I was sitting in Barnes and Noble the other night and as I look at the people around me, one guy was reading a comic book and the other guy was reading a book on coloring (I'm not kidding).   I'm at my orthodontist's office yesterday and one person is reading a magazine and two others are texting their friends.  The bottom line is this: it's not that we don't have enough time to do the important things.  It's that we waste a lot of time.  It's one of the reasons I stopped Twittering.  I began to see it as a waste … Read More

I get asked a lot of questions about my reading habits, I'll give you one that has been extremely helpful for me: I don't read books simply to gather everything that a book has to say.  Instead, I'm trying to find the message that the book is trying to teach me.   Descriptive reading is when I read a book about leadership and the writer explains what he or she has done to make them a better leader.   Prescriptive reading is when you read the same book and ask the question, "What is this person trying to teach me … Read More

A friend recommended that I take the DISC profile. So I took it today… and it totally nailed me!   According to the test, I am a high "D".  Apparently, it means I like to be charge.   It was a little harsh, but it described me perfectly. We are going to have every person we potentially hire take this test.  

– Good Sunday.   We were down a little, but it was still a good turnout.   – We finished our Fuel Series (which I really enjoyed teaching)  – Band was great as usual.   – After not being there last weekend, it was great to be back and I was blessed to think that I get to be the Pastor of this church.  I don't deserve this kind of blessing, but I'm thankful for it.   – I talk to church leaders all the time and what's happening at Calvary Fellowship isn't happening everywhere.  I need to be reminded … Read More

I can honestly say that the last 2 years have been the happiest of my life.  After 10 years of waiting and praying, our daughter Mia was born and she has been an absolute joy.  Since coming into our lives, everything has been different.  I see life through her eyes.  I never used to look at the moon. But now, when we walk outside at night, she stops me and says, "Papi, moon."  She's changed the way I view my relationship with God.  For that, I will always be thankful.  Carey and I are happier than ever and now that … Read More

We're starting a new series in the book of Revelation on February 8th.  So I decided to do these 5 minute talks to get our church ready for this series.  Plus, once the series starts, it will give me an opportunity to talk about the things that get cut out of my message due to time.  So it will be like a "director's cut" of my messages each week.  Here's the 1st installment…

I heard Jeffry Gitomer speak recently on CD and it was great. So I picked up his book "Customer Satisfaction is worthless… Customer loyalty is Priceless".  This was a great book.   It caused to think about every great experience I've had at a business or church.  It also reminded me of the nightmare experiences I've had. What the book really made me think about was, what kind of experience are people having when they come to Calvary Fellowship?  Are we being intentional about making sure people have a WOW experience every time they show up?   I want people … Read More

I make sure I read several books on communication every year. But when I picked up, "You've got to be Believed to be Heard" by Bert Decker, I knew I had a winner. This was a great book. Full of great insights, wisdom, humor and practical help that can make anyone a better speaker. Most books start out well and fizzle towards the end. The book was the opposite. It started good and just got better. The basic idea of the book is that people won't receive our message until they first find us believable and credible. If you're a Pastor, … Read More

I've hinted at this over the last week or 2, but I was holding off on sharing it until the ink dried.  I just signed a book contract for my new book "Zero to Sixty: 60 Principles and Practices for Leading a Growing Church".   I spend the last 6 months writing this book and I just submitted the manuscript.  The book should be out by Easter.  The publisher (the same folks who put out Tim Stevens' "Pop goes the church") isn't a huge company, so they're able to move fast and get the book out quicker than many other publishers.  … Read More

I've spent the 1st part of this week in Merritt Island at the Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastors' Conference. It has been great to catch up with some old friends and listening to some great teaching. Today (Wednesday) we're headed to Orlando so I can lead an assimilation seminar on Thursday.   If you're thinking about going to the seminar, the link is here.  It's a great opportunity to bring your whole team and think through how to keep the 1st time guests that God sends to our churches.    Carey and Mia have been with me on this trip, which has been … Read More