(Attention: long post ahead) My buddy Chuck Land asked me to put together a blow-by-blow explanation of how we put together a series at Calvary Fellowship. I’ve never actually wrote this down, so this might be more helpful to me than anyone else… #1 – I start with questions – What scripture text do I feel led to teach? What does the church need to hear? What are we going through right now as a church? These are all questions I ask myself in deciding what to teach. #2 – I find the text – For Colossians, I looked at … Read More
6-Year Anniversary Recap
Sunday was a total whirlwind. I didn’t expect our morning service to be completely slammed since we were starting our Sunday night service, but it was packed. Then, since the morning service was full, we didn’t expect anyone to show up to our 1st evening service (which they did). Yes, my lack of faith even surprises me at times 🙂 I don’t have the exact count yet as to how many people were there. I’ll get that Wednesday morning. But I do know it was our largest non-Easter attendance ever! But what I found most interesting was the completely different … Read More
The Ten Faces of Innovation – Please pick one…
I hate the term “Devil’s Advocate.” Besides linking yourself with the devil (which is never a good idea), the “Devil’s advocate” is always the nay-sayer, the contrarian, and the person who is saying that it can’t be done. What is so great about The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley is that it forces people out of that “Devil” mentality and into a mode of innovation where they can add something to a conversation as opposed to simply saying something cannot be done. I’m all for living in reality and if an idea is ridiculous, I’m fine with hearing … Read More
Mia Grace…
That’s the name we picked when we found out that we are having a little girl! Carey and I are so excited! People asked me what we wanted to have and I didn’t have a preference. Carey and I both thought it was a girl for many reasons. But we only had a girl name picked out and every time we would pray for our baby we would say, “She” or “her” inadvertently. If you don’t know, my wife and I have been trying to have children for over 9 years. Mia’s name comes from 2 Cor. 12:9, where the … Read More
6 years later…
My wife had a photo album open in our home office that had some pictures from our 1st service. Those pictures were taken 6 years ago this Sunday. I was thinking about how much I wish I could travel back in time and talk to that 26 year old kid who thought he knew everything. Here’s a few things that I would tell him if I had the chance: #1 – Think about the long haul – I absolutely killed myself working during the 1st 3 years. In year 4, I started taking a second day off (like the rest … Read More
Burning the Midnight Oil with Continuum…
I waited until midnight to be able to download John Mayer’s new album “Continuum.” Let’s just say that JM didn’t disappoint, because it’s really good. I’ve only listened to it twice. So like a new pair of shoes, new records take a little while to break in before you learn to love them. But Continuum has some immediate spring in its’ step! So far here are my favorites: Waiting on the World to Change – I’ve had the song for a couple of months now and I’ve already learned the song on guitar, so it has a bit of an … Read More
Our Newest Invite
This could only work in Miami…
Stewardship Thoughts…
We just finished our “Colors” series this morning, which focused on stewardship principles. I was amazed by the response that the series got. The main idea was that colors are always communicating something. So we focused on 4 colors that say something about us as managers of God’s resources: Week 1 – Pink – Ownership Week 2 – Black – Tithing Week 3 – Red – Debt Week 4 – Yellow – fear I started thinking about what has changed over the last 6 years in my presentation of a tough subject to teach on. A couple of thoughts… #1 … Read More
A Little More Conversation…
I had several great conversations this week with a bunch of Pastors. Man, I feel so built up! I have been challenged, affirmed, exhorted, encouraged, and ministered to by each guy I’ve spent time with. So thank you! We need this. I know I need this. I need environments where I can think out loud. I need safe places to talk about books, ideas, and random thoughts that need to come out and be bounced back and forth. I need people in my life that I can throw around crazy thoughts and views that I’m thinking through, without feeling judged … Read More
