Guest Blogger: Larry Brey

I have been studying about "Honor" for most of this year. Here is a great blog from Larry Brey who is the Assimilation Pastor for one of the most cutting edge Churches in the nation.

Larry Brey:

When you follow a visionary leader there is a certain tension you will carry. They have an innate ability to see things off in the future. Pastor Furtick is usually 4-6 months ahead of everyone else in the organization. Time and time again he has been able to position the church in the right lane of traffic to avoid major accidents or lose momentum because we’ve had to slow down.

We’re in the midst of one of those “off in the distance” places right now. When we started Elevation we made a conscious choice to honor the office of Pastor and I feel like we’ve done extremely well on that front. We have honored God’s man and He has blessed that decision. We have tremendous unity around a singular vision of “seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ.” But several months ago Pastor Steven began emphasizing how important it is for us as a staff to honor each other.

Now, if you have ever visited Elevation on a Sunday morning one of the things you notice is that you’ll walk through an army of greeters. Each week our guests comment on how welcomed they felt, it’s truly amazing to watch as people experience a genuine smile, a handshake or a hug. I think we’ve created a welcoming environment that rivals any organization. Our volunteer force is incredible; they are truly committed to making people feel welcomed. I think we’ve taken welcoming as far as we can and it’s tempting to pat ourselves on the back thinking “we’ve arrived.” Here’s where the visionary leadership of Pastor Steven comes in…he’s been months ahead preparing us for the next shift the church will go through.

We’ve worked extremely hard at creating a welcoming experience…but Pastor has been getting us ready to shift to a ‘hole ‘nutha level. When you realize what Pastor Steven has been talking about for months is right in front of you, it’s a light bulb moment. The shift he’s been preparing us for all along is to take us from a welcoming church to an honoring church. That sounds simple on the surface but it’s much more profound when you dig deeper. Welcoming is easier, put smile on your face and shake hands as people walk by. Honoring is a heart so captivated by the gospel that you run to the guest and walk them in. It’s pushing the stroller for the single mom as she tries to corral her three kids into the building instead of saying welcome as they walk by.
This shift from welcoming to honoring is a challenge that is in front of us. It’s the thing that positions Elevation Church in the place to give our guests an entirely different experience.

Pastor Steven has seen this coming for months and he’s been preparing us all along. His emphasis on the staff honoring one another is the foundation of a church honoring one another. Because this shift isn’t just tweaking how we train our volunteers, it’s a colossal change in perspective. It starts at the top and flows down throughout the church.

As the leaders of Elevation honor one another so will it permeate into our volunteer culture.
The story of the prodigal son displays the honoring heart of God. Even though the son had taken his inheritance and squandered it, the father went running out to meet him when he saw his son returning. He put a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet and threw a big party because his son came home. That’s what Sunday should be like in all of our churches…to honor our guests because they’ve come home. Thanks Pastor Steven for preparing us for something you saw off in the horizon months.