| Mark
Batterson is a busy man. He's the lead pastor of National
Community Church in Washington, D.C. (you can check out
the website at www.theaterchurch.com),
an adjunct faculty member at Regent University (his specialty
there is postmodern ministry), the author of ID:
The True You (Multnomah) as well as the upcoming
In
a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (Multnomah),
and he's a family man with a wife and three kids. Batterson
is also the Chief Spiritual Officer of GodiPod.com
(a company that sells portable music players preloaded
with audio Bibles, sermons worship and books), and he
is an avid blogger (you can check his out at
http://evotional.com).
He recently spoke with RELEVANT about his endeavors
and gives advice to young pastors.
How
did evotional.com start?
I've always viewed journaling as a spiritual discipline.
It helps me keep track of what God is doing in my life.
So blogging seemed very natural and spiritual to me.
As National Community Church grew into one church with
three locations, I felt like blogging would be a great
way to stay personal and accessible. Plus 73 percent
of NCCers are single twentysomethings who are extremely
tech-savvy. I decided to go public with evotional.com
in 2003.
My blog allows me to have thousands of conversations
every day. It also allows everyone in our congregation
to know what is going on in my head and my heart at
any given moment on any given day. I like to think of
blogging as digital discipleship.
What
is your hope for that site?
We have a core value at NCC: Everything is an experiment.
My blog started out as an experiment, and like any experiment,
you learn things and change things. I started out blogging
for NCC, but the audience morphed. I now get more visits
from pastors than NCCers.
My blogging mission is pretty simple: I want to leave
a trail. Blogging is the way I share ideas and experiences.
The content really ranges from philosophy of ministry
to funny experiences to God ideas. I'd like to think
my blog makes people think and makes people laugh.
You've
been an early adopter in Christian circles when it comes
to technology—how did you find out about podcasting
and other technologies you use in conjunction with ministry?
I am very intentional about cross-pollination in my
reading. I read from a variety of disciplines like business,
technology, marketing and science. I'm always trying
to keep a pulse on cultural trends because I think cultural
exegesis is one of our primary responsibilities as spiritual
leaders.
We initially launched our theaterchurch.com podcast
because I started listening to some sermons on my iPod
while working out. I felt like it was a great way to
redeem the time, so I started feeding my spirit while
I was exercising my body.
What's so cool about podcasting is that anybody can
take me with them wherever they go. I'm jogging, commuting
and working out with people all day long when they download
our podcast.
Last month we had approximately 12,000 visitors at NCC.
They didn't physically step foot inside our church,
but they did download our podcast and give us gigabyte
space on their iPod.
You've
said your dream would be to pastor one group of people
your entire life/career. How did this become a dream
of yours?
My father-in-law, Bob Schmidgall, planted and pastored
Calvary Church in Naperville, Ill., for 30-plus years.
I saw what God can do when you invest your life in one
place. I'll never forget a caravan of cars five miles
long at his funeral. He touched thousands of people
in the Chicago area because he planted himself in one
place and grew deep roots.
Washington, D.C., is my parish. I just hope I have half
the impact my father-in-law had.
Your
church hosted a conference this past May that you hope
becomes annual. Can you tell us about that?
The Buzz Conference (www.buzzconference.com)
was inspired by three core convictions that drive NCC:
- The church ought to be the most creative
place on the planet.
- The greatest message deserves the
greatest marketing.
- The church is called to compete in
the middle of the marketplace.
We
didn't want to reinvent the wheel with our conference.
We simply wanted to help other churches reach emerging
generations in creative ways. The conference revolves
around what we refer to as the Buzz Commission in Luke
14:23. Jesus told us to go into the highways and byways
and "compel them to come in." The word compel means
"to demand attention." That is no easy task in a culture
that suffers from attention-deficit disorder. The Buzz
Conference is about helping churches become more compelling.
What
are essential ministry tools other young adult leaders
and pastors need to know about?
Get a prime membership with Amazon.com. Attend several
conferences each year. And do reconnaissance at a few
churches each year. That'll keep you from becoming a
closed system.
Tell
us about the books and projects you have with Multnomah.
In
a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day releases Oct. 1,
2006.
I'm currently working on two other book projects that
will release in 2007. My next book is written for twentysomethings.
One of my core passions is helping twentysomethings
navigate the quarterlife crisis.
The other book revolves around right-brain leadership.
I think the future belongs to right-brain leaders who
are good stewards of their God-given creativity.
If
a young adult pastor were to attend one event a year
to help them with ministry, which would you recommend?
I'm a huge fan of the Catalyst Conference. We take our
entire staff every year. I'd also extend an invitation
to the Buzz Conference next June 28-29, 2006. in Washington,
D.C.
What books are you reading?
A few recent books include Chazown by Craig Groeshel;
Small Is the New Big by Seth Godin; PyroMarketing
by Greg Stielstra; The Multi-Site Church Revolution
by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird; ideaspotting
by Sam Harrison; The Medici Effect by Frans Johansson;
In Their Time by Anthony Mayo and Nitin Nohria;
and everything Erwin McManus writes.
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