– I started my morning off with a double BBQ Bacon cheeseburger from Carl’s Jr. (my 1st time at Carl’s Jr. – I have to say, burgers for breakfast is something I can get used to) – Then I had a great time teaching nearly 100 Pastors in Phoenix with Nelson Searcy. Assimilation is such an important system in any church. It was great to help that many Pastors and churches. – Had In N’ Out for lunch. The pics is available on my Twitter. Double Double animal style w/ animal style fries. Delicious doesn’t even do it justice… – … Read More

– I’m in Phoenix this week – I haven’t been to Phoenix since 1995 when I was on tour with my band. Man, I feel old 🙂 – I’m attending a training event this week. – I’m also co-teaching an assimilation seminar with Nelson Searcy on Thursday, August 14th from 9AM-Noon. If you’re in the area and want to be part of it, the link is here. – I haven’t gone to In N’ Out Burger yet, but trust me, it’s going to happen! There’s a Double Double animal style in my future 🙂 – It’s hot here! Carey said … Read More

It was a great day at the Leadership Summit! I enjoyed connecting with a few friends and spending time with our staff talking about leadership. Here’s a few highlights straight from my moleskin journal… Bill Hybels (Session 1) There are 4 types of people in our churches: (1) those exploring the faith, (2) those beginning in the faith, (3) those growing in the faith and (4) those whose lives are Christ centered. The biggest gap is between those who are growing the faith and those who are Christ centered. Why? Because those who are Christ centered “no longer count their … Read More

I have the tapes and CD’s (yes I still have tapes) of every Leadership Summit dating back to 1996. Today is the first time that I’m actually going to the event. The whole staff is coming with me, so I’m looking forward to a great 2 days of listening, learning, idea gathering and catching up with some peeps. Ill be posting some updates on the blog later. Since I won’t be bringing my computer (my moleskin journal will be in full effect), but I will be twittering the event. You can follow me on Twitter here.

One of the things I’m looking forward to next week is being in Phoenix with Nelson Searcy at a Fusion Seminar we’re doing. I’m looking forward to meeting some people in person that I’ve only known through blogging, twitter and email. So if you’re in the area, come out to the seminar. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about how to help first time guests take next steps and feel welcome in your church. Plus, I’d love to connect. The seminar is on Thursday, August 14th, from 9-Noon. You can sign up for the seminar here.

– Today was awesome! – We had a problem last week (The 9:30AM crowd was sleepy to put is mildly), so we bought dozens of Crispy Creme donuts and gave them to our 9:30 crowd as they came in. Needless to say, problem solved 🙂 – We finished Habakkuk today. I felt it was the message of the series. People responded really well. – Mark was out due to the birth of his son, so Tanya led worship today and rocked the house! – Tanya also hosted the services today (in our context, the host is the person who prays, … Read More

After 10 minutes writing an email to respond to a blog (by someone I know) who was bashing a friend of mine, I decided to delete the email I was writing and get on with my life. Why? Because some people are never going to get it. It kills me that we’re called to reach the world, but we don’t because we’re too busy nitpicking each other. If these people put the same amount of effort into reaching people far from God as they did criticizing other Christians, who knows what could be accomplished. I’m never going to get those … Read More