Out On The Ledge

So I had this idea.  About a month ago I was sitting at the dinner table and I thought of doing something different.  We were planning on doing a series for our Wednesday night service (The ELEMENT) on the topic of relationships.  Specifically, romantic relationships.  

We decided to intentionally plan the music portion of the night to do two things.  First we wanted to give the students an opportunity to request some music.  We have some of the most talented musicians which means we can do pretty much anything we want musically.  Second, we wanted to connect some of the current pop radio music with the teaching of this series.  So we programmed for three "perf" (performance) songs each week.  

After making this decision I was challenged to do something creatively with the teaching.  The original idea I came up with was to teach through story instead of the traditional sermon.  After reading books like "The Shack," and "Leadership and Self Deception," I knew that this was possible based on all I personally learned from these stories.  Where we landed with the idea was to make our story a creative element in the service and a built in illustration for the sermon.

So I took on the challenge of writing a short story.  I'm not completely satisfied with the finished product but for my first effort at writing a legitimate short story I feel pretty good.  Tonight was the finale of the series and I believe this creative element was successful based on two measurables.  

The students seemed tuned into the story reading and at the end several communicated their opinion on the outcome.  Perhaps the bigger sign of success was the conversations I had with several students who expressed an identification with the characters in the story.  We discovered that this series connected with our female audience more than we ever have.  Student ministry usually leans to the more masculine side of creative connection so we felt good about speaking so much to our female crowd.

It felt both very scary and somewhat exciting to be out on the ledge creatively.  Every once in a while it's good to challenge yourself and move out of your comfort zone.  It helps remind you just how dependent you are on God to move in your ministry area.  If you're interested in reading the story click here and be gentle with your feedback.  Hope you like it.

Comments

[kelly mcnamara]

I thought it was amazing. I'm not surprised at all that your students related to it. Loved it.

[Phillip McCart]

Thanks Kelly. I appreciate the encouragement.

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