not just gone the extra mile they invited you to be a part of a story.
I’m sure if you’re a Christ follower you’ve probably heard a lot of preachers preach… I’ve had the privilege listening to and meeting some great speakers and one of the ingredients they all seem to have in common is this incredible ability to involve their listeners in a story that unfolds as they speak. You get involved in the experience. The story of scripture comes alive and you see yourself in that story… Stories are not just a tool to illustrate a point. The story and seeing yourself in the story is the point. Disney understands the power of involving you in a story. It’s part of the Disney magic.
I serve as the campus pastor at Cornerstone in Albany, NY. While I'm the campus pastor, I'm not immune to an occasional "oops should I have said that?". Cornerstone doesn't pay for or approve this message. My thoughts are my thoughts, but don't let that scare you.
