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A few Things...

A few things I'm thinking about...

- iWork '08 is rockin! Steve Jobs must have found out everything that drove me crazy about version 2 of Pages because he upgraded about 90% of what I was hoping for. Keynote still makes Powerpoint look like a prototype :)

- Is it me or is there no new music that's any good? The newest stuff I'm listening to was released in the early 90's. I listened to "The Cars Greatest Hits" on my way in to the office today. I'm becoming one of those people! "Let the good times roll!"

- Psych and Monk are making me not miss regular network TV. Very funny shows.

- I'm playing Fantasy Football with a bunch of other Pastors. As I began to research this, I'm even more convinced that this is Dungeons and Dragons for Jocks.

- Carey says I can't make up any more Michael Vick jokes. I said, "You're barking up the wrong tree!" (Was that taking it too far?)

- People who work in music stores drive me crazy! I went in to buy some strings for my Les Paul and the 16 year old kid "helping" me was acting as though my presence was disturbing his reading of Guitar Player magazine. Why are musicians so cocky? I said that to Carey. She said, "Just think, 17 years ago, some 33 year old guy was saying the same thing about you!" Ouch! If only she were wrong :)

- My daughter turned 7 months today! We stored away some of her 0-3 months clothes recently. Man, it was emotional when I remembered that not that long ago she weighed only 7 pounds!

- The Red Sox got swept by the Yankees! I am not happy about this! I think they are still going to win the division. But why do they have to flirt with danger? It would have helped if they brought their bats to New York! Perry, I don't know what to say :(

- 40% of our church has signed up for a Small Group. What's amazing is that we just released our Small Groups catalog this past Sunday! I'm totally excited about it!

Something to Teach...Something to Learn

I give a couple of hours each to talk to church planter and church leaders that want to talk shop and think that we can help them in some way. I'm always honored when someone calls us and thinks that something we do or have learned over the years can help their ministry.

At the same time, I take a few hours each month to learn and get myself around leaders I respect and learning from them. I try to read as much as I can, so that I can learn from others with different areas of expertise.

Everyone has someone they can teach and someone they can learn from. It annoys me when guys only want 1 or the other. The guy who only wants to learn and not share what he's learned is greedy. God has given you experiences and opportunities to steward, not horde! The guys who only want to teach and not learn is a little too impressed with himself. We need a balance of learning and teaching. As the saying goes, "We all need a Paul and a Timothy in our lives."

I'm very thankful for the guys that are willing to give some of their time to answer my questions and part of how I repay them for their generosity is to share what God has shown me through these mentors and my own experiences with those that want to learn from me. It's what this verse is all about!

Book Review: How to Become CEO

The book could have been called "How to have a Work Ethic" or "How to Succeed in your line of Work", but How to become CEO by Jeffrey Fox has a ton of practical wisdom in it. I normally write some of my favorite quotes on the first page (which is usually blank) of books that I read. This book is one of the few that I had to turn the page due to all the great stuff he had to say.

A few favorite quotes:

- "over-invest in people who have integrity, an 'I can do it' attitude, and intelligence"

- "Cynicism about one's own corporation is a hallmark of losers"

- Many companies get rocking chair syndrome:lots of movement, but they're not going anywhere"

- "If you have 10 seconds to make a decision, think for 9"

- "A good manager has a cause to say 'thank you' 20 times a day"

- "Don't let 'perfect' be the enemy of 'better'"

- "Goals shape your plans, direct your energies, and focus your resources"

There's tons more wisdom in this book. Quick chapters. Easy read. I recommend it.

A Fun Visit...

We were able to host Henry Judy and his team from Life Point on Sunday. They are getting ready to launch their church in the Naples/ Bonita Springs area in November. They are going to meet in a theatre, so they decided to come hang with us for a weekend. Here are his thoughts on their experience.

It was great to meet Henry's team and spend some time with them. Plus, Mia seemed to like them, so that's good enough for me :)

Props...

Casey Ross over at Catalyst Church reviewed my book "Watermark" on his blog. Enjoy!

Any Programmers?

If anyone out there is or knows someone who is a php programmer, can you email me @ bob [at] calvarywired [dot] com?

We are in need of someone who's got the skills to pay the bills in php.

Book Review: Growing an Engaged Church

My friend Nelson recommended this book and I am so glad I read it. Growing an Engaged Church by Albert Winseman is a really good read for many reasons, but here's why I liked it the most: it challenged the church to get back to what's most important - reaching people with the Gospel! He really drills down on why people attend church but never engage the church. He uses a set of 12 key points/ questions to push the idea home. It's great stuff.

The church exists to glorify God and our mission is to reach people with the message of Jesus. There are a million ways to do that, but seeing lives transformed is what we do. I think the causes that churches get passionate about are great, but they cannot take the place of our primary calling: to reach people. The causes and programs can be a tool we use, but if we start thinking that the cause is the mission we've taken our eye off the ball.

Anyway, Growing an Engaged Church is a great read. It's also to the point (only 155 pages), which we all can appreciate because I don't know about you, but I'm sick of books that drone on for 300 pages when it could have been said in 100.

Mini-Vacation Highlights

On Sunday, Carey, Mia, and I drove up to Orlando for a couple of days. It has been amazing!

Here are some highlights:

- Taking Mia into a pool for the first time (pictures coming soon)

- Reading 1 book cover to cover in 2 sittings (review forthcoming)

- 1/2 way through a 2nd book

- Having lunch at Earl of Sandwich (Cannonball!!!)

- Staying at a Disney resort I've never stayed at (I have a goal to stay at all of them. Unfortunately, I've officially stayed at all the cheap ones now :)

- A chocolate double scoop cone with chocolate jimmies from Ghiradelli's at Downtown Disney!

- P.F. Chang's mongolian beef/ chicken (or as I have named it: the Mongolian Duo)

- Being with my girls and not having to watch the clock (b/c I've got nowhere I need to be and no one I need to call)

Book Review: Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts

I know it's weird for a guy who's been married for over 10 years to read a book for engaged couples, but I've been looking for a book to give to our premarital counseling couples for a while and Saving Your Marriage before it Starts by Les and Leslie Parrott has won the honor! What a great book! Married couples can learn a lot from this book, but it is invaluable for couples that are about to be married. The book is built around 7 questions couples should ask about their future spouse and relationship.

I underlined quite a bit (the next series of message I do on dating will have plenty "lifted" from here). Great truth, great wisdom, strong spiritual undergirding that supports the book. All in all, a great book that I hope many young couples in our church read!

No Human Available...

Man, I am having the worst time getting a human being on the phone today!

"Thank you for calling. Please listen carefully as our menu options have recently changed..."

Give me a break. If there's a bank that will put a human being on the phone from the get-go, I'll switch today!

Technology is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master...

I think I understand what John Conner was going through... It's the rise of the machines!