December 2009
28 posts
4 tags
Need Volunteers? Here's How To Get Them:
I saw an interview with Ritchie Miller recently in which he was asked about how his church recruits and engages volunteers so effectively. When asked for one piece of advice on how other churches could achieve similar success, here’s what he said:
“Preach your announcements.”
In other words: instead of just “announcing” your need for volunteers, connect the dots...
3 tags
How I'm Like A Cute Miniature African Antelope...
Saw a new animal at the Memphis Zoo last weekend. (Not newly created; just new to me.) It was a klipspringer—a miniature antelope that looks like sort of like a lilliputian deer.
London and I walked up to its enclosure, admired the small-cartoon-animal-with-big-brown-eyes vibe the little guy was giving off, and began reading its information placard.
Thanks to the placard we discovered...
2 tags
The Coolest Thing Our Church Does
What’s the coolest thing your church does?
Here’s my vote for ours: a couple of weekends ago we completed our second annual Home for the Holidays project at Henderson. Every year, we connect with a local family in need and renovate their home in time for Christmas. It’s a ton of work. And it’s a blast.
The family we helped this year was due for something good to happen to...
4 tags
“A poet is an unhappy being whose heart is torn by secret sufferings but whose...”
– Gorgeous sentiment from Søren Kierkegaard—reminds me of the Psalms.
3 tags
Emmanuel
Welcome to the day after Christmas.
Jesus is here now. Everything’s going to be okay.
3 tags
“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a...”
– Garrison Keillor // Not my favorite thing about Christmas, but a thing I like. Shared experience is always a bonding agent. And when you share an experience with the world, well, that’s pretty cool.
2 tags
4 tags
My Daughter--Master of Walking The Fine Line...
Two nights ago, our family went to the Opryland Hotel to check out the incredible light displays. While we were walking through the atrium, we stopped to let London (our just barely 2-year-old) play at a fountain. Before long, a few kids had come up to play in the same spot, and one of them was a little Hispanic girl.
London looked at her and immediately shouted, “Dora! Dora!...
5 tags
Great Book Alert: Primal, by Mark Batterson
So Mark Batterson was kind enough to send me a pre-release copy of his brand new book, Primal. You can buy it starting today on Amazon, and I can honestly say that you should. Because it’s really good.
And I’m glad it’s good, because this post would be pretty awkward if it wasn’t.
THE BOTTOM LINE Primal is, as the subtitle suggests, “A Quest for the Lost Soul of...
Trip to Starbucks
Aunt Erin: "This is a grande peppermint soy latte, London. Can you say 'grande peppermint soy latte'?"
London: "Coffee."
3 tags
“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to...”
– Flaubert // (Here’s to the impossibility of worship…)
3 tags
Trusting The Wind--Why Rowboats Don't Work in...
I once heard someone during an interview describe his approach to ministry as “sail raising” as opposed to “rowing.”
He said he tried rowing for a long time and finally realized that if his ministry succeeded it would be thanks to God’s effort, not his. So he stopped rowing and started raising sails, inviting God to work and getting in line with what God was...
4 tags
7 Leadership Questions Your Team Should Ask NOW
Perry Noble recently posed 7 questions every leadership team should continually ask. I think these are right on.
If you’re an elder or minister, ask these questions about your church. If you’re a deacon or volunteer leader, ask them about the ministry you lead. If you’re a mother or father, ask them about your family. If you lead a business, school, or non-profit, ask them...
3 tags
Get a Pair, Give a Pair
Here’s a great organization/opportunity to keep in mind this Christmas as you give (and as you spend any money you get): Tom’s Shoes.
Check out this quick video:
2 tags
2 Warnings For Young Leaders From Bill Hybels
I recently heard Bill Hybels say in a talk on leadership that perhaps the most valuable asset young leaders bring to the table is passion.
There’s a “Let’s go change the world!!” kind of energy present in young leaders’ hearts that’s contagious. Idealism hasn’t been choked by cynicism. Grand vision wells up and spills onto anyone within spilling...
2 tags
I Can Tell If You've Been With Jesus.
Every once in a while, I’ll come across a collection of high-speed photography on Smashing Magazine or some other website. I love this stuff—it gives you a glimpse into things that happen all the time but are completely invisible to the human eye.
For example, check out these shots of water balloons being popped:
Thanks to a capture rate of 1200 frames per second, something...
3 tags
The Bad News About Good News
While reading the first few verses Psalm 40 recently, I noticed something noteworthy. I’m guessing this passage is usually seen as positive. And it is, certainly, but there’s a catch.
There’s more to this Psalm than what you might see at first glance. See for yourself:
“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy...
4 tags
The Year Of Living Like Jesus
“I’m not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of getting dead.”
So says Ed Dobson. He’s been given 2 to 5 years to live after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
And he’s decided to spend it living like Jesus. Just like him. Check it out:
Supposedly, the ultimate goal of a Christian’s life is to be like Jesus. Yet here’s a remarkable story...
3 tags
How "Let It Snow" Made Me Want To Be Closer To...
I don’t know if you like it or not, but “Let It Snow” is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I’m a big fan of Harry Connick Jr.’s rendition as well as Ben Rector’s newer version. But enough positives. On to the scandal.
Jen and I were in the car, getting our Christmas Spirit on, listening to this song the other night when it dawned on me: there’s...
4 tags
5 Reasons Churches Don't Grow (part 2)
*If you missed the first 2 reasons, you can find them here.
Here are 3 more growth inhibitors for your consideration:
Placing outreach at the periphery, not the center There’s a huge difference between cobbling together a few programs and making outreach the center of everything. If leadership communicates (whether actively or passively) that a church exists for something other than...
3 tags
5 Reasons Churches Don't Grow (part 1)
Two realities for your consideration:
a) Most churches want to grow. b) Most churches aren’t growing.
It’s no secret that growth proves elusive for many congregations. The question is, why? I think there are at least 5 reasons.
A strong resistance to change Hey—I get it. Change is uncomfortable for everybody. And sure, the moment we change the gospel we’ve sinned. But...
4 tags
Advent: Waiting for Jesus and Toy Dogs
Love this post from my wife on waiting. Check it out:
jlgerhardt:
If I understand Advent correctly, it is, at its core, about waiting. It’s this cool merger of remembering the time when the world waited excitedly for a Messiah and embracing the right-now-waiting for that Messiah’s second coming. We’re reminded that today could be our Christmas Eve.
I find that the hardest people to buy...
1 tag
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source...”
– Albert Einstein
3 tags
How We're Not Like The Prodigal Son's Father
I’m wondering if this isn’t what a lot of perceive when they come to the church after being away from God for a long time.
“Welcome back, toxic person. Please don’t sit by me.”
How can we make sure this doesn’t happen?
2 tags
My Letter to 17-Year-Old Justin
**For some context for this letter, see yesterday’s post.
Dear Justin,
Let’s see, you’re 17, so I guess that makes you a senior in high school this year. Congrats. I decided to write to you because a lot has happened in the last 13 years, and I wanted to give you some advice.
First, I know you’ve been dating Jennifer for about a year and a half now. I also know...
2 tags
A Letter From Future You
If you wrote a letter to your 17-year-old self, what would it say?
I love this concept, and I love how well this video conveys it. In fact, I decided to sit down and write my own letter. I’ll post that tomorrow.
For now, check out the video:
4 tags
Why I Don't Preach 3-Point Sermons
Occasionally college students studying ministry interview me about my work. During these conversations, the subject of preaching inevitably comes up and I find myself making a case for something I believe in strongly—something that’s near and dear to my heart.
It’s one-point preaching.
More often than not, when I get in front of people on Sunday, I’ve got one point I...
2 tags
Why the Austin Zoo Is Weird...And Strangely...
I recently took my family to visit my sister Jamie and her family in Austin. While we were there we went to the Austin Zoo, which turned out to be …interesting. But I can’t say my sister didn’t warn me.
BUSTED FACILITY Before we left for the zoo, Jamie kept making comments that made this zoo sound different (words like “small,” “dusty,” and “not...