This image was taken at a classic car show ACC hosted in our parking lot the last Saturday in September.

There is something to be said about a man of God who can carry a tune. There’s something else to be said about a man of God who can tear it up! I love that about ACC’s lead pastor, Brian Hamilton. He doesn’t just sing, he involves himself in the song itself. He communicates the song expressively and passionately. It’s as if his inner-Elvis is bursting forth. (Minus the swivel hips.) I appreciate Brian’s ability to resonate with people in a different way, the Elvis Way. It connects. And people get it. Brian has been singing Elvis for years at local metro Baltimore and DC area car shows, ball games, and when they find out he’s a minister, they can’t believe it. They want to know what church he preaches at, and when they can come check it out.
 
And the cool thing is, they do show up and they do check it out. They find that ACC does church a little differently. They’re probably surprised to find that Brian rarely sings in front of people and that Elvis songs are curiously never sung. Brian doesn’t want people’s experience at ACC to be about him.  So many times, people identify a church as "belonging" to a person, the preacher.  They say statements like, "I go to Chandler Jones' church."  The identity of the church is tied (infused) to the identity of the lead pastor.
 
The cool thing about ACC is that our identity is not about one person in the church; it's about one person, Jesus Christ, who calls the church His bride.  It's about a community of people encountering God.
 
ACC invites people to encounter God without fear of judgment or condemnation. Sure, Brian has received his share of judgment and condemnation. After all, what preacher loves Elvis and actually sings his songs in public?! But God is bigger than the “preacher box”; those “rules and regulations” we have in mind for what a minister should be like. God actually uses people to connect with other people. He uses people (where they’re at) to make a difference in the lives of other people (where they’re at.) He uses people with unique passions, interests and abilities that don’t always fall inside a label. And God sometimes uses a pastor who sings an awesome Elvis to connect with other people too.