Jesus Innovates

Posted on February 22, 2010

Consider some of these methods the next time you and your team try to reach “the lost” with a Christmas Musical…

Jesus spoke in random places. Iʻm talking… boats, hillsides and government chambers.

Jesus healed those whoʻd never been healed. He wasnʻt just out on visitations offering daily devotions.

Jesus ate with people with whom he should have never eaten. There was no one off limits. Itʻs no news that Christians love lunches. Tip #22: Have lunch with someone who doesnʻt know Jesus yet. Or who maybe doesnʻt have a lunch to begin with.

Jesus worked on days that had never been worked. Application here? Maybe doing missions without the annual mission trip? Maybe picking up the tab on the vanilla latte for the guy in front of you. Maybe calling a local service agency and asking how you can help.

Jesus innovates not simply to be creative.
Jesus innovates to reach people.

Written by Jessie Giglio

Mark Batterson Interview Audio Now Available

Posted on February 17, 2010

Our last conference call was with Mark Batterson who was kind enough to give away copies of his newest book in our recent newsletter!

Listen to the interview here!

Mark is the author of several books including, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Wild Goose Chase, and his latest… Primal. Mark also serves as the Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. is on the creative team of the Origins Project.

Listen to previous conference calls here.

Creating Organic Community by Sarah Jaggard

Posted on February 15, 2010

“Creating Organic Community” by Sarah Jaggard

My husband and I live just outside of downtown Los Angeles and we love it. Our apartment overlooks part of the downtown skyline (and with that lovely perk we also experience the traffic when there is an event at the Staples Center). We are in the midst of energy and life. The lights, the restaurants, the people, and the overall vibe make this city incredible.

Living in a county with a population of 9,860,000 can be absolutely wonderful… and it can also be absolutely lonely.

Lots of people start their lives from scratch here, whether because they are pursuing a career as an actor or producer or wanting to make it big in the music scene. Usually, people’s dreams lead them here but after the initial glamour wears off they start to realize they don’t have a group of solid friends or a sense of community. Countless people move here without knowing another soul and sometimes that situation doesn’t change even after living in LA for a while. I’ve met people who have lived here for more than 2 years and still don’t have any friends… no significant connections with others… lack of proximity to others.

Once, I met someone who confessed she got massages once a week just so she could be physically touched by another person.

The city is desperate for relationships.

My friend Crystal and I have been teaming together at a spiritual community called Mosaic and we have committed to create an ethos of warmth and connection for people in Los Angeles. Together with other volunteers we attempt to create spaces for people to establish quality friendships over mutually enjoyable experiences.

One night over Vietnamese food (another perk to living in LA), Crystal and I began brainstorming about different activities we could do to create opportunities for new friendships to bloom.

Crystal had the brilliant idea to start a “foodie group.” I was all ears.

She excitedly explained how she wants to start a foodie group and anyone interested could come. She would start with her roommate and a couple friends, then encourage them to invite one other person. They would pick a weeknight and try a different restaurant each week. Each subsequent week, everyone would be encouraged to invite someone else. Over time, people would be able to bond over their shared love for food and the conversations that happen while sitting at the dinner table. Ideally, as people naturally connect to each other, those friendships would begin to exist outside of those weekly dinner adventures and hopefully develop into something more significant.

While there are gyms, bars, clubs, and various community classes people can join, there really aren’t many places to invest in healthy friendships. So what would it look like for us to create those spaces for others?

What would happen if we all began to create opportunities for people to get to know each other through something we enjoyed doing? We can call them “interest groups” with the greater purpose of connecting people to others.

Watch improv comedy shows,
start a movie-watching group,
put on a wii competition,
start an exercise group,
do a book club,
start a writing group,
look up free activities in the city…
the possibilities are endless.

Our cities are waiting for people like you and me to create possibilities for them. What will we do?

“The Applause of Nail-Scarred Hands” by Mark Batterson

Posted on February 10, 2010

“The Applause of Nail-Scarred Hands” by Mark Batterson

Earlier this week I read an article with one little quip that I cannot get out of my spirit: the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.

It was so inspiring and so convicting. We care so much about our reputation. We care so much about our approval ratings. We care so much about what people think. But we need to die to those things. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but we don’t really care for people until we don’t care what they think. We can’t really help them until we’ve been crucified to their opinions. Only then do we preach with an anointed boldness. I have a distant memory from many years ago when I didn’t feel good about a message and my wise wife asked me a brilliant question: did you say what God wanted you to say? That is the only litmus test when it comes to preaching. Was God pleased with my message? Unfortunately, many of us measure our messages by human applause.

 

May we be deafened to human applause. After all, the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.

Join Mark Batterson in the Origins Conference Call Tomorrow at 1pm PST (4pm EST)!

Sign Up Here!

Mark is the author of several books including, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Wild Goose Chase, and his latest… Primal. Mark also serves as the Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. is on the creative team of the Origins Project.

Last week Mark gave away free copies of Primal through the Origins Newsletter! (Sign up for the Origins Newsletter here)

Listen to previous Conference Calls here.

Innovation (according to Greg Atkinson)

Posted on February 6, 2010

 

Innovation is a popular buzz word now and a sought after topic of discussion in conferences and the ministry resource world. I approach innovation a little differently and try my best to look at it through a Biblical lens. Innovation is the act of introducing something new. God tells us in Isaiah 43:19 to “Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? “(MSG)

Something that was foundational in my own life was studying Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God. In the book, Blackaby teaches that “when you recognize where God is working, you can join in what He is doing.” That to me, friends, is at the very core of being innovative – to be so in tune with God that His dreams become your dreams. May we stop bringing God our plans to bless and seek where He’s already at work around us?

Ephesians 5:1 reads, “Watch what God does and then you do it.” (MSG) What does being innovative require? A few things: First we must grasp onto this concept of joining God in His mission. Blackaby teaches that “God’s activity is far greater than anything we could aspire to do for Him.” Let that one sink in a little bit. For some of you it may be painful. For some it may be a relief.

So a first step in being truly innovative is listening to the Spirit of God and looking for where He’s moving. It requires that our innovation antennas are up and seeking God moments that lead to breakthroughs in our ministries.

Another step in being truly innovative is walking with God and being men and women of integrity. Genesis 6:9 teaches us that Noah “was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” What did Noah do? Only one of the most innovative and unprecedented acts in all of human history. He built an ark to protect himself, his family and many animals from a flood before it had ever rained! – that’s innovative (doing something new).

The question is: Whose idea was it? Let that sink in for a moment. Did Noah come to God with a plan to build a boat and ask him to bless it or did God speak to Noah and guide Him because he was a man that “walked with God?” When it comes right down to it, we really can’t take credit for innovative ideas. They are truly gifts from God that should lead us to worship.

My prayer for you is that you get to a place of desperation in your ministry. A sense of desperation that leads to a dependency on the Holy Spirit. Friends, there are no shortcuts to innovation. You cannot bypass prayer. Prayer isn’t just the way to open a brainstorming meeting, it is the meeting. If you want to be truly innovative and start doing new and exciting ways of ministry you must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit.

I’ll close with Scripture and let God have the final word. Jeremiah 33:3 teaches us, “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.“

Greg Atkinson lives in Georgia with his wife and their three small children. Greg most recently served as the Director of Technical Arts at Bent Tree and before that as the Director of WorshipHouse Media, after having served as a worship pastor for 11 years. Greg is now an innovation consultant and continues to consult, teach and write about innovation, technology, leadership, worship and social justice. You can connect with him through his daily blog at GregAtkinson.com.

 

Reaching Others through a Super Bowl Commercial?

Posted on February 2, 2010

You may have seen this article on the front page of Yahoo News:

LA megachurch hopes to win Super Bowl ad contest

Unfortunately, the writer and/or guys they interviewed outside of Mosaic gave them 3 false impressions.

1. Mosaic isn’t really a megachurch.
2. Mosaic did not actually make the commercial, but most of those who did create it met and serve at Mosaic.
3. The story is definitely not a light-hearted spoof of the resurrection of Jesus.

I guess any publicity is good publicity, right?!

Erwin McManus was asked by the AP: “What is the subliminal message of the commercial?”

He responded: “Eat Doritos.”

The journalist seemed to think that since Erwin is a pastor, he must be looking for a clever way to sneak in the Gospel.

Erwin told the journalist:  “There is no subliminal message, but we do believe that creating something beautiful gives us the right to be heard.”

AP:  “You really believe that?”

Erwin:  “I’m talking to right now aren’t I?”

If you haven’t heard the story, read this fantastic article by Patti Townley-Covert, Special to ASSIST News Service

LOS ANGELES: “Bury me with a beer and cigarettes.” That funeral request, made by Gabe Trevino’s grandfather, inspired “Casket,” one of the finalists in the Doritos competition for a Super Bowl commercial.

Erwin McManus

For years Erwin McManus, a passionate storyteller and pastor of Mosaic in Los Angeles, has been challenging people to develop their creativity. He also encourages an outreach style that engages people, who do not know Jesus, in the areas of their interests. So, when Kevin T. Willson heard about the Doritos contest, he mentioned it to his pastor. Because Erwin had recently started Boy and Rocket Production Company, they decided to enter their first “create-a-commercial” competition and began pulling together a team, primarily from Mosaic, that included Gabe. Out of twenty-five original ideas, his real-life experience captured their imaginations.

In their entry for the fourth annual Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” challenge, the “deceased” planned his own funeral so he could lie undisturbed in a casket while munching Doritos and watching football. But the service doesn’t exactly go according to plan. A humorous upset catapulted this commercial into the top six finalists and gave its creators $25,000.00 plus tickets to Super Bowl XLIV. From a luxury suite at the Sun Life Stadium in South Florida, McManus and Willson (the Casket’s director) will watch the New Orleans Saints face off with the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday February 7th. That’s also when they’ll find out if their commercial made it into the top three. If it does, “Casket” will be aired on television during the game.

That distinction would signify that this team reached their goal. “We

After a football fan fakes his own death to get out of work, his coffin and picture take center stage at the funeral

wanted to do something so inspiring, so high-quality, and so creative that we would earn the right to be heard,” said McManus.

The author of many books, including Wide Awake and Soul Cravings, he believes that “the imagination is God’s gift of creativity to humanity. It is the one way you can see the ideal, go places you’ve never been, step into experiences you’ve never known. In your imagination you have unlimited resources, unlimited capacity, unlimited range of influence. In some ways, in our imaginations we are most like God.”

He adds, “Unfortunately the material for our imagination is primarily filtered through our hearts. When our hearts are separated from God, our imaginations can move to tremendous corruption. But when our hearts are joined to God, our imaginations can be the birthplace of the dreams of God for our lives.”

Very much alive, the ‘deceased’s’ enthusiasm upsets the casket, exposing the extent to which he went to fulfill his fantasy. A friend (and ‘mourner’) tries to cover the scheme, by jumping to his feet and proclaiming, ‘It’s a miracle!’

“Casket” is simply a tool for initiating relationships with individuals who might not otherwise be interested in finding out more about biblical faith. By using football, Doritos, and entertainment to stand on common ground, people can see creativity in action.

Using this poplar medium also demonstrates McManus’s belief that “the church can become the place where the great artists of our time paint their first strokes and great musicians sing their first notes. The church can become the place where the great thinkers and the great scholars and the great writers emerge. The church can become the environment where the future’s poets and film directors, dancers and doctors, grow up in community and learn that their talents are a gift from God.”

This commercial is a first step in what McManus and Willson hope is a much bigger journey. They want to do even more “to inspire people to faith.” Should their commercial finish in the top three, the cash prize (up to $1,000,000.00) could certainly help.

For a behind-the-scenes look at “Casket,” go to www.voteforcasket.com. To see the commercial, go to the Doritos site.