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Loneliness... This Weeks Sermon

I am stoked about this Sunday. This is the last of a 4 part series on "Got Baggage." I think this will be the best one yet. There are some GREAT things happening at Life Point now and coming up. We are going to have some HUGE announcements in a couple of weeks for some stuff we are going to be doing in the coming months. All I can tell you is if you miss THIS Sunday, you may miss the best service we have had yet. NO KIDDING!!!

Also, our web site is almost done and it will be AWESOME. Kudos to my buddy Matt at Factor 1 Studios for all the work. Matt is on our team ex parte and will be doing our graphics for all our sermon series as well as getting us up and running for the web. Oh the web site will offer each sermon in audio AND video. Also for all you church planters, we will be offering ALL our resources for each sermon FREE. Yes FREE. Everything. Stay Tuned!!! More great stuff to come!!!

What I Expect From Staff

Mark Batterson had a great post a while back on what he expects from his staff. As we develop the Life Point staff I think his thoughts are right on the money:

1) I expect loyalty. I've got your back and you've got my back.

2) I expect you to be growing spiritually. This is my primary concern. It is so easy for those of us in full-time ministry to seek God for others instead of seeking God for ourselves. We've got to do ministry out of the overflow of what God is doing in our lives!

3) I expect a positive attitude. Attitude really is everything. And I've learned that how much you enjoy ministry depends on who you're doing ministry with. Let me just say it like it is: negativity sucks. Literally. It sucks the life out of a staff.

4) I expect staff to verbalize rather than internalize. I want a staff culture where people can have tough conversations about tough topics. Life is too short to hold a grudge. My philosophy of conflict is John 1:14. Jesus was full of grace and full of truth. Truth means I'm going to be honest no matter what. Grace means I'm going to love you no matter what.

5) I expect staff to have fun. We all have bad days. We all have long days. But if ministry isn't enjoyable you need to get out of the game! The top quality I look for in prospective staff, besides a thriving relationship with Christ, is a sense of humor!

6) I expect you to make mistakes. We have a core value: everything is an experiment. Part of experimenting is failing and learning. I have no problem with mistakes. I just don't want staff to make the same mistake over and over again!

7) I expect excellence! I think a dose of divine discontent is healthy! We need to keep getting better and better at what we do. It is that commitment to excellence that allow staff to morph in greater responsibilities at NCC.

Sunday Night Mind Dump

Another Great Day!! Here are some thoughts:
* I love it when all the volunteers get pumped up about serving
* Our band is REALLY coming together. The sound is gelling
* We did a song to the tune of Sweet Home Alabama and it was about Heaven... it rocked
* I hope I did not fail preaching on Failure today
* I love my wife Darlene even if she gets really critical on my preaching :-)
* Clemson put a hurting on SC Gamecocks AGAIN... Go Tigers
* Next week the sermon is on Loneliness... I am preparing it while being alone :-)))
* Our numbers were down but we had several first time guests
* 4 People got saved and 4 re-dedicated their lives
* My wife makes a mean grilled tomato cheese and turkey sandwich
* I can't wait until Christmas Classics
* I love our team... Russ, Angelia, Todd Tammy, and Scott are absolutely THE BEST STAFF!!!!
* I love SW Florida and am really thankful I am a small part of a Great Movement by God here
* Every Life does have a point...

Sunday Night Wind Down: Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Songs

Tomorrow

I love this sermon series on Baggage. It is testing me as I work through my own baggage in life. Tomorrow we talk about FAILURE. Everyone fails but not everyone fails correctly. However if we are a Christ-Follower and are truly seeking to be all that Christ wants us to be... WE CAN NOT FAIL!!!!! God will not let us fail. We will sin yes but failure is not defeat. It is a step toward perfection and completion in God's eyes.

Invite someone tomorrow to come with you. It will be a great fun time! I can't wait.

Thoughts On Leadership

I think leadership skills are extremely hard to continue to develop IF you do not work to develop them. That is why I read alot of leadership books and stuff. That is why I go back and read my notes and items from other pastors and teachers as well as my own. Here are some I read last night from me, Andy Stanly, and Perry Noble.

The leader must champion the vision.

• The leader cannot please everyone.

• Leaders must fully trust God.
• "If you've never had a sleepless night, you're not really in ministry."
• "There's a fine line between faith and stupidity."
• "There is more stress and anxiety in my life than there has ever been."
Getting bigger doesn't take that away. It increases.
• "Make sure you're having that daily time with God.
If you're not getting that fresh word, it's really hard to trust him."

• Leaders cannot do everything.
The bigger your church gets, the less people are going to be able to interact with you.

Leaders are not that smart.
• "The worst thing that can happen to us is if we start to believe we're good."
• As a church planter, read through the book of Nehemiah.
It's packed full of leadership principles. Read the Gospels. Hang out in Acts. Get in Scripture.
• Seek wisdom from others. I network with others. I blog.
I learn from the other guys on the senior management team.
• I listen to people who have a heart for God. They have to love the church.
• Create a leadership environment where people can be very honest with you.
Behind closed doors, there has to be passionate debate.
Outside the room, there has to be complete unity.

Thanks Giving Day 2007

Last night I met a lot of pastors in the Bonita Springs area. We had a community wide Thanksgiving service at First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs. I was ask to participate by Dr. Doug Pratt who is the Senior Pastor. I met alot of other pastors from all denominations. Male and Female. Old and Young. Established and brand new. But the incredible thing was in all my years of ministry everyone had one focus and that was being thankful they are part of the "Kingdom Furthering Process." IT was a great service and Pastor Michael is really a funny guy for a guy who wears a black shirt with a white collar. Ed Ivie, who is the new pastor at Living Waters jumped out of the box big time and did a sermonette in first person. Homiletically a big risk. He knocked it out the park. A first person narrative sermon is very hard to do. Very risky. Ed pulled it off. The leper... healed... finding Jesus... just to give thanks. Great Job Pastor Ed.

I have so much to be thankful for... my wife Darlene, my son Mark, my mom and sister and other family members, my staff, my new friends, Life Point. But I am most thankful that God, in spite of all my failures, still deems me worthy to be used to help further His Kingdom.

Today we are going to Pastor Rick and his wife Dianah's house to celebrate thanksgiving. Some of our staff are getting together and going to enjoy a great meal together and have a little fellowship and watch a little football. I am so looking forward to it.

This Sunday we are in Part 3 on our Baggage Series. "A Bag of Failures.: We are talking about failure and how God uses our failures to further His Kingdom and there is a proper way to fail... failing forward as John Maxwell says.

I can't wait until Sunday.

Sunday Night Mind Dump

Great Day!!! Week 2 . Here some thoughts:
* Very Smooth Day. Set up and Take down was seamless
* Music was best yet. The band was awesome and we got a new drummer who is very good.
* We had alot of first time guests that promised to come back.
* We had our biggest offering ever Yea God!!
* 4 People got saved and 8 re-dedicated their life
* People HATE to fill out connect cards
* I preached on Emotional Baggage and got pretty emotional... :-)
* The team went to California Pizza for lunch
* Our next series is on Christmas Classics and will be REALLY COOOL
* The video and sound recording was flawless
* Its great to have our own equipment to set up and take down (Thanks Harmon Audio)
* This weeks message is on Failure. I can't wait.
* Sunday Night Wind Down: Ramsey Lewis Greatest Hits.

4 Things That Matter To Life Point

I spent this past week reflecting and transitioning. Reflecting on the last year and a half developing the God-given vision for Life Point. All the hard aches, ups and downs, all the BAGGAGE... And I spent this past week on transitioning. Transitioning from a launch team to a church that is a new born and poised to grow. We do not have a launch team now. We have a body. Christ is the head of this body. Now we have to be prepared to grow the body noting that first and foremost we want to people to come to a saving grace in Jesus. Thats why we are doing this. So in the transitioning process I want us to focus on 4 things. These 4 things will be the foundation for our first year. I want to ramp these areas up and develop people to support these areas and bring these areas into a realm of excellence. They are:

1. Teaching. I think creatively communicating God’s truth has got to be key
2. Worship. So many people connect with this…it has to be done with quality and excellence
3. Children. Parents of preschoolers and elementary children often choose a church based on what’s best for their children.
4. Small groups. Right from the beginning, we want to focus on community.

Tomorrow we are talking about Emotional Baggage in part 2 of our 4 part series called Got Baggage. See you tomorrow.

By the way Clemson plays Boston College tonight at Death Valley. Both are 8-2. Winner goes to championship. The winner WILL BE CLEMSON by 8 points. GO TIGERS!

What To Expect In Week # 2

What do you do the week after your launch? Imagine... praying, planning, working, weeping for a year and a half, from conception to birth then it is here and now what? Well I think there are 5 things which we must focus on in the near term:

1: It IS about the weekend at this point. We had a great launch now we must remember that EVERY weekend is a launch weekend. The same planning, intensity and excellence MUST go into each Sunday just as we did for launch Sunday.

2: Follow Up is Critical Since we had 2 preview services and a launch Sunday, we have a strong list of names to follow up on. It is critical that we stay in contact and work hard to get these people plugged in AND getting them to invite others.

3: Processes MUST be managed: . This includes proper financial processes, database management processes, volunteer processes and new believers processes. Each one of these areas must be running smooth from now on.

4: Honest Evaluation Must Be Used. We have to be our own hardest critics. We must also engage those who attended and get honest feedback from them. We have to identify our weak areas and then the process to make those areas stronger.

5: Develop THE WHAT NEXT GOAL. Okay we launched. What next? Small groups? New- Comers Class? Specific Mission work? Expand Ministries? What? Where and what is our next addition to plans and programs.

All of this is NOT rocket science. Its just plain practical thinking. However, if we do not do these things, our learning curve is not working for us.

This weekend is REALLY coming together. Sermon is part 2 in Baggage Series and will be called "BLUE BAGGAGE." Its all about the emotional baggage we lug around. Invite someone and bring them Sunday.