Church

“So, How Did the Change REALLY Go?”

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In the recent weeks, I have learned that there have been 3 people very interested in the changes going on at North Side.

  1. North Siders – This group has been interested in how all of it would look when the dust settled and the new day was here.  What would worship be like?  Where would their families go?
  2. Other Greenwood Churches – We also have heard that it’s been quite the conversation among other churches, and even in some churches, people have attempted to lure people to their congregation because their worship style was something they would enjoy better (that’s on both the contemporary and the traditional side).  I guarantee if someone leaves one church because of music and find refuge in another, those are the type of members who leave the 2nd church one day as well.  It’s like young ladies who feel like they have to advertise to get a man.  Whatever it takes to get him will be what takes him one day.  The same is true with churches.
  3. Other Church Leaders – Along the way, I’ve been contacted through this blog, Facebook, or email with questions how we are going about these changes.  It seems there are a lot of churches who desire unity as well.  Many congregations are tired of the church buffet lines, but we served as the “guinea pig” to many of them.  If it works here, maybe it could work there too was the thought process.

So, I posted on Sunday that Sunday was a great day, and it was.  I believed it was going to be a great day, but I didn’t think it could have gone that smooth.  But many people emailed me on Monday morning and said, “OK, you can tell me, how did the change REALLY go?”  As if Sunday everyone would be all smiles, but then Monday morning, our inboxes would be overflowing with hate mail.

So, how did the change REALLY go?

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Reminders for Sunday’s New Schedule

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Just a reminder about Sunday’s new schedule at North Side.  We have worship and discipleship groups for all ages at both 9:30 & 11:00.  Get there early to make sure you and your family are in the right spot at the right time.

Here’ some additional notes for you to remember:

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“We Said We Would Never Visit North Side…”

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Yesterday, I talked about how North Side is experiencing incredible growth even during a time of transition.  Normally, you are supposed to lose people when you make changes to your church, and in reality, we are gaining people.  Lives are being transformed by the gospel.  People are being baptized.  All ages are signing up for discipleship groups and service groups.  It’s been amazing to watch!

I wanted to tell you one story that we have heard through this time of change.  A couple recently moved to Greenwood who had been church leaders in another state.  As they began their time of searching for the right church, someone invited them to come to North Side.  They checked out the website, asked some questions about the church, and told this person they wouldn’t come.  They had doctrinal stances they had to ensure which our church met with no problem.  But they had one other criteria as far as looking for a church that was a non-negotiable for them.

Do you know what the one criteria they had that was hindering them from coming to North Side?

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Aren’t Churches Supposed to Lose People When They Change?

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When I was in seminary, I was taught that before you ever make a change in your church, you need to calculate how many people you would lose if you changed.  An honest look at how those departures would affect attendance, volunteers, and especially budget should give you an indication of whether or not you should change.

North Side is in the middle of a change (if you haven’t heard ;)).  We are going from 3 worship services to 2.  2 worship styles to 1.  We are having a simple flip-flop schedule with worship and discipleship groups for all ages at both 9:30 & 11:00.

We decided to change for 2 basic reasons:

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Sunday Best (Does God Care What I Wear to Church?)

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Everybody knows that when you go to church on Sunday you are supposed to wear your “Sunday best.”  Right?  I always heard that you dress up in your nice clothes on Sunday morning because God deserves our best.  So find the most expensive, formal attire and wear that on Sundays because it honors God. Does it?  Have you ever wondered

Why I’m Not a Fan of Blended Worship

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You may or may not have heard that North Side is going through some changes now.  Many have asked me, “Are you guys getting rid of the traditional service?”  The short answer is yes.  The other part of the answer is: we are also getting rid of our contemporary services.

We are uniting our church from 3 services into 2.  There are many theological and logistical reasons of which this one post cannot address.  Succinctly, we believe that God is more honored when we unite in worship regardless of our preferences (theological), and we have accommodated preferences to a point where our schedule is actually a hindrance for many families in our attempt to please everyone (logistical).

So, no traditional.  No contemporary.  So everyone assumes that we are doing blended worship.  The only problem with that is North Side’s worship pastor (me) is absolutely disgusted by that format.  Let me explain why:

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Discipleship 101

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What a great way to start out the new school year today at North Side!  We had packed worship services with passionate worshipers – what else can you ask for?  We started a new series entitled “Intentional Discipleship” geared towards people who are ready to stop being stagnant and start growing in Christ!

Some service highlights were having Ben Ridgeway, one of our high schoolers, pray for all students, teachers, and faculty members going into their mission field tomorrow.  It was great having a video testimony of my buddy, Brian Rackley, who was a self-proclaimed “back row Baptist” until God called him into ministry.  This morning he wasn’t with our church anymore because he has accepted a call to preach at Bethany Baptist.  The whole service was geared around following Christ with no turning back.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Revival of the Heart

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No picture from tonight’s services.  I got the wonderful privilege to preach at South Main about Courageous and fatherhood.  I got to share communion with our worship team and listen to them practice and then head out. I heard the team did great.  They just led worship with everything they had – nothing surprising there.  I heard Jeff’s message on

Sheep-Stealing Tactics

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I love the Body of Christ, but sometimes some of the members make me require an Advil.

I believe in the Church of the capital “C.”  That means that all of the local churches all belong to the big Church – the universal Body of Christ.  That means that we are all on the same team.  That means that we aren’t in competition with the church down the road.  That means that when someone leaves a church to come to ours, we challenge them to work things out with their family.  That means that we celebrate when other churches around us grow.  Big “C” mentality.

That’s where the Advil comes in, not everyone thinks that way.  I was talking with some college students a couple of months ago who were put in a very awkward spot by another pastor.  This pastor was telling them to leave North Side and come to his church.  The words they shared were, “North Side is big.  They don’t need you.  We need you at our church.”  There were other things that the pastor shared, but basically saying that their church was way better and way cooler than ours and that reason should cause them to leave North Side.

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