Sometimes when I’m trying to figure out how to brand a series, I get my audience all mixed up. I make it harder than it has to be.
I start trying to theme it in a way that would be…Fresh. Original. Cutting Edge…
To other churches.
It’s not that my motives are bad. I’m not intentionally trying to secure our place in next year’s list of Most creative/innovative/exponential/whatever churches.
I’m just such a church junkie, I subliminally assume everyone else is too.
I can rattle off what series different churches are doing/have done like most normal guys can rattle off Fantasy Football stats. It’s my obsession.
My framework is faulty. The people we’re trying to reach (people far from God) don’t think like I think.
So when we think of a series we’d like to do in a creative meeting, and toss it out because: Man, that’s been done before…
we’re kind of like a coaching staff refusing to run the ball because:
Man, running has been done to before…
Doesn’t make sense. If a series themed around purpose, for instance, is going to be most effective in reaching people far from God, we need to do it, no matter how many times it’s already been done.
We’re not trying to win an originality competition. We’re trying to impact lostness and build the Kingdom.
The guy I’m preaching to this week isn’t evaluating based on whether Ed Young did a series like this 2 years ago.
He’s evaluating based on the impact the Word of God and the presence of Christ
makes on his life.
Gotta keep the right audience in sight.
Otherwise, we’re just running a beauty pageant-the kind where the contestants judge each other.
(I read this thought on someone’s blog about a year ago, and it stuck with me. If I could remember where I read it, I’d give the brutha credit. Sorry.)