The Church, Starving Artists, Sellouts, & Tweeners

When our church was interviewing architects for our building design, in trying to understand who we are, one group posed a fascinating question: If your church's building were a car, what would it be? I LOVED that question because it allowed us to be so descriptive in a completely fresh way (our answer was a Suburban with leather seats, btw).

I thought about that question when I was looking at our church through a different lens this week: If we were a band, who would we be? Realizing that some bands and groups are starving artists who are hyper-talented but connect with very few people, some are complete sell-outs, and a precious few are great and connect with millions of people--it seems like a great question to ask of a church. For Lake Hills Church, the answers really don't have anything to do with a musical style that we would or would not use in a worship service per se, but they reveal volumes about who we are:

U2--phenomenal artists, groundbreaking sounds, lyrics, and subject matter for a rock band. AND they touch hearts and stimulate minds through a phenomenal sense of poetry and aesthetic better than anyone alive. They're not afraid to entertain and celebrate while also making you think. And they've almost singlehandedly made social activism that makes a difference cool.

Lyle Lovett--Texas to the bone because that's who he genuinely is, but his intelligent lyrics transcend the Lone Star State and his comfortable-in-his-own-skin persona works in Carnegie Hall as easily as it does in Gruene Hall. Precious few people can pull off (custom-made) pointy-toe cowboy boots and Armani.

Hillsong Worship--as well as anyone around, they know who they are and why they do what they do, and they never stand pat. They are always evolving, growing, and breaking new ground lyrically and musically.

The Rolling Stones--the power of energy. There's something undeniably powerful and compelling about Mick's stage presence, Keith's guitar and Charlie's backbeat.

Who (in addition to Jesus!) would your church's culture, personality and presence reflect and why?

South Texas and the Call of God

A good friend recently invited me to hunt with him in south Texas. It's a part of the world that really recharges and refreshes me every time I'm there. It is rough country, but it has a beauty that is raw and rugged. They say that down there if it doesn't bite you or have thorns, it's a rock. And that's pretty accurate.

I've wondered a couple of times what it would be like to earn a living as a writer living on a ranch in south Texas. It wouldn't be any easier than what I get to do now, but it would certainly be less complicated. Get up early, write until mid-morning or noon, and then spend the rest of the day managing the ranch for maximum deer growth, quail habitat and whatever else came to mind.

Whenever I have those thoughts, God reminds me that I'm right in the middle of what I was created for. To be Julie's husband, Emily & Joseph's dad, and pastor of LHC is as full a life as I can even imagine. I would so miss the communities that our family gets to be a part of, that we're strengthened by. I'd miss the beauty of Christ's Bride as she lives out through the people of LHC. I would miss the leadership opportunities to see and sometimes facilitate an intersection between people's gifts and passions and the needs and opportunities of the church.

Author Seth Godin relates a telling story that I think captures this idea:

It's four a.m. and I can't sleep. So I'm sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Jamaica, checking my e-mail.

A couple walks by, obviously on their way to bed, having pushed the idea of vacation a little too hard. The woman looks over to me and, in a harsh whisper a little quieter than a yell, says to her friend, "Isn't that sad? That guy comes here on vacation and he's stuck checking his e-mail. He can't even enjoy his two weeks off."

I think the real question--the one they probably wouldn't want to answer--was, "Isn't it sad that we have a job where we spend two weeks avoiding the stuff we have to do fifty weeks a year?"

Hit the COMMENTS button below and let me know what you love about what you get to do every day.