Today was completely off the hook! The place was buzzin! The people were excited. The place was packed to the gills! Mark and the band did a great job! I felt good about my message. I did cry when I started talking about my wife, but I can’t help that. She’s just amazing! We did free family portraits and there were over 100 families that got their pictures taken! Some families couldn’t wait that long and had to leave, but were still kind enough to thank me for the gesture. I think some families waited over 2 hours after the … Read More
Here’s a thought…
I wonder if Pastors who like creating and writing messages in teams are naturally extroverted people? We have a creative planning meeting every week and we plan series titles, decor, and music. Yet I write my message alone. The creative team will throw some ideas my way, but I could never dream of writing my messages with a group of people because my messages tend to be very personal in nature. So, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to hear what you think and what you do. Are you introverted or extroverted and do you craft your messages in teams … Read More
Learning about Yourself
We took our whole staff through a Myers-Briggs personality test this week and it was amazing! I learned a lot about myself and the people I work with. We had a great time as we talked about our different personalities and how I drive the people I work with crazy! But I also learned a lot about how to schedule my life. I wasn’t surprised to learn that I am naturally an introvert. I’ve always felt bad that I totally feel awkward in social settings where I’m not teaching and I’m around a bunch of strangers. But learning that that … Read More
How Will I Know?
I relation to my last post, the question that comes up is, “How will I know if I haven’t let go and if everything is flowing through me?” I have found a really simple gauge: Go out of town and see how often your cell phone rings. When I go out with friends of mine who are Pastors, I am always alerted to this. If your staff is constantly calling, that means they don’t feel the freedom to make decisions without you. This is not good. In fact, it drives the best leaders away. When I was at Buzz last … Read More
Married Life
Last night we held our first Married Life event and it was great. Major props to our staff for making this a great time and for their creativity to make this night interactive and fun. What was amazing to me is that I had nothing to do with this. I was given a topic to speak on and I had no idea what else was going on until I got there. I think for Pastors this speaks a couple of things: #1 – It speaks trust because you aren’t getting your hands into everything. Nothing kills morale like having to … Read More
Outrage!
Chris Daughtry gone! Are you kidding me? I’m sorry, but Chris had the goods. I think this dude can sell records. Once again, I refer to several comments that I have made: America doesn’t know anything about music! We live in a country where people think P. Diddy is a musical artist. America, it’s time to “Just say no” to the crack you’re smoking! I loved this guy’s passion, the fact that he was a family man who wanted to do right by his wife and kids. This is the American dream. My only comfort is that he’s still going … Read More
Washington D.C. Pics
I posted a photo album of my recent trip to our nation’s capitol. So feel free to check it out. It’s got some sightseeing pics and photos of some of my Pastor peeps…
The good thing about having a cold…
Since my streak of not being sick is broken (“Illness free since 2003”), I’m learning the good things about having a cold: #1 – Sleep – I normally sleep about 6-7 hours a night. I think I took a 6 hour nap yesterday. Then I slept like a rock. It was glorious. #2 – No guilt for doing nothing – Right now, laying on the couch is my job. Plus, I don’t have the energy to get up. #3 – Reading – I’m going to try to at least read one book while I’m doing nothing (I guess if I’m … Read More
Down for the Count…
I got home from D.C. yesterday just before noon and I didn’t feel right. I studied until about 10:30 and then passed out on the couch. I woke up this morning and felt terrible. Carey gave me some weird concoction filled with vitamin C and felt good enough to teach this morning. I was delirious by the time I started teaching, so I just went for it. We’re in a series on marriage and today I talked to the guys on what it is to be a man. I felt so bad that I had no energy to sugar coat … Read More
Hanging with the “Buzzards”
Well, the Buzz conference is over. I have a bunch of thoughts that I’m going to post, but the biggest highlight for me was getting to connect with some guys that are in the trenches in their area. I think if the conference was on the subject of starting a Taco Bell franchise, I still would have gone just to hang out with these great leaders. So here are my impressions of some of the guys I got to spend time with: Gary Lamb said 3 of the funniest things I think I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately, I can’t repeat them … Read More
