Thursday, May 22, 2008

Session #3: Tim Stevens

As Executive Pastor, Tim directs the vision and values at Granger Community Church and helps plan for the future. He’s acutely tuned in to popular culture and is instrumental in balancing operations, building creative teams and inspiring artists to brand each message series and sharpen the weekend experience. For 13 years, Tim’s leadership has helped Granger connect with people who think church is irrelevant. He has done this through building teams and the creative blending of architecture, strategy and technology.

Compelling idea:
Reality #1...The church is not impacting the community
Reality #2...spiritual interest is growing in culture
The church needs to enter the spiritual conversations that are already going on outside of the church.

"Christ became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood (John 1:14 MSG)

Jesus used the culture of his day to reach the people of that day. If he were here, physically, in the 21st century, he would use images and illustrations from modern culture; pop music, movies, theater, internet and technology, art and architecture, literature, etc.

Acts 17

Paul on Mars Hill...used their own culture to reason with them.
Leverage the culture or risk loosing the culture around you. Leverage the culture or risk failure to impact the culture around you.