February 29, 2012 By 1 Comment

Will You Give Me a Dollar

With each stop on the Giving Rocket tour, we’ve been continuing a social experiment and project called Will You Give Me a Dollar.  Basically, we are asking people we meet to give us a $1 bill for no particular reason at all.  The results and conversations have been amazing.

While this is a fun project, we’re learning some serious things and writing a book about those learnings. Here’s a little glimpse into the New York City dollar-asking experience. For a little more on the experience, visit the Dollar site.

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February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Grace in the Old Testament

I recently finished reading Andy Stanley’s The Grace of God. Not only did I receive some tremendous encouragement and teaching, I thought the book would make for a great sermon series called “Grace in the Old Testament.” Most people don’t think of grace and the Old Testament together. In fact, some consider the Old Testament to be about the law and the New Testament to be about grace. But that’s a big mistake.

Here are a few title and subject ideas, inspired by various chapters in the book:

1. Grace in a Garden. God created an amazing environment that had just one rule – that’s something to consider about how God wants us to live. He gave humanity a purpose for living, a job, and company. Creation itself is a blessing and an act of grace.

2. Grace on Tablets of Stone. The ten commandments weren’t given to Israel until God had already established a relationship with His people.

3. Grace in the Belly of a Fish. The story of Jonah is really a story of grace. God gave Jonah a second chance, and the city of Nineveh a second chance. God isn’t interested in paying back people, but in bringing back people.

4. Grace for a Prostitute. In the story of Rahab, we see that God can punish sin but extend grace to the sinner.

5. Unending Grace. The life of David shows us that grace has no limit.

Have you ever preached on grace exclusively from the Old Testament? Maybe it’s time to give it a try.

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February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Jeff Foxworthy Wants You To Preach Better Sermons

Have you heard about Preach Better Sermons, a FREE online event with Andy Stanley, Dr. Charles Stanley, Louie Giglio, Perry Noble, Jud Wilhite, Vanable Moody and Jeff Foxworthy.  It’s happening on March 15 from 1-4 EST.  All of these communicators will be sharing practical information on preparation and delivery, all to help you become a better communicator.

Check out this short video with Jeff Henderson and Jeff Foxworthy, and be sure to register for the event.

Jeff Foxworthy Wants You to Preach Better Sermons from Preaching Rocket on Vimeo.

Filed Under: Church, Communication Tagged With: , , , , , ,
February 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

You Can’t Lead From Behind Your Desk

In 2006, when I was doing the leg-work that would lead to the launch of a brand new church, I spent a lot of time creating strategies and systems. I wrote every word on our website. I drew up some pretty charts.  I created a darn good strategic plan.

And all of those things, while foundational, did not directly result in one person joining our launch team or showing up to our grand opening service. Nobody ever showed up at church with a print out of something from our website claiming that our doctrinal statement on heaven is what drew them in.

A computer screen is my comfort zone. And I like my desk. I’d be perfectly happy behind a closed door surrounded by books and connected to blogs. Such is the life of an introvert.

But my introverted personality quickly turned into a relational obstacle, and I failed to realize this important lesson: Leadership involves people, not just paper.

While strategies are helpful (in fact, I believe they are essential) I allowed myself to get lost in them and missed the bigger picture.

Musicians are not going to be developed via twitter. You can put out a twitter APB for bass players, and someone may respond. But frequent calls for help is a sign that there isn’t a culture built on relationship and mission.

You cannot make disciples via Facebook. You can find out what vampire you are most like, or join the pirate army in the fight against the Sith Lords or maybe even discuss that obscure Old Testament passage in the One Hundred Million Christians Strong Studying the Old Testament Group, but for all the social that Facebook brings to media, life isn’t going to happen there. It might be a window into life, but it’s not real life.

If we are going to make a difference, it’s going to involve conversations. We’re going have to push back from our desks, leave the confines of our keyboards, and go out there and talk to people.

Maybe it’s time to stop creating sending status updates looking for musicians and go listen to some bands play. Maybe we should stop sending emails to groups of ten people hoping for one response and take someone for a cup of coffee.

I cannot force myself into being an extrovert. But If I want to be an effective leader, I’ve got to lead where people are. And that’s not from behind my desk.

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February 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

How Do You Create a System in the Church

Here’s a simple system for creating a system. (Ironic, isn’t it?)

1. Start with the end. Just like in communicating, start with the end. What do you want people to do, feel, or thing? What’s the desired outcome? If you can’t define a clear win, how will you know if the system works?

2. Get some people together. You can create a system on your own, but if it’s going to involve other people, you’re wise to involve them in the process. It’s hard for people to buy in to a process they didn’t help create.

3. Talk. Get out of the office and turn off the phones. Capture thoughts on a dry erase board or a sheet of paper. capture thoughts. Argue, debate and discuss.

4. Write it down. I’m convinced that God wrote the 10 Commandments on tablets of stone because Moses would have gotten them wrong if he tried to remember. If you want people to be on the same page, put some words on an actual page.  And if you’d rather start with 100+ templates instead of 100+ blank pages, grab Docs and Forms.

5. Review. Systems aren’t eternal – they evolve and change over time, Review them on a regular basis.

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February 24, 2012 By 1 Comment

When Do You Need to Create a System in Church?

If you do it more than once, then you should create a system around it. Decide HOW you’re going to do it, and each time you do it, it gets a little easier. Here are some examples of where systems can help:

1. Sermon writing. Since you do it every week, what can you do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual process to make your prep time more meaningful?  This is just one of the things Preaching Rocket is going to help you do.

2. Finances. You can build systems around counting money, thanking donors, communicating with your donor base, reporting and accountability. Think of all the repetitive tasks involved in church finances. Build systems so you don’t make mistakes.  Nothing will be better than Giving Rocket to help with this.

3. Hiring. Getting your hiring system right is more important than your next hire. Create the steps you’ll go through each and every time you need to identify and fill a staff role.  A hiring process is a part of Docs and Forms.

4. Planning events. How many of your events happen every year? Decide in advance when you’re going to start planning and promoting. Build a system and stop reacting to the calendar.

There are just four areas where healthy systems can really help.

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February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Why Systems Matter in the Church

Today is part two in a series on systems in the church.  Today, I want to talk about why systems matter.  Here are three reasons.

1. Many of the problems you face are systems problems, not people problems. You can blame a person, but a good person in a bad system will produce mediocre results. If you fix the system, you’ll see better results.

2. You will save money. There’s a very real, tangible benefit to getting yourself organized – you’ll save real money. How much money is wasted because of poor planning. Rush jobs, overnight shipping, and high premiums can be avoided with some extra time that healthy systems will give you.

3. Systems allow volunteers to function at a higher level. If you create a good framework around your people, you’ll see them soar to a higher level. Too many times, we make the mistake of handing something broken and ineffective to a volunteer in the hopes that they can fix it. But nobody wants to jump on a sinking ship. Create a good system, THEN volunteers can thrive.

Up Next:  When to create a system and how to do it.

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February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Your Church Needs Good Systems

A lot of people talk about the necessity of having good systems in the church, yet many churches don’t have them. In the next few series of posts, I want to talk about what systems are, when you need them and how to create them.

What is a system? Let me give you a few metaphors.

  • Systems are like pipes inside the wall of a house. You don’t want to see pipes, but without them, the toilet won’t flush. Pipes may not be pretty, but they are incredibly useful.
  • The body is a collection of several systems – there’s the digestive system, reproductive system, and neurological system. All of these systems work together. When one gets out of whack, the whole body is like that.
  • We live on Earth, which is the third planet in the solar system, created by God with a specific set of parameters. A slight variation in the earth’s axis and we spiral into space.
  • My computer runs on an operating system (OS 10.5 to be exact). If I have a problem with my operating system, my software won’t work. Downloads and apps are useful, but without an operating system, they are useless.

The church works like this. It’s organized mission. Focused passion. In order to have a healthy church, you need to have healthy systems. You can be missional, attractional, organic, passionate, evangelistic or any other buzz word, but if you’re not organized, then whatever you’re doing isn’t going to work as well as it should.

Stay tuned for some practical help on this important issue.

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February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

25% off The Egg Drop Manual

Easter is about 50 days away, and if you act this week, you’ve still got time to plan and execute an Egg Drop, a cool outreach event that can help you invite a ton of people to church.  I’ve got a resource that will give you a step-by-step plan to make it happen.  Use the code EASTER and get 25% off.  

The PDF will teach you these things:

  • How to get a massive amount of volunteers to sign up at once
  • Where to purchase supplies
  • How to plan the details of your event
  • One decision that will save you thousands of dollars
  • How to connect those who attend to the ministry of your church
  • How to pre-register people for the event
  • How to promote the event for your community
  • How to keep children and parents safe
  • How to follow up with those who attend

In addition, you’ll get all kinds of documents and resources, including:

  • Layererd graphics, logos, and design elements.
  • A frequently asked questions handout given out at registration
  • Volunteer sign up form and master list
  • Candy donation request letter
  • Press Reselease
  • Schedule
  • Sponsor and Vendor applications
  • Master planning timeline

Get the resource here, and remember, use the code EASTER to save 25%.

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February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Stuff I Starred

After a few weeks addressing other topics, here’s a list of stuff I clipped into evernote, favorited on Twitter or starred on Google Reader.  It’s the 15th Stuff I Starred List:

  • Loved this post about hovering parents.  You know…the kind of mom or dad who is always there, never lets their kid try anything new, and probably makes the kid wash their hands.
  • Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • The pessimist complains about the wind; The optimist expects it to change; The realist adjusts the sails. – William A. Ward
  • I need one of these.  But I guess I’d have to jailbreak my iPad.
  • Brilliant post about why you should never retweet compliments.
  • Tim Keller writes about New York’s decision to ban churches from meeting at schools, effectively kicking out about 60 congregations. (A court issued a 10-day injunction yesterday, buying a little more time.)
  • Skye Jethani writes about Biblical masculinity.
  • “The best investment decision I’ve ever made is the decision to tithe.” – Truett Cathy, @ChickfilA. #2012TitheChallenge (via @jeffhenderson)
  • Scary study: Nearly half of seniors die with less than $10,000 in financial assets. money.us/AjWhtq @nberpubs
  • “It is all the same to me if a man comes from Sing Sing Prison or Harvard. We hire a man, not his history.” – Henry Ford #potsc (via @sarahcunning)
  • Wonder what happens to all those pre-printed championship shirts from the losing team?  Here’s the answer.
  • Jesus’ core team wasn’t exactly a crack squad of theologian-creatives. Pastors/planters, don’t idolize an idealized A-Team. – @jaredcwilson
  • To exceed a guest’s expectations, take time to see things from their perspective and go the “extra inch.” – @DisneyInstitute // I love the phrase “the extra inch”
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