OK, today was…well, different

This morning we had our ‘State of the Church Address’.  This was a time for Shane to share some of the great things happening @ HCC and paint a picture for the future. It was set to play off the political theme with a simple slide, until earlier this week when, as the staff sat around a table @ Monical’s, decided to take it to the next level

We originally just started goofing off with ideas…but some actually stuck.  We played “Hail to the Chief” as Shane walked in, accompanied by 2 “Secret Service” agents, then we had Janie throw shoes @ him!  Then on Wednesday, I woke up with the idea of having ‘News coverage’ before the speech to mark the arrival of the ‘Presidential Motorcade.’  We even printed out the logo seal (thanks Don) and posted it on the podium.

All in all, it was tons of fun.  And I think people took it in the tone it was intended and had some fun with it.

Contemporary Services (8:30/11:00PM)

• FOREVER (A)
• FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE (E)
• GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS (E) – cut for 3rd service
• communion - reading of 2 Cor. 1:9-10 with brief comments by Brad
• offering
• video: State of the Church News Clip (see below)
• message : State of the Church
• GOD OF THIS CITY (C) - I am loving this song…church really seems to be getting into it

As much fun as we all had, it wasn’t without it’s struggles.  First, when planning this, Shane knew he was going to need quite a bit more time to cover all the areas he needed to.  So I sat down to try to figure out how to get a 40 minute lesson, Communion, Offering, announcements, welcome, oh…and some worship music all in 60 minutes   With 3 services we have to keep an eye on the clock and although we can fudge a bit, we have to keep it pretty close or we get back-ups in our super small lobby.  So I debated all week long whether to try to get 3 songs in before we served Communion, or stick with 2.  I was concerned that only doing 2, it would be tough to really set a ‘tone’ for worship.  I have felt so good about that in our services for the past few months, and really wanted to do all I could to set the stage for that again. I totally realize that worship comes from people’s hearts and you can’t force that…nor can you stop it!  But a big part of my job is “setting the table” so to speak.  I serve as a host, or perhaps better, a tour guide.  I can make it easier or tougher for people to connect with God.  That’s accomplished in lots of different ways…some fairly obvious (the things you say, song selection, appropriate prayers, etc.), while others are more subtle (how you say something, transitions between events, appropriate audio and visual cues, etc.)

So with that mind, I prayed and debated.  Man, come in, sing 2 songs, then Communion just seemed like you were rushing through it.  So I opted for 3 songs.  We ran pretty late in 1st service The song before we did Communion was the old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.  I thought it was perfect as the morning was dealing with celebrating the victories of HCC in recent times and looking forward to the future.  God has been so faithful to us as individuals and as a congregation.  On top of the great lyrical tie-in with the theme, everyone knows that song, so it was sure to release people to freely worship.  Unfortunately, I think I just pitched it too high.  I got the sense that people just weren’t able to get into it.  A great case of letting something physical get in the way. I love it in ‘E’, but it’s not about me

For 3rd service we cut it.  We added a baptism (way to go Autumn!) so I figured it would work better time wise.  But I think so much was going on, we all lost a bit of focus in 3rd service.  We had a couple “oops” moments.  I hope most people didn’t notice them but all those little things distract us who are leading and cause, at least me, to lose focus.  I just felt like I wasn’t able to really do what I needed to today.  On top of that, I was coming into this morning already distracted.  I just felt “out of sorts.”  I know exactly why.    I reacted poorly to a situation with someone and it was still heavy on my heart. I won’t go into details, but I was convicted of something I need to work on.

So I learned a good lesson this morning.  Less is sometimes more.  Given this situation again, I would plan for 2 songs, but leave some time to share some brief thoughts.  Days like today can often end up feeling less like worshiping God and more like a business meeting.  All the graphs and stats, plus the comedy sometimes leaves us feeling that way (@ least to me).  And while there is nothing wrong with that stuff at all, what I was really hoping people would leave with was this…

God has and is blessing HCC in so many ways.  He is bringing more and more people to Him through HCC.  We need to celebrate that!  We also need to remember what God has done in each of our own lives.   His love endures ‘Forever’.  We praise Him ‘For All You’ve Done‘, for His faithfulness ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ and because of all that…we are called to share him with the world around us ‘God of This City’., no matter the cost.

“Greater things have yet to come…Greater things are still to be done in this city!”

Shane shared some great stats…here’s some of them in all their graphic-y splendor

And here’s the ‘News Intro’ video I put together.  I wish I had more time to get it “pro”…but it worked for what it was.

A FEW QUESTIONS I’d LOVE TO GET FEEDBACK ON:

1. As a congregation member (one not on stage) what were your thoughts/feelings on morning? Were you able to engage in worship?
2. What helps you (or distracts) from focusing your heart on God?
3. If you are part of the worship team, how do you react to those “oops” moments?

***this post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Sunday Setlist Blog Carnival…check out what other worship leaders are doing by clicking here.