The church in my head is going to celebrate what God is doing in the church.  If someone has done something great and it fits in with the message focus, share it.  Give other people the opportunity to share their testimony of how God has used them.  There are a lot of great benefits to doing shout outs from the pulpit.

1) Worship–These aren’t shout outs to shine a big spotlight on this person but to show everyone else the power of God.  The point of these shout outs is to praise God and give Him glory while still recognizing the people that He used to accomplish these works.

2) Motivation–Some people need a kick in the pants.  Shout outs show the rest of the people that things happen in the church as a result of people buying into the mission, getting off their butts and doing something.  I hope shout outs make people feel uncomfortable because maybe it will give them a push in the right direction.  I know that this could backfire and people could do things simply to be recognized or to “boast” about it but that’s between them and God.  Shout outs from the pulpit and personal testimonies will hopefully help other people get off the bench and get into the game.

3) Unity–Pastors aren’t supposed to do everuything and if they are doing it all, then something is wrong.  When other people are sharing stories of how God is using them or they get a shout out from the pulpit, it further demonstrates the fact that everyone is in this church together.  We are united in serving the Lord and want to recognize and celebrate that unity.

But won’t people get big heads if they get shout outs and share their stories? Possibly, but it’s likely that most of those people already have big heads, wrong motives and have received their reward.  Just because you give someone a shout out doesn’t mean that you’ve stolen their heavenly reward.  We should be able to recognize our accomplishments and achievements.  It’s not like they’re getting a standing O, a prize, and a personalized parking spot.  They’re just being recognized.  If it is done during the worship service, it is done to bring glory back to God.  So get ready to share the ways God is using you, get ready to hear your name from the pulpit because the church in my head is going to shout it out to worship God, motivate benchwarmers, and unite our church in its mission!

So most of thes posts come from the first thing that pops up in my head.  I know I haven’t even come close to talking about the really important stuff.  That will come in time.  So the church in my head is going to keep up with the times and provide alternate ways of giving offerings.  Direct deposit, e-give or a paypal account could be an easy way of allowing people to give.  There are some people who do not carry cash and have long ago started paying all their bills online.  The church should also cater to these people’s needs.  Even if they do pay online, I think it’s still important to participate in the offering in the service.  This doesn’t mean giving more money but writing down on a piece of paper the amount of the gift for that week and placing it in the offering.  Part of corporate worship is the giving of gifts to God.  This would just be symbolic but still brings an emphasis into how giving is part of our worship.  This is important to staying relevant in this ever changing world.  What would be even cooler would be if Iphone created an app for giving.  I remember the commercial where people bump phones and they could send a picture from one phone to the next.  What if the church had an Iphone and people could bump their payment into the Iphone.  Pass Iphones around instead of offering plates? That’s an innovative idea.  Of course it’s rediculous but the times are changing and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if someone came up with something similar to this.  I’d talk about computer chips placed in us but I wouldn’t want everyone going all apocalyptic on me.  So the last part of this was just messing around but…the church in my head will help people to give by allowing them to give electronically.

Part of the church in my head needs to be about who I’m going to be as the pastor.  I should probably write these things down now so that I don’t forget them and keep myself accountable to who I said I want to be as a leader of a church someday.  So I’ll flat out say, criticism sucks.  It hurts to be criticized when you’ve put your heart and soul into something.  I remember as a child I hated criticism.  I would bring down homework assignments and show them to my mom because I thought they were literary works of art.  Because I thought they were amazing, I figured she should think the same thing.  Of course if she didn’t and she was critical, even if for my benefit, I blew up in her face.  I guess that kind of goes with the whole teenager “I think I know everything about the world” complex, but I hated criticism.  And this was coming from my mom, one of my biggest supporters yet I took criticism so negative that I blew off the handle any time I was criticized.  Well things have changed for me since then thankfully.  Criticism still hurts, but when it comes to being criticized by people in the church I realized a couple of things:

1) This person either loves me and wants to help me out or my ministry

2) This person has a critical spirit and criticizes everyone and everything which may even include a piece of  fruit because it wasn’t sweet enough

3) This person is a genuine person who has an awful way of saying things (insert foot in mouth)

4) This person is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

Only God can help me discern who is criticizing me or the church and why.  Number 4 is a dangerous one.  The Bible talks about sowing seeds of discord and those who try to stir up dissension.  I don’t want to talk about #4 right now but look at the first 3.  As I have thought more and more about criticism I realized something: If I take this too personal and build up a wall am I going to hinder what God wants to do at this church? Yes I can be hurt by criticism but not all criticism is bad.  And in most cases, there is a truth behind the criticism even if the person says it like a jerkface.  I need to realize that this church does not belong to me, it belongs to God.  If I am unwilling to change or evaluate myself or the church because of criticism, then I am hindering the work that God may be trying to do in my life or the life of His church.  I’m not going to be a people pleaser but I am going to try and listen to all critical remarks and review them honestly because anything that I can do to benefit the church–God has entrusted to me–is worth doing.  Criticism can sting but I’m not going to let it bring me down and I’m not going to rip someone’s head off for offering their opinions.  The church in my head will take criticism for the glory of God…at least I hope so.

So I’m all for order.  The last thing you want is for someone to come up and give announcements that take 15 minutes because they have a little song and dance number to help you remember what’s going on or the worship leader chooses to continue to sing the chorus to “I could sing of your love forever” until  the last person sits down.  But just because you have order does it mean you can’t have spontaneity?  The church in my head is going to run services that are spontaneous but maintain order and flow.  I know nothing about music other than I like to sing it even if I sound terrible which anyone who has seen me play rock band knows (“Under Pressure” anybody?).   So if there’s a song that the worship leader is led in the Spirit to do, I say go for it.  Give some hints to the A/V guy so he’s not pulling out his hair when you switch it up on him but move where the Spirit is leading the service.  The reason I will feel comfortable doing this is because of communication.  Throughout the week, everyone involved in the service is communicating with one another.  The theme is dictated by the sermon focus and everything flows from there.  Scripture reading should always go with or complement the sermon focus but the music time should flow as well.  If I am communicating with all the parts, then there is room for spontaneity because we’re all on the same page.  The worship leader should be able to move with the mood of the people.  If the people are broken in their spirit, change the flow to reach to the depths of their heart.  If the people are excited, change the flow to keep the fire going.  If the worship leader knows about how much time is provided for music and knows the focus of the worship service, then that can leave room for spontaneity in order.  God is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:33) but order does not mean that you can’t make changes as the Spirit moves.  After 9/11/01, do you think most pastors changed their sermon focus? Do you think most churches completely changed their focus of worship? There are times to be spontaneous and make changes.  It could be the day before or it could be in the middle of the service.  If communication between all parties in the worship service has been established then spontaneity can be valuable.  The church in my head will have order, but let the Holy Spirit still have priority to make changes as He leads.

So baptism is not what saves us but it is the outward sign of the inward salvation in us.  Baptism is our first public recognition of our identity with Christ.  Baptisms should be a time for celebration.  The church in my head is gonna party when people get baptized because this is the first time that the entire church body gets to welcome a believer into the family of God.  This is one of the most joyous occasions a church can have.  Someone who once was lost, now is found and wants everybody to know that by grace through faith, they are saved.  The parables of Luke 15 talk about the joy in heaven when one sinner repents, shouldn’t we follow suit here on earth?  The whole service will be focused around baptism.  Each person getting baptized will be recorded in advance through a video interview about their testimony so that it can be viewed during the baptismal service.  After someone gets baptized there will be a great celebration.  Joyful music and a great party have to go with a baptismal service.  Celebrate the person’s decision to get baptized with fellowship…and pie (just because I don’t like cake, but cake could work too).  Close the service a little earlier so that people can take the time to fellowship with this brother or sister in Christ.  Don’t be afraid to show a little happiness.  Pound the fist, chest bump, high five, what ever you do, do it with great exuberance because that’s what went down in heaven when this person got saved.  If we’re going to set high expectations for followers of Christ, there needs to be times where we can celebrate each other and the work that God has done inside of us.  It’s time to make baptism a celebration and let the whole world know that we’re excited when Christians take steps in their faith.  When we party for a baptism, it’s all to the glory of God for who He is the one who has saved this person who now wants to be baptized.  Ain’t no party like a baptism party!

So I’m looking for lots of discussion on this one today because it’s not something I’m sold on but something I just wanted to throw out there.  Before I start I want to assert that I believe that Biblical preaching is an integral part of the church but I think it often needs to be evaluated for effectiveness.  Methods should change to help deliver the message.  Okay so people have 3 different learning styles; hearing, seeing and hands-on.  I think that all three of these should be implemented into sermons because different learning styles better learn and are taught more effectively when you appeal to them.  This is not a form of entertainment, I feel this is a necessity.  Some people learn by hearing, some by seeing, and some by doing things hands on.  But what about the senses? Can we better communicate to people from the pulpit by appealing to the senses? Again this is not a gimmick I’m trying to suggest.  The only reason I even bring this up is because the church in my head is going to be a church that is willing to try out of the box things to help people better understand the Word of God.  I’m curious to know what other people think about this.  The Jews used food at Passover to remember different parts of the feast and how they related to God and what God wanted in their lives.  Jesus used the Lord’s Supper to teach the disciples of His sacrifice for mankind.  Paul talks about a fragrant aroma.  David says “taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Different incenses and smells were incorporated into temple worship.  I know this sounds really off the wall but if it made an impact and better helped people to understand and apply the Word of God, shouldn’t it at least be given a chance? So the church in my head wants to innovate communication for the sake of the Gospel, so what do you think about using all the senses in preaching? Would love to hear some thoughts about this one.

The church should take a page out of the playbook of the Nawlins (New Orleans) Saints.  The Saints are always on the offensive (I know this as fact cause Drew Brees is lighting up my fantasy team on a weekly basis).  The church needs to be on the offensive.  The church should always be looking at ways to improve and be prepared.  A church on the defensive is in safe mode and is only looking to react to what’s going on.  A church on the offensive will act before it’s too late.  The church in my head will constantly be taking the time to look at the current state of the church and the future state based on occurring trends in things such as giving, membership, small group involvement, baptisms, unchurched participation, etc.  Action plans will be made to address these issues before they become serious problems.  I owe a lot of these ideas to Aubrey Malphurs and his book Advanced Strategic Planning (shout out!).  He talks about an organizational life cycle and that wants an organization is born it is already on its way to dying.  A plateaued organization is already in decline because you can only plateau so long before going down.  The only way to prevent death is to start a new birth on the organization life cycle by taking measures to make changes and go on the offensive for the church.  It is much easier to make changes on the offensive and address problems at the beginning than it is to wait them out and see that your problem has already gained momentum and has placed you on the defensive.  Constant evaluation, surveying and looking at trends is not too numbers conscious, it’s called good stewardship.  That’s why the church in my head will be putting problems on the defensive because we are constantly in attack mode.  The playbook is simple, do whatever you can to slow the dying process.  Every organization is going to die, it’s inevitable.  A local church is not immune to this fact.  Slow the dying process by going on the offensive to create new life in the church.

The church in my head is going to rock out the tunes for worship.  Everybody has a talent and a gift and God wants us to use them.  Not use them halfheartedly or subdue them but to really use them.  Bust out a rockin drum solo to start a song, let the electric guitar jam out during a solo in the middle of a song.  Let the musicians worship God unhindered.  If their good musicians this will contribute to the excitement and exaltation of God in song.  But isn’t that showing off or playing to the crowd? Not necessarily.  Why do a lot of people get bent up about guitars and drums and not worry about other people who or may or may not be showing off.  Believe it or not, instrumentalists, singers and yes, preachers can be guilty of showing off and performing for themselves.  A drum set or an electric guitar do not constitute as instruments used for self centered playing.  Don’t blame the instruments.  A guitar solo can be the same as a singer trying to do their best Mariah Carey impression.  Either one could be for God or for self.  Think about it this way; a lot of those people playing instruments don’t get to sing, but they’re still leading people in worship.  Their worship expression to God is through their instruments.  What happens now if we say that they are too loud or too edgy or to showy?  Since we can’t look at their motives as God can, we are limiting their worship to God by manmade assumptions that are usually not true.  So rock it out worship bands, those drum solos are for the King, the guitar riffs are for the Savior and the worship band is blowing up the speakers to worship their Lord as they help the congregation also worship their Lord.  Don’t restrict them from expressing themselves to God as they lead us in worshipping Jesus.  Psalm 150 says it all.  Verses 3-5 talk about instruments, “Praise Him with a BLAST of the ram’s horn; praise Him with the lyre and harp! Praise Him with the tambourine (shout out to Linda! Play that tambourine) and dancing; praise Him with strings and flutes! Praise Him with a CLASH of cymbals; praise Him with LOUD CLANGING cymbals (drum solos for Jesus).  Let EVERYTHING that breathes sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD!  You better believe that the church in my head will be getting our praise on every week to the glory of God!

Here’s something a little lighthearted for everyone’s Monday.  The church in my head is going to do away with saying “Amen” and replace it with something much more modern.  “Word” is going to be taking the place of “Amen”.  Sure it’s only one syllable which will make it difficult to replace in songs but you can always just drag out the o sound to make it a two syllable word.  Word is relevant in today’s society, amen is not.  “Amen” and “word” basically mean the same thing.  Does this really matter in the long run? Is this so significant that I would talk about it on day 4 of my blogging? Have I already run out of material that I have to talk about something so pointless?  I think it is important when it is taken in with the big picture of things.  The big picture behind all of this is making sure that 1)We understand what we’re saying and 2)Other people understand what we’re saying.

1)Do we understand what we’re saying?–I wonder if most people that say amen even know what they’re saying? The problem is that I know some people don’t.  Some people succumb to what I call “amen pressure.”  Sometimes you feel like you should say it because everyone else is saying it.  I mean, you don’t want to be the only person not saying amen when the pastor is getting his preach on.  Other times the pressure comes from the person speaking.  This to me is hilarious.  We almost need someone in our churches holding up an “amen” sign like gameshows use a person to hold up a sign when its time to laugh or applaud or cheer wildly.  Does an amen really mean anything if you have to force it out of people? Amen should not be used in the same way as when a DJ tells the audience to throw their hands up and wave them from side to side.  Amen should be a voluntary agreement to what is being said.  The word “amen” means let it be so or signifies agreement with what is being said or what has just been sung.  As a matter of fact, so does “word”.  Word means true or I agree.  I’m gonna start the widespread use of “Word”, but don’t worry, I won’t force it on you.

2)Do other people understand what we’re saying?–I have to admit that my first point wasn’t as serious as this one is going to be.  But the most important thing for us as we represent Christ to the world is that our words make sense to the world today.  The reason why I said that the word “amen” needs to be replaced by “word” is because people understand this word.  But “amen” is only the very small tip of a titanic iceberg.  The real problem is when we use words that are archaic or are churchspeak.  Archaic words need to be updated.  Why do you think we use modern translations? It’s because no one speaks like their from 1600’s England any more.  Even if we use hymnals, let’s try and update some of the words, dost thou understandeth me? Now when it comes to churchspeak, I think we need to continue to use certain words but we can’t assume everyone knows what we’re talking about.  When we speak of justification, we need to explain it.  I know it’s difficult to try and explain a word without preaching for an hour about it, but people need to be brought to a common knowledge.  We need to try and include the outside world to our churchspeak language (I’m sure that I will write more about this in the future because relevancy is a HUGE priority of mine).

I honestly don’t have a problem with the word “amen”, but I prefer “word” better.  You may think “amen” is churchspeak, I feel that “amen” is archaic, but either way let’s make sure we know what we’re saying and also that other people outside the church understand us.  And to that I say Word!

I’ve learned even in youth ministry that you can say you’re purpose driven, have a brochure that talks about those purposes and still not be purpose driven.  Just because you say you exist to worship, serve, evangelize, grow in Christ, and fellowship doesn’t mean you’re doing it.  Just because people can repeat your little memorable statement whether you’ve alliterated it or put in lyrics to a catchy tune (maybe to the song ”Don’t Stop Believing?) doesn’t mean people are actually living it out.  I fully agree with Rick Warren that we can often do a great job creating a purpose driven model but how well do we execute it.  Does our church bleed these things or are they just nice words on a page that sound good and make us seem like the real deal? The church in my head is going to make sure that the people at least know that it is expected of them to not just know why we exist but to be putting it in practice.  The truth is, if you’re not putting these into practice then you and your people aren’t obeying the Great Commandment and following the Great Commission.  Rick Warren attributes his ideas to these two verses which means purpose driven is Biblically driven upon the expectations of Jesus Christ to His church and all His followers.  These need to be evaluated often and each person needs to be measured up to these standards. I love the idea Mark Driscoll has for his church.  He doesn’t want noncommitted people.  If you aren’t a member you have a period to check us out and then you need to make the move.  Either move to membership or move out the door to another church.  We don’t want casual shoppers looking for the next greatest thing in church, we want committed followers of Jesus who are committed to the local church.  Congratulations, your people can memorize your purpose statement, I’m sure they can also sing Heart of Worship by memory, but does it mean anything to them or is it just pretty words that sound good.  The church in my head is gonna bring it because as my awesome home pastor (shout out Dr. David Rhodenhizer) growing up would always say, “We don’t just go to church, we are the church.”  The only thing I add to that is…prove it!