Who made hot lunch cool?

16 10 2008

Two of our four kids are both in elementary school this year.  One of the things they were SO excited about was eating lunch at school.  Before school started they didn’t care if they had hot or cold lunch as long as they were eating it at school they were excited.  Not long after school started the cry for hot lunch from our kids became a daily routine.  They didn’t want to take their lunch box with a PB&J, chips, desert and a Capri Sun juice.  They wanted hot lunch.  Why?  Because it’s “cool”.  COOL?  You’re in stinkin’ kindergarten who determined already that hot lunch is cool? It’s food.  What first grader in the US has enough clout that they can say something is cool and it is?

The 2 arm backpack carry or the one arm.  Who makes that cool?  When I was in school if you carried your backpack with 2 arms through it you were a definite nerd.  Now, if you carry your backpack the old cool way of slingin’ it over one shoulder you’re…not cool.

Trapper Keepers anyone?  Who had a Trapper Keeper and you decorated your own?  Trapper Keepers were da bomb (even that phrase was made cool) when I was in school.  Any high schooler willing to carry one around class now?

I realized that even at 5 and 7 years old my kids are already learning to “chase cool”.  It’s innate.  We want to belong.  We want to fit in.  We want other people to like us.

While I could go the direction of saying “This means that we as the church need to be welcoming people, loving them, giving them a place to belong”, I’m not.  Why?  Because I want to say this.  The church is a lot like my kids.  Something becomes cool, and we want to do it.  I think most churches, at some point or another have fallen prey to this.  A trend develops in the church world and all the sudden everyone wants to do it cause it’s “hot lunch”…”two armed backpack”…”Trapper Keeper”.  YES, I understand our methods change, we try new things, we do church in such a way as to try and connect the un-churched.  BUT, at what point are we just “chasing cool” and at what point are we connecting people with LIFE?

I’ve fallen for this before.  Have you?  Do I want our church to be fun, exciting, energetic, “cool”.  Sure.  I’d be a moron to try and do church in a way that I wouldn’t like or people wouldn’t like.  Even traditional churches are doing church in a way that certain people will like.  Traditional people!  Every church does that to some degree regardless of how “traditional” or “modern” they may be.  We’re all trying to do church in a way that connects with people.  What I want to be careful of is following the latest “cool”.

What does God want US to do, and lets do it!  That’s IT!  REGARDLESS of what the church world says is “cool”.  Regardless of what the biggest churches are doing.  Be who God asks YOU to be!

Toting My Trapper Keeper,

Jeff


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Element Church One Year Recap Video

11 10 2008

Hey Element Church!  Well it’s been one year in Cheyenne since we’ve been ministering together.  Here is the video we showed last Sunday highlighting the years activities.


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Video Testimony: Elaine

6 10 2008

Elaine is a HUGE blessing to me personally at Element Church.  I look for her smile every week.  She prays for us, encourages us and supports us.  I love to hear her share about what God has done and is doing in her life.  Check it out.


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Speechless

1 10 2008

Sometimes words can’t describe anything.  I’m in the office right now  on my sermon prep day getting ready for this coming Sunday.  Supplies are coming in for our anniversary.  Plans are being made.  The buzz is growing.  One year as Element Church!  Stinkin’ blows my mind.  Adam is working on some video tributes with a volunteer right now.  A group of ladies are preparing some cool stuff that will be a part of this coming Sunday’s celebration.  I’ve gone back through ALL the pictures of this past year.  WOW!  I’ve read some of my old blogs, reliving some old stories.  I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve been amazed.  Working on what I’m going to share this week makes me SO EXCITED!  This Sunday is a milestone.  Each story I remember is a “burning bush” moment for me.  I don’t EVER want to forget them.  Has the journey always been easy?  NO NO NO!  Has it always been right?  YES YES YES!  If you’re an Elementer I HIGHLY encourage you to be a part of this Sunday.  The things that have happened are only the beginning.  Will you continue this adventure with us?

Speechless,

Jeff


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Leading without knowing

10 09 2008

I got an email this week that BLEW me away.  There are a couple of churches and pastors who, without their leadership in blogging and the technology of the internet, we wouldn’t have learned MANY of the things we did about church and specifically church planting.  Through the blog world we learned a TON of mistakes that other church planters made.  We learned a TON of successes and possible ways of doing things.  We’ve got ideas, inspirations, organization, and great leadership principles through the blog world.  I started my blog in hopes that friends and family could track along with what is happening at Element and in our lives.  I remember telling my wife “Who is going to learn anything from me?” when I started the blog.  Well the lead pastor from a church in Montana sent me this email this week.  River City Church and Pastor Brian Moser said this:

“Jeff,

I just wanted you to know that I’ve been following your blog (and church)
for the last year as our team has been planning a church launch in
Missoula, Montana. We launched today with 158 people and it was absolutely
amazing! I just wanted to let you know that you guys have been a great
influence, and you didn’t even know we existed until now. Keep up the
great work! I love what you’re doing.”

I am STILL blown away that anyone can learn from what I/we’ve done at Element.  Brian, Congratulations on your awesome launch!  Enjoy the ride!  Thanks for letting us be an influence.  We’re trying to hang on for the ride!  It’s cool to be a part of a larger team.  Hope we can influence other people for the good through all this.

Hangin’ on,

Jeff


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New Location Update on the Update

15 08 2008

YO Element Church! We met with our contractor last night and re-set some work times for Saturday. We’ll be working 8 AM - 8 PM on Saturday. Element will provide the lunch. You can come and go anytime but those are the hours we’ll be open for work. If you have any framing experience or knowhow we can definitely use you. If you are not a manual laborer or skilled we do have some window cleaning and other cleaning that needs to be done. We also decided to start moving our office stuff tomorrow as well. If you aren’t into cleaning or skilled labor but can move stuff, we’d LOVE your help on that. We can use any pickups or trailers to haul stuff in. We’ll put as much as we can in the Element trailer. Alright, if you have any questions just email us. Thanks.

Ready to work,

Jeff


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Staff Retreat Update

13 08 2008

Hey Element Church! WOW, what a week. Sunday afternoon we left for Estes Park, CO to stay at the YMCA of the Rockies for two days and nights of planning and seeking God for the direction of Element Church. I’ve never been on a planning retreat nor have I ever led one so I didn’t know what to expect at all. Well, our time together was more beneficial than I even thought going in. We had some great times of prayer for Element and for each other. We got our entire year mapped out as far as sermon series and outreach events. We made some MAJOR shifts in some staff roles (share more of that later). Set some stinkin’ scary goals and dreamed some dreams that if they come true, I might need a new pair of paints.

I can’t tell you how much I love the men who are on our Lead Team. I literally trust them with my life. They are with me “heart and soul” and it makes what I do SO MUCH EASIER. I was moved to tears a few times in our prayers as I thought about the fact that God asked me to do this. For the last 2 years of this process I have continually felt like Solomon “I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.” If we don’t have God’s blessing, we are doomed. I completely believe that. I don’t want to do ANYTHING outside of God’s desire for Element Church. NOT God’s desire for ANY OTHER CHURCH but Element. Some folks need to realize that God’s desire for church “A” is not his desire for church “B”. I need to realize that sometimes.

Here are a few pics of our trip. The setting was amazing! I can’t wait to start implementing the things we talked about and reaching toward the vision God gave us. Element Church, the men who work for me and minister to you are INCREDIBLE. You are blessed!

Being blessed,

Jeff


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To Build Or Not To Build…#5

11 08 2008

Hey Element Church! This is my last installment of these posts that have been brewing in my mind. You can read them HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. I’m sick and tired of Christians thinking you’re not a “real” church until you have a building. I’m equally tired of people thinking you MUST have a building in order to be effective. I think you can make a case for being able to do more in a portable setting. When portable you’re not pouring resources into a facility. You typically will have more money. When portable you don’t as easily fall into the trap of trying to be all things to all people therefore you more effectively use your time and volunteers. I really think you can do more by being portable. But I know that you also have times where you must move into a permanent location. We’ve looked at some questions to ask when doing that. Here is my last one.

5. Where will you be going? If you really find that it’s time to go to a permanent location you’ve GOT to ask this question. I think it is absolutely vital. Where are you building? Will you still be in the city? Will you be too far of a drive from the people you’re currently reaching? What kind of exposure will you get? Does the facility allow you to be the church you’re called to be? And MANY MANY others! This question was HUGE for us in our decision making process. The WHERE to me was just as important as the WHAT. I felt SO STRONGLY that we were to still be in the city that buying land was out of the question. I felt so strongly in the type of experience we do that the building had to allow us to do that. Where we’ll go has got to be asked.

We’re already talking about our next location. This move for Element Church is not “our building”, it is our next location. I don’t plan on us being here forever. If we are, so be it. BUT, we MUST be ready to move if we need to move and these questions MUST be asked. We’re already talking about what is next if God so chooses to bless Element Church with filling it up again. To be honest, I think the next logical step is to buy land and build.

I think there comes a time when there are no more options but to purchase land and build a building that will serve as a permanent campus for the ministry. Church planting I think is definitely in our future, but being the rural setting we are, I’m not sure that alleviates space issues very much. Having a building isn’t bad, it just needs to be at the right time. A church eventually reaches a size where having a building outside of it’s city limits won’t necessarily be a hindrance. The church, it’s staff and leaders however MUST STAY INTENTIONAL about serving in their community in practical ways. Being about what got them to the church they are today. If we build a building and fail to be the church that got us to that building WHAT IS THE STINKIN’ POINT?

To build or not to build…that is the question. WHEW, got that off my mind now.

Jeff


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To build or not to build…#4

8 08 2008

Hey Element Church! My post streak on building continues with #4. I think I have one more in me. Like I said. My head’s been filled with this question, and I’ve been processing it for quite some time “To build or not to build?” You can read my other three posts HERE HERE and HERE.

#4 How are your volunteers? First off. I know I came straight at Element full force about volunteering on Sunday, but it had NOTHING to do with the quality of our volunteers and EVERYTHING to do with our rapid growth and need for more of our regular attenders to step it up.

Portable church is VERY tough. It is tough on equipment, staff and volunteers. We could totally do church very bland and vanilla, but I wouldn’t feel like we’re giving it our all. We do church big because that’s how we feel God called us to do it, and with that comes some major set up. I think we do a bang up job on set design, e:kidz areas, lobby, etc. Set up starts at 5:45 for some guys and most show up at 6 or 6:30. Yes, that is AM.

The band shows up at 6:30 to start set up. They lead worship for two services and then tear everything down. We average getting out of the theater by 12:30. That is 6 hours they are there serving God and Element Church. We have a team that shows up at 6:30 to set up all the e:kidz stuff.  Volunteers set up a theater we affectionately call “The Locker Room” where we provide child care for early arriving volunteers and a hot breakfast is served with coffee and drinks for all volunteers.  We have a hospitality team picking up donuts early and making coffee for us to enjoy.  Our e:team is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!  I don’t think most people knows how many people and how much work one Sunday takes.

Out of all the Sundays and the countless hours we’ve been doing portable church I have heard few if any complaints.  And I hate to even say complaints.  It’s more just the expression of the normal wear and tear of how much work it is.  I think most if not all of our volunteers would continue doing this if they had to, but as I see it, it is beginning to wear on everyone.  Doesn’t mean we wouldn’t do it, just think we need to be sensitive to that.  If the band were not on set up and tear down I think that makes a big difference.  If there were multiple set up/tear down teams that does as well.  Most of our set up people are there every week rain or shine.  That is a HUGE commitment and we praise God for servants like that.

Every church is going to be unique in this.  I’ve seen churches be portable for 10 years and be successful.  I know of some churches who plan on always being portable.  I think one thing we all need to realize is that being portable is not for every church and it’s not for every pastor.  I LOVE being portable.  I think as a new church there is something very attractive about that, but I think that volunteer burn out is a HUGE risk factor that you must be completely aware of.  As a staff at Element we try to show our volunteers how much they are appreciated in practical ways regularly through the year.  We always want them to know how much they mean.

Question #4 in looking to build or not to build.  How are your volunteers?

Asking,

Jeff


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To build or not to build…#3

7 08 2008

Hey Element Church! You can read posts #1 and 2 HERE and HERE. Like I’ve said, this has been sitting in my brain, welling up within. Thought it was about time to post. When should a church move to a permanent location? When is it right to build or not to? I’ve been honest with my struggle of whether we get a building or not. I have many fears about it but these questions I’m posing here have, over the past months, help me answer “YES!” for Element that at this time we need a building.

3. Do you need more room? To be honest, if we didn’t need more space, I’m not sure we’d consider moving to a new location. I LOVE the feel of the theater. YES, the theater has brought headaches but lets be real, we couldn’t have done church the way we have, without it. A portable location is TOTALLY non threatening. “You meet in a theater? COOL!” Heard that a lot. Mainly from UN-churched people. Seats are already there. You can’t beat stadium seating. The acoustics are amazing. But we ran out of space.

We launched in October with 200 people. By November we made the pain staking choice of going to two services. By the end of January we were closing in on 400 and needing to look for options. We crested 500 3 or 4 times this Spring and tried the staggered third service and probably averaged 20 people in there. It just didn’t open up enough seats. Our last 10 weeks we averaged 458 people. When we first met in the theater we swore we couldn’t do over 400.

The space issue had to be resolved. Will having more space MAKE us grow? NO! BUT it gives us the ABILITY to grow! I know some people are going to take this the wrong way but I’m going to say it. I don’t think God wants His church to NOT grow. I TOTALLY understand that there are all types of churches and church sizes. It doesn’t mean that if a church isn’t growing it is not in God’s will. It DOES mean that if a church isn’t willing to do what it takes to grow they might. It sure seems obvious to me that God MIGHT want to bring more people to Element Church. HOPEFULLY it is people who do NOT know Jesus or are disconnected from church and looking to find their way back home. Whatever the case, we have reached our ceiling and I think it behooves us to enable ourselves the ability to reach more people.

Is it possible we’ll move into the new building and not grow? SURE! But I tend to believe that greater things are yet to come. I just want to be faithful. This was one of the biggest factors in our decision. It was just too full. When first time guests get shoved into the front row, it’s not a good thing. We want the experience to be welcoming, inviting and comfortable for all who attend.

Following Christ,

Jeff


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