matt's thoughts

in the cover of darkness

Ben and I hit the streets last night in the first phase of blanketing our area with signs to point folks to our Website in preparation for easter.  There is something about this kind of mission that I just love...running around dodging cars in the cover of night is just plain fun.  Then to see those signs the next morning and know that I had something to do with it...is just awesome...

We've got one more run at this next week...if you are in Reston...you're invited!  :-)

hittin' the streets

Spent part of my morning and afternoon visiting all of the businesses in the Reston Town Center.  We gave out Peeps with an invitation to a sneak "peep" of our church this week as well as our invites to our launch on Easter.  These events are always so funny for me.  During the days leading up to them, I dread them on so many levels...the fear of rejection...the fear of feeling dumb...working out the logistics....  It never fails though that once I am walking the streets talking with people, it is the best thing in the world and I can't wait to do it again. 

Some highlights from today:

• The concierge at Market Street Condominiums was working on their newsletter when we walked and and just happened to need something for an open spot...coincidence...I think not! :-)
• So many folks remembered us from our last time out and one of the tellers at Express even remembered me by name...
• Faces lit up when they saw Peeps!
• Seeing Mel, our resident marketing guru, in action at one of the most prestigious Condo high rises in Reston.  The concierge there remembered Mel very well from last time and was so willing to help...asking for several invites to our Easter service so that she could post them. 
• The manager at Ben and Jerry's asked for a stack of invites for Easter, and after hearing about our services said that she will be bringing her teenage and young adult children with her to our launch on Easter...
• Feeling as though in so many ways God has gone before us in this place...

Tonight we are hitting the streets around Reston and will be blanketing the intersections with signs that say easterinreston.com.  Friday we are back at the Town Center with more invites for all the Friday Night date night folks milling around there along with some Jelly Belly Candies.  Can't wait!

"The Gospel is not a doodle..."

Ed Setzer has a great post today on the resurgence blog called, Beginning a Conversation About Christ.  I think one of the real challenges as a follower of Christ is trying to communicate our faith to other people and to truly fulfill the Great Commission without reducing Jesus and his message to a fake, plastic, widget selling version of what is truly life transformation and a healing of that deep ache and brokenness that is within all of us.

Spring is Here!

65 degrees...
Starbucks...
A table to my self in the town center...
I like my "office"... :-)

songs that are working for RCC

This morning we debuted Tim Hughes' new song Happy Day.  He played it at the Purpose Driven Worship Conference last summer, and I have kept my eye out for it for a while.  Its featured on his new album do out next week.  This is a great tune...perfect for easter.  The name is a bit hokey...but we can get over that.  Our church seemed to really engage with the song this morning...and that is always a good sign on the first run of a song.  Looking forward to really seeing this one take off!

Other newer songs that are heavy in our rotation that are are going really well:

Mighty to Save - Hillsong
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman

My only problem is that when I sing these British songs, I really wish I had an accent.  :)

what about you?  what's working for your churches?  what's songs are connecting with you personally?

home office perks

today my little girl was having a rough day.  after spending some time crying in her room, she came into my office to talk about it.  she climbed into my lap and listened to music with me as i did some work on the computer.  before i knew it she was fast asleep in my arms.  as a father i treasure moments like this more than anything...

Rehearsal Photos

We've been in our new rehearsal location for several weeks now, and I have to say it has been such a huge blessing to us.  I am so grateful for the folks over at Oakbrook Church for allowing us to be very loud there each Wednesday night.  Here are some shots from last night:

Kristian Stanfill Ep

Very interested to hear this when it comes out.  With Steve Fee's departure from 722, I'm curious to see how that affects what Kristian Stanfill is doing.  He has one song from this ep up on his myspace...its pretty good...though standard fair for the worship genre right now...I can't figure out who's influencing who right now.  :-)  Frankly I just love this guy's voice...and that's enough for me. 

woo hoo!!

Remedy is coming...

ht: los

we made it through the first one...

the first week in a new location for a portable church is always a bit stressful for the setup team.  i was so proud of our team today though!  we were trouble shooting like no one else.  the new environment and new gear definitely slowed us down today, but we learned a lot about our new digs and how to work efficiently there and i'm already excited about going at it again next week!

the sound in this new location is so much better than in the school. some of that may be do to our new gear...though we had some trouble with our new drive rack eq...time to read the manual.  :-)

there were some amazing things to the morning...first the manager changed all the digital signs in our part of the theater to point folks where to go.  this was a little touch but made such a huge difference.  i could not believe the extra mile that they went for us.  made it feel a bit more like our church home. 

i caught up with the general manager afterwards and he was really happy with how the morning went...and then he said something that blew me away:  he said he was anxious to have someone else work for him next week so that he could actually attend the service. awesome!  so many parts of today felt stressed and technical...and distracted spiritually for me...but that little comment made me realize why we are doing what we are doing.

creating a church environment where folks not normally connected with a church will feel not only comfortable to attend, but anxious to attend and hear the good news of Jesus. 

i'm glad the first one is under our belt though...lots to do to prepare for the weeks to come...  :-)