WATERMARKE MOVES TO AMERICAN HERITAGE ACADEMY!

If you missed Sunday, you missed an announcement that is going to change the future of Watermarke Church. On August 2nd, we will be moving to American Heritage Academy on Sixes Road in Canton. This move will provide us many, many opportunities to lead people into a growing relationships with Jesus Christ.

Here is a preview of what we can expect from this move:

• Permanence: We are signing a long-term lease at this location, and the facilities will allow for significant growth. Just the same, as a church, this move allows for us to plant some deep roots in a community and city.
• Better Environments: At American Heritage Academy, we have the opportunity to create environments that are more relevant and irresistible.
  
• New Environments and Events: In addition, we now have the opportunity to add new environments like Night of Worship, Christmas Eve service, KidStuf Live, MarriedLife Live, and more.
  

Of course, to get there, it will require some involvement on our part. There is a huge story taking shape at our church, and we hope that each person at Watermarke can engage in the story and have a front row seat for what God is doing in our community. Here is how we invite you to participate:

1. Invite Others: We create relevant and irresistible environments for a reason, and you are not the only reason. Our church is created for everyone in our communities, and we need to find ways to engage others at Watermarke.
2. Serve Together: Relevant and irresistible environments need to be fully staffed, and we need each of you to work together with us as we create environments.
3. Give Generously: Environments require funding, and we are going to raise $175,000 to make this move, make some initial capital improvents, and make dramatic improvements in our environments.

This is a wonderful time to be a part of Watermarke Church, and there is a lot to be excited about. Please let us know if you have any questions about our move, the funding needs...anything. We will be using our blog site and other communication mediums to keep you informed, so be sure to check back frequently and pass along what's happening. And thank you in advance for being involved in what is next for our church.

Your Life Design

If you could design your perfect life, what would you draw up? If you were just given a blank slate, what would you create? When you look at your life today, is it all you ever hoped for? These are great question to ask, because I think it really shows what you value and what's important to you. And these questions are telling about our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Here is what I am learning - when you are right in the center of where God wants you, then there is no better design for your life. It is just that simple. Ten years ago, if God would have given me a blank canvas to draw up the next decade of my life, I have no idea what I would have created. I don't really know what I would have designed. Here is what I do know...there is no way it would be as great as what I have today. Maybe I would have included more money, or more toys, or more vacations (or vacation homes), but there is just no way that my design would be better than God's design.

I think this is a great recognition for each of us. We need to seek God first and fall under this direction to ensure our life is being lived with THE best design. And the best design is not always the easiest, wealthiest, or most fun design. But it is always the best.

So what is God calling you to do? What is the life-design God has planted in your heart? Are you living it? Maybe this is too simple, but I believe that when we are following God's direction and have absolute trust in Him, our life can be all it was ever intended to be. I think its that simple.

Gavin Adams
Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

Keeping Priorities in Check

This week has been interesting. I have a friend that has decided to take a break from church staff to spend more time with her family. And as I was listening to Andy Stanley's message from Catalyst and thinking about the idea of cheating on my family (not with another family, but with work), I just felt convicted. And I don't think I am cheating my family right now...although I certainly have in the past at times. But here is what I concluded: My perception of cheating on my family may be different than my families perception. And my families perception is the one that matters.

It is easy for me to rationally look at my work-life and believe that my family is a priority, but that is far less important that what my family perceives. I was so convicted about this yesterday and I made Chantel look me directly in the eyes and asked her one simple question, "Do you feel that my work-life, or anything else in my life, is taking precedent over you and our family?" That is a scary question to ask, and with it comes a potentially scary answer.

How many others need to ask this same question? I have NEVER met a person at the end of their life who just wished they had spent more time in the office, on the road, or at their job. Doesn't happen. I have, though, met many, many people (especially men) that wish they had spent more time with their family. My hope is that I will not be one of those guys, and that I will not only try to keep my family a higher priority than work, but that I will continually check in with my family to be sure they believe I am holding up my end of the bargain.

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

I have an addiction...

I have an addiction. Actually, I have several addictions. I am addicted to my kids and my wife...which is a good thing. I realized that recently when they were gone for a day. You think as a married guy with four kids that living the life of a bachelor for a few days sound great, but after a few hours, I want them back. I'm addicted.

I am also addicted to Chick-fil-A. I do a lot of work with these guys, and I have been around them since I was 7 years old. And I swear that they put something in that season coater that is addicting. When I worked in a store as a teenager I ate my weight in nuggets during break and actually started to get tired of chicken, but I think that was really the beginning of the addiction. I'm not even going to start in on sweet tea.

And as a leader, I am also addicted to progress. I cannot help myself. Of course, this is a great addiction for leaders, but like all addictions, I am learning there is a clear downside. Being addicted to progress cause me to:
- Be impatient. When I see something that needs to be fixed or tweaked or completely overhauled, I am ready to do it YESTERDAY. And that is not always the best option. Change takes time, and people take time. Patience is really a virtue as a leader. Indecisiveness is not good, but patiences is absoultely necessary.
- Ignor people. Not like I don't see them and I run them over, but I guess I do have a tendancy to figuratively run them over. People love leaders that take the time to care and invest in them. I know I do. But being addicted to progress can cause you to ignor the people implications of change. Of course, what't the point of progress if there aren't any people around to celebrate success?
- Get frustrated. Progress takes time (see impatient). And inevitablly, with positive steps come some backward steps. Rarely does progress occur in a vaccuum without obsticals and issues that cause backwards steps. And for those addicted to progress, anything that looks backwards is really frustrating.
- Get too far ahead of staff. My addiction to progress causes me to move too fast and expect too much. Our followers want to see where we are going, but I thnk they want to walk with us, not watch us crest the horizon without them.
- Not celebrate success. Wow, this is a big one for me. I love progress, but when we win and succeed in something, my addiction causes me to put it behind me and start looking to what is next. We need to remember to stop and enjoy success...and maybe smell some roses or something.

Loving progress has the potential to make great leaders, but it also has the potential to run over all of our followers. Tomorrow, I am going to just relax and enjoy what God has done...and do so while eating a Chick-fil-A sandwich with buffalo and ranch sause, large tea half sweet/half unsweet with light ice. One addiction to moderate at a time.

How serious are you about the lost?

Just like we can always gauge our personal priorities by looking at our calendar and our checkbook, I think a church can gauge its priorities based on their programming. Now, this is a little tricky, because most churches could look at their programming and say they prioritize EVERYTHING, because they are trying to provide programming for everything. But if we, as the church, are truly concerned about the lost and those NOT sitting in our auditoriums on Sunday morning, would an outsider look at your church's programming and believe we are focused on the lost?

My experience in previous church models tell me that while we all claim to be concerned about the lost, we program for the found. We may claim that most of our programs are not just for insiders, but come on...would any person far from God feel comfortable coming to your men's prayer breakfast, your women's Beth Moore study, etc. What about your weekend services? Are they really attractive and friendly to outsiders? How do you know?

At the church I lead, we are launching a new environment (we don't call them programs, because we are anti-programs and for steps in our process) called Starting Point. As a partner of North Point Community Church, we have the luxury of learning from others and implementing environments that are helpful. Staring Point is a 10-week conversational environment that is meant for people that have questions about Christianity, are new beleivers, or are coming back to church. North Point has been running Starting Point for quite some time and it provides a wonderful environment (you can call it a program) for people that are far from God.

So, what are you offering people that have questions? And please don't answer with anything that involves the word "membership class." What percentage of your programs are really for insiders? That may be a scary ratio to calculate, huh?

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

Why Does Church Hate Change?

I followed a link on YouTube today. That is a way to start a story that could go in many different directions, right? The link led me to a video of a pastor preaching to his congregation. The video was only shot from the side, so it was really hard to see much, but is seemed pretty obvious that his congregation would fit in my living room. That is not a slam, but it is part of the story.

As this guy in his three-peice suite began to speak, it became clear why there were 10 people listening. For over 20 minutes, this guy ranted and raved about a family member that attended a church in another town. Based on the pastor's message, this church seemed to be overtly satanic. For 20 minutes, this pastor bashed this church. Raked it over the coals in every direction (kinda like I feel I am on the verge of doing to this pastor).

The funny thing is (among many), the church in question is changing lives all over the place. People are being led to Christ in big numbers. God is using their staff and leadership to change people big time. But they are not traditional in any way, they don't look too religious, and they seem to actually enjoy being at church (imagine that).

My question is simple: why does the church hate change and progress? I know that nobody like change, but the church seems to just be completely opposed to change. I am not old enough to know, but I bet when the first organ was brought into a church service, the Christians in attendance freaked out, too. As a leader, I hope I never see the future, our culture, or what is next as a threat. More than that, I hope that I can always look at what others are doing or experimenting with and learn from them, not throw them under the proverbial bus.

One of Satan's greatest successes has to be how he has created such an insider focus in our churches. How he has led believers and church leaders to become so ridiculously focused on our own kind that we pay absolutely NO attention to those around us that are far from God. In fact, it is worse than that. Not only do we ignore and alienate the lost, we actually create an environment that makes it extremely difficult for them to meet Jesus Christ. And before we know it, we are preaching to a living room full of people...

Let's not be this way any longer...and let's do all we can to push everyone we know to be a more accurate representative of our Lord and Savior...cool music or not.

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

When you have IT, you know IT

I recently read the book IT, by Craig Groeschel. I absolutely loved it, so much in fact, that we are now reading IT as a staff. Not to mention that every time I type the word "it," I am tempted to capitalize IT or put "it" in quotes. But that is a side note.

Craig is an amazing leader and the Lead Pastor at Life Church, one of the most progressive and innovative churches in the world.

I bring this up for two reasons: 1. If you are a leader in a church, this is a must read, and 2. For maybe the first time since I began at Watermarke Church, we had it, IT, or "it."

It is very elusive, and it is hard to define what it is, and even harder to know how to keep it. But, like Craig states in his book, when you have it, you know it. And on Sunday, we had it.

For the next several days (or weeks or months, or maybe years), I am going to be thinking more about how we, as a Strategic Partner of North Point Ministries, can get and keep it. We are not your average church (for which I am very thankful). We are a video-based venue that is not an actual campus, which creates many new and uncharted challenges for me and our team.

Here is what I am wondering:
- How do you create personal connections through a video when the guy on video is not your real leader?
- How can we add more context to the video content?
- How does a smaller church without a full complement of environments succeed as a video venue?

I am sure some people have some answers. We are experimenting now with these concepts, too, and learning what to do and what not to do in the process. I am feeling there is more to come here...

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church