Several weeks ago I was asked a great question from a very smart guy. “One year from now, what are your goals?” he said. Then the followup question: “What would you like to see in the lives of the people you are shepherding?”

See, I told you he is smart. What a great way to think about what we’re doing, because what we hope to see in a year should determine the decisions we make now.

I could simply copy and paste the table of metrics we have developed and used when applying for grants, which would show you our goals for the number of people in worship, small groups, and in service to the community. But I chose to take his questions a little differently and perhaps a little deeper. I interpreted this guy’s questions as, “What are you trying to prove?”

What are we trying to prove through this whole 801South initiative? There are several different ways to approach this question and a lot of the answer can be summed up by our five key values. But rather than pointing people to a spreadsheet with numbers or going through the story of how we arrived at our key values, I decided to give this question more thought.

What am I personally trying to prove? Am I trying to prove that I am cool and capable as a leader? I hope not. I’ve never been particularly cool in the past so I’m not going to try now. As far as being a capable leader, the only thing I try to do is surround myself with the smartest and most passionate people I can find. And then I give them permission to dream. So far this strategy is working well. If it comes across as capable leadership, that’s another win.

So I’m not really trying to prove that I can be cool or a capable leader. Instead, I think about the people whose lives will be transformed through the environments of 801South. I suppose I’m trying to prove two things. First of all, I want to be a part of an environment that is created around (unapologetically) introducing people to a life in Jesus Christ. The settings for worship and small groups are designed around easily inviting people to enter into this relationship, which provides more peace and purpose than any other relationship in life.

Secondly, I would love to see people who have already chosen to follow Jesus to also reflect their created-ness in being more intentional and thoughtful about their rhythms.
I continue to see people in our society today, myself included, who can too easily float, exist, and even thrive according to the world’s standards without making much space for thoughtfulness. Too much is left to the notion of fate or chance. I would love to see families make decisions based on what is best for them and their relationships, rather than just filling schedules with all that is available and affordable. What if families said “no” to more of the stuff in this world—even the really good stuff—so that they can say “yes” to one another. This has a lot to do with the simplicity of 801South: worship, small group, and service. That’s it.

Is it all a utopia? Maybe. But it’s what continues to fuel our vision and ultimately it is what I’m trying to prove.

I’ve heard from several of you that I’m causing guilt in your life. “Your posts keep building up in my inbox and I want to read them, but I keep putting them off and then I feel guilty” is one comment I’ve received. Not that I’m totally above using guilt, but hopefully I have relieved some of this by taking a break from posting last week.

Everyone caught up? Good. Let’s get to this week’s idea; which I think you will find very helpful.

When you hear the word “gap,” what comes to mind? A clothing store? The space between the tube and the platform in London’s Underground subway system?

A gap can be a break, opening, empty space, interval, wide divergence, difference, disparity, among many other definitions; however, I was recently introduced to another concept of the gap—the gap between what is now and what can be. Taste is the cause of this gap. Vision is another concept that works alongside taste; the two of which go hand in hand.

This idea came to me through a video I received from one of our children’s worship directors here at Matthews UMC. She mentioned it in a hallway conversation and I was very interested so I asked her to send me the link. When I sat down to view the short clip and read the attached article, immediately I became incredibly grateful to hear someone explain this phenomenon in these terms. The video and a link to the article are below.

Honestly, I wish I could produce a high-quality photograph (with appropriate hipster filter applied, of course) of what I picture in my mind when it comes to the environments of 801South—worship experiences, small groups, serving opportunities. There are similar ministries out there to which we have directed people through websites, publications, and even site visits as we continue to develop this new ministry. Ultimately, it will continue to change shape and form as we move forward with more people coming onboard who add their own taste.

As opposed to the artistic mediums of paint or music, which are sometimes derived from an individual, the art of fashioning new environments for the church often include a team. Fortunately, I continue to be impressed by our 801South team. These servants are working hard to give us the best start possible; however, no matter how much time and effort our team applies to the launch, ultimately there will be a gap between my vision for these 801South environments and what actually materializes. I’m ok with this. I have to be. Knowing the gap is inevitable helps me understand that we have not failed just because the initial experience does not perfectly match the original picture. The full potential of 801South will not be realized at its inception.

I found this concept of the gap between taste/vision and the tangible work very encouraging as we near the launch. No matter what 801South looks like at launch, I still know my tastes are “killer” and our greatest impact is yet to be realized.

via PetaPixel

How will people know about it???

This is one of the most asked questions I hear when telling groups of people about the 801South venue launching later this spring. My immediate answer is, “Well, you, mainly.” We want to see relationships drive through 801South so naturally, a face-to-face invitation extended to those who are currently disconnected is the best marketing we can encourage.

There are also some other plans in the works for getting the word out in the community—that there is a new space for new people—that fall under the category of “marketing.” But how exactly do we package that which we hope to market?

I recently read a response to an article written in the New Yorker Magazine about the concept of brands and branding. The blog was written by Brody Bond, who co-leads a brand development agency in Baltimore, MD. If you are at all interested in the concept of marketing, I highly recommend you read both the original article and Brody’s response. What I loved most from the response is how he defines the term brand. Brody writes, “A brand is a promise of an experience.” What a great and thought-provoking definition! For us, it begs the question, “What kind of experience do we hope people encounter from the time they enter the parking lot to the moment they drive away…and beyond?” This starts us down the path of preparation to best provide this pre-determined experience.

We recently rolled out some helpful relational tools for our launch team to use when explaining, as well as inviting others into, 801South. The first is a short video; which explains some of 801South’s genesis.

The second tool is a small, simple invite card; which features the logo (a small part of branding) and a picture of people in relationship on the other side. This is not the final product that the launch team will receive at our next event on Tuesday, March 4th, but it is a prototype.

These relational tools aside, what is it that we want people to experience? This question guides so much of what we form as a worship experience for adults and for children. The worst thing we can do is to brand 801South with a promise that in no way matches a person’s actual experience. For example, if we promise that our band sounds exactly like Coldplay, but they actually sounds more like that band you started with your buddies back in middle school (mine was named Tempest) then we have lied about our brand.  Or if we promise that all people will be warmly welcomed and that our hospitality team will serve them from their very first time on campus, but no one even speaks to them (or even worse-ignores a clear need), then our brand is not particularly valuable. And further marketing within the community only exacerbates the problem when the experience does not match the promise.

I know that God is at work here. I have incredible confidence in this vision. The people behind 801South will play a role in shaping lives for years to come. I can’t wait to see how lives are changed and futures are transformed through Jesus. Yes, we have a logo—I love it and we’re super excited about it. Yes, we have some promotional material. Yes, we have a plan for marketing the worship experience to the community. Yes, we have someone developing a website. But if there is a gap between our promise and the experience, then our brand will miss the mark. This is why the heart of the 801South servant is critical. The leaders are providing training, but without the servant’s heart striving for excellence in his or her ministry, the brand ultimately suffers. Those who serve through 801South have an opportunity to be a part of changing someones story forever. Yeah, it’s a big deal.

So maybe the question is not “How will they know about it?” But instead, “What will they tell of their experience?”

And in full disclosure, Brody Bond played lead guitar in Tempest.