It’s great to be home. I’m still totally exhausted, but when I got off the plane and smelled Cuban bread being toasted in the terminal, I knew I was back in Miami. I loved being in the office today and seeing my staff. I really love these people. We not only work together, but we’re friends. Lots of man-hugs and catching up to say the least! It’s so interesting how things keep rolling with or without you. It shows me that this is God’s church and I’m just a spoke in the wheel. But I’m glad to get rolling again. … Read More
Home…Finally!
I got to LAX at 11:30AM for my 1:45PST flight home yesterday. Carey and I had lunch and we walked to our gate only to learn that our plane was being “Serviced” and the flight was delayed. One hour turned into 2. Two hours turned into 4. Four hours turned into over 5 hours! We took off at 7PM PST and we landed at 12PST or 3AM EST! I got to our offices where my car was at 4AM and was home and in bed by 5:30AM. All that to say, “I’m tired!” 2 good things about our flight. I … Read More
The Mutant Gene
Carey and I saw X-Men 3 on Saturday night and it was amazing. I’m blown away by how great each of these movies has been. It seems as though each sequel was better than the next. But as we were walking out, we started talking about how both sides of the mutant world had so much in common except one thing. We talked about the differences between Professor X and Magneto and the types of leaders they were and we came down to one thing that made them so different: Integrity. Like every mutant who had special gifts, so too … Read More
Book Review: Breaking the Missional Code
I just finished “Breaking the Missional Code” by Ed Stetzer and David Putman. It was a really good book. I got several good ideas, but most importantly I got several questions that I need to ask myself and my staff. These guys are doing it, having planted churches and leading growing churches in their respective communities. I have to tell you, I’m over it with guys writing books on how to do church who have never done it. These guys are doing it, so this isn’t theory. It’s experience form the blood, sweat, and tears of planting missional communities of … Read More
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!
So I saw it on Thursday…The Brady house. I found the address to the house (I know that sounds creepy) that was used as the outside footage for the show. Anyway, the house looks different than it did when the show aired: the house now has a fence and it has been painted a different color. But I took a couple of pictures of it anyway just to prove I’ve been there. By the way, mad props to Mike Brady who proved he was a brilliant architect by building a second story to a house that looks like it would … Read More
What a Night!
Carey agreed to attend 1 baseball game while we wee out here in So. Cal, so we went to see the Angels and the Orioles last night. The game was amazing! First off, they were the 2nd best seats I’ve ever sat in (The best being a Patriot’s Day Red Sox game where I sat on the front row on the first base line right behind the Red Sox dugout when I was 9). We got 3rd row seats from a scalper, or shall I say “Ticket Broker” for less than 1/2 price of face value. I love the haggling … Read More
Working Vacation
Carey and I checked out of our hotel in LA county and headed south to the OC for a few days. We’re going to relax and kick back. I’m also going to take the opportunity to work on my new book. I can’t wait to really dig in. I’ve got the introduction written and the chapters outlined. In short, I’ve got a lot of writing to do. I’m hoping to be done with the manuscript by the end of the summer.
American Idol Finale and other LA stuff
I didn’t watch the finale. It’s weird: American Idol is recorded live in LA, but people in LA don’t get to watch it until 3 hours later. Anyone else find that weird? Anyway, I was shocked to learn that Taylor Hicks won! I thought he outperformed Katherine, but I thought she was going to win anyway. And to think that Simon wasn’t going to send Taylor to Hollywood. Hello! Although Simon did have the best line of the season after a Taylor Hicks performance: “Taylor, are you drunk?” I’m sorry, but that was hilarious. I like Pacific time, I think. … Read More
Ethos Experience
Carey and I stayed after the Origins Experience for Mosaic’s leadership experience called “Ethos”. This may have been better than Origins. It was that good! Alex McManus talked about understanding the future and global trends. It was amazing! Then Erwin came and talked about what he calls the “Character Matrix”. This “chart” is essentially the book “Uprising” (Which is an amazing book if you haven’t read it). What I found interesting is that a huge focus at Mosaic is on character building. Erwin’s warning was not to only develop people’s leadership potential, but instead to focus on building character. Powerful … Read More
The Origins Conference
Well, the Origins conference just ended (although I’ll be attending the Ethos training tomorrow), but instead of giving a session by session overview, I’ll give some overall impressions: #1 – They aren’t perfect – Mosaic is not a polished community in anything that they do. They use a term that I liked: raw beauty. It fits. They want to let you see the process. It comes off as very authentic. #2 – They are passionate about the big stuff – They are Nazi’s about their core values and are much looser on the rest. I saw this in every staff … Read More
