PastorMentor.com

Why I'm Changing My Easter Plans

Last week my friend Scott Evans came to me with an idea that has changed my Easter plans.

As President of Outreach, Inc., Scott keeps his hand on the pulse of our society better than anyone I know. He asked me a simple question over lunch: “Hal, Outreach is thinking about creating an invitation card to an “End Times” series for churches after Easter. Do you think this would be useful to New Song?”

As we talked about the earthquakes in Japan and revolutions in the Middle East, it occurred to me that we’ve been selling an increased number of Future History books lately. (Future History is my book on Daniel and End Times Prophecy.) I should have spotted the trend myself: people are thinking about the end times!

Easter is the biggest event on our church calendar. Tons of guests visit us, and we try to encourage them to return by launching a need-oriented sermon series the following week. Up to the minute Scott mentioned end times, we’d been planning a marriage series. With his one question, he changed our direction.

Now I’ll be preaching how “When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4) and ending with a forecast that, once the time had fully come, the time of the Gentiles had begun. Romans 11:25 speaks of a transition that will take place, when “the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” What will that time look like?  A lot like the time we’re in! Before I close, I’ll invite our guests back to find out more about the end times.

I believe we are in one of those “chiros moments” when people will listen to God’s Word to find out their immediate and future destiny. So we’ll be changing our series. The day after Easter, we’ll mail an invitation to our neighborhoods, inviting them to come find out about the end times. Pray with me that many eternities are changed as a result of our change in plans.

 

A Risk That's Paying Off

I'm surprised.

Last weekend we launched a new sermon series called, “How to Become a Superhero.” I didn’t come up with the title. I didn't even like it at first. Now I'm lovin' it.

I was planning to do a series called, “The Me I Want to Be” (based on John Ortberg’s excellent new book by that title.) Our Program Team commented, “That title would appeal more to women than men., and asked if we they change it. They came up with the Superhero idea. I wondered if it would fly.

The day we launched the series, our musicians all wore superhero t-shirts. (Would people criticize us for being led in worship by people wearing t-shirts?)

Plus,Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Spiderman and Captain America joined me on stage for the message. (Would people wag their fingers at mixing fantasy characters with the Word of God?)

Our superheroes struck poses behind me while I preached. Between services, they climbed on the roof and waved to people coming and going. Everyone got such a kick out of them, we’re holding them over for a five-week engagement. We may even have them pose for pictures with children on Halloween.

Taking Risks
What I've just described may not seem like much of a risk to you, but it did to me. I was fearful that some of our senior saints would think we had gone crazy, and that some of our more conservative element would accuse us of “selling out to entertainment.”

To my delight, that didn’t happen. Just the opposite. The whole thing created a buzz. Attendance is up. People are telling their friends about this crazy thing we're doing. Men are challenging each other to become superheroes of the faith.

New Song is 18 years old. In our younger days we took a lot of risks. One of our early series was called, “Great Sex.” Now that we’ve gotten older, we have a reputation to uphold and we have more to lose. This series helped me see that I have slowly gotten more predictable.

I want to break out of that box. I believe that “risk” was a synonym for “faith.” I want to live on that edge, rather than on the “preserve and conserve” side of life.

Here’s what I’ve realized (again) over the last few days:

The Virtues of Risk
1. Risk can send a signal that you’re serious.
We knew the series had the potential to turn some people off. Just the opposite happened. It demonstrated how serious we are about reaching and growing people in Christ.

2. Risk can create a buzz.
I like to think that everyone goes home every weekend talking about the lifechanging lessons they learned from my sermon, but you and I both know that doesn’t happen all that often. Whereas, last Sunday EVERYONE was talking about the superheroes on the roof. Several posted pictures of them posing behind me during the sermon. When was the last time someone took pictures in church, and it didn’t involve their family members?

3. Risk can attract a new kind of person.
If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always got. Trying something new might just tap a segment of society your church has never touched before.

I have a few cautions, but I think they should be qualified cautions:

What to Risk for:
1. Risk for risk sake is foolish. Risk for Christ’s sake is worth it.
Our goal for the series was to grow our believers while giving them something to invite their unchurched friends to. “The Me I Want to Be” is a great concept, but not a very compelling title (unless you’re deep into self-actualization.) The audacity of the title has attracted several newcomers.

2. Take risks in the direction of men.
Much of what is done in church is geared towards women. I did a survey the week before we launched the series. Women preferred, “The Me I Want to Be,” while men were actually excited about “Becoming a Superhero.” Women are generally more tolerant and open to spiritual things, so if you can hook the men, most women will go along with it. Lean towards men.

3. Take risks in the direction of youth.
The more mature we become, the more others-centered we ought to be. So gearing a series towards a youthful audience makes sense.

4. Take risks in the direction of relevance.
Head into Wal-Mart and you’ll find a plethora of superhero t-shirts on sale right now. Ask friends (at least those under 40) if they own a superhero t-shirt. Most of them do. Survey the big theater hits over the last few years: Spiderman, Iron Man and X-Men rock. Superheroes may be make-believe, but they're connected with our culture these days.

5. Take risks in the direction of fun.
Because of their sacred nature, church services can have a tendency to turn solemn. I’m discovering that having a little fun can generate a lot of joy. And in the meantime, I’m watching members of my church dream and pray and work towards becoming superheroes of the faith.

Suggestion: Pastor, get 2-3 young men together and analyze the title of your upcoming series. How can you make it appeal more to men? To the younger generation? How can you build anticipation for it? How can you make it fun?

I think I’ll put more superheroes on our roof. Some of them may not fly, but if we reach a few more for Jesus, it'll be worth it.