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Back in the Saddle

I can't tell you how awesome it was to be back speaking to my peeps at CF today. I spoke at a friend's church last weekend and while it was great to be there, it just wasn't the same for me. It's like wearing someone else's clothes. They fit, but it still doesn't feel the same. There's just a connection that a Pastor has with his flock. I speak their language and they understand me (miraculously).

I tell Pastors that it's good for them to not speak once in a while or for the worship leader not to lead on occasion, that way people can appreciate what they have week in and week out. But the last 2 weeks have allowed me to see what I have and the privilege it is to speak to this group each week.

Book Review: Making Vision Stick

There's a new book by Andy Stanley called "Making Vision Stick". That sentence alone should drive all of us to Amazon.com to buy it. Buy if that's not enough, Andy Stanley has a new book out on the subject of vision. That should send it over the top :)

Here's the deal: the book is great. It's 75 pages long (Translated: you can read this in under an hour). It's a subject that every Pastor needs to improve in. And Andy lays out the do's and don'ts of casting and maintaining vision. It's a must read!

Contain Yourself!

I love the Container Store! There, I've said it! I am an organizational freak. I love things in their place. So when I walk into the Container Store, it's like all of my organizational dreams coming true in one store.

Anyway, I am amazed at how they communicate their vision through the simplest of things. Their bags say, "Contain yourself". The tape they use to make sure storage bins will stay closed say, "Another contained customer". Their gift cards say, "Who says 1 store can't change your life?"

They use every means to communicate their message. It's got me thinking that there are ways of communicating the Gospel that haven't been thought up yet!

OK. Time to unpack my storage and filing boxes...

YEE-HAW

So I'm taking my morning walk and as I'm walking past the 7AM traffic I see out of nowhere 2 guys riding horses on the sidewalk across the street. That's a Miami first for me. I've never seen that before.

This is odd enough, but when it's compounded with the news report that the folks in the office were talking about on Wednesday, about a cow that was loose in a gated community down the street from our offices.

So break out your over-alls and your straw hat, because I'm starting to think that Miami is going from city to country!

Book Review: Money Matters in the Church

Money Matters in the Church is one of the first books of its' kind. It's written specifically for leaders on the subject of stewardship and best practice in the area of finances. It's amazing to me that a book like this hasn't been written before. The book is about 200 pages and there's no fluff! It's great info. Excellent content and easy to read. The first chapter encourages the Pastor to develop a theology of stewardship. Most Pastors have a terrible theology of stewardship, because contrary to the folks on TV, most Pastors hate to talk about money!

But I found the book to be an invaluable resource. Great chapters on staff compensation, developing a budget, understanding the banking system, and protecting the church's financial integrity. Some of this was review for me (we have a CPA on our board of directors who reviews our books ever quarter), but this is a book I am going to recommend to every Pastor I talk to about financial stuff. Buy it now!

In Case You Can't Afford an iPhone...

Book Review: You Have What it Takes

First, let me say that I loved Wild at Heart and have read just about everything John Eldredge has written. But Mark recommended this book to me the other night and I decided to pick it up.

You have What it Takes contains some of the ideas from Wild at Heart and focuses them on a dad's role in a child's life. It's a great little book. A great gift. And a great primer for someone who wants to know what being a dad is all about. It's only about 50 pages, so you could read it in less than 30 minutes.

I highly recommend it, especially for guys who say they don't like to read. There's no excuse with a book this small.

Re-Runs...

I was teaching at a friend's church this weekend and I taught a message I shared at CF a couple of weeks ago that was still stirring in me. But it got me thinking about the idea of preaching re-runs... (which, by the way, I never write new messages when I guest speak)

I have never been able to pull a message out of the files from 2 years previous and teach it as is. I know some guys can do that. I can't. I work hard to continue growing as a communicator, so I'd like to think that a message I gave 2 years ago was my best, but I was in another place in my development as a speaker. That's why the messages always change so much.

A few weeks ago I taught a passage in Mark that I had preached on before. So I pulled out my old notes thinking, "Man, I going to be able to coast this weekend. I did the heavy lifting on this passage 3 years ago." I was amazed at how little I kept. I copied and pasted the meaning of the passage and that's it. The introduction changed. The illustrations changed, and the application changed. It was an entirely different message because I'm a different person than I was 3 years ago. I guess that's why Haddon Robinson described preaching as, "Truth through a personality."

So the question is, are we growing in our communication skills? And what are we doing to get better? B/c if that message from 3 years ago is still where I'm at, then I haven't changed much.

Sandals Summer

First, let me say that it is so hot here in Miami that I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.

Secondly, A/C is barely making things manageable.

Third, to walk outside, even to get the mail in this heat is to invite a perspiration that doesn't even feel natural.

So what can I do? I have instituted 'Sandals Summer'. This means I am wearing sandals every day to bear with the heat. Most who know me, know that I am not a huge fan of shoes where toes are exposed (I feel that defeats the purpose). But things have come to a point where the heat has to be dealt with.

So if you see me at all this summer, I'll be sporting my Aldo sandals...

Start Here is Here!

One of the things we're been working on is a resource for new believers called "Start Here". (Don't bother looking on Amazon.com for it. It's not there.)

Here was our dilemma: most new believers stuff that we saw is very good at explaining what salvation through Jesus is in very theological terms that it takes an M.Div to understand.

So we wanted to develop a resource that is very simple to understand and that led people to take some practical next steps. So we developed a small booklet that tells my story of how I came to know Jesus and the 4 decisions I made that helped me take the next step in my faith. Tyndale was also kind enough to allow us to reprint the Gospel of John in the New Living Translation in the book so people can get started reading the Bible right away.

I think any church can do something like this. When it's something you write, I think people are more likely to read it.