Guest Blogger: Chunks Corbett

The response to the THR3E event has been overwhelming. In case you missed some of the details, you can read about them here and here.  Registration is filling up fast and many of you have asked some questions about the event. Here are some of the most frequently asked:

Will we have access to Pastor Steven?
Yes. Pastor Steven will be available throughout the day to meet the attendees.

What is the lunch plan?
Lunch will be provided and the staff will be available along with some structured Q and A time.

Will the whole staff be there?
Our entire staff will be present all day to help answer any questions. Along with Q and A over lunch, we have built the day with a lot of time to interact with our staff.

When will registration end?
Registration will end when we are full or on March 31st, whichever comes first.

Are there any available spots?
We have a few dozen spots left.

What will be included in the Resource Kit?
We are working very hard to include everything we have that we think would be useful to you. Here are a few things… Volunteer recruitment and training manuals, corporate documents (bylaws, handbook), job descriptions, org charts (diff sizes of growth, policies and procedures, budgeting docs, chart of accounts, creative process detail, small group info… I told you everything. We won’t include our series graphics and videos because they will be available online for free (coming soon).

Those are some of the details. If you’re waiting to register you better hurry. You don’t want to miss this one time event.

You can register Here

Interview with Pastor Shawn Wood

I am very excited about a new book that hit the streets last week.  In fact, here’s what I had to say about the book after my friend Shawn Wood hooked me up with a copy:

“Shawn’s core concept is so fresh and vivid that I find myself thinking about it time and time again. I hope we can get a copy of 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One into the hands of every bank executive, auto mechanic, student, stay-at-home mom (everyone!) who wants to live a life of destiny and significance. Get ready for God to add his extra to your ordinary as Shawn illustrates the beauty and adventure of a life lived for an audience of one.”

Shawn and I have known each other for about 12 years as we are from the same town of Moncks Corner, SC.  He is the Experiences Pastor at Seacoast Church and a great friend. I asked a few questions about the book that I thought might interest you…

So, we are both from Moncks Corner and one thing I never saw in the Piggly Wiggly was a Pomegranate.  How in the world did you decide to write a book on Pomegranates?

Shawn:  Yes, I am not sure that the great metropolis was introduced to the fine fruit in our time there…but as far as Pomegranates, I actually heard a message in the early 1990’s that taught about the “lily work” and “pomegranates” that were carved into the tops of the columns at Solomon’s temple. It was one of those messages that just stuck like a good bowl of cheese grits. Like you, I have always had a bent towards the arts through music, graphic design – my dad is a metal artisan so it just seemed to resonate with me. Then one day it hit me. These guys carved this stuff not as “art” but as worship. Art is usually viewed by people, but this stuff was 30 something feet in the air and no one would see it. I realized at that moment that we all have something to carve towards an audience of one.  Being that the Piggly Wiggly did have corn, I also thought that the inside of the Pomegranate looked like corn and I really like corn.

We had the opportunity to have you come and speak at Elevation last summer and I know that you love to tell stories.  What’s the story with the book?  What do you hope people gain from reading it?

Shawn: I would hope that as a Dad you see the impact you have on your children as a canvas before you primed to be painted like the masterpiece God wants them to be. As a leader you will see the people you work with not just as people but pieces of clay that when molded together will create a monument to who God is and as a artist you will see that your gifts, though seemingly distant from the story of God are in fact not just footnotes in his story, but cover art for his novel called Steven Furtick.

Ok.  Last question.  You know me.  I am 100 miles a minute.  I love the fact that it’s a short book, 122 readable pages.  So the questions for my readers is, How do I get it?

The book is available now at AMAZON.com and I am hoping that everyone will go get a copy.

Recently Pastor Furtick was interviewed about some of Elevation’s foundational concepts. We thought you’d enjoy reading it as well, so we’ll be posting the questions and answers here on the blog.

Question 1:

What has been your strategy in recruiting key leaders and building a strong team?

The initial 7 families that sold their homes, quit their jobs and stepped out on faith to start this church established a DNA of sacrifice that has been foundational to the team God has built at Elevation. When church planters show up to observe our team, there are certain things that simply can not be taught and frankly can not be accounted for on a spread sheet or in a list of principles. The willingness of those early families to risk it all to see a move of God is such a deep part of who we are as a church and that spirit of faith has reproduced itself in the hearts of every staff member and every volunteer creating what I believe to be the most phenomenal volunteer staff on planet earth.

This week’s installment of the audio blog is taking a left turn and we’re going to tackle a new topic. We’ve hit Elevation Church Best Practices for the last 6 weeks, so this week’s new approach will have more of a Q and A flavor. We made the open call last week for future blog topics and the response was ridiculous. Questions about just about everything under the sun came in.

We took one of those questions, hit it hard, gave our perspective on what it meant to us, and you end up with “You Asked…Audio Blog Edition.”

Give yourself about 15 minutes to make it through, but you’ll be glad you did. Enjoy.