Kerry Shook, Pastor of Fellowship of the Woodlands in Houston TX kicked off this year’s Keynote sessions at the NRB with a message about how God wants to use the same process seen in Genesis Chapter 1 in our lives and ministries.
There are essentially six steps in the process according to Pastor Shook. These steps are Light, Land Life, Likeness, Leverage and Limits.
Light. The first thing God created was light. Light represents an idea from God. Pastor Shook talked about how churches today use very little creativity or resources in getting their message out. He then shared a story about a crazy Idea his team had for one of his series. Pastor Shook and his team were trying to come up with creative illustrations about the cross. Someone had the idea to use motocross and to bring in a professional motocross driver to jump over the pastor, right on stage. He said the whole stunt lasted only three minutes, but after the sermon, over 300 people gave their hearts to the Lord, including the motocross driver.
“We vastly underestimate the power of one idea,” said Shook
Land. Land is the opportunities we are given on this earth. One of the “territories” not being reached today is the next generation.
Life. Life represents the passion that is in our hearts. We must have passion for what we do. We can have all the ideas and opportunities in the world and it will all be for nothing if the passion in our hearts does not match.
Likeness. God created man in his own image. We were created to be like Him. The fourth step in the process is a life change. If an idea is from God, the evidence will be changed lives and the first life that will be changed is our own. We must also be authentic because a life change is always authentic. One of the ways that Pastor Shook has challenged his church to be authentic is through a 30 days to live challenge in which participants lived their lives as if it were the last 30 days they had to live. Shook says “Unchurched people want a challenge worthy of their lives.”
Leverage. After God created Adam and Eve, he told them to be fruitful and multiply. God wants our ministries to be fruitful and to multiply them.
Limits. The Bible says that on the 7th day, God rested. The last piece of the puzzle is knowing our limits. Our own ideas cannot change one life.
After wards, Phil Cooke, President and Creative Director of Cooke Pictures ,moderated a question and answer session which included topics like the importance of going beyond tv and radio and into the use of internet and social networking sites in order to reach the next generation. Cooke made an interesting point that we are experiencing a fundamental shift AWAY from television and that the median age of today’s television audience is 50 years of age.
The overall message is that churches must start being more creative with how they present the Gospel and begin to branch out into the various media platforms in order to reach the next generation.
