– Awesome day today!  – Today was Xander's baby dedication (pictures forthcoming) – I read 1 Kings 2:2-3 to him. It was a special moment for our family.   – The Youth band led worship. They did a great job.  – I'm blown away by the level of talent we have at our church.  – I taught Proverbs 27 on the subject of real friendship. People seemed to be really moved by the message.  – After church we had a party at our house for Xander. It was great hanging out with friends.  – I'm taking Monday off. Seriously, I'm … Read More

– Great services today.  – I think the Dolphins game affected our attendance for the 1st service, but the 2nd service was rockin'! – Taught Proverbs 30:24-28 – The band sounded amazing! – Had one of our board members at church this morning. Loved hearing his feedback about all that's happening! – I love our volunteers! We have an amazing group of servants in our church. Every week they go out of their way to serve God and his people! And they do it all with a smile!  – This past week was absolutely crazy! Tons of meetings, but an … Read More

This is going to sound basic, but I can assure you that most churches never stop long enough to ask themselves these two questions:   #1 – Who are we best equipped to reach? #2 – Who are we currently reaching?   This is one of the reasons direct mail efforts fall flat. When a church hasn't pinpointed the people they are most likely to reach, they can't write the kind of copy that speaks the language of the intended audience, nor can they eliminate everyone else and go after those most likely to connect with their church.   Before … Read More

During the 1st 18 months of planting Calvary Fellowship, we did not see 1 person decide to follow Jesus at our church.  There were a few re-dedications, but no 1st time decisions.  This led to a bit of a personal crisis because I've always believed that evangelism and discipleship and the name of the game (so to speak).   What God did during this time was show me the importance of reaching out and the need to have a process of discipleship should God send new believers to our church.  Here's what happened: The 1st 18 months zero people decided to follow Jesus… over … Read More

– Great day Today!  – We did a combined service at 11 AM and had a full house.  – I think a couple of times a year it's good to get the whole church together  – I didn't teach. Pastor Mark taught and did a great job! – George did a great job leading worship. (He's going to be our band leader in Miramar) – I sat in service with Carey and did some MBWA (Managing by walking around) – I was also able to talk to a lot of people that I normally don't get a chance to catch … Read More

I talked about some budgeting tips yesterday. Here's a few more… 1. Don't use percentages when increasing your budget - Use actual dollars. (Thanks to Steve Stroope for teaching me this principle) 2. Add some "pad" – don't budget yourself right at 100% of your projected budget. Give yourself some room just in case things don't work out the way you planned.  3. Remember, it's a projected budget – That means just because the calendar strikes January 1, that doesn't mean your giving is going to increase just because you are projecting that it's going to.  4. Think through the "lean" … Read More

We are in full blown budget mode at Calvary Fellowship. I've seen more calculators in the last week than I have in the last 2 months around the office 🙂 Here's a few thoughts I'd share to church leaders about budgeting for 2010: 1. Remember that God's vision is bigger than yours (Eph. 3:20) 2. Remember the widow's mite (Mark 12) 3. Money spend on evangelism is not an expense, it's an investment (Matt. 28:19-20) 4. Ask, "Is this a want or a need?" (Phil. 4:19) 5. Am I being generous to missionaries and other organizations doing important kingdom work? (2 Cor. … Read More

– Awesome day today!  – I taught on the subject of parenting from Proverbs 20.  – This is the 1st year that I've taught on parenting. I didn't want to teach on it until I had some time under my belt 🙂 – I know I've mentioned it before, but I absolutely love teaching through Proverbs!  – We're continuing Proverbs through December and then we'll do a stand alone message the 1st Sunday of the year and then kick off a new series January 10th.   – The band was amazing today! These guys are an amazing bunch.   – … Read More

– Great Sunday! – I taught from Proverbs 21 on the subject of "How to be Wise with your Finances" – I spent about 10 minutes talking about tithing and 45 people decide to take the tithe challenge.  – I believe over 200 people have taken the tithe challenge this year at Calvary Fellowship!  – My favorite part is hearing the stories of how God "opens the windows of heaven" – I have always said that the key to an effective tithe challenge is in the follow up process you have – If you want to know what our follow … Read More

If you're going to help servants grow in their leadership, you need to decide what roles are of higher priority than others. For example, here is how this model plays out with our greeters:  Single A volunteer – person greeting on Sunday Double A volunteer – person overseeing that team of greeters that morning Triple A volunteer – person who oversees the greeter ministry  Major Leagues – Staff member who oversees our entire hospitality area The key is to move people as you see the potential in them flourish. I talk about this model in my book Zero to Sixty: … Read More