Where I’m At

I don’t often get a chance to catch up with everybody on our teams as much I would like to. This has been even more apparent in last 2 months with my heavy travel schedule. That in mind, I wanted to share some things that have been on my heart for quite a while.

Sometime last year, in the midst of my travels for my entertainment company I felt a pull (very slight might I add) to move to the “City” (there’s only one city – that is NYC). To be honest, I wasn’t too sure if this was just a childhood dream being revisited or if it was in fact God’s prodding. I didn’t give it too much thought as the reality of making that happen didn’t seem possible.

I got married in early October and during our honeymoon, my wife Tara and I had a conversation that I can now say really was a turning point for us. I put out the question: “If either of us could do anything we wanted– an open slate so to speak, what would that look like?” The New York move immediately came to the surface for me. When I mentioned it to Tara, she fell in the love with the idea. Again, the move seemed to be unrealistic due to where we were financially and as committed as we were to our current situation.

Two other things have been happening as well.

As you know, I love the Arts and I love Shoreline church. This type of ministry model which I was exposed to in Southern California changed my life as a young 18 year old and I could see just how vital and effective this type of “seeker sensitive” style was. I feel God working at Shoreline. Lives are being changed and we haven’t even really hit our stride yet. At the end of October, our lead team went away to plan the year and I felt God was speaking to me about being even more apart of ministry. I shared these thoughts with Eric and told him to be praying for me and if an opportunity became available, I’d definitely be open to looking at it. These talks intensified after the Renken’s left and this actually became a viable option. So Tara and I took some to talk and pray about it.

My entertainment company has also going through some changes. My business partner, Christen Cowgill, and her husband were moving to California in January. This is actually a GOOD thing for us because that is where our company started and by reviving some old contacts, we have an opportunity to start doing some very profitable events in SoCal really soon. This would mean some travel for me (up to 2X a month). Of course, this ss all speculative and seeing how this will affect our Florida division is going to be interesting to say the least. Again, Tara and I took some time to talk and pray about it.

We set a January 1st deadline for ourselves because we wanted to roll into the new year with a renewed focus. After weighing all the pros and cons and feeling God leading us throughout the entire process we decided the following:

1) We want to pursue the call we believe God has on our lives to move to NYC. We understand this will not be a quick and easy transition and we don’t intend to leave until we are fully ready. At this point, we are looking at taking some exploratory trips this year and if all goes the way we hope, we’d like to relocate by May of 2012. This is very similar to the situation I was in 5 years ago when I decided to take a job in the panhandle of Florida. I knew 1 person when I moved here. Shoreline wasn’t even on the radar and to see how God directed my steps, sharpened and used talents he equipped me with for His glory, and allowed me to meet and eventually marry my amazing wife – I am in awe. God knows what he’s doing and I’m excited to see what God has in store for us there.

2) B-Boy Productions, Inc (my entertainment company) needs me. If #1 above is to become a reality, I need to focus 100% on my company this year and make sure that our Florida division can become manageable from wherever we live and that our California division can generate some profitability by the end of 2011.

3) I am going to rotate off the Shoreline lead team/staff. Again, with #1 and #2 being Tara and I’s “rallying cry” for 2011, I feel it would be a disservice to my wife and to Shoreline to give them sloppy thirds. There’s only so much time in the day and I can’t continue the pace I was at over the last few years, especially as we get ready to launch our Fort Walton Beach campus, without it affecting my wife and the other 2 areas above. This doesn’t mean that we are leaving Shoreline or no longer serving. This is strictly in regards to leading the ministry. We plan to be as involved as we can with Shoreline. It’s just that right now the timing isn’t right to jump into full-time ministry.

After we made the decision, we decided to give it a 1 week “cool off period” to be absolutely sure this was what we believed to be God’s will for us. Sometimes when you ask God to speak to you, he makes it even clearer than you expected. That particular “cool off week” was our “Biggest Loser” series kickoff and it also coincided with my company’s first and biggest “bridal show” of the year in California. Long story short, I put in a ton of hours that week. Once I got to California, I got extremely sick (which is a rarity for me). It was due to being completely run down. I felt like God was saying, “Brian, if you continue this pace, this is what is going to happen.” That was all the confirmation I needed.

The next week Tara and I met with Eric and Darlene and shared with them our heart. I was in no way going to leave them hanging. So I told them that I’d help them however I could in the transition but would like to finalize my time on staff by Easter of this year.

The human side of me was a little nervous for Shoreline to be honest. I knew we didn’t have the time or resources to go find someone outside of Shoreline to take over. So we were going to have to do this internally. God is so perfect in his timing. We recently had some folks join our church with some skill sets that would surpass our current Arts model and set us on a upward trajectory for maximum success moving forward. That in mind, here’s some new leadership changes within the Creative Arts:

1) We will not be replacing my Lead Team position at this time. The Arts will come under the direction of Kim Peters. However, Kim is leading “Administration” as well and so we will have to hire addition help in the Arts as well as raise up and count on our volunteers. Kim’s primary role will be “programming”. She will lead our programming team, handle putting together all of our service flow, adding the “spice” to our services (i.e. dramas, visual arts, video clips, etc), and working with our music director. She has a large amount of experience in this area as has actually been a “silent” programming team member for 2 years (I’ve cc’d her on everything while she was at our pastor’s old church – East Coast Christian Center – working in a similar capacity).

2) Our Music and Programming are the core of the Arts. They are done every week. That in mind, it is imperative that we hire somebody part-time to plan and execute the music. Dan Austin has filling this role for our “weekend services” in a volunteer capacity while I handled the rest of the music area. With me leaving, this option was no longer viable. Dan will continue to serve at Shoreline but will be stepping off in leading this team well. We’ve decided to bring on Aaron Wolfe to lead our entire Music Team (this includes Night Of Worship, Special Events – insider, baptisms, etc, as well as our weekend services). Aaron is extremely well qualified for this role and I have NO DOUBT that he will propel us to new heights with the music ministry. He will be leading the overall ministry and serving at the Destin campus. We will have someone else under Aaron leading the FWB music team. Once we solidify that, we will let you know.

3) We’ve also made a change with Drama. Lisa Tuttle has been leading this for 3 years and done an amazing job. However, this year we need to really expand this part of our Arts. Recently, we’ve had someone on our drama team who has felt God speaking to them and is looking to step up. This is timely because she has the time and energy to really build this team. So I’m excited to announce that Sally Whitesell will be taking on leading our drama team. Again, like the music, we will be looking for a FWB campus person to work under Sally and lead that team. Once we solidify that, we will let you know. Lisa will still be involved and I think this allows her to maximize her gifting in writing. She is an amazing writer and I look forward to the pieces she will be able to create with 100% focus on that.

4) Our Visual Arts team will remain the same. Hillary Fosdyck will continue to run this team. At this time, it is not a necessity to find a person for FWB as the backdrops will not need weekly maintenance/set-up.

I apologize for the lengthy post but I felt it was necessary for you to see the whole picture rather than a small snapshot. Let me close by saying how thankful I am for the opportunity I had to lead this team over the last 5 years. It’s been my honor and privilege to work with such talented artists. I truly believe we have some of the best Artists in the country. I have always said since day 1, that the Creative Arts has never been about me or any single person. The church (all of us) is what it’s about and how we “band” together to share with others with the life-changing and grace-filled message of Christ with those that don’t know Him.

I look forward to seeing where Shoreline goes in the next 5-10 years. It’s going to be an amazing ride. I’d like to ask for you to keep Tara and I in your prayers as well as these new leaders.

Thanks again for reading this.

In Christ,

Brian Buonassissi

Top Ten Ways To Know You Serve on the Creative Arts or Tech Team At Shoreline Church

We shared this at our annual Christmas Arts Party 2 weeks ago and I was asked to repost so here it is:

Top Ten Ways To Know You Serve on the Creative Arts or Tech Team At Shoreline Church

10) Getting to church on time means getting there while it’s still dark out.

9) You’ve poked your eye out on a tree in the middle of the Rave lobby.

8) You know how to use gaffer’s tape in 20 different ways.

7) Your last name is now used as a punch line (i.e. “Chadwick’d”, Esther’d”, “Renken’d”).

6) If you’ve ever said, “The orange ones go in the orange bin and the yellow ones go in the yellow bin.”

5) You’ve bought a shirt to match a backdrop.

4) Your spouse has to say to you, “Can you NOT play the songs while I’m around this week? I want to be surprised.”

3) The phrase, “It’s 8 O’clock!” sends you into instant panic.

2) You’ve ran from one theatre to another and you actually WEREN’T trying to sneak in to a movie you weren’t supposed to see.

1) You’ve spent 6.5 hours at church on Sunday and not heard a message.

Weekly Creative / Music Set List - 12/26/10

SERIES: THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
MESSAGE TITLE: THE AFTER PARTY

MUSIC:
-PERFORMANCE TUNES
*Go Tell It On The Mountain by Needtobreathe
*My Own Little World by Matthew West
*Lay Em Down by Needtobreathe
- WORSHIP
*Joyful, Joyful - Charlie Hall
*Lead Me To The Cross - Chris & Conrad
*Our God (Acoustic Version) - Chris Tomlin

VIDEOS:
Acoustic Christmas Spoof (Bowen Beer Bottle Band)
A Social Network Christmas
Jib Jab Greeting

Weekly Creative / Music Set List - 12/19/10

SERIES: THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
MESSAGE TITLE: THE PURPOSE OF THE PARTY

MUSIC:
-PERFORMANCE TUNES
*Merry Christmas Baby by Sheryl Crow
*Carol Of The Bells by Gary Hoey
*It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by MercyMe
*Come Home by OneRepublic
- WORSHIP
*O Come All Ye Faithful - 33Miles
*Angels We Have Heard On High - Chris Tomlin

VIDEOS:
Pop Christmas Spoof (Keenan Cahill sings "All I Want For Christmas")
Jib Jab Greeting

Weekly Creative / Music Set List - 12/12/10

SERIES: THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
MESSAGE TITLE: INVITATION TO RESPOND

MUSIC:
-PERFORMANCE TUNES
*Jingle Bells by Glee
*Do You Hear What I Hear? by CeCe Winans
*God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Glee
*Angels We Have Heard On High by Glee
- WORSHIP
*You Are Good - Lincoln Brewster
*The First Noel - Aaron Neville
*Joy To The World - Cheryl Rogers

VIDEOS:
Glee Spoof (Elevation Church)
Jib Jab Greeting

Weekly Creative / Music Set List - 12/5/10

SERIES: THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
MESSAGE TITLE: INVITATION EXTENDED

MUSIC:
-PERFORMANCE TUNES
*Jingle Bell Rock by Steve Holy
*Silver Bells by Lady Antebellum
*- WORSHIP
*Happy Day - Bluegrass Worship Band
*You Are My King (Amazing Love) - Rachael Robinson
*Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Carrie Underwood
*How Great Is Our God - Trinecia Butler

DRAMA:
Ugly Sweater Competition

VIDEOS:
Jib Jab Greeting

Weekly Creative / Music Set List - 11/28/10

SERIES: THE VOW FACTOR
MESSAGE TITLE: THE VOW OF PURITY

MUSIC:
-PERFORMANCE TUNES
*The Story Of Us by Taylor Swift
*No One Is To Blame by Emile Millar
*Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
- WORSHIP
*Glory To God Forever - Fee
*None But Jesus - Hillsong
*Our God - Chris Tomlin

DRAMA:
- Marriage Game/Giveaway