I just got a DVD in the mail from my message at the Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference (thanks Rod).  Honestly, I don’t know how guys watch themselves every week!  I watched about 10 minutes and it was rough for me.  Plus, I was watching the message on my Powerbook when a staff member walked into my office.  I don’t know, it just felt weird.  I’m sure there’s a ton of value in watching yourself teach.  There’s probably a million little annoying habits I have that I have no clue because I never watch myself.  But man, this is tough!  … Read More

We’re kicking off a brand new series this Sunday! It’s called, “Walk on”. Many times we’re looking for God to be somewhere other than where we are right now. I believe the reason is because we don’t see Him working in the here and now. But instead of looking somewhere else, if we will simply “Walk on”, we’ll find Him in our circumstances now! It’s going to be a study through the book of Numbers. I’m really excited about it. I’ve been studying this for the last couple of months. I’m about ready to explode with what I’m learning!

Tonight went great. People were totally into the message. While I didn’t like the delivery as much, I felt the message content was better than when I taught it the 1st time to the folks at our church. I love talking about how God created us uniquely. The message was called, “Cookie Cutter” and I was pumped to see people understand that becoming a Christian isn’t about being conformed into some cookie cutter, boring image of people who don’t have any fun and walk around looking like they’ve been baptized in lemon juice. But instead it’s about being set free … Read More

I’m looking forward to teaching an 8-week series on Wednesday nights at a friend’s church starting tonight.  I’m basing the series off my book "elements".  I love teaching.  I can’t get enough of it.  Whether people love listening is another story all together.  But I like checking out other fellowships and seeing what God is doing, hopefully steal (I mean, borrow) a few good ideas that we can use at our place.  I should be fun… 

My buddy Bryon was at the Southeast Pastor’s conference where I taught last week.  He gave a review of the message and highlighted some of my main points.  Amazingly, from his notes, it seems as though he didn’t even doze off once!  You can read the review here if you’re so inclined…

Since we started podcasting a couple of weeks ago, I’ve expanded my podcast subscriptions.  But I’d like to know who’s podcasts you’re subscribed to and listening to.  Maybe you can uncover a gem that some of us haven’t heard yet.  Here’s who I’m subscribed to: Myself (Yes, I’m that vain) Bob Coy (Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale)Erwin McManus (Mosaic)Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Seattle)Rick McKinley (Imago Dei)Damian Kyle (Calvary Chapel Modesto) Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa) Greg Laurie (Harvest Christian Fellowship) Ed Young (Fellowship Church)Tony Morgan (Simply Strategic Show)Wayne Cordiero (New Hope Hawaii) Baseball Prospectus Radio So what’s your list?

As a Pastor that uses a slide presentation every time he teaches, I wanted to share a discovery that I made several months ago that I haven’t heard many people talking about on the blogosphere.  If you’re a Mac user, my friend, start using Keynote.  If you’re not a Mac user, you have bigger problems than your presentation program.  I had dabbled in Keynote a little when it came out, but I have since become a believer.  Why you ask?  #1 – It’s easier to use than PowerPoint – Not that PowerPoint is really hard to use, but when you … Read More

Besides our Christmas Eve-Eve service on Friday, my preaching year is done.  But I think it ended on a high note.  I feel great about the series we just completed.  I spend 5 weeks going through Ruth in a series called, "Love Story".  We feel like it’s the best series we’ve done as a churchin our 5-year history!  I’m very proud of the messages and all the other elements were great!  Our band has never sounded better.  The video intros each were fantastic!  I’m looking forward to January and a new series on what the church is.  We’re calling it … Read More

I always enjoy reading Perry Noble’s blog and I enjoyed his post from the other day about his favorite communicators.  Not surprisingly, his favorite communicators are mine as well.  But it got me thinking, "Everyone has heard of Rob Bell, Andy Stanley, Bill Hybels, and Erwin McManus.  But who is in the next tier that we haven’t heard of but should know about.  Who are the guys that we will be hearing about in a couple of years that are doing great things, they just haven’t hit a national platform yet?  Anyone have some suggestions?

In light of my past post, I didn’t want to give the impression that I don’t listen to great communicators as research for message preparation. I do. It’s one of my favorite parts of preparing a talk or series. But what I’ve learned to do over the last couple of years is to decide where I’m going with the message or individual message before I listen to outside stuff. This way I’m able to hear from God and get my ideas out before I hear someone else’s take on it. I teach my staff that teaching is like what Jesus … Read More