bobfranquiz.com

I love being a Bible Teacher!

One of the things that I so enjoy about teaching the Scriptures is the time I get to spend in God's Word, thus giving God more opportunity to work in my life.

One of the things I'm talking about this weekend is forgiveness, and as I asked God to search my heart this week I realized there's someone I hadn't forgiven.

I had to forgive, give the situation over to God, and experience the freedom that comes from obey God's Word. I'm so glad I get to teach the Bible week after week. It makes me keep short accounts :)

Happy Leap Year!

Happy February 29th!

I always wished I was born on February 29th! I'd only have 1 birthday ever 4 years (which would make me 8 1/2 by the way), but it would be an awesome party!

Anyway, you get 1 extra day this year. So what are you going to do with it?

Potential Podcast

I recorded a podcast with the guys at Flamingo Road Church a couple of weeks ago for their Potential Podcast.

I had a good time hanging with those guys talking about the Red Sox, 24, Time Management, and coming up with teaching series.

By the way, if you're interested in hearing me answer Red Sox trivia, we do that as well. FYI - I did miss a couple of questions when I was asked about the Sox in the 1940's. It was slightly before my time :)

You can listen to the podcast here.

Book Review: Speak to Win

Speak to Win by Brian Tracy is a fantastic book! This book deals with both the technical and practical aspects of speaking. Lots of books talk about content (which this one does as well), but Brian focuses on the practical side of speaking; where to stand, using Powerpoint, room set-up, and taking care of your voice. He also talks about how to speak for maximum impact, which was very helpful.

Here's a few of my favorite quotes:

"One of the most important things you must do, before you speak, is to start with the end in mind."

"The wonderful thing about communication is that you cannot get worse by doing it."

"Preparation is what separates mediocrity from greatness."

"Confident public speaking begins with having a message that you really want to hear."

"Think on paper."

"The best audience temperature for a room is 68 degrees." - that's a good tip

"Powerpoint is a prop - not a support - to the main message."

"The best strategy for ending with a bang is to plan your close before you plan the rest of the speech."

This book was an easy read and very helpful. If you communicate regularly, you need to pick this book up!

Sunday Stuff... (Monday Edition)

- Today was amazing!
- The place was jam packed. We officially have a space problem!
- I taught on "God's Guide to Great Sex" (Song of Solomon 4).
- The message was very well received.
- We've ran out of CD's for every message in this series!
- Easter is going to be nuts!
- The Small group videos our guys produced have been out of hand! I'll post them here when I get a chance.
- I love seeing students inviting their parents to church.
- Totally excited about our Assimilation seminar! It's in a week and a 1/2!
- This has been a great season for us.

Fusion closing in!

Registration for our Fusion Seminar is going very well! We're blown away at how many people have registered already.

This is the perfect time to think through your assimilation system and get it in gear before Easter! So if you live in South Florida, I hope you take the time to come to this event.

We've growth by 50% in the last year and I can tell you that part of it is figuring out a strategy that work with connecting First Time Guests.

You can register for the Fusion seminar here.

How Leaders Grow Part 5

#5 - Experience

There are some things you can learn from books or from other leaders, but some things you have to learn through experience.

What's interesting is that these lessons are the ones that make us grow the most. They are also the ones that usually hurt the most as well.

Here's the truth: Lots of people have experiences and never learn from them. To learn from an experience, you have to evaluate it, reflect on it, and pray it through. God has plenty he wants to show us through our experiences, we simply have to slow down enough to see what it is. Because there's nothing worse than going through something difficult circumstance and having nothing we gained from it because we didn't consider what God was doing in our lives in the circumstance.

Action steps:

1. Think about the experiences that have shaped you.

2. Decide to repeat the successes.

3. Decide to not repeat the failures.

How Leaders Grow Part 4

#4 - Challenges

Muscles grow when they're under weight and leaders grow when they're under a challenge. Show me a leader who's coasting along and I will bet this leader isn't growing.

God brings challenges into our lives to grow us as leaders. It's how Moses, Daniel, David, and Paul all grew. There's something about a challenge that causes us to think differently, pray more fervently, ask questions, and explore possibilities we never thought possible. Most innovation is simply a response to a challenge. Thomas Edison said "Necessity is the mother of ingenuity."

Right now the growth of our church is causing a challenge for us with space. We've got some time restrictions with our theatre, so it's causing us to grow in our leadership and imagine possibilities we wouldn't have thought of had we not had this challenge.

Action Steps:

1. Where are you feeling the weight of leadership right now?

2. How is this changing your thinking?

3. How are you approaching this differently no than you would have a year ago?

How Leaders Grow Part 3

#3 - Change

First, let me say that I'm a routine guy. I go to work the same way, get up at the same time, and follow a basic pattern for my life. But when we get out of our routines is when we grow. That's why conferences are so helpful. It doesn't even have to be the content. There's just something about getting on a plane, getting out of the routine, and getting into a new environment that causes us to grow.

That's why I take one day a month to drive to Tampa to be with a group of Pastors. I think I grow as much in the car on the way there and back as I do while I'm with these guys. In the book, Leadership on the Line, Ronald Heifetz calls it "Balcony Time". Its the time where we get away and change our perspective. It's here where we se the changes that need to be made to get to the next level.

Action Steps:

1. Where do you get away to change your perspective?

2. Do you plan to ad any new places?

3. Are you regularly practicing "Balcony Time"?

Book Review: The Success Principles

Written by the man who brought us the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield was a great book! A little too long I admit, but there's plenty of great stuff in this book to keep you busy for weeks.

Jack's whole premise is that being successful isn't hard if you decide what you want and refuse to give up in pursuit of it.

Here's a few of my favorite quotes:

"There is only one person responsible for the quality of life you life. That person is you."

"For every reason why it's not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstance and succeeded."

"Once you know what your life purpose is, you can organize all of your activities around it. Everything you do should be an expression of your purpose."

"Vague goals produce vague results."

"There are 3 keys to success: 1. Being at the right place at the right time, 2. Knowing you are there, 3. Taking action."

"To win at whatever game you choose to play, you have to be willing to pay the price."

"You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with."

There's plenty more wisdom and insight in this book. It's a great book for anyone who wants to take their life to the next level. I recommend it!