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Carey and I are having a baby! We've been trying since we got married 9 1/2 years ago and it's finally happening!
She's 3 months along. We're totally excited! We let the church know yesterday and the place freaked out!
It was awesome because so many of them had been praying for us for years. I think some of them are almost as happy as we are.
Carey and I are really looking forward to this new season of our lives.
I officiated a renewal of vows tonight for a couple in our church that's been married for 20 years. I told them during the ceremony that they got married when I was 12.
I sat in my office trying to figure out what to say to them. Here's what I came up with: Thank you! Marriages aren't doing so well these days and I was so encouraged to see a couple stick it out for 20 years. It's awesome.
The highlight of the evening was during the reception when some of the decorations caught on fire and the fire alarm went off, but the music was so loud and everyone was dancing so they didn't even notice.
So who came to the rescue? Yours truly. I put it out with the bottled water I was drinking! "Thank you Aquaman!"
Northpoint finally hopped onboard the podcast train. They uploaded an older series, but does it really matter? Here it is.
I just found out that our speakers for our Momentum Conference have confirmed that they're coming!
I'll be telling you who they are soon... We had another awesome development yesterday that tells me this is going to be the event to be at if you're a portable church. I'm totally blown away by what's happening. We've been praying about doing this for so long and God is bringing this whole thing together!
In the immortal words of the A-Team: "I love it when a plan comes together!"
Seth Mnookin, author of Feeding the Monster quoted my review of his book on his blog. There should be a name for this. I reviewed his book, then he posted the review on his blog. Now I'm referencing his post of my review in this post.
Is there a name for such things? Either way, here's the link if you want to read it. If you're a baseball fan, I think you'll really enjoy this book. If you're a Red Sox fan, which puts you into a totally different breed of baseball fan, you'll love it!
By the way, he was very kind to send me a quick email thanking me for reviewing his book. It showed me how little things like this go a long way!
I just had great meeting this morning about our Momentum Conference. I am totally excited about this. It's a huge undertaking for us, but we really believe there is a need for practical help for church planters and churches meeting portable facilities.
One of the things we are doing is committing to hosting the conference and showing people exactly what we do every Sunday. We're not renting stuff for flash.
We're going to show what we do each and every week. I think this is the most helpful thing. Anybody can pull something spectacular off once or twice a year. But what people see every week is who you are.
I found out today that 30% of our small group leaders were apprenticing during the last semester of small groups. That's exciting to me because it means that the leadership engine of our church is getting some traction.
We've been casting the vision for groups for the last 2 years and now we are finally seeing the fruit of our labor! Our church is buzzing about groups getting underway again and we aren't starting the sign-ups for another 2 weeks!
I hope this is an encouragement to you. Sometimes the things we want to see happen need time to develop. We have to model it. People want to stick their toes in and test it out. Then they see the benefit of it. Then we start to pick up steam. I wish every time I shared vision, everyone bought in and we had 100% response. That's just not reality. The truth is, sometimes things just take time. And if you're as impatient as me, that's the one thing you didn't want to hear. :)
Since buying the Schoolhouse Rock DVD, I've gotten a bunch of e-mails and comments about how much people have learned from watching Schoolhouse Rock and it got me thinking about something. These short cartoons are proof positive that you can be informational in your teaching as long as you make it memorable.
Schoolhouse Rock engaged us in a story and along the way taught us some facts about History, Science, English, or Math and we didn't even realize we were learning. Maybe people aren't learning and growing because sometimes we share information for the sake of sharing information, and it's not leading people to a point of application. Ashamedly, I'm so guilty of this communication sin.
I believe the point of the message is application. Spurgeon wrote that the sermon doesn't start until the application begins. Yet what gives the application weight is the fact that there is truth to support it. And that's what makes 3 the magic number...
I got home this evening and I had a package waiting for me. I had ordered the Schoolhouse Rock! DVD with all 46 songs ever made. It's awesome!
I'm excited to show this DVD to my 7-year old niece! I learned so much with these songs:
- Like how a bill becomes a law
- How to multiply by 3
- What a conjunction is
- The American Revolution
- Electricity
- The value of zero (My hero)
Good times!
Every year, I like to read a couple of fun, non-ministry related books. I just finished Feeding the Monster by Seth Mnookin. The book chronicles the recent history of the Red Sox, focusing on 2001 to the present. The book is about the people that got together and brought in the right people to eventually lead the Red Sox to their first World Series victory in 86 years.
After reading this, I walked away reflecting on 3 values that the team sees as part of its' success:
#1 - Promote from Within - Growing up in Boston, the Red Sox were notorious for paying top dollar for aging players that ended up being a bust. The philosophy the new ownership and management of the Red Sox transitioned the team to one that promotes through their farm system.
It brought a few question to my mind: What's my farm system? Who are the Triple-A up and coming leaders that are ready to hit the big leagues? Who are the next 4 or 5 people that God is raising up to join our staff? Thankfully, every member of our staff (Including me), started out as a volunteer in our church. They understood our philosophy, mission, and vision long before they came on paid staff. It saved me a lot of headaches and made each of our staff effective from day one.
#2 - Trust is Essential - The 2005 season was riddled with distrust and ultimately led to the Red Sox failing to reach the World Series. The front office was divided and thus lost sight of the goal. When people don't trust each other, they become selfish and petty.
#3 - Narrow your focus - After 3 years of constant expansion, the ownership of the Sox decided to create an "86" list. This was the list of stuff they were going to stop doing. We did this about 18 months ago and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. We even cut stuff that we wanted to do, but weren't doing well. We narrowed the focus and started doing the basics with excellence. Now we feel comfortable to expand a bit and add a few ministries that we can start doing well from the get-go.
Anyway, if you're a baseball fan and a Red Sox fan in general, the book is an easy, fun read. I highly recommend it...
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