Sunday Reflections

I know I sound like a broken record - but Sunday was awesome! Let me start by saying that the weather in Charleston this past weekend was absolutely gorgeous! It was one of those weekends that makes you thankful to live in Charleston. Sunday was the final week of "Wild Ride." We invited the Lowcountry H.O.G.s to our service. It was a great way to end the series. When you think of wild adventurous rides - you think Harley! About 20 bikes rumbled onto our campus and I mean rumbled!

We no longer have Sunday School at Coastal at 9:30. We're preparing to add a second service. But one thing I've noticed is that we have more activity at 9:30 than we ever did before. Kathy Bench is leading our children in their Christmas Program practice. Cyndi Brown had a Small Group Training and Orientation. Janet has been meeting with Promiseland Teams. Jeremiah had a training for students operating sound in Undercurrent and Coastal Kidz.

And speaking of adding a second service - wow - we were packed on Sunday! We even had to add more chairs. The short term (short sighted) solution appears to simply pack out our auditorium with as many chairs as we can add. But, that move eliminates several dynamics. One, the people flow in our auditorium will dramatically decrease. People won't be able to move around on the side aisles. Guests like a feeling of anonymity, but not having to search for a seat. For a "special service" it's fine. But long term it will do more harm than good. We could do away with our "Communion Stations" and simply pass the trays. Many churches do that. But, we aren't many churches - we're Coastal. I'm not saying I'm opposed to doing that on occasion, but long term we would eliminate one of the most intimate times of community we experience. Every week I'm in awe when I watch Small Groups, friends, and family coming together in prayer to take the Lord's Supper.

One thing we will being doing soon (November 25th) is expanding our 1st-5th grade Sunday morning service (Coastal Kidz) to the entire Worship Service. In other words, when parents come to Coastal our kids will go to a service entirely for them and our adults will go to the auditorium. Not only will this be great for our kids (one hour and 15 minutes entirely geared for them), but a small by product is that it will free up more chairs. However that decision is more about our kids than it is about chairs. We want to provide the absolute best we can for our children.

The long term answer is to add a second service. It's not simply about adding more seats. It expands our capacity for growth. It offers people a option, not just you, but our guests. People want options. But it also forces us to include more people in ministry and build more and better teams. We're not quite there yet, but we're close. We will have two identical services - one at 9:30 an another at 11:15. Right now our biggest need is in Promiseland. Talk to Janet about ways that you can get involved. People will be able to serve in one time slot and attend in the other. I know that was a rather long side note, but that's where we're at and that's where we're headed. Ultimately, it's a good "problem" to solve. We're growing. Lives are being changed! And we don't want to do anything to hinder that growth. It's always about reaching out to more and more people! Coastal don't lose sight of that. In the mean time, sit to the front and toward the center, fill in the gaps.

Another highlight on Sunday was our drums. Junior set up and played "real" drums - not our electronic drums. When we first moved to our current building, because of the acoustics of our room (hard floors, wood pews, no sound panels, no curtains, concrete walls) we went to electronic drums to control the sound. Well, obviously our room has changed a bit since then so we made the decision to go "live." I loved it! We still might have a little tweaking to do, but I love the energy it created.

Jeremiah shared a great devotion for Communion. He's really improved as a speaker. I think it's just his level of comfortability. He also speaks every week to our students. Anyway, he did a great job. By the way, he'll be bringing the message on Sunday morning October 14th (and I'm not going anywhere - I'll be right there!). Don't just be there to show your support, be there to hear what God wants to say to you through Jeremiah. It's going to be great!

My message on Sunday was about the Apostle Paul's conversion. I called it, "Road Trip." The real highlight for me was looking through our Connect Cards. Each week people are wanting more information about Coastal, they're interested in Small Groups, and they're recommitting their lives to Jesus or crossing the line of faith for the first time! This really is a wild ride we're on! And I love every minute of it!