Buzz Conference Attracts Hundreds to 'Theater Church'

Some 300 Christian leaders and pastors across the nation and from as far away as Australia gathered to share innovative and interactive ways to deliver the Gospel message and hold service.

By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter Friday, May 05, 2006

WASHINGTON – Popcorn, a soda stand, soft drinks, and a corridor lined with movie posters greeted attendees of the first annual Buzz Conference on Thursday.

Held in a theater underneath Union Station – once the world’s largest train station – some 300 Christian leaders and pastors across the nation and from as far away as Australia gathered to share innovative and interactive ways to deliver the Gospel message and hold service.

Hosted by Washington’s National Community Church, the two-day event was formed from the convictions that: the church ought to be the most creative place on the planet; the greatest message deserves the greatest marketing; and the Church is called to compete in the middle of the marketplace.

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“We are called to compel,” said Mark Batterson, the lead pastor of National Community Church. “There is nothing passive, nothing static about the buzz commission in Luke 14:23. It is not prevent, defense but a two-minute offense. There is a sense of urgency.”

Batterson led the first session of the Buzz conference with the title of “The Buzz Commandments,” explaining the term “buzz” and how to create buzz.

“Born on the wrong side of the track in the Judea outback, working in a carpenter shop until he was 30, he never wrote a book, he never held a public office, and his ministry only lasted three years,” said the self-described “casual and goofy” pastor. “Yet 2000 years later two billion people claim to be his followers. How do you explain that? I think the answer is ‘supernatural buzz.’ It was a word of mouth revolution. It was a Spirit-powered word-of-mouth marketing. Jesus started a word-of-mouth revolution and he gave his agents the buzz commission – compelled them to come in.”

“Let me tell you what Buzz is not. Buzz is not a marketing gimmick. Buzz is not a publicity stunt. Buzz is an ancient mandate,” Batterson continued. “We are called to compel and the truth was that no one was better at it than Jesus. It is amazing how many times the phrase ‘and the news spread’ is repeated in the Gospel.”

The pastor of the movie theater church highlighted podcasting as an effective ministry tool for fulfilling the buzz commission.

“Podcasting is the latest and greatest example. Podcasting is field teaching. It is circuit riding at the speed of light,” said Batterson. “Digital technology allows any preacher to travel 250,000 miles to preach 40,000 sermons at the click of the mouse. We live in a unique generation where we have unprecedented opportunities to fulfill the great commission.”

“It is our job to redeem technology and use it for God’s purpose.”

Ed Young, senior pastor of Fellowship Church, one of the ten largest churches in America, spoke during the second session, agreeing with Batterson that churches need and should be creative in delivering Biblical messages.

“We are made in the image of God, and He is the Creator, so we should be creative,” said Young in his session titled Creative Leadership. “The Church should be the most creative.”

One way Batterson finds effective in communicating Biblical messages is being creative in how he delivers a message.

“What I try to do is say old things in new ways because the Gospel has to be incarnated for every generation in every culture,” said the National Community Church pastor. “You know, maybe if we stop thinking like pastors and started thinking like missionaries we would get it.”

He also emphasized the need to exceed expectation, to redirect one’s competitiveness for God’s purpose, and to not be afraid to be oneself and different.

“I don’t want to be a criticizer. I would think that we would do better at giving other churches some biblical latitude to be who they are,” said Batterson. “We need a lot of different kinds of churches because there are a lot of different kinds of people. It is not about better or worse but about us fulfilling our unique destiny.”

For more information about National Community Church visit: www.theaterchurch.com