I read a 200 page book last night and when I closed the book I had gotten 1 good idea from the entire book. That's it: one good idea. Here's where some of my friends and I disagree: some would say, "What a waste! You spent $20 and 2 hours on a book and only got 1 good idea?" Here's my position: "Yeah, but it's a really good idea." An idea that's going to help my church is amazing ways as we communicate to those outside of our church." Should there be more than 1 good idea in a 200 … Read More
Help for Creating Safeguards in your Life
It's only March and I've seen 3 people I know fall into sexual sin and disqualify themselves from ministry. It breaks my heart to see this because each of these men love God and yet are experiencing the discipline of the Lord. Do I think God is done with these men? Absolutely not. Our God is one of restoration and reconciliation. As long as these guys submit themselves to their spiritual authorities and follow their godly counsel, I believe we will see these men serve the Lord again. Having said that, this can happen to any of us. The person … Read More
Sunday Stuff
– Another great day at Calvary! – I taught 3 John as we continued in our Postcards series – I went long again on the message. – Even teaching the shortest books of the Bible, it's hard to keep it to 40 minutes. – We celebrated Communion today. It's always special time. – No Wednesday night service this Wednesday. One of the hassles of not having your own place. But we'll pick back up in Genesis 6 next Wednesday. – I'm amazed at how much brand new Christians want to know God's Word – I've been blessed to see some … Read More
Easter Follow Up Prep List
I am getting emails daily about direct mail for Easter, but I thought I'd have you start thinking about your post-Easter follow up plans. Here's what you're going to need to keep those you reach: 1. A strategy for help New Believers take next steps – our resource on New Believer follow up has helped 100's of churches implement a plan and see new believers stick. 2. A book to help new believers take their first few steps – This little book that I wrote is being used by churches all over the country to help solidify new believers in … Read More
The “You Should Feed Yourself” Myth
My son is 19 months old and he's learning to feed himself. It's messy, but some food gets into his mouth (the rest ends up on the floor). Every time he starts to feed himself, I think of the phrase I hear Pastors say in reference to Christians who want the messages to be "deeper". They say something along the lines of, "You don't want me to feed you. You need to be feeding yourself." While I believe that Christians should learn to read the Bible for themselves and practice the basic disciplines for growth and maturity, this rhetoric is … Read More
Both/ And
Jim Collins made the term "The Genius of the and" famous. His idea was that instead of thinking in either/ or terms, think in terms of both/ and. I believe this is especially true in preaching. Too often, churches get caught in the trap of thinking either/ or; attractional or missional; discipleship or evangelism. I believe church can AND should be doing both at the same time. At Calvary, we are deeply committed to teaching through books of the Bible. While we will do topical series at times, most of the time we're teaching through books of the Bible. So … Read More
Sunday Stuff
– Today was one of my favorite days at Calvary this year. – We kicked off a new series called, "Postcards". – We're teaching through the 5 one chapter books of the Bible – Today I taught 2 John. I loved studying for this message! – I usually try to keep my Sunday message around 40 minutes. I taught for 50 minutes today. There was too much to say :) – Looking forward to teaching 3 John next week! – Since we started Calvary 10 years ago, we've taught 27 books of the Bible. We're committed to teaching God's Word … Read More
Tools to Help you Maximize Easter!
Just a quick update to let you know that all of our Evangelism and Outreach resources are 25% off! Use the code easter11 at checkout and the discount will apply. This Easter, too many churches are going to spend way too much money for way too little results! That's why we're doing this sale: to put the resources in your hands to make this Easter your biggest yet! Check out the sale on these resources! Direct Mail Secrets (normally $89.95) only $67.46 with 25% off discount! Digital Evangelism (Normally $69.95) only $52.35 with 25% off discount! 21st Century Outreach Strategies … Read More
The Factors that Determine Direct Mail Success
Churches are a bit surprised when I tell that outreach is both art AND science. Yt I believe it's absolutely true. In working with 100's of churches over the last 3 years on outreach and evangelism strategies, some things work and others don't. But when a Pastor says something like "direct mail doesn't work in my area" and no data to back it up other than a mediocre attempt at direct mail, it's frustrating. Not only that, it hurts the church from using that media again to reach people. As we approach Easter, I am getting emails daily from Pastors … Read More
Q and A: How do You get Your Direct Mail Results?
This question shows up in my inbox every week. That's why I have 2 resources that deal with how we do direct mail AND I lead a coaching network that focuses solely on outreach and promotion. Having said that, here's 5 things you must know if you're going to get great direct mail results: #1 – You must know who you're trying to reach – most churches have no idea who they're best equipped to reach #2 – You must know what you're going to say to them – Most churches are not connecting their copy with the recipients of … Read More
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