In this new economy, churches seem to be feeling the sting of people losing their jobs. I'm hearing about churches cutting staff positions, cutting salaries, and cutting ministries. I'm thankful that in this new economic reality, we've seen a 31% increase in giving in 2009!  I believe the key to creating a culture of generosity in your church is to teach new believers that giving is basic Christianity. That's why we teach new believers about giving in our new believers' class and we encourage them to take the Tithe Challenge and see God's faithfulness in giving.  Generous people create a … Read More

– Today was amazing! We had a great crowd that was very receptive to a serious message.  – I taught Proverbs 3:1-35 on the subject of "How to be a Man of God" – I talked seriously to the guys about how to be a real man according to the Bible  – I talked to the girls about waiting for a man of God to show up and not settling for a chump.  – I think I got the most feedback I've ever gotten from a message.  – I'm praying for the men in our church to be the men … Read More

I got this question recently, so thought I'd post my answer:  "I see that you guys reach a lot of unchurched people. How do you help them take the next step after conversion?"   First, this is a fantastic question. It's the question that we should be obsessed with getting better at answering.  There's more than one issue here, but I'll give you a couple of important points:  1) Define what the next step is – People will generally follow the steps if you lay them out in a logical way and only share the steps one at a time. Share more than … Read More

The major reason new believers fall through the cracks in churches isn't because leaders don't care.  It's not because the friend who invited them don't care.  The #1 reason new believers fall through the cracks is because there is no intentional plan to lead them from a decision for Jesus to becoming a disciple of Jesus.  Peter Drucker said to start with the end in mind. The goal is want them to be mature. The key now is the develop an intentional process that leads them to maturity.   I believe the greatest stewardship we are given is the stewardship … Read More

As a dad, I spent countless hours getting the rooms ready for my kids. I spent all kinds of money getting the best furniture for their rooms.  The key is that I didn't wait until they got here to get prepared. Instead, I was ready before they got here.  Spiritually, the same principle applies. We need to be ready for the new believers who decide to follow Jesus in our churches.  That means having the materials we want to give them and a process to maturity.   In the last 2 years we've seen over 1,000 new believers decide to … Read More

One of the questions I get as a Senior Pastor has to do with how to manage staff.   There's several ways:  1. They clock in a certain amount of time 2. Constant supervision 3. Endless meetings  Here's how I manage staff. It's one word: results.  I'm not so concerned with the hours as I am with things getting done. This means that it's up to me to lay out what the results are. Too many times, Senior Pastors are frustrated with staff but it has nothing to do with the staff. It's the fact that the Senior Pastor has … Read More

– Great services this morning!  – I was surprised by how full the 1st service was. Lively bunch as well.  – Taught Proverbs 15:1-23. Talked about the power of our words.  – Got a lot of feedback about the message today.  – Some of the deepest hurts people have are scars that have come from words spoken by others.  – The band sounded great today! – Had a great time at Catalyst this week. – We finalized some decisions this week that we'll be rolling out soon. Some big things happening in 2010 for Calvary Fellowship!  – Met a bunch … Read More

– Had a great time at the Catalyst conference today.  – This is my 4th time at Catalyst (my 1st was 2003). Although I have the CD of every year of the conference.  – The AT&T service at the conference was been beyond horrible. In short, they stink!  – My highlights of the conference have had nothing to do with the sessions or the worship. MY favorite moments have been connecting with Pastors and catching up with friends.  – Being at events like this make me realize how important it is to get out of my routine. I have a … Read More

Our staff Pastors are headed to the Catalyst conference today. It's got me thinking about the importance of learning environments where we can grow. I talk to a lot of leaders and I am bit shocked by what I hear leaders cutting due to finances.  Many leaders are cutting coaching, resources, books, and conferences to balance the budget. If I can be so bold, cutting the things that are going to make you and your staff better leaders is equivilent to cutting off your arm so you can lose those last 10 pounds. Don't do it! The old saying goes … Read More

– Awesome day today!  – I taught Proverbs 6:6-11 on the subject of how to be successful in life.  – The ant teaches us so much.  – God was kind enough to allow ants into my house for the last 2 weeks to prepare me for this message.  – If it worked with ants, I told the church that I'm going to teach next week on, "How to handle a million dollar inheritance" 🙂 – The band did a great job as always. Our youth band led worship today. – Here's what blew me away: youth were leading worship and … Read More