The title is, of course, a subtle reference to an 80’s sitcom that I can sing the theme song to on cue. But it’s also a description of our last 2 weeks at Elevation.

June 1st was a thing of beauty (you take the good). It was a day that makes you think the church can remain portable forever. Everything from set up to tear down went perfect. The stage looked great, Pastor preached the house down, 146 people gave their lives to Christ. It was just an all around great day.

We had 4 separate groups of church planters in on our Backstage Elevation tours on the 1st and we made it look easy. Sometimes you can give the wrong impression of a portable church when everything goes right.

Then June 8th happened (you take the bad). It wasn’t a disaster by any means, but it was a day that we got some crisis management practice. It started with the air conditioner being broken at one of our campuses (a high school) on the hottest day of the year. We made the adjustment and got 800 bottles of ice cold water for people along with a big fan and nobody passed out.

We also had a guest Worship Leader that came in unprepared. No big deal, fortunately we had our Worship Pastor available to fill his shoes.

Well, then 10 minutes before our first service (8:30 at the other H.S. campus with AC working), our $35,000 switcher decided to reset. That meant that all inputs to the device had to be reset. The net effect was we started late, lost our center screen and TV’s onstage for the first service and had to cut out a song to get the service out on time.

We thought we were through the worst of it all and then our generator that powers our production trailer shut off for no reason 1 minute before Pastor finished his sermon at 8:30. This caused us to loose power to all video equipment. This happened during the service that we have to get right because we play that sermon back at our second campus. Since it only cut off 1 minute of the sermon we were able to have a live person take over when the tape cut off when played back and it seemed to work well.

The generator shut off again during the 10 O’clock service which forced us to use the same sermon that was cut off 1 minute short for all the video sermons of the day.

Finally, we had a normal 11:30 service. This was after the generator cut off during 2 services and the other 2 services down the street with no AC had a video sermon that was cut 1 minute short. We thought we would coast through the rest of the day. Only the 1 PM service to go and Pastor was live.

That is as long as the camera operators have eaten and not given blood. Just minutes before Pastor was going to close the last sermon of the day, our camera operator who was fasting and had blood taken that morning passed out (the camera was live) and came crashing to the floor in the back of the auditorium. The audience watched the screens and saw it all through the camera which ended up on the floor facing the ceiling. The EMS came and took her to the hospital where, fortunately, all tests were negative.

So she was OK and in the end so was the Sunday and the church. But it was definitely not the way we planned it out in our production meetings. And it was certainly a little different than the week before.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor� � �

Filed under: Being Portable, Church Planting, Leadership |

My 1999 Honda Accord is experiencing some transmission trouble. When the car is cold, the transmission will jerk into gear and when the car is warmed up, the transmission ‘shutters’ as I’m coming to a stop.

As little as I know about cars, I do know that the transmission of a car should be something that I never think about. The whole purpose of the transmission is to cause all of the moving parts of the engine to line up perfectly with all of the moving parts of the wheels and axles so the car can continue to move forward. When that doesn’t happen smoothly, you have problems…

At Elevation Church, Pastor has prepared us very well for our past ‘shifts’ as well as the fact that in order to grow we will always need to prepare for the next ‘shift’ that’s coming soon.

If you’re committed to forward motion then you will have to learn how to shift well. Here are some practical things that I have picked up from my personal shifts and by observing the successful shifts of those around me.

o Let your first reaction be “Yes, and thank you.”

o You have to be committed to the belief that the shift you’re experiencing is best for you and the church. Receive it well. Even if you’re overwhelmed by the new responsibilities or discouraged by the change.

o Avoid the temptation to make it personal.

o If you make a “promotion” personal you may get conceited. If you make a “demotion” personal you may get deflated.

o Adopt a position of redeployment.

o Don’t ever let yourself or those you work with start to believe that the job their doing today is the job they will be doing in a year or 5 years from now. You don’t know what changes will need to take place down the road to continue to achieve the vision of the church. The priority is the mission, not your position.

o Keep a tight connection with God.

o I believe that God wants you operating in your sweet spot more than you or anyone else. He’s got things under control even when they seem like they’re spinning out of control.

We will all experience shifts. Those of us that learn how to shift well will always contribute to the forward motion of the vehicle we are a part of.

John Bishop, Ministries Pastor

Filed under: Staffing |

The following are a few brief bullets that we use at Elevation when developing reports. � The goal with all reporting is to be able to measure the success of something. We use these basic points when analyzing any numerical data or systems that exist throughout Elevation Church. These guidelines determine how we gather data, analyze data and develop actions steps on improving systems.

• The purpose of all reports is to give data that will allow us to see weaknesses in areas that need improvement.
• All detailed reports should contain a cover sheet that gives a “flash” of the primary takeaways from the full report.
• Most reports that are done on an ad hoc basis should not paint a positive picture of a ministry area. The report is done in an effort to improve that area of ministry.
• Ongoing weekly reports will be done in an effort to keep a pulse on the health of the church.� Any fluctuations in these numbers will indicate there may need to be more of an investigation or there may be something that was incorrect.� These reports are to be done, always factoring out any abnormal Sundays or abnormal numbers that would paint the averages in a more positive light.
• Reporting and survey type data that is performed to investigate a system is to be done in a manner that would allow the responsibility to be felt by the church and not the individual.
• Any action steps for improvement that are extracted from a report are to be translated into goals that are monitored by supervisors.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor

Filed under: Growth, Leadership |

I used to work with a student ministry and one of the games we played at leadership events was kind of a MacGuyver meets Sharper Image meets SNL.

First we’d break up into teams, different sizes, didn’t matter. Everyone would get the same set of props and you would have 15 minutes to come up with a skit of some sort. Only rule, you had to incorporate all the props.

The variety was ridiculous, and it was great to see how there were so many different applications of the same props.

I have a belief that it’s not always about what you can do. Or even about what you can plan. (Don’t get all crazy, those things are still important.

Just because I’m a Creative doesn’t mean I’m wearing a dirty tee and laying on the ground under my desk drinking Sbux in honor of the creative process.)

Sometimes it’s about how far you’re willing to stretch what you think you’re capable of. Or pushing past what you think is a good idea, especially when it’s yours, for a great idea that might come with a little more work, investigation or conversation.

Press on. Work hard. Think bigger than you.

Larry Hubatka, Creative Pastor

Filed under: Creative Elements |