I just got my DVD’s of the Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor’s Conference (By the way, mad props to the people at The Word for Today for getting them out to me so quickly). I wasn’t able to attend this year, but I’m looking forward to checking them out and hearing for myself all the good stuff that my friends were telling me about.
Book Review: Chazown
I just finished reading Chazown: A Different Way to See Your Life by Craig Groeschel from Life Church and let me say: Awesome! This book was so needed. As I was reading it, I said to myself, “I need to buy a copy of this book for every person in our church!” That’s how good this book is. The main idea is that God has a very specific Chazown (Vision) for your life. The brilliance of this book is in Craig’s ability to walk you though a process of discovery, so when you finish the book you have a real … Read More
The People You Work With
I was leaving the office this evening and I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for the people I get to work with at Calvary Fellowship. These people love the church as much as I do, work as hard as I do, and do it with joy. I’m blown away by their dedication and commitment to the Lord and to the church. The thing is, you can pay someone to show up, but you can’t pay someone to care. These folks care. I think part of the reason their commitment level is so high is because they all were … Read More
Inside the Mind of a Visitor…
I’ve heard people say this. I’ve said it. But today I want to ask the question, “Is this true?” Do people really decide whether or not they are going to attend your church within the first 5,7, or 10 minutes? Are we building this theory based on comments that people say like, “I knew from the moment I walked in that this place was home!” Or, “I knew I was never coming back based on the fact that the place looked like a disaster!” I don’t know. I think this theory should be tested by having the worst band in … Read More
You’re Only as Strong as Your Bench
As the New York Yankees are learning this season, now that they have some star players out for extended periods of time, that a team is only as strong as their bench. Every team and every church has a few star players, but what about when these people are out? Can the church still thrive without the All-Stars? I’ve been thinking about this since I was out for 2 weekends and then Mark, our Worship Leader has been out for the last 2 weekends. It has made me appreciate that we have some depth. We’ve got gifted teachers who can … Read More
Crash Week 2
Church went really well today. We are in the second week of a new series called “Crash”. We’re spending some time in the book of Daniel. It has been great so far. Today we looked at Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Chapter 2. I think it went well. The rain in Miami has been out of control. I’m not used to cloudy days. Days in Miami are usually sunny 90% of the time. But this weekend has been miserably wet. It affected our attendance. It also made me think: I have never purchased an umbrella in my life. Weird. I’m looking forward … Read More
If You’re Thinking about Planting…
If you’re thinking about planting a church, would you consider Miami? Here are the stats: 94% unchurched (I know this means a lot of things to a lot of people, but here it means people with no church background at all). Of that 6% that are churched, it is evenly split, 3% Catholic and 3% Protestant. There are more Santeros in Miami than clergy. (If you don’t know what a Santero is, click here) Most church plants in Miami fail, mostly because all the stuff that’s written in books about how to grow a church don’t work here. Miami is … Read More
It’s Nice to Hear Your Voice…Mail
We have gone over 2 weeks without voicemail at our offices, until yesterday afternoon. We thought the whole voicemail system was fried, but it turned out to be the power supply. Once the people picked it up and replaced it, we were back in business. This means 2 things… #1 – If you called us over the last 2 weeks and didn’t have an opportunity to leave a message after office hours, we’re very sorry. #2 – Feel free to call us when we’re not hear and our friendly auto-attendant will take you to the voicemail box you need to … Read More
Not the Way to Start Today…
I woke up this morning realizing that some people have put some meaning into today’s date (6-6-06). Now, while I don’t think it means anything, i woke up this morning and noticed the book that I’m reading had some pen smudges on the cover (Those that know me, know that I take meticulous care of my books – You’d never know I read them if it weren’t for all the writing in blue pen). Anyway, I noticed the pen marks on the book and then I noticed I had blue ink all over my hand. Then I looked in the … Read More
Book Review: Why Men Hate Going to Church
I finished reading “Why Men Hate Going to Church” by David Murrow. I bought this book because several people recommended it to me. Honestly, it took me about a 100 pages to get into it. But I really enjoyed the book. Funny enough, the emotion I felt while reading the book was freedom! There was always a part of me that thought I wasn’t spiritual because I despise holding hands with people (other than my wife) when I pray. So when Christians want to get into a circle and have men hold hands just creeps me out. I have not … Read More
