Are They At The Party?

So I work with a great team of people here at Atlanta First UMC. We are all very different, most of us very opinionated, some are passive-aggressive, and others just smile a lot. The one big thing we all have in common is we want what’s best for the church, our ministries, and the people in and around the city of Atlanta. This requires that we have BIG vision.

One of things I love to do is to experience new things. Now when I worked for Family Christian Stores it was like my birthday every day when we got new product in. I was always opening up boxes (to the criticism of my back room employee) to see if there was a new book or the next great CD (before street-date of course). At home, I’m always ready for the next addictive reality TV show or any new gadget I can get my hands on. Now I am always really excited to share my finding with anyone who will listen. They are not always as excited as I was.

So for my job at Atlanta First I love to research and experience what others are doing on the web, in ministry, etc… I regularly find new websites or fresh ideas from other churches whether it from blogs, twitter, or other crazy places. I get so excited about their creativity and passion that people often think I like redbull a little too much. The people I share my excitement with usually smile, nod, and say “that’s great..”. Fakers (liars seems a little over the top for this post).

The other day, two of my coworkers and I went to a great design/print shop just outside of Atlanta. We all stood in awe of their creativity and the excellence of the products they produce. We left excited and inspired by what we had just seen.

So I parallel it to this. You know how at a birthday party when you open the presents in front of everyone, there is often a gasp, or an “awwwe” moment. People get excited about your presents since they are experiencing it with you. Now the next day when you show off this AMAZING gift to someone who wasn’t at the party – and you usually get a smile, nod, and a “that’s great…”.

Two lessons I learned from this.
1) Always let your team experience as much excellence together as possible. This is the way teams are motivated and inspired to move forward. Not everybody wants to hear about somebody else’s experiences or findings that they didn’t get to experience or find themselves.
2) If the experience is so crucial to connect, motivate, and inspire people – then why isn’t our sole focus to lead people to experience things that will move them forward. In our churches we like to tell people of an experience and never truly connect them to it.

Jesus has given us many gifts yet when we show people those gifts – it is often a “that’s nice…” situation. May we move forward in creating experiences that will invoke passion, creativity, and connection – not only as a team, but as a church, ministry, and the body of Christ.

Are people “at the party” at your church – or do they get a second-hand glimpse of God?

Please feel free to comment.