You’ve seen it, I’m sure of it. One swing. One well placed fist. One opponent on the ground. Game over.

That’s the potential power of a punch. No wearing down with body blows. No trash talk. Just impact.

We’ve come to that place in a majority of our communication. The 15 minute television commercial timing used to be blamed for short attention spans. Now we can look to Twitter and be even more amazed. The new mantra: “If you can’t say it in 140 characters, you’re saying too much.”

I’m not fighting it, nor am I complaining – just acknowledging, and adapting. My value proposition to you – if you’re willing to take two minutes to read what I write, I’ll do my absolute best to keep it targeted, on point, and as brief as possible. Pardon the potential abruptness of my prose, but you’ve got other things to do, I’m sure. (not necessarily better, but other…)

Back atcha soon!

You know… “Who, What, When, Where, and Why” – The BIG Five.

These five questions are fundamental to a thorough understanding of any idea, concept, or action. The more of these questions you can answer, and the deeper you can go into the subject matter, the better readers/hearers will understand you.

That being the case, I guess it makes sense to attempt to answer these questions regarding one of the biggest things happening at Richwoods Christian Church (and subsequently in my own life). Over the next few blog entries I will attempt to do just that.

Richwoods is a multi-site church that serves the greater Peoria/tri-county area in Illinois. We are currently located on north Knoxville Avenue in Peoria, and in January, 2011, we will launch an additional campus on the east side of the river. That’s the nutshell version, but it begs additional questions (yep, The BIG Five):

Who - Who are we? Who will be going to the additional campus? Who is leading the effort? Who will benefit?

What - What is “multi-site”? What is a “campus”? What is a “venue”? What will this new campus look and feel like? What’chu thinkin’? (that’s actually under “Why?”)

When - Uh…when?

Where - ditto

Why - There’s the money-maker! Why are we doing this? What is our motivation? What do we hope to gain from doing something here-to-fore unknown in central Illinois?

I’m looking forward to assembling these thoughts for your reading pleasure. Beyond that, these posts will provide a basis for you to help spread the word about this relatively new way of “doing” church. It’s really quite exciting, biblically grounded, and effective.

But, whatever you do, don’t ask me “How” we’re going to do it. I’m contractually obligated to The Big Five questions, and that would be six – no can do. Oh, and don’t expect them to be in any particular order, either. Gotta’ shake it up a little bit, dontchaknow…

Happy reading!

An old preacher friend of mine used to say, “The key to originality is forgetting your source.” Yeah, try telling that to an intellectual property attorney!

Copyright is big business, like it or not. But is it really necessary? I distinctly remember coming home one day from school and using a wryly turned phrase on my mom that was sure to draw both awe and respect. As I was walking outside I proclaimed, “See ya’ later, alligator!” And then I added, “After awhile, crocodile!”

I could tell by her reaction that I had just floored her with my wit and wisdom. This, of course, was much to my mom’s credit. She wasn’t about to crush a little boy’s spirit on such a trivial point of pride. That memory was soon trumped, however, by its inevitable successor – the day I realized my friends and I did NOT create an original. I doubt I have ever confessed this to anyone, but when the realization hit me a few years later, I reflected back on my proclamation with great internal embarrassment. I don’t normally do regret, but I remember those feelings to this day.

Combine this tragic scar on my psyche with the fact that I used to work closely with intellectual property guardians (a.k.a. “attorneys”), and I, more than most, am often consumed with giving credit where credit is due. But consider my example above – to whom should I give the credit!?!

Is there any such thing as something truly original? Is it not the case that even seemingly original ideas are born out of experience and input ultimately derived from another person’s blood, sweat, and tears? I’ve read many books, heard many sermons, and talked with many people in my years on this earth, and those sources have all contributed in one form or another to my current mental state of being. Do I need to give them all credit for anything and everything that comes out of my head?

Likely not.

An argument could be made that the more creative among us are able to combine raw material ideas into new and exciting “originals”. I’ll give you that if I must. And as I always have, especially now as I begin putting my thoughts into the blogosphere, I will continue to make strong efforts to give credit when and where I can.

But when all is said and done, there’s really only one credit that needs to be given. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” – 2 Peter 1:3

It is my desire to give God the glory, the honor, and the “credit” for anything good that comes from my life. I’m looking forward to sharing much of it with you right here. Welcome to my blog, thanks for reading, and we’ll see ya’ later, alligator… (anon)