Getting from Good to Great

There are several characteristics that define a "good" show. A good show develops a connection with the audience, pulls them in, and keeps them coming back for more week after week. A good show keeps the audience hooked for that hour and offers them fulfillment, entertainment, and connection during that hour each week.

But a great show is one that reaches beyond that once-a-week connection. A great show keeps you thinking about it throughout the week, gets you talking about it with others during the course of the week, gets you singing its praises to others to inspire them to join the fray, and even inspires tributes, writings, and other interaction during the six days it isn't on.

Church should be the same way. Some churches are good churches. They keep people coming back for an hour or so each week, and during that time they fulfill, entertain and inspire. Highlands, since it began, has been a good church. It's been a destination spot that has kept people coming back and fed. But there comes a point in time where you have to stretch beyond good toward great, and that entails looking beyond Sunday mornings.

A great church reaches you in a different way. Bridging from good to great happens when church intersects our lives on some day other than Sunday. For many in the Highlands family, myself included, Highlands has already bridged that gap. It's not about feeling the need to come, it's about making church, and your spiritual walk part of your daily lives.

We are the church. It's not a building. It's not a nebulous concept. It's people; all of whom have made a commitment to honor God and live out his word in their daily lives. Since we are the church, we should take ownership of the church, and that means a connection greater than absorbing a message and songs for an hour on Sundays. It might mean joining a small group, it might be serving in children's ministry or with youth, it might mean leading a Bible study, small group, or some other ministry. It's about connecting to God, and helping connect with brothers and sisters in Christ as they connect with God.

And it takes all of us who comprise the "Church" using our unique gifts and talents in his service. So I guess my question is, how can you help Highlands move from good to great?

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