Is your faith running a little low these days? Here is last Sunday's message about increasing our faith.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Lessons about leadership at the 12 year mark (part 2)
OK, here's part 2 of things I've learned in the first 12 years of leading Foothills.
If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
** It is normal and healthy for people to leave.
If you're a Pastor that's just getting started, you need to accept this. It is painful, it is heart-wrenching, and part of you will want to compromise the vision to retain them, but let them go.
When you study the ministry of Jesus, you will see that people left Him on a regular basis. Even one of His hand-selected 12 disciples, left Him. If they left Jesus, they will leave you too, it's ok. Sometimes God leads people to another church where these people will flourish and be able to take some of what they've learned at your church to help the next church. That is a good thing. The last thing you want is someone staying at your church that no longer believes in what the vision is.
** Sometimes the ones who love you when they come in, won't be quite so loving when they leave.
The same crowds who put out the palm branches and shouted "Hosanna", were the same crowds that shouted "crucify Him" a couple days later. This is tough. All of us want people to like us, so it's very painful when people take shots at us and the church when they leave. It's as if they feel the need to justify why they are leaving. I wish people would just say, "God is moving me on. During the time I was here, God did some wonderful things in my life, I wish you all the best".
** As the leader, your best use of time is listening to God.
What your people need more than anything else, is a leader who is hearing the voice of God. It all starts with this. You can't cast a vision, if you haven't first heard that vision from God. You can't grow up your people if you aren't first growing yourself. There are so many things that will compete for your time. Spending time with God (and not just sermon study time), is your best use of time.
** Being "Cool" is overrated
I believe in doing everything with excellence, but I have discovered that I would rather be effective than cool. The goal of our services should not be to see how many people posted on Facebook how "cool" the services were at church today. My goal is to hear people say, "At church, I sensed the presence of God in such a powerful way and as a result my life has been changed"
If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
** It is normal and healthy for people to leave.
If you're a Pastor that's just getting started, you need to accept this. It is painful, it is heart-wrenching, and part of you will want to compromise the vision to retain them, but let them go.
When you study the ministry of Jesus, you will see that people left Him on a regular basis. Even one of His hand-selected 12 disciples, left Him. If they left Jesus, they will leave you too, it's ok. Sometimes God leads people to another church where these people will flourish and be able to take some of what they've learned at your church to help the next church. That is a good thing. The last thing you want is someone staying at your church that no longer believes in what the vision is.
** Sometimes the ones who love you when they come in, won't be quite so loving when they leave.
The same crowds who put out the palm branches and shouted "Hosanna", were the same crowds that shouted "crucify Him" a couple days later. This is tough. All of us want people to like us, so it's very painful when people take shots at us and the church when they leave. It's as if they feel the need to justify why they are leaving. I wish people would just say, "God is moving me on. During the time I was here, God did some wonderful things in my life, I wish you all the best".
** As the leader, your best use of time is listening to God.
What your people need more than anything else, is a leader who is hearing the voice of God. It all starts with this. You can't cast a vision, if you haven't first heard that vision from God. You can't grow up your people if you aren't first growing yourself. There are so many things that will compete for your time. Spending time with God (and not just sermon study time), is your best use of time.
** Being "Cool" is overrated
I believe in doing everything with excellence, but I have discovered that I would rather be effective than cool. The goal of our services should not be to see how many people posted on Facebook how "cool" the services were at church today. My goal is to hear people say, "At church, I sensed the presence of God in such a powerful way and as a result my life has been changed"
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday review
Yesterday was just one of those days when everything just seems to fall into place. I love those days! The services at Foothills Community Church were absolutely phenomenal. The energy was tangible. Here are a few highlights:
* Eric Peters and his team brought it at the 9:30am service. I actually think the 9:30 crowd was more lively than the 11:15 crowd!
* Bill Swindle did a great job with the feature song. Love that guy.
* 11:15 was rocking. David O and his crew lit it up. We have the most unbelievably talented worship teams anywhere.
* Loved getting to share Abraham's faith journey. We covered 25 years of history in 40 minutes.
* I was reminded again how powerful faith is.
* Can't really explain it, but there is a sense of excitement in the air that is contagious.
* Concourse conversations were awesome. One guy told me that his friend in FL watches our messages online and was saved last week! Love technology!
* We have given out 3,800 Easter tickets. KEEP INVITING YOUR FRIENDS!
* Our Toccoa campus set a non holiday attendance record yesterday. Big Mo is really rolling over there! I don't know what's going to happen over there this Sunday. my guess is, that it will be standing room only.
* Easter services are going to blow you away.
* Powerful staff meeting this morning. All of our staff walked over and prayed over every seat in the auditorium and every chair and room in Kidzone. We are praying that hundreds come to know Christ this weekend.
* Eric Peters and his team brought it at the 9:30am service. I actually think the 9:30 crowd was more lively than the 11:15 crowd!
* Bill Swindle did a great job with the feature song. Love that guy.
* 11:15 was rocking. David O and his crew lit it up. We have the most unbelievably talented worship teams anywhere.
* Loved getting to share Abraham's faith journey. We covered 25 years of history in 40 minutes.
* I was reminded again how powerful faith is.
* Can't really explain it, but there is a sense of excitement in the air that is contagious.
* Concourse conversations were awesome. One guy told me that his friend in FL watches our messages online and was saved last week! Love technology!
* We have given out 3,800 Easter tickets. KEEP INVITING YOUR FRIENDS!
* Our Toccoa campus set a non holiday attendance record yesterday. Big Mo is really rolling over there! I don't know what's going to happen over there this Sunday. my guess is, that it will be standing room only.
* Easter services are going to blow you away.
* Powerful staff meeting this morning. All of our staff walked over and prayed over every seat in the auditorium and every chair and room in Kidzone. We are praying that hundreds come to know Christ this weekend.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Lessons about leadership at the 12 year mark (part 1)
Next month Foothills Community Church will turn 12 years old! Over the last 12 years I have learned some valuable things about leading a church.
Many of the lessons I have learned, I have learned from fellow Pastors and leaders who are ahead of me on the journey.
Much of what I am learning these days is also from some of the younger Pastors that are blazing new trails that have some amazing thoughts and insights.
And throughout the last 12 years, much of what I have learned have come from lessons the Lord has taught me from my own mistakes! But the bottom line is that I am committed to being a life-long learner, because I believe what Rick Warren says; "The minute you stop learning, you stop leading."
I thought that I would reflect on some of what I've learned in hopes of helping others that may be facing some of these things. So here are some very random thoughts:
** You can't do it all yourself.
Most people who plant churches, have to be a jack-of-all-trades in the early days. Here are just a few of the things that I did at some point: Drove the trailer to the High School. Unloaded the trailer. Set things up, put up signs, made sure the bathrooms were clean-- and clean them if necessary, greeted people, preached messages, stacked tables, etc, etc. The problem for many Pastors is that they never get past that mentality. They feel the need to control everything, and they soon become the bottleneck to the growth of the church. You can't do all yourself. Learn to delegate, and find good people with the gifts and passions to get things done.
** You have to be committed to the Vision God has given you.
Being committed to the vision helps you make decisions. It helps you know what to say "Yes" to, and what to say "no" to. I have discovered that almost everyone has an opinion about the direction of the church. (and they're not shy about giving you their opinion!) We chose early on that we would operate by God's vision rather than people's opinions. You have to be willing to die for this. You have to be willing to let people leave because of this, you have to be willing to protect this at all costs.
* Never apologize for being a leader.
Pastor, please hear me clearly on this. God has called you to lead that church, don't you dare apologize for leading. I talk to many Pastors who are afraid to make decisions. But here is the key: Walk with God, seek the Lord's guidance, pray, spend time in His Word, listen to the voice of the Lord, seek wise godly counsel, and make decisions. Will you always get it right? No, but that's OK (most of them need to be right though!) Here's what I've discovered, people will follow a godly, confident, decisive leader. So don't be afraid to lead!
Many of the lessons I have learned, I have learned from fellow Pastors and leaders who are ahead of me on the journey.
Much of what I am learning these days is also from some of the younger Pastors that are blazing new trails that have some amazing thoughts and insights.
And throughout the last 12 years, much of what I have learned have come from lessons the Lord has taught me from my own mistakes! But the bottom line is that I am committed to being a life-long learner, because I believe what Rick Warren says; "The minute you stop learning, you stop leading."
I thought that I would reflect on some of what I've learned in hopes of helping others that may be facing some of these things. So here are some very random thoughts:
** You can't do it all yourself.
Most people who plant churches, have to be a jack-of-all-trades in the early days. Here are just a few of the things that I did at some point: Drove the trailer to the High School. Unloaded the trailer. Set things up, put up signs, made sure the bathrooms were clean-- and clean them if necessary, greeted people, preached messages, stacked tables, etc, etc. The problem for many Pastors is that they never get past that mentality. They feel the need to control everything, and they soon become the bottleneck to the growth of the church. You can't do all yourself. Learn to delegate, and find good people with the gifts and passions to get things done.
** You have to be committed to the Vision God has given you.
Being committed to the vision helps you make decisions. It helps you know what to say "Yes" to, and what to say "no" to. I have discovered that almost everyone has an opinion about the direction of the church. (and they're not shy about giving you their opinion!) We chose early on that we would operate by God's vision rather than people's opinions. You have to be willing to die for this. You have to be willing to let people leave because of this, you have to be willing to protect this at all costs.
* Never apologize for being a leader.
Pastor, please hear me clearly on this. God has called you to lead that church, don't you dare apologize for leading. I talk to many Pastors who are afraid to make decisions. But here is the key: Walk with God, seek the Lord's guidance, pray, spend time in His Word, listen to the voice of the Lord, seek wise godly counsel, and make decisions. Will you always get it right? No, but that's OK (most of them need to be right though!) Here's what I've discovered, people will follow a godly, confident, decisive leader. So don't be afraid to lead!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday review
Solid day at FCC yesterday. Despite the rain and a long weekend for schools, the people were pumped up!
* Spoke about how to be used by God. I said that one of the greatest ways God can use our life is when we lead other to Jesus.
* I challenged people to pick up Easter service tickets and invite their friends to come with them----2,500 tickets were picked up!
* If you didn't get yours, I would recommend not waiting until Sunday because there are not many left. You can go here and print out tickets online.
* INVEST, INVITE, and INCLUDE. That is the key to making an impact this Easter.
* Our student ministry is seeing teenagers saved every week!! If you are a teen or are a parent of one, get them to Thrive this Wednesday!
* Speaking of student ministry, they are taking deposits for Bigstuf this summer. Parents, please get your kids to this event. It will be life-changing!
* Awesome staff meeting this morning, strategizing for Easter. Then I got a chance to share with our staff about what God has been teaching me.
* I will be sharing some of what I shared with our staff, in my message on April 25th.
* Began doing some coaching with a church planter in Kentucky. I love that!
* Looking forward to a trip to Dallas next month to meet at Leadership Network.
* Spoke about how to be used by God. I said that one of the greatest ways God can use our life is when we lead other to Jesus.
* I challenged people to pick up Easter service tickets and invite their friends to come with them----2,500 tickets were picked up!
* If you didn't get yours, I would recommend not waiting until Sunday because there are not many left. You can go here and print out tickets online.
* INVEST, INVITE, and INCLUDE. That is the key to making an impact this Easter.
* Our student ministry is seeing teenagers saved every week!! If you are a teen or are a parent of one, get them to Thrive this Wednesday!
* Speaking of student ministry, they are taking deposits for Bigstuf this summer. Parents, please get your kids to this event. It will be life-changing!
* Awesome staff meeting this morning, strategizing for Easter. Then I got a chance to share with our staff about what God has been teaching me.
* I will be sharing some of what I shared with our staff, in my message on April 25th.
* Began doing some coaching with a church planter in Kentucky. I love that!
* Looking forward to a trip to Dallas next month to meet at Leadership Network.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Easter Services
Easter is just 2 weeks away, and we are busy planning the details, so I wanted to share a few key things you need to know about Easter at Foothills Community Church:
Here's a couple of things you need to know:
On Easter Sunday, April 4th we will begin a new series called, "Fix You"
We will have 4 services in 2 locations
Our service schedule will be as follows:
Seneca campus: 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:15am
Toccoa campus: 11:00am
We are expecting around 3,000 people to attend!
To try to make sure everyone gets a seat, we are giving out tickets.
The tickets are free, and if someone shows up without a ticket we will do our best to make sure they get a seat. But it would be extremely helpful if you would either pick up your tickets this Sunday in the concourse OR go to our website (beginning next week) and print a ticket for yourself.
If you are a regular attender of Foothills it would be great if you could come to the 8:00am service to free up seats for guests.
When you pick up your tickets, get enough for yourself, and the people you will be inviting. (Kids do not need a ticket for Kidzone)
Please pray about who you can bring with you that doesn't know Christ, because they WILL get a chance to meet Him!
Our team has some incredible things planned, and it will go down in history as one of our greatest days ever! (by the way, we will also be celebrating our 12th birthday as a church this Easter as well!)
Here's a couple of things you need to know:
On Easter Sunday, April 4th we will begin a new series called, "Fix You"
We will have 4 services in 2 locations
Our service schedule will be as follows:
Seneca campus: 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:15am
Toccoa campus: 11:00am
We are expecting around 3,000 people to attend!
To try to make sure everyone gets a seat, we are giving out tickets.
The tickets are free, and if someone shows up without a ticket we will do our best to make sure they get a seat. But it would be extremely helpful if you would either pick up your tickets this Sunday in the concourse OR go to our website (beginning next week) and print a ticket for yourself.
If you are a regular attender of Foothills it would be great if you could come to the 8:00am service to free up seats for guests.
When you pick up your tickets, get enough for yourself, and the people you will be inviting. (Kids do not need a ticket for Kidzone)
Please pray about who you can bring with you that doesn't know Christ, because they WILL get a chance to meet Him!
Our team has some incredible things planned, and it will go down in history as one of our greatest days ever! (by the way, we will also be celebrating our 12th birthday as a church this Easter as well!)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday review
Getting to the Sunday review a little late, but overall it was another great day at Foothills.
* Started the new series called, "Revealed" yesterday. Although it's a short series, I think it's going to be good.
* Spoke about hearing God speak.
* Most people miss God speak, because they don't really know what He sounds like. We're looking for an epiphany, but generally He speaks in a quiet whisper.
* God will never tell us something that contradicts the Bible---Never!
* God speaks through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and people.
* Hearing from God does not depend on a method or formula, but on a relationship.
* God is our Heavenly father, and we are His children, so it stands to reason that He desires to have communication with us.
* One of the best prayers you can pray is, "speak Lord, your servant is listening"
* We need to be still and know that He is God.
* Samuel heard God speak because he was in the right place at the right time with the right attitude.
* Music was really tight today. nice job Eric, David and worship team!
* Loved the short devotion that Brian Rhodes shared before the offering.
* Daylight Savings Time really messes with attendance.
* Don't forget to pick up your tickets for the Easter services, this Sunday!
* Nice job with the bumper video, graphics, etc for this series. Shane is the man!
* I hear that the Toccoa campus was rocking yesterday. College students were on break, but they had a very solid attendance.
* Started the new series called, "Revealed" yesterday. Although it's a short series, I think it's going to be good.
* Spoke about hearing God speak.
* Most people miss God speak, because they don't really know what He sounds like. We're looking for an epiphany, but generally He speaks in a quiet whisper.
* God will never tell us something that contradicts the Bible---Never!
* God speaks through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and people.
* Hearing from God does not depend on a method or formula, but on a relationship.
* God is our Heavenly father, and we are His children, so it stands to reason that He desires to have communication with us.
* One of the best prayers you can pray is, "speak Lord, your servant is listening"
* We need to be still and know that He is God.
* Samuel heard God speak because he was in the right place at the right time with the right attitude.
* Music was really tight today. nice job Eric, David and worship team!
* Loved the short devotion that Brian Rhodes shared before the offering.
* Daylight Savings Time really messes with attendance.
* Don't forget to pick up your tickets for the Easter services, this Sunday!
* Nice job with the bumper video, graphics, etc for this series. Shane is the man!
* I hear that the Toccoa campus was rocking yesterday. College students were on break, but they had a very solid attendance.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thursday thoughts
** We kicked off our new marriage Campus Life group last night. We had a blast. Around 100 people came, including several single people. I think that is really cool. I believe if more people would learn about marriage BEFORE they got married, instead of learning "on the job", they would have better marriages.
** Don't forget to set your clocks forward on Saturday night.
** Our next baptism service will be on April 18th for Seneca campus, and April 25th in Toccoa. Sign-up on your info card this Sunday.
** We start a new message series this Sunday called, Revealed. This Sunday's message is How Can I Hear From God?
** You won't believe what we're planning for our Easter services at Foothills Community Church!
** Speaking of Easter, we will have 3 service times at our Seneca campus. 8:00am, 9:30am and 11:15am You will need to get your tickets for the service time you will be attending (just like Christmas Eve) Last Easter we had over 3,000 people, so the tickets will help us regulate the traffic a bit.
** In case you're wondering, the tickets are FREE. Tickets will be available beginning March 21st. You will be able to pick them up at Foothills or online. (I will do an entire blog post about Easter, next week.
** Toccoa campus will have one Easter service at 11:00am. (Yes, I know it will be jam packed!)
** Also, if you have never gone through the Get In The Game series, the next class is scheduled for April 10th at 9:30am in the small auditorium in Foothills North. In this class you will get to know all about Foothills Community Church, our vision, values, history, future, etc. To sign-up just check off the box on your info card this Sunday.
** Shine 2010 will be held May 15th in Seneca, and May 22nd in Toccoa. Shine is Foothills annual community service emphasis. Our goal is to have 1,000 people from Foothills volunteer to serve in one of the many projects we will make available. Stay tuned for more details!
** Don't forget to set your clocks forward on Saturday night.
** Our next baptism service will be on April 18th for Seneca campus, and April 25th in Toccoa. Sign-up on your info card this Sunday.
** We start a new message series this Sunday called, Revealed. This Sunday's message is How Can I Hear From God?
** You won't believe what we're planning for our Easter services at Foothills Community Church!
** Speaking of Easter, we will have 3 service times at our Seneca campus. 8:00am, 9:30am and 11:15am You will need to get your tickets for the service time you will be attending (just like Christmas Eve) Last Easter we had over 3,000 people, so the tickets will help us regulate the traffic a bit.
** In case you're wondering, the tickets are FREE. Tickets will be available beginning March 21st. You will be able to pick them up at Foothills or online. (I will do an entire blog post about Easter, next week.
** Toccoa campus will have one Easter service at 11:00am. (Yes, I know it will be jam packed!)
** Also, if you have never gone through the Get In The Game series, the next class is scheduled for April 10th at 9:30am in the small auditorium in Foothills North. In this class you will get to know all about Foothills Community Church, our vision, values, history, future, etc. To sign-up just check off the box on your info card this Sunday.
** Shine 2010 will be held May 15th in Seneca, and May 22nd in Toccoa. Shine is Foothills annual community service emphasis. Our goal is to have 1,000 people from Foothills volunteer to serve in one of the many projects we will make available. Stay tuned for more details!
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Sunday's video
Well, here's the video from Sunday with Liz and I sharing the stage together for the first time ever. We had a blast!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
sunday night review
I had a blast this morning at Foothills. It was the first time that my wife got to join me on stage to do a message. Here are a few notes from this weekend:
* My wife knocked it out of the park. She has so much wisdom, it's scary!
* It is hard to narrow marriage questions down to only 3 questions.
* I think the waffle/spaghetti illustration sums up why it is so hard to understand the opposite sex
* Attendance was pretty strong--especially in the 11:15am service
* The Toccoa campus had a few technical difficulties today, but I hear they had a great day in spite of that.
* Tons of kids today in Kidzone! (Thanks for taking your kids there instead of the main auditorium)
* Eric Peters feature song was so funny this morning in the 9:30am service.
* In the 11:15am service Joy Honeycutt sang with David Odom-- she is unbelievable.
* Our student ministry held their Ignite weekend this weekend. I hear they had a ton of kids, and several salvations! I had one teenage girl catch me after the service to tell me that she gave her life to Jesus on Saturday night! Thanks to Brian Rhodes and Tim Wadsworth and all of the volunteers!
* I will begin a new message sreies next Sunday that I'm looking forward to. It's called "Revealed"
* My wife knocked it out of the park. She has so much wisdom, it's scary!
* It is hard to narrow marriage questions down to only 3 questions.
* I think the waffle/spaghetti illustration sums up why it is so hard to understand the opposite sex
* Attendance was pretty strong--especially in the 11:15am service
* The Toccoa campus had a few technical difficulties today, but I hear they had a great day in spite of that.
* Tons of kids today in Kidzone! (Thanks for taking your kids there instead of the main auditorium)
* Eric Peters feature song was so funny this morning in the 9:30am service.
* In the 11:15am service Joy Honeycutt sang with David Odom-- she is unbelievable.
* Our student ministry held their Ignite weekend this weekend. I hear they had a ton of kids, and several salvations! I had one teenage girl catch me after the service to tell me that she gave her life to Jesus on Saturday night! Thanks to Brian Rhodes and Tim Wadsworth and all of the volunteers!
* I will begin a new message sreies next Sunday that I'm looking forward to. It's called "Revealed"
Friday, March 05, 2010
busy week so far
This has been a whirlwind week so far, but I am so looking forward to sharing the stage with my wonderful wife this Sunday at Foothills Community Church. You definitely want to be there, as we try to answer the 3 most common questions I get asked about marriage.
I have mixed emotions about Sunday, because it is the last message in our "First Comes Love" series. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Yesterday, about a dozen of our staff headed to the Unleash conference in Anderson. It was awesome! We have an amazing assortment of people that make up our staff, and they love Jesus and want to reach more people for Christ. There were so many takeaways from the conference for me personally. I love when God stretches me.
Great things are in store for our future, Foothills!
Our student ministry will be having their Ignite weekend beginning this evening---PRAY for all of our students, staff, and volunteers
It was also fun to catch up with a lot of Pastor friends that I don't get a chance to see that much.
Lots of other things happening. Life is good.
In case you missed last week's message, here's the video --- by the way, you definitely want to watch near the end of the video for the rap that a few of our staff performed---priceless!:
I have mixed emotions about Sunday, because it is the last message in our "First Comes Love" series. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Yesterday, about a dozen of our staff headed to the Unleash conference in Anderson. It was awesome! We have an amazing assortment of people that make up our staff, and they love Jesus and want to reach more people for Christ. There were so many takeaways from the conference for me personally. I love when God stretches me.
Great things are in store for our future, Foothills!
Our student ministry will be having their Ignite weekend beginning this evening---PRAY for all of our students, staff, and volunteers
It was also fun to catch up with a lot of Pastor friends that I don't get a chance to see that much.
Lots of other things happening. Life is good.
In case you missed last week's message, here's the video --- by the way, you definitely want to watch near the end of the video for the rap that a few of our staff performed---priceless!:
'Til Debt Do Us Part from Foothills Community Church on Vimeo.
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