I just got back from IB 03. About 85 NCCers spent the weekend at Rocky Gap Resort near Cumberland, MD. We looked back, looked in, and looked ahead.
I felt like this weekend was "just what the doctor ordered." I needed some solitude and silence. There is nothing like watching the sunrise over lake Habeeb and the sunset at Canyon Overlook.
I've always felt like change of place + change of pace = change of perspective. I think alot of NCCers walked away with a greater understanding of themselves and a renewed outlook on life.

I turn three years-old today! Three years ago today I was on a respirator. My intestines ruptured and I went in for emergency surgery at 2 AM on July 24, 2000. I could have and probably should have died, but God spared my life. It was the worst day and best day of my life. Walter Kaufman said, “It makes for a better life if one has a rendezvous with death.”
I was reading Gregg Levoy’s book Callings recently and he interviewed people who were forced, as he put it, “to consult their deaths.” When they discovered they were going to die a few of them were shattered, but many of them felt liberated. One woman diagnosed with cancer said it was “not a death sentence, but a life sentence.” My near-death experience was a life sentence.

I turn three years-old today! Three years ago today I was on a respirator. My intestines ruptured and I went in for emergency surgery at 2 AM on July 24, 2000. I could have and probably should have died, but God spared my life. It was the worst day and best day of my life. Walter Kaufman said, “It makes for a better life if one has a rendezvous with death.”
I was reading Gregg Levoy’s book Callings recently and he interviewed people who were forced, as he put it, “to consult their deaths.” When they discovered they were going to die a few of them were shattered, but many of them felt liberated. One woman diagnosed with cancer said it was “not a death sentence, but a life sentence.” My near-death experience was a life sentence

A few years ago I heard Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, talk about a visit he made to Willowcreek. He said it was one of those moments where he felt like he saw the future. That's how I felt last Sunday. I've always dreamed of different services in different theaters just like there are different movies in different theaters. I think we pulled it off. We had four theaters--message theater, worship theater, prayer theater, and a communion theater. NCCers went on a self-guided, self-paced journey to each theater. We had a harpist in the prayer theater. The worship theater was two hours of non-stop worship. The communion theater was self-serve. I'll never forget walking into the communion theater and seeing hundreds of confessions nailed to the cross. I don't think I've ever had a more powerful communion experience--seeing those confessions nailed to the cross and hearing the nails being pounded into the cross was unforgettable.

I felt like we didn't allow NCCers to have church as usual. We forced people out of the box and we've gotten rave reviews. When you try something different like this a third alternative often emerges. I think we might try this again, but we also might experiment with a prayer theater and/or communion theater some Sunday.

I'm reading Seth Godin's book Purple Cow. It really resonates. If you're seen one cow you've seen a thousand cows. But a purple cow--now that will get your attention. Godin says, "Either you're remarkable or invisible." I think most churches are invisible. Our goal is an undeniable presence. We want to make sure that everyone living within a two-mile radius of Union Station and Ballston Common Mall cannot deny our existence. That is fulfilling Jesus command in Luke 14:23, "Compel them to come in so that my house may be full." That is our modus operandi. We want a full house because God wants a full house.

Godin says, "Stop advertising and start innovating." 98% of how to do church is undefined in Scripture for one very good reason: it would kill creativity. The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet. That is one of our core convictions. Unfortunately, we fall in the trap Godin describes. He says, "Too often, big companies are scared companies, and they work to minimize any variation--including the good stuff that happens when people who care create something special."