I Am The Elliots from FC Holden.

For years we’ve done series.  A lot of churches do series, and for the last 9 years we’ve been no different.  We’ve done series too.  Typically they are topical in nature and many times they are practical and timely.

But in his blog posts, Ben inspired me last year when he was preparing for Story ’09 to find our own voice as a church when we share the truths of God’s word.  Me?  I like stories.  I like Jesus stories.  I like Jewish stories.  I like mythological stories.  And I like stories of Forrest running from bullies in Greenbow, Alabama and meeting president after president after president because of the “circumstances” in his life.

So last fall when Ben was preaching the idea of story, Carie and I were viewing  the season 4 DVD’s of House and together were enthralled by the amazing storytelling techniques of the writers of this emmy winning show.   During this time, I had this thought:  Why couldn’t we do a season instead of a series?  Focusing not necessarily on a topic, but by a story inspired by the major themes of Scripture.

And the process began.  The first thing I did was acquire the help of one of my favorite writers, Jeff Campbell, who gladly accepted my idea and was ready to run with it.  So we started to talk about characters, development, story, arcs, and themes.  Then we began to write a story.  At first I participated, writing a few of the scripts, but then I gladly turned it over to the master, and Jeff has written a season of focused plot, interesting characters, and engaging themes.

Then MB took control.  As the producer and director of the new season, she drafted some great actors, and will be producing some of the stories that will be performed over the next 13 weeks at Fellowship Church.

So beginning this Sunday morning @Fellowship, February 7, 2010, we will be presenting a new season, called “I am the Eliots”.  The story of 4 individuals whose lives are forever changed when they lose someone they love.  A funeral doesn’t answer questions, a funeral asks them, and the questions they begin to ask are questions that we could all stand to ask as we wrestle with life here on planet earth.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the idea or if you’re in the area, what you thought about the premiere presentation here at Fellowship Church, or you will be able to view it online on FCTV.

My friend Brian said it best when I told him the idea about 3 months ago.  He listened intently, sounded shocked by its innovativeness, then responded,

“Marty, you’ll either look like a genius or an idiot.”

Told as if the audience @ Fellowship were twittering about the service this Sunday morning:

(10:28 am)  Is that Bon Jovi playing as we walk in the room?  Why yes, it certainly is.  Nice.

(10:29 am)  There’s nothing like walking into any room listening to the smooth rock voice of Bon Jovi, except maybe Axl Rose in the late 80′s, but we digress.

(10:30 am)  There seems to be a certain energy in the room this morning, like we’re all expecting something to happen.

(10:33 am)  Wow!  Al and the band are on fire this morning.  Somebody get a hose out here!

(10:34 am)  Nice video.  We didn’t know Steve Blumer’s mom came to the internet campus.  Cool.

(10:40 am)  2nd song was good too.  We WILL make the change and we won’t go back!  Also, does that guitarist have a fake finger?

(10:42 am)  Video of mom thanking the Gambogee place (elementary environment)  leaders for their role w/ our children teared us up a bit.

(10:43 am) Wow!  There are a lot of people in this room we don’t know.

(10:48 am)  Ha!  Marty opens with a great  story about his old pastor, Lonnie.

(10:50 am)  “A dream without a plan is only a wish.”

(10:55 am)  “We’re not trying to build an empire, but we are trying to infiltrate Massachusetts with the Fellowship Community.”

(11:00 am)  Marty’s about to launch into what he’s calling Phase 1 – the first phase of our new building project

(11:05 am)  4 specifics about “phase 1 – the beginning”

(11:05 am)  1.  The elimination of the back trailer – the “scourge of our existence”

(11:06 am)  2.  Patch and paint the rear exterior wall of the main building.  I guess we’ll be doing that part ourselves!  There goes that Saturday.

(11:06 am)  3.  Replace rear doors.  4.  Replace roofing on south side of church.

(11:07 am)   “Starting with phase 1 means first of all eliminating the distractions.”

(11:09 am)  $20,000 is a lot of money.

(11:10 am)  We want Fellowship to be a place where people can safely watch, connect, and grow.

(11:15 am)  Luke 14:25-33, Wow!  that Jesus guy says some really crazy things.  Where’s the love?

(11:21 am)  “To surrender to Jesus is not just to say,’I like Jesus’.  It’s more than that.”

(11:22 am)  “A person who is growing is a person who is planning to grow.”

(11:25 am)  “Before you grow, you’ve got to eliminate the distractions in your life.”

(11:31 am)  Suuuweeet!  Fellowship Worcester…we are cheering at that prospect!

(11:32 am)  The Splat Coffee shop!  Boo-yah!  Cheering again.  We’re doing a lot of that today! :  )

(11:32 am)  Very cool.  The Fellowship Haiti Mission.  más aplausos

(11:34 am)  “What are the distractions in your life that are keeping you from fulfilling your dream?”  Very inspiring Marty

(11:36 am)  Video of a quote from Milka about the FC family, but most of us are thinking about things we can eliminate in order to grow.

(11:39 am)  Worshipping.  “From the inside out, Lord my soul cries out!”

(11:44 am)  Last song just finished.  “On Christ the solid rock we will stand!”  Our hearts want to jump out of these bodies!

(11:45 am)  The immediate vision is clear in our heads, and we are ready for the future!  Go God!  Go Fellowship!

(11:48 am)  Oh crud, we forgot to pick up the kids!

(Noon)  We should follow Marty and FC Holden on Twitter.