There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet.

I have had that recurring thought over the past couple years. Can you imagine a more exciting time to be doing ministry?

Think about the tools at our disposal that were non-existent a decade ago–websites, blogs, podcasts, video editing software, wi-fi, hi-def cameras, and Napoleon Dynamite keychains!

We take all of the above for granted, but I still remember our first video. I jerry-rigged two VCRs so I could “cut-and-paste” a couple movie clips!

We have a core value: everything is an experiment. If you think of the Kingdom of God in corportate terms, NCC feels called to the R & D Department (Research & Development). We want to experiment with new ways of doing church. Maybe the best way of saying it is this: we’re orthodox in belief and unorthodox in praxis.

One of my deepest held convictions is that way too many pastors are doing ministry out of memory. They are content with doing it the way its always been done. I think God calls us to do ministry out of imagination–experiment with new ways of reaching people.

I’m currently writing an endorsement for The Multi-Site Revolution, a book by Warren Bird, Greg Ligon, and Geoff Surratt. They make a bold prediction in the book: 30,000 multi-site churches in the next few years. When we decided to go multi-site I didn’t know of a single multi-site church in America! I think there were only a few dozen multi-site churches at the time. Multi-site is a new way of doing church.

I think podcasting and blogging are changing the churchscape. Blogging is a new way of doing digital discipleship. And podcasting is e-vangelism. There are ways of doing discipleship and evangelism that no one has thought of yet. How about iPod evangelism?

I think there are ways of preaching that no one has thought of yet. Who says a sermon can’t double as a short film? Why not preach “on location” instead of behind a pulpit?

I honestly think the churches that will survive and thrive in 2020 will be churches that are doing ministry out of imagination. Don’t get me wrong. We need lots of different kinds of churches because there are lots of different kinds of people. I thank God for traditional churches.

But…

The past belongs to memory.
The future belongs to imagination.