This past Saturday I sent this to our lead team, an amazing group of men and women who are gifted to help Connection Church fulfill it's God given mission and vision. (And when I say gifted, I don't mean gifted to do it by themselves but by empowering the church people as they are gifted.)A little context - we're six years old and moved into our new facility in September. I hope you realize what we show up for every Sunday as you digest this:
Hey Team -Part of me being a Type B leader means that I remind people of our values - why it is we do what we do. And since some of our lead team are Type A folks, they need that from me. Likewise, I need them to be sure the details get done... but I do need to remind them of "why" the details are important - which means that even though I don't think about details, I need to think about why details are important.
Tomorrow is our first day in the new building. (Well, not really, but really, it is... every Sunday is our first day in the new building)
We have guests coming, and we need to give God our best... because for some odd reason He enjoys using imperfect people like us to share His perfect love, and someone's eternity is riding on it.
It is up to you to welcome every person you walk by, even if you don't have the time.
It is up to you to remind volunteers why what they do is more than fill a space on the schedule.
It is up to you to reach out to all people.
It is up to you to lead kids into a forever friendship with Jesus Christ.
It is up to you to redemptively love adults into a deeper connection with God.
It is up to you to BE the Church.
Show up on time. Be there for prayer at 8:30am, and let's pray - let's not wait for someone else to do it... let's arm wrestle over who gets to do it.
When it's time to sings songs of worship, engage God - not because you have to stand up and sing but because you have the chance to unashamedly let your love be proclaimed out loud. May it be contagious.
When it's time for opening up the Bible, open yours up... let God speak to you through that great gift.
When it's time to shake hands, look for someone who is falling through the cracks of that moment.
When it's time to hear teaching, don't worry about the person who is speaking - let God speak to you through me or in spite of me. Take notes - write them down, if not for you but for someone else whom you'll share the message with later in the week.
When it's time for you to tithe, drop it into the treasure box and thank Him for what He has provided that we get to take part in.
And when we say "AMEN" and "BE the Church" at the end, don't be in a rush to leave. Linger - connect - deepen your relationships with God and His Church.
See you in the morning....
Together,
Tony
Connection Church
http://www.connectionchurch.org/
Don't just go to church... BE the Church!
For the record, I was late to our 8:30am prayer time.
And for the record, they did pray without me (which rocked).
