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Blessed

During our Summer Bash, there was few minutes when Carey and I were alone talking on the top of a hill that overlooked the whole scene at the amphitheater. We looked out over the field and saw hundreds and hundreds of people playing, eating and enjoying the day.  

I was moved to tears as I said to Carey, "What if we hadn't obeyed God's call to come and start this church?" I know God would have used someone else, but I am so blessed to be part of what God is doing in Miami.  

Sunday Stuff...

- All I can say is WOW! Today was unbelievable! 

- We had our 1st ever Summer Bash.  One service in an amphitheater.   Amazing!

- Definitely one of our biggest services ever! 

- We underestimated the amount of people that were going to show up to this thing. 

- We had one service at 11AM. Then an all-you-can-eat BBQ. Then Mark and the band did a concert. 

- First time I've ever preached with sunglasses on. I felt like Corey Hart :) 

- Tons... I mean tons of 1st time guests. 

- This is normally a decent Sunday for churches, but churches can maximize a day like this and make it huge. I talk about how to do this here. 

- We prayed for no rain and it didn't rain until after the service.  

- Then it rained a little.  It didn't faze anyone.  It was actually nice because it cooled things down a bit. 

- The staff was amazing!  Totally blown away by their level of planning this event. 

- Our volunteers were unbelievable!  I love their commitment to the Lord. 

- Everyone got a copy of Mark's new EP "All I Need is You".  It's amazing.  

- The full length CD will be out in September. 

- I'm really excited that Zero to Sixty is out!

- www.church-strategies.com has it here. bn.com has it here. 

- It's going to be a great week! 

The Book Bundle

With the release of my new book, "Zero to Sixty: 60 principles and practices for leading a growing church", we've put together a book bundle with all 4 of my books.  It's 30% off retail and there's even an e-book bundle version as well.  

Here's the link for the book bundle

Here's the link for the e-book bundle

Twitter

Are you on Twitter?  If so, you can follow me at twitter.com/bobfranquiz and join the fun.  

Q &A: What's the Biggest Mistake Churches Make in Their By-Laws?

The biggest mistake churches make in their by-laws is giving too much control to the wrong group of people.  Too many church planters begin their churches by adopting the same by-laws their sending church had.  This can be a great blessing if you've got the right by-laws, but can also be deadly to the health of your church if they are the wrong by-laws. There's nothing in the Bible that says we should have congregational voting.  Why churches do it escapes me.  

If you're a church that reaches unchurched people, here's what they are expecting: for the leaders of the church to lead the church. That's why we need to lay the right foundation and structure our churches in such a way that allow leaders to lead and make decisions in a way that eliminate unnecessary red-tape. 

For a comprehensive resource on how to lay the right foundation and establish your board of directors and bylaws, check out our Laying the Foundation resource at www.church-strategies.com.  

Zero to Sixty is here...

It won't be on Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com or stores for another week, but www.church-strategies.com has Zero to Sixty in stock and it's ready to ship.  

You can order it by clicking here.  

Plus, to get 30% off the retail price, use the coupon code "zerotosixty" (no quotes) and it will discount the book to $11.86 (which is cheaper than anyone is going to sell it).  

Plus, you can brag that you got it before anyone else :)

Just Get Started...

"While the worriers are worrying, the planners are planning & the accountants are figuring out why we can’t afford it, I’m busy getting started." - Walt Disney

Q & A: How Does a Board of Directors Work with a Staff-Led Church?

At Calvary Fellowship, we operate from the position that God calls a man (The Senior Pastor) to lead the church under the Holy Spirit's direction.  As we see with Moses leading the people from Egypt to the land of promise, he was the leader as he followed where God was leading.  

Because the Senior Pastor can't do it all, Assistant Pastors and other leaders are raised up to help carry the load of ministry.  Getting to the question at hand, the board of directors at Calvary Fellowship consists of outside pastors who assist me in making the organizational and financial decisions that need to be made.  

That would involve things like:

- Approving the annual budget

- Purchasing property

- Finding a new Senior Pastor should something happen to me

So the board deals with the big financial decisions and the staff take care of the ministry and the day to day administration. 

By the way, I have an entire resource on establishing a Board of Directors that includes the qualities you're looking for in a board member, the 21 most common questions about a board, and a copy of the  bylaws that we use at Calvary Fellowship. You can pick up that resource here.  

Making Investments and Creating Safeguards

My wife and I watched the Season Premiere of "Jon and Kate Plus 8" last night and it was incredibly sad.  I was saddened by what sin does.  Sin doesn't just hurt us, it hurts those around us as well.  In fact, many times those we love the most are the ones that get caught in the blast radius of our poor decisions.  This is what I saw last night.  Let me say that what's happening with Jon and Kate's relationship is not unique to them.  Unfortunately, it happens all the time, even couples in ministry.  

I believe that couples need to make investments into their marriage and create safeguards to ensure the health of the marriages. Pastors teach about couples going on date nights, getting away without the kids, and not putting themselves in compromising situations.  But we have to do this stuff.  

Here's the benefit of creating safeguards and being public about it: I won't drive in a car alone with a woman who is not my wife, period. It's not because I'm tempted.  Instead, it's because I want to stay far away from even the appearance of evil.  So if I ever did drive anywhere with a member of the opposite sex, those closest to me would bring it my attention because that's so uncharacteristic of me.  

What's the point?  Have safeguards that keep you from hurting your family and make regular investments into your marriage that keep you close to your spouse.  

P.S. I have an entire chapter on creating safeguards in my new book, Zero to Sixty: 60 principles and practices for leading a growing church.  You can order it here.  

Sunday Stuff...

- This week's Sunday stuff is going to be short because I didn't teach this weekend

- Pastor John taught Revelation 6:9-7:17. Head he did an awesome job!

- I took the weekend off to spend with my family

- I've been traveling a lot (a least a lot by my standards) over the last few months that we needed some time away

- It was great spending a couple of hours in the pool playing and getting some sun

- You'd never know I live in Miami based on how white I am :)

- Also was able to read a few books over the last couple of days

- I put some ideas down for the next couple of messages I'm going to be teaching

- Plus, I started working on a brand-new seminar I'm debuting in Hartford next month called, "21st century Outreach Strategies" - it's all about how to maximize direct mail, online and offline promotion and other outreach strategies churches should be using to reach people. I think it's going to be really helpful.

- Too many churches are wasting too much money because they aren't being strategic enough with who they're trying to reach.

- We have a really big Sunday planned on May 31st - we've rented the amphitheater at C.B. Smith Park, plus we're having a huge BBW afterwards with games, rock climbing wall, bounce houses, etc...

- I also excited that we'll be giving away FREE copies of Pastor Mark's newest EP. The full length album will be out in the Fall, but we're giving everyone a few songs to whet their appetite.

- The Memorial Day sale at www.church-strategies.com ends on Monday, so don't forget to stop by there and check out the sale. Every resource on the site is on sale, so check it out!

- I've got 300 pounds worth of Zero to Sixty coming to my office on Thursday! Can't wait to see what God is going to do with that book.

- Also, I saw "Oscar" from "The Office" in the lobby of the hotel we're staying at. I didn't walk up to him. I love the show, but I don't want to be a total nerd.

- OK, back to the pool, I'm out...