Well, after teasing our church with this name change that we’ve been talking about for months, we are going to unveil, reveal, unleash (whatever you want to call it) our new name and modified mission statement this Sunday! I am so excited to get back! I feel like it’s been 2 months since I’ve been gone and it’s only been 2 weeks…

I taught at a really cool, growing church this morning. It was a lot of fun to see all that God is doing outside of the 4 walls of CCML. Yet after all 3 services, I missed the group that calls CCML home. I hear people say that it’s good for the Pastor to not teach sometimes because it allows people to appreciate what they get every week. But I’m learning that it’s good for Pastors to teach somewhere else now and again so WE can appreciate what we have too. I can’t wait to get back…

#1 – We count the ceiling tiles of EVERY building we walk into #2 – We tell the people around us how EVERY building could be turned into a church #3 – Every place we visit needs a new church and WE’RE the ones to do it! #4 – We’re constantly observing the services of every establishment we walk into #5 – We take EVERYTHING that isn’t bolted down in other churches we visit #6 – We listen to most other preachers in the same manner Simon Cowell listens to American Idol Contestants #7 – Just about anything CAN AND … Read More

Church Marketing Sucks has a great post today about the lack of originality in the church.   Read it here. God is creative and we are created in His image.  So let’s get creative and beat the world at its’ own game!    

I am a huge Star Trek fan! I used to watch the original series with my grandmother when I was a kid and I never stopped watching. I thought about that when I heard the news that James Doohan (Scotty) died today. There’s something that happens to me when I hear the news that someone I know or know or has died. I get this feeling that the clock is ticking on my life as well. It made me think about the church that I have the privilege of leading. There are people who are going to show up this … Read More

What if we changed the way we did conferences in the church? Instead of all the megachurch Pastors teaching how they went from 0-10,000, what if we took a new approach? What if Pastors of churches around 1,000 taught church leaders of churches under 1,000. Then the churches around 5,000 taught the church leaders of those between 1,000 and up. I know there’s a million factors as to why many people wouldn’t go for this (Mainly because there are much more smaller churches than larger ones and I would venture to say most of the conference tickets are purchased by … Read More

Todd over at MMI had a great post yesterday about the adverse affects conferences can have on Pastors.  While I have never personally experienced this from attending a conference, I have felt this after reading books or hearing the stories of other churches.  I felt like a loser when I read Rob Bell’s story and heard about 10,000 people attending in 6 years.  (A note to those that are anti-numbers: I know this isn’t the only way to measure a church’s effectiveness, but we can’t ignore that it is A way to measure)  What I’ve come to the conclusion of … Read More

I am so excited about church this Sunday because we are having a special Communion service. We haven’t had Communion together as a church in a while, so I am really excited about all that our team has put together. The service is called “Encounter”, and we talking about how we can encounter God in the most unlikeliest of places. I can’t wait! I get like this when I’ve been on vacation for more than 4 days. But I’m realizing that what I’m feeling is how I should always feel when I think of experiencing Communion. That’s why we don’t … Read More

I talk to Pastors and they tell me what style of church they have: traditional, contemporary, Purpose-Driven, seeker-sensitive, etc… I’ve told our church that I figured out what type of church we are: we’re an “experimental church.” We just want to be a place where God can conduct experiments. That means some stuff we do is awesome and and innovative, but the downside is that some stuff we try makes your skin turn green and you develop a weird itch. The point is that as leaders we need to create a culture of change. The only way I know to … Read More

Well if you aren’t aware, 5.19.06 is the release date for Ron Howard’s new film, The Da Vinci Code, based on the book by best-selling author, Dan Brown.  You can watch the trailer here.  I read the book (Actually, I listened to it on my ipod, but close enough) and I thought the story was great.  Theologically, the book is whack!  I heard people talking about it as if it were a religious book and I felt compelled to read it (Or listen).  I was talking with my dentist (Which is no small feat when they are jamming their utensils … Read More