I’m going to spend the week reviewing some great books that I’ve read over the last couple of weeks. But I did want to mention that Nelson Searcy and I just did a podcast covering what we thought were the top 8 books of 2008. You can listen to the podcast here. It was tough to narrow it down to just 8 books, but I hope they are a benefit to you as you think about what to read in 2009.
How Do you Budget During Times Like This?
I’ve spend a lot of time talking with Pastors over the last month about budgeting. Unfortunately, there isn’t a ton of information out there to help guys figure out how to budget during the strange times we’re living in. So here’s a few thoughts I’ve been sharing about budgeting with the Pastors I interact with: 1. Be conservative – I’d rather be conservative now and change the budget mid-year because we have a surplus. But I don’t want to paint myself into a corner by approving a budget hat is too aggressive. 2. Be Realistic – I think you can … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Today was good despite the madness of the week. – We found out Wednesday afternoon that we wouldn’t be able to meet at the school this weekend. The reason? The superintendent decided to shut don the power to the schools to cut down on their $88 million dollar deficit. As you know, cutting income streams is best way to fix a money problem 🙂 – The staff handled it like pros. They called our old theatre and by 3PM we were on for Sunday at the Theatre. – Service was light, which is to be expected on the least … Read More
Book Review: The Purpose of Christmas
I’m a big fan of Rick Warren’s, so when I saw “The Purpose of Christmas” I naturally picked it up. I really this book. I thought it was just going to be a transcription of a series by the same name that he did a couple of years ago, but it was much more. I think this book is a great evangelistic tool as well as a great resource for Pastors who have to write Christmas messages every year 🙂 I encourage you to pick up the book. I believe you’ll enjoy the conversational style and the heavy Scriptural content.
The Portable Church Challenge
Since we started Calvary Fellowship in the year 2000, we’ve been portable, meeting in several different locations over the years. Needless to say, we’ve learned a thing or two about being a portable church and reaching people. Because of our desire to help portable churches, Nelson Searcy and I recorded a resource called, “The Portable Church Challenge” where we talk about the 10 commandments of being portable. I’m really proud of this recording and I believe it will be very helpful to churches that don’t have a permanent location. I’ve consulted with many portable churches and many of them tend … Read More
Sunday Stuff…
– Today was awesome! – Today was the 1st service in the school that was totally flawless. It was amazing! – Taught on the Second Coming today. – I’m going to do a whole series on this in March, but I whet everyone’s appetite today. – The place was in an uproar over the fact that I wore a tie 🙂 Yes, I own a few and will break them out a couple of times a year. – I’m looking forward to our next series “Trees” for December. Should be fun. – We had several of our lead set up … Read More
Die Hard Fans
Listen, I’m a huge Red Sox fan, but I think this might be taking it over the top…
Book Review: The New Gold Standard
If you’ve never experienced at night at the Ritz-Carlton, then you’re missing out on some of the greatest customer service available on the planet. That’s why I’m so glad that Joseph Michell wrote “The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company”. The book was incredibly thorough and tells the story of the Ritz-Carlton not just for the sake of telling a good story, but to paint the picture of their commitment to serve those that are staying at their hotel. I was blown away by the commitment to the … Read More
Book Review: Creating Magic
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, then you know that I’m a huge fan of Disney. I’ve probably been to Disney World more than 30 times and I look forward to going every chance I get. What I’ve also become a fan of is their leadership and training materials. Their book, “Be our Guest” is required reading on our staff as Disney has really set the bar on how to create a “Wow” experience. So when I saw that the Disney Institute had put out a book on leadership, I ordered Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense … Read More
