Back in October I blogged that at the chapel we would celebrate all our achievements and all of Gods blessing by having a party whenever we reached certain goals. I wrote:
When we get 20 (or more) people for two weeks running I will buy everybody involved Pizza.
When we get 40 people for two weeks running I will buy everybody involved curry.
When we get 50 people for two weeks running we will have a massive chapel party with a DJ and those funny stick things with pineapple and cheese on.
So on Sunday 29th November at The Chapel we shall have Pizza. A lot of pizza. This Pizza will be the best tasting Pizza ever.
A few weeks back when there were nine of us (including three in the band) I wondered if I would ever get to eat pizza. Cheers God.
The lessons that I am learning are vast and plentiful. However, the biggest area of learning is about myself, my own naivety, arrogance and shortsightedness. I guess the positive spin on this is that I am learning.
I honestly think that I expected something for nothing. I thought I could start the chapel without it becoming something I owned. I thought that I could have a run at this and if it didnt work quickly I could give up without being bothered.
I also didnt realise how privileged I am. The Chapel is not a church plant, it is an evening meeting for Christ Church Manchester. However, because CCM meets in Hyde (miles away from The Chapels target audience) it is possible that the two groups of people will not meet very often. This means we get to behave a little bit like a church plant while getting lots of cover from the larger church. This leaves me being very well looked after as part of the CCM leadership team as well as being employed by the church. Not many church planters get that.
We have been doing this for 3 months and I ready feel so different about it. Where we will we been in 12 months?
I love star wars and I loved the most recent star trek movie. So I was chuffed to discover that R2D2 makes a brief appearance in star trek. Lets hope this is for real…
Last night was a great night at the chapel. We a whole bunch of newbies and there was a cracking atmosphere all evening.
Oddly enough a remembered a talk by Nick Job from Silklife Church in Macclesfield from a few weeks previous. He talked on change and the need to be ready for God to bring change at any point. Last night felt like we were beginning to see the fruit of God changing stuff.
Chip from thebandwithnoname spoke. He was inspirational and laid back in a very mohawk kinda way. There was a moment last night when chip was speaking, with a Mohican haircut, drinking beer, while we sat in a vodka bar and I wondered what my granddad would have thought! Then I remembered my granddad never had to plant a church in the centre of Manchester!
We are half way to Pizza. One more week and Colin Baron will be buying us some of Manchesters finest Pizza. Cheers Col.
As I have said before I am a big fan of the church marketing sucks website. They frequently have fascinating articles about how different churches have tried to market themselves in new an interesting ways.
At the chapel we have been considering a number of different ways of marketing ourselves to the unchurched (prechristian?) in a ways that are provocative and original. The intention being that we want them to talk about Jesus and his church and maybe get their curiousity up so they consider a visit.
My natural tendency is to be a little cheeky and maybe even a touch offensive so as to provoke a response. Thankfully I have people around me who I trust and who are significantly wiser than me. Here is how cheeky church marketing can go wrong.
It is possible that I am becoming increasingly pretentious in my old age. A good example of the increased influence of my inner Ponce would be yesterdays post.
I think innovation is of vital importance but as my buddy at Fractal Cabbage pointed out quality management and administration makes the innovators look good!
Yesterdays post also implied that I am some great pioneer and innovator. unfortunately this is not very accurate. I love trying new things out but success is still just round the corner!
I standby yesterdays post but would like to make clear that I am no leadership guru but I am someone who is dead keen to see church thrive in areas that churches usually die.
He discusses the need for organisations to focus their energy on making positive experiences happen instead of focusing on avoiding bad experience.
A new restaurant might rely on fresh vegetables and whatever they can get at the market. The bigger, more established fast-food chain starts shipping in processed canned food. One is less reliable with bigger upside, the other—more dependable with less downside.
He finishes up with this law:
Here’s a rule that’s so inevitable that it’s almost a law: As an organization grows and succeeds, it sows the seeds of its own demise by getting boring. With more to lose and more people to lose it, meetings and policies become more about avoiding risk than providing joy.
So often you hear church leaders talk about consolidation. What this often means is that the church and its leader ceases to innovate. They stop thinking like a planter or a builder and start thinking like an administrator or a manager.
Our battle at Christ Church Manchester is to keep innovating as we try to see a whole city and region changed. The moment that we start to focus inward and settle down is when we stop growing and become irrelevant.
Last night at the chapel was sweet. We had a new worship leader, who did a cracking job and we carried on with our new laid back acoustic vibe. The oral assault of our power trio will return but for now the guitar and percussion route seems to be working well.
We have a steady stream of guests every week. Some of whom appear to like the chapel experience and have come back. Which is kind of the point.
A few people have said to me that they enjoyed it but want more people to show up. Obviously, I agree. However I am loving what God has given us so far. Also I desperately want to avoid people doubling up with meetings on sunday morning and evening. There seems so little point in that. We have a few very serving people who are doubling up but I want it kept to a bare minimum. I want to grow with newbies.
This sunday evening Chip from thebandwithnoname will be speaking. He has a mohawk and is American. Seatbelts will be provided.
