Rising Speaker…Bryan Loritts
Bryan Loritts Lead Pastor, Fellowship Memphis (Memphis, TN)
The Rising is so excited that Bryan Loritts is a featured speaker. He is an amazing communicator and we are so blessed to have him at the Rising. He will be there…will you?
Bryan is the Lead Pastor of Fellowship Memphis- a multicultural church ministering to the evolving community of urban Memphis. Bryan has also served as an adjunct professor at Crichton College, and is on the board of trustees for Presbyterian Day School, and Memphis Leadership Foundation. In addition to serving the community of Memphis, Bryan’s ministry takes him across the country as he speaks to thousands annually at churches, conferences and retreats. He is also the author of the book God on Paper; as well as a contributing author for the book entitled Great Preaching. Bryan is a graduate of Philadelphia Biblical University, Talbot School of Theology and is currently working on his Doctorate of Philosophy from Oxford Graduate School. Bryan and his wife Korie have their three sons Quentin, Myles and Jaden.
For more on Bryan and Fellowship Memphis, visit fellowshipmemphis.org.
The Rising Does Denver
Part of Team Rising is in Denver this week for a Campus Crusade for Christ Christmas Conference. This is a “Camera Pic” of our booth. We are excited about connecting with college students at this event and recruiting some west coast to the Rising!
Coming to the Rising…Los Whit
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Carlos Whittaker
Worship Leader and Pastor, Buckhead Church (Atlanta, GA)
We are so excited that Carlos Whittaker is a crucial part of this year’s Rising. Carlos will be the creative brains and horsepower behind the programming elements of the Rising and will serve us all as Creative Director, Program Director and even leading worship during the Rising. With the speakers, Reach Artists and the Orpheum as his creative sandbox for the Rising, we can promise that you will not want to miss what gets created. Here is more about Carlos…
Carlos Whittaker is an artist, pastor, thinker, experience architect, and Web 2.0 junkie. Carlos was at Sandals Church in Riverside California where he served for 10 years as the Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts. Sandals Church is an authentic community of believers whose goal is to be real with themselves, others, and God. His passion for leading the church into a relational worship experience each and every Sunday was his hearts goal. In August of 2007 Carlos and his family made the move from Southern California to Atlanta, GA. Carlos became the Director of Service Programming at Buckhead Church which is one of the three North Point Community Church campuses. He oversaw all the Sunday adult experience and design. He directly oversaw all areas Hosting, Production, Creative, Video, Music, and Programming at Buckhead Church. He also sat on the creative sermon planning team for Andy Stanley. Recently Carlos signed with Integrity Music to pursue a recording career and to continue to disturb and disrupt the church as a whole. Carlos and Heather Whittaker have 3 children. In November 2006 Carlos and his wife Heather adopted their son Losiah from Seoul Korea.
For more on Carlos, visit ragamuffinsoul.com.
The Rising’s “Godfather” Adam Thomason
Meet Adam Thomason, the Rising’s Godfather. AT catalyzed the very first Rising, then called the Red Revolution, in Memphis in 2008. He has written a book of the same name and is passionate about seeing the Gospel worked out into every phase of life. His book, The Red Revolution is a manifesto or sorts for the Rising and does a phenomenal job of showing how the Gospel should re-define everything else about us. AT will be a voice and presence at the Rising, will you?
Adam Thomason
Director/Vision-Castor and Author, Red Revolution
Associate Paster, Village Church (Dallas, TX)
Adam Thomason is an associate pastor at the Village Church in Dallas,TX. He is also the director and vision-caster for The Red Revolution. Previously he served as a college pastor for Crichton College and resident pastor for Fellowship Memphis. Known for his passon, honesty and exaltation of Christ alone, Adam embodies the common phrase “what you see and hear, is what you get”. Adam resides in Dallas, TX where he lives out his calling of infiltrating Christ in the culture with his wife, Dawntoya, and daughter, Zipporah.
For more on Adam and The Red Revolution, visit theredrevolution.com.
For more on the Village Church visit, northway.thevillagechurch.net.
Teaching at the Rising…Lecrae!
The Rising is so excited to not only be partnering with Lecrae and the rest of the 116 Clique and Reach Artists, but also to hear Lecrae teach at the Rising. His love for God and God’s word is evident and we are so excited to be a part of his speaking and teaching ministry. So come ready to engage his performance as he preaches the gospel through music AND through teaching!
iPOD Touch Winner!
The winner of our first iPOD Touch is Kieley Best of Cleveland, TN. Congrats Kieley!
Register now to be apart of the next drawing- January 15th!
The Orpheum Theatre Memphis
The Rising is beyond excited to partner with The Orpheum Theatre to host us during The Rising and be our home for our large group meetings. It is an amazing theatre and right in the heart of downtown Memphis. The Rising will meet here Friday Night, Saturday Morning and Saturday Night for the Rising ONE NIGHT. It will also host our registration, information kiosk, partner booths and serve as our overall “Grand Central Station” for The Rising…or “Rising World Headquarters” during the event. Here’s a little history:
“The Orpheum was built in 1928, is one of the few remaining “movie palaces” of the 1920s. The theatre presents a variety of events from Broadway shows and concerts to films. A $4.7 million dollar renovation in the 1980s included refurbishing of ornamental plasterwork, crystal chandeliers and original furnishings plus remodeling of backstage and technical areas. It seats 2,500.
In 1976, Malco decided to sell the building, and there was talk of demolishing the old theater to build an office complex. However, in 1977 the Memphis Development Foundation purchased The Orpheum and began bringing Broadway productions and concerts back to the theatre. After 54 years, The Orpheum was closed on Christmas in 1982 to begin a $5 million renovation to restore The Theatre to its 1928 opulence. A grand reopening celebration was held in January 1984, and it signaled the rebirth of entertainment in downtown Memphis.
The Orpheum, which is managed by the Memphis Development Foundation, presents two seasons of Broadway tours. In fact, on an average annual basis, The Orpheum has presented more Broadway touring productions than any other theater in the country. In addition to bringing the finest Broadway Productions to the area, a wide array of entertainers have graced the Orpheum’s stage, including actor Cary Grant, musicians Andy Williams,Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Kenny G, Patti LaBelle, figure skater Dorothy Hamill, jazz drummer Buddy Rich and the Vienna Choir Boys. Two of Memphis’ local arts groups, Ballet Memphis and Opera Memphis, also call The Orpheum home.”
From Wikipidia
Zion Cemetery
We are so excited to make Zion Cemetery our service focus for The Rising. We are going to “Live Loud” for four hours on Saturday afternoon of The Rising by engaging this cemetery and giving it our effort, care, and sweat. The cemetery was basically untouched for several decades and we will be joining a recent effort to redeem and restore the cemetery as a gift to our city and so that descendants of the deceased can find their ancestors and connect with and honor their heritage.
Given the delicate nature of tombstones and the sheer size of the cemetery, to make progress requires many hours of manpower. Large equipment or machinery is not possible, so large numbers of people with a focused effort is the solution. Imagine 1,000 of us armed with weed eaters and sickles each working a portion of the land. How awesome that the Rising can give this project some focused manpower, and how incredible that Zion Cemetery gives us a chance to live out the gospel, seek the shalom of the city and serve an oppressed people from generations ago.
For more on the Zion Cemetery click here.
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