Selah

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I was  with a friend the other day and asked how work was going.
I explained our free trial model – how we let people test drive our coaching programs for 14 days.
And then I explained how tough it was for me to see so many people decide not to move forward. Highs and lows.  Hills and valleys.
I hate those cancel emails.  I laugh a little when the email says, “I can’t afford this….sent from an iPad.”  Because I want to serve everyone and help everyone, it’s slightly depressing when I don’t get the opportunity.
Now I know people who don’t use English as their primary language, ministers who don’t speak often, and people who generally don’t value coaching aren’t a good fit for our program, but still…
That’s why I was so glad to get Brian’s email yesterday from this pastor, who said:
Before preaching Rocket, I got to the point I was not looking forward to Sunday.  It was always there.  Always preparing.  Now, I feel so relaxed and my level of confidence is exponentially higher.  I am honoring God and He is honoring me.
If I don’t pause to let that sink in, I will get overly worried about all the things that are wrong and need to be fixed.
In the book of Psalms, you come across the word Selah.  That was the writers way of telling people to pause and consider God’s message, to let the weight of the previous sentence sink in.  It’s a modern day “think about that.”
It’s a reminder from the Psalmist to say there are more important things.
And so we are helping Pastor Rey honor God.
Selah.
 
That one little word brings much needed perspective to business, parenting and life.
There are a lot of things I don’t have, but there are many things I do have.  Selah.
There are lot of opportunities I could pursue, but I have three children at home who need their dad.  Seleh.
There are a lot of people who complain, but then there are some people who are helped.  Seleh.
I’m praying you have a seleh moment today.

 

Filed Under: Personal

Meet Jack Carrol, a 14-year old Comedian with Cerebral Palsy

May 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Jack Carrol is a 14-year old comedian with Cerebral Palsy who appeared on Britian’s Got Talent.

“I’ve still got it..it won’t go away,” he says. ”I use it in my act, because your weakness can be your strength.”  There are a lot of reason why you might not be able to do something, but then there’s Jack Carrol.

As I watched the video, several thoughts raced through my mind.

  • Laughter brings people from diverse backgrounds together.  It really is a common language.
  • Finding your unique message is so important.  Everyone needs to find their angle and develop their voice.
  • Reasons don’t have to become excuses.  There are lots of reasons Jack Carrol can’t be a comedian.  But he has no excuses.

What did you think as you watched this video?  What is your inspiration for overcoming excuses?

 

Filed Under: Communication, Personal Tagged With: , ,

Ten Things I Want My Girls to Know

April 16, 2013 by 1 Comment

girls

Jennie and I have two daughters.  Our oldest is 11 and our youngest is about to turn 8.  I am blessed to be their dad.  The other day, I sketched out a list of ten things I try my hardest to teach them. Ten things I want them to know and deeply believe.  Here is that list.

  1. I will always love you no matter what. I tell them this every night I put them to bed, because I want them to know there’s nothing they could do that would make me stop loving them.
  2. It doesn’t take strength to fit in, but it does to stand up.
  3. Think about your own actions, but think about other people’s feelings.  I get this backwards too many times.
  4. God provides second chances.  Proverbs 28:13.
  5. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.  I want my girls to do hard things.
  6. Following Jesus is worth it.  Psalm 1.  I’ve never regretted this decision, and neither will they.
  7. Don’t get caught in the comparison trap.  Proverbs 24:1.  My pastor once said, “There’s no win in comparison.”
  8. Responsibility and freedom go together.  I can’t believe how fast they are growing up, but as they show more and more responsibility by making the wise choice, they will get more and more freedom.  Like Jesus said, if they are faithful with a little, they will be trusted with a lot.
  9. Get advice from wise people, not just popular people.  Proverbs 13:20.  I want my girls to have wise people in their lives, people they will trust for advice.  I know there will come a time when they will listen to someone else and not me.
  10. Love other people.  People who look and act different.  People who can’t do anything for you in return.
Filed Under: Personal Tagged With:

Take Some Time to Look Back

March 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

In reading through the Bible chronologically, I was struck by how many times God’s people built altars. It seems like at every significant event, they built a physical altar and made a sacrifice in order to remember God’s faithfulness.

On more than one occasion, people have asked about my regrets leading a local church. There are many things, but one big one is I wish I had looked back more. This is tough for a visionary leader like me, and if you’re a visionary leader, I bet you can relate. It’s normal and natural for me to look forward, and when the deed is done, I’m on to the next thing.

We should have spent as much time celebrating a win on the back end as I spent communicating the vision on the front end. If I spent three weeks announcing something, I should have spent three weeks celebrating it.

One of the reasons I look forward instead of back is because looking forward feels like accomplishing something. It’s a positive motion, and requires my natural ability to communicate. Looking back is more etherial – it’s more stories than points.

But God dropped altars into the life and rhythm of his people – to force them to slow down, look back and remember. God built holidays and festivals and celebrations into their culture to teach them how to look back.

In a world that moves so fast, I think I need to pause and look back more. On successes, failures, memories and moments. We should tell more stories and solidify learning in the process. It’s what I do when I get tighter with my college friends who still live in Florida. We may only see each other once or twice a year, but when we get together, we tell stories of high school and college. The same stories we’ve told over and over again never get old. They are altars of memories.

If you’re a leader, you’re probably doing a good job looking forward. But how are when it comes to looking back. Maybe today is a good day to build an altar.

Filed Under: Leadership, Personal Tagged With: , , ,

Thankful

March 7, 2013 by 1 Comment

It’s not Thanksgiving, but I wanted to list out a few things I’m thankful for today.

  • Second chances and forgiveness.  A couple of years ago, I thought my life was over, but God the Redeemer wasn’t done.  I’m thankful there is no sin too big for Jesus and that God is still in the redemption business.
  • My wife.  I’m so thankful she was willing to stay, work through things and fight for our marriage. She is the best person I know.
  • My three kids.  They mean the world to me.  Matthew is my youngest and he loves throwing the football in the yard.  Emma is my middle child and she loves animals.  Lauren is my oldest and she loves reading and writing.  If you think I brag about my kids a lot on Twitter, it’s because they are awesome.
  • Casey Graham.  Casey was one of the first people to run into my mess and has been a good friend to me over the years.  He didn’t give up on me, and I’m grateful for that. I get to work with Casey every day.
  • West Ridge and Brian Bloye.  This was the church that helped us launch a church when we were brand new to Atlanta.  I love their heart for their community, church planting and missions.  It’s contagious.  And thanks to their leadership, the mission of Oak Leaf continues even though some of the people and the name is different.  I’ve always been thankful and will always be thankful for West Ridge Church and Brian Bloye.  Yes, I do miss Oak Leaf Church, but I’m still grateful.
  • My friends who still live in Florida.  I went to junior high, high school and college with the same group of friends, and when we get down to Florida, we get the chance to hang out.  I love this group of guys.
  • The Rocket Company.  I’m so thankful that God has allowed us to serve thousands of pastors across the world.  I’m grateful and thankful to go to work every day.  Through Giving Rocket, we get to help churches have more money for ministry.  Through Preaching Rocket, we get to help pastors preach better sermons.
  • The local church.  A lot of people are cynical about the local church, but I love the church, even with all her scrapes and bruises.  Little churches with steeples and fancy megachurches with bands…they all matter.
  • Encouraging friends on Twitter.  You might think social media is a waste of time, but dozens of Twitter people have really encouraged me over the last few years.
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A Short Tour of My Home Office

February 27, 2013 by 1 Comment

I work from home several days a week so I thought I would show you how my home office is set up.  Here’s a short video tour.

Here are a couple of the things I mentioned in the video.

Filed Under: Leadership, Personal Tagged With: ,

I’ve Got A Personal Favor to Ask You

February 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

IMG_2088

This has nothing to do with church, leadership or getting organized.

For the past six months, my daughter Lauren (she’s in the 5th grade) and I have been going to breakfast on Saturday mornings and she’s been working on a children’s book.  The book is about a bald clown named Hairy who loses his funny and has to work a boring job.  She’s outlined the book, interviewed real clowns, written a draft, gotten feedback, and worked with an illustrator.  The story is all hers.

She wants to publish the book so I set up a Kickstarter campaign for her.  I’m asking you to head to that page right now and be a backer.  She’s set up some cool rewards including a signed book, a private reading and drawing you or your kids right into one of the illustrations. The money will go to finish all 30 of the illustrations, layout the book, and print the first copies.

Also, would you share the link hairytheclown.com with all of your friends? It would really mean a lot to us if you’d support this project.

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An Update on My Annual Goals

February 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Nue Year Wall Calendar

January is gone and February is here, so I thought I would give an update on my 2013 Personal Development Plan.  Setting good goals is one thing, but actually working to reach them is far more difficult.  I’m happy to say I feel good about where I am.

  • I listened to 14 sermons, mostly from Bill Hybles, Tullian Tchividiian and Andy Stanley. 
  • I worked out 20 times, mostly on my elliptical machine at home.  I enjoy watching The West Wing at the same time.
  • I read Every Good Endeavor (Here are my raw notes) by Tim Keller.  1776 by David McCullough is next.
  • I’ve gone on four dates with Jennie. One of them involved discussing our family budget over bagels.  But that still counts! One was a double date with friends – that’s always fun.
  • I’m scribbling notes on my NueYear wall calendar to keep track of all of this.  I love seeing progress and the calendar in my office helps keep me on track.
  • My oldest daughter and I have been working on her book, and she should have the rough draft done in February.  Her book is called “The Clown That Lost His Funny” and it’s really good.
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Automate What’s Important

January 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, I worked on a resource with my fiend Casey Graham to help pastors lead their church to automate giving. Not only would it help the church smooth out their budget during slower summer months, it was a way to help church members be more faithful in an area Jesus said was important. We thought if churches could help their people automate their giving (something they wanted to do anyway), it would be a good thing. So a resource called Automate the Important was born.

Casey put some language to what I’ve always seen as a benefit.

“Automation trumps determination,” he told me. That means that making something automatic is more effective than just trying to remember it and make it happen. “Automation trumps inspiration,” he said. That means that making something automatic works better than inspiration, which surely wears off after a short time period.

But this principle isn’t just true about finances int he church. Here are a few of the things we automate in our house. Not all of them have to do with money.

1. Giving. Jennie and I have been married for about 14 years, and we’ve tithed to every church we’ve attended. It’s just something we do, and I believe God has blessed it. Years ago, we would bring checks and envelopes. Today, we just set up an online payment from our bank. It’s automatic and we don’t have to remember. Because it is a priority to us, we just automate it.

2. Savings. If we have something coming up, like buying a new car or going on a family vacation, we use an online savings account to save for that project. We contribute automatically, not just when we feel like it. We also contribute set amounts of money each month to our long term savings.

3. Tasks on the calendar. My automation isn’t limited to finances.. I use a program called THINGS as a to-do list. But I have about 30 tasks that are automated, meaning they show up on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. These are things that I want to do regularly, so I don’t rely on my memory to get to them. My task manager reminds me automatically.

4. Buying stuff like coffee and razors. We order coffee from Counter Culture (after going to a cupping there, I was hooked on high-quality, single-origin coffee). Every month, two bags of coffee is automatically delivered. Not long ago, I set up a subscription to Dollar Shave Club.  I’m looking for more ways to automatically get what I buy on a regular basis.

What’s your experience with automation?  Have you found that automating important things helps you be more consistent?

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What President Obama SHOULD Have Said About Louie Giglio

January 10, 2013 by 8 Comments

While I was not aware of the sermon Mr. Giglio preached in the 1990s and might not agree with his current position on the issue of homosexuality, I welcome his prayers at the inauguration.

I invited Mr. Giglio to deliver an inaugural prayer not because of his political opinions, but because of his faith in God.  Pastor Giglio is one of the nation’s leading voices in the area of human trafficking, an important issue not just around the world but within our borders.

Not only do I stand by my invitation to Pastor Giglio to pray at the inauguration, I invite all Americans to visit enditmovement.com and get involved.  It’s easy to talk, but action is more important.

I deeply regret the dispersion cast on Pastor Giglio from groups supposedly interested in providing equal freedom for all people and delivered through the media.  Personal attacks in the name of tolerance violate the very essence of the word.

Tolerance does not mean we tolerate those who agree with us.  It means we are willing to respect and honor those from all walks of life. It means we respond with respect to all people, even those with whom we disagree.  Especially with those with whom we disagree.

As the President of the United States, I ask for the prayers of all Americans, those who share the beliefs of this administration and those who do not.

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