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My Next Steps Update

2009-07-03T16:49:32Z

It’s been a while since I last updated you on what’s happening in my life. Though my family and I are still at NewSpring Church, I left the staff team about 10 weeks ago. Since then, Emily and I have been praying and talking a lot about our next steps. Here’s where we think we’re heading in this next season:

Connected to a Local Church – I can’t imagine not being connected to a local church. We need a place for our family to call home. I’m considering opportunities where I can serve on a ministry team in a part-time leadership capacity. At this point in my life, it would be difficult to write, teach and coach about leadership and ministry strategy in the Church without actually being engaged in ministry.

Coaching & Consulting – At the same time, I have a calling to encourage, equip and challenge church leaders. With that, I’ve taken steps in recent months to get more focused about coaching and consulting opportunities. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve had a chance to connect with churches of all shapes and sizes throughout the country. Let me know if you’re interested in future coaching networks or consulting engagements.

Strategic Partnerships – As I’m connecting with growing churches, I’m also noticing some opportunities where I can help identify strategic next steps but I either don’t have the expertise or the time to fulfill specific needs. Because of that, I’ve developed partnerships with some great organizations to assist churches with areas like creative design, brand strategy, technology, executive recruiting, stewardship and facility design and construction.

Specifically, one of the areas that I frequently get requests for assistance is with recruiting and selecting staff leaders. I love helping churches define strategy and structure for health and growth, but I don’t have the time and expertise to handle all aspects of executive recruiting. That’s why I’ve developed a strategic partnership with William Vanderbloemen and the team at FaithSearch Partners. They’ve worked with churches from a variety of denominations and many sizes of congregations, ranging from 1,000 to 15,000 in attendance.

I love helping churches define their strategy and structure and then make sure they have the right people on the right seat on the bus. If that’s your church, I’d welcome the opportunity to talk more. Feel free to email me and let’s talk about how we can bring a team together to help you take your next steps.

Megablog

2009-07-03T03:45:49Z

Today started out at Springcreek Community Church for the Dallas stop of the Killing Cockroaches Tour. It was good to meet some new friends and then reconnect with some old friends including the guys from Fellowship Technologies. Beyond that, the family hung out at the pool, we enjoyed Mexican food at Uncle Julio’s and then we wrapped up the day roaming around Galleria Dallas.

While we’re in the middle of our family vacation and the book tour, life on the blog continues. As I was thinking about my blog readers today, I recalled this post when I passed 2,000 subscribers. (It’s about 5,500 subscribers now…so this post is probably even more applicable today.)

What if we talked about blogging like we talk about the church?

You may not notice it, but I’m facing inner-tension in my life. Regrettably, I’m approaching 2,000 subscribers. Some might celebrate that new megablog status, but I’m dealing with all kinds of turmoil. Let me explain…

I recently had a few subscribers leave my blog for smaller blogs. They were looking for a site where they could shake hands with the blogger at the end of each post.
I’ve started getting complaints that I don’t do enough posts for singles.
Some folks won’t subscribe to my blog because it’s too “attractional.” They think I need to find a way to bring my message to the people rather than expecting them to come to my site.
I’m getting complaints that my posts need to be longer and deeper. People think I’m making it too easy for folks to understand what I’m saying. Something about a camel and the eye of a needle…
There are some people who think bloggers should only use the Times Roman font. [continue reading>>]

Do you have gunky build-up?

2009-07-02T04:38:32Z

We took off early this morning and drove to Dallas for the next stop on the Killing Cockroaches Tour. We stopped at Whataburger for lunch, but none of us ended up ordering a burger. We got a free upgrade at Embassy Suites, so we’re loving our hotel accommodations. We went to the Rangers game this evening. It was blazing hot, but they won.

Along the way, we stopped at a couple of gas stations. That reminded me of this post…

Stop Gunky Build-up

I saw a sign at a gas station while I was traveling this past week that encouraged me to “Stop gunky build-up.” It made me think about instances when I’ve had to deal with gunky build-up in my life. For me gunky build-up occurs when I let less important stuff squeeze out the real priorities in my life. Maybe you’ve experienced this as well.

Sometimes I believe the lie that I can’t afford to take a break and rest. The reality is that I’m far less effective in my family and leadership roles when I’m tired and grumpy.
Sometimes I believe the lie that I’ll spend quality time with my wife at the end of the day after everything else is done. The reality is that the last things on my priority list rarely get done.
Sometimes I believe the lie that I’ll get to the big projects after I knock out the more routine tasks. The reality is that there will always be other routine tasks to complete.
Sometimes I believe the lie that the more I do the more valuable I am to the team. The reality is that I’m not being effective if I’m busy doing the wrong things. [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: What are some ways you’ve learned to degunkify your life?

Leaders Need to Drive

2009-07-01T04:12:24Z

Today we headed down the road toward the other Dallas – not Dallas, GA but Dallas, TX. We stopped in Jackson, MS for the night. Highlights from the day included seeing the Talladega Speedway, watching Jacob almost make himself sick by eating a footlong Philly steak sandwich, eating a great meal at Sweet Peppers Deli and cruising the Capitol area in Jackson.

All the driving reminded me of this post about leaders. At some point, leaders need to…

Drive the Car

Recently, I gathered with a group of guys for breakfast and to talk about leadership. One of the guys was talking about the challenges he and his wife have faced in recent months with their marriage. We all face those challenges. No marriage is immune. He’s married to a very wise woman, though. His wife suggested that she was getting really tired of talking about all the things that they needed to fix in their marriage. She was tired of all the discussion.

She went on to liken their marriage to owning a car that’s always in the garage. You get in the car. Sometimes you even start the engine. Most times, though, the car is up on the lift so that you can tinker with it. You own the car, but you’re always under the hood trying to analyze what’s wrong with it and what needs to be fixed. One day she said, I’m tired of trying to figure out how we need to fix the car–I just want to drive it.

That’s powerful. And, the thought occurred to me: this is a leadership lesson. If God has gifted you as a leader then you need to lead. You can read about leadership. You can talk about leadership. You can go to leadership conferences and hear men and women share their greatest leadership lessons. You can analyze your leadership ability, and you can have others help you tweak your leadership skills. All of that is worthless, though, unless you eventually get behind the wheel and drive the car. Leaders will never become leaders unless they lead. [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: Have you ever experienced those times as a leader where you really wanted to drive the car? What are you doing to help other leaders, particularly young leaders, have the opportunity to drive the car?

Bad Web Sites

2009-06-30T03:27:23Z

We had a great launch to the Killing Cockroaches Tour today in Atlanta at West Ridge Church. And, it was also a great launch to our family vacation. Among other things, we ate at a Japanese grill, played at the pool, cruised the big city of Dallas (Georgia) and ate at The Varsity in downtown Atlanta.

While we’re on the tour/vacation, I’ll be sharing some of the posts that inspired the book…that inspired the tour. Here’s a favorite from the early days of the blog. Here are…

10 Easy Ways to Keep Me from Visiting Your Church Because I Visited Your Website

Avoid telling me what’s going to happen at your church this weekend. I found churches that had weather reports but nothing about their upcoming weekend service. I found two churches that had prominent information about upcoming golf scrambles (which I appreciated as a golfer), but nothing about this weekend’s service. Why would I come if I don’t know what I’m going to experience?
Put a picture of your building on the main page. After all, ministry is all about the buildings.
Use lots of purple and pink and add pictures of flowers. Really. Are you expecting any men to show up? And, for my benefit, please don’t put any doves on your website. Doves scare me. [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: What, in your opinion, doesn’t belong on the list? And, now that it’s about four years later, what should be added to the list for it to be current?

Killing Cockroaches

2009-06-28T19:29:01Z

Tomorrow I begin the Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour with a stop at West Ridge Church in Atlanta. In all, there will be six stops in six cities. Over the next three weeks during the tour, I’m going to share some of the blog posts that inspired the book. Maybe at the end we’ll have some sort of poll for you to pick your favorite.

There’s probably no better place to start than this post. This is how the book got its name…

Killing Cockroaches

I was sitting around the breakfast table with a bunch of guys this morning and was reminded of an incident that took place at a former job. This was before ministry. I was a city manager–kind of like the CEO of a business. I was responsible for leading an organization with a $20 million budget and 150 employees. I was the man. I wore a suit. Everyday.

One day I was working at my desk, and I heard a woman scream from the other side of the office building. Just a few seconds later, the screaming woman ran into my office. She explained that she needed help. She had found a cockroach in her office. And, for whatever reason, she thought this was a problem for the “CEO.” Remember, I was the guy who wore a suit. Everyday.

I’m not sure why I did it, but I slowly pushed my chair away from the desk. Stood up. Walked down the hall. Entered the screaming woman’s office, and proceeded to kill the cockroach. I was wearing my suit, which, of course, I wore…everyday.

It’s been about eight years since that incident. I don’t wear suits anymore, but there are still days when I come home a little mopey. I guess the frustration is all over my face. Emily will take one look at me and ask, “Did you have to kill cockroaches today?” [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: When was the last time you caught yourself “killing cockroaches?”

Share a Story of Life Change

2009-06-26T18:50:57Z

I have a friend who has become a Christ-follower in recent years. He’s a marketplace executive. If I mentioned his name, there’s a chance you’d be familiar with him. He’s also a writer.

Now, he’s working on a new book project. Rather than writing about leadership and marketing strategies, he’s going to be sharing his life change story. However, he’s hoping to share the stories of other people as well. Specifically, he’s looking for the stories of men in these categories that have committed their lives to Jesus after pursuing a previous career/lifestyle as:

The Soldier

The Executive (mark hughes)

The Addict

The Fireman

The Doctor

The Athlete

The Alcoholic (tim donnelly)

The Prisoner

The Hit Man

The Rebel (bill lamorey)

The Soldier
The Executive
The Addict
The Fireman
The Doctor
The Athlete
The Alcoholic
The Prisoner
The Hit Man
The Rebel

My friend has already found stories for several of these categories, but he’s still looking for stories of life change from a fireman, doctor, athlete and prisoner. That’s where I need your help.

If you know of someone who you think might have a story to share (whether they’re well known or not), either leave a comment on this post or email me.

Don’t worry. I’ll let you know more details when the book is available. Thanks for your help.

“TONY” Discount for Catalyst Atlanta

2009-06-24T12:20:44Z

Earlier today, I caught up with Brad Lomenick. I like to call him Mr. Catalyst. I think his official title is something rather tame like “Executive Director.” Brad is really sharp, and he’s orchestrating a movement that’s committed to equipping the next generation of leaders.

TONY: It’s been almost a year since we last talked on my blog, what’s new at Catalyst?

BRAD: Lots of new things on the Catalyst front. This has been a very busy and intense year with moving Catalyst from one event to multiple events and locations. This year we added two new events, with our West Coast event in April and the One Day events with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. We have also launched a publishing imprint with Zondervan focused on resources for leaders in the Church, and will be celebrating our 10th anniversary of the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta in October.

TONY: No, I mean what’s really new. Give me some dirt that the tabloids don’t even know about.

BRAD: Launching the West Coast event was a ton of fun. We are really excited about building the Catalyst community and network on the West Coast. And we actually now have a West coast office with LV Hanson leading the charge out of Orange County- our “satellite office.” We are actually concepting some potential online events for 2010, a new international focus, several major partnerships, and a potential BIG global event in 2010 in conjunction with several organizations. That’s all I can say…..

TONY: I’m looking forward to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta coming in October. Tell us about the speaker line up.

BRAD: It’s the best lineup ever in my opinion, including all of our main session speakers as well as lab session speakers. And a wide range of voices, which is always a Catalyst trademark. We love hearing from all angles around the topic of leadership. Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, Dave Ramsey, Rob Bell, Malcolm Gladwell, Tony Dungy, Chuck Swindoll, Matt Chandler, Shane Hipps, Priscilla Shirer, Josh Hamilton, Margaret Feinberg, Perry Noble, Reggie Joiner, Nancy Ortberg, Mark Batterson, Dave Gibbons, Ed Stetzer, and many others.

TONY: Any surprises that will make this year’s conference more “Catalysty” than it’s ever been before.

BRAD: Yes, but I can’t really share them. Let me just say that because it is the 10th year anniversary, we are working hard to make it extra special, and extra “Catalysty” as you put it!

TONY: By the way, I heard a rumor that Andy is really jealous of Malcolm Gladwell’s hair. Is that true?

BRAD: Not sure if Andy is, but I know I am. I definitely have “hair envy” of Malcolm’s hair. But since I have no hair, I am pretty much jealous of any hair.

So, here’s the deal. Not only is Brad a relatively decent interview, he’s also a generous guy. I twisted his arm and he agreed to offer a one-of-kind discount for TonyMorganLive.com readers. Get your pen and paper ready. This could get pretty complicated. You need to register with the priority code “TONY” to get the $40 discount on individual registrations. And you need to do that by the end of the day on Thursday (June 25). If you don’t, the discount goes away.

Now, remember, the priority code is “TONY.” Don’t try to use “ANDY,” because that won’t work. Don’t try to use “LOUIE,” because that won’t work either. And, whatever you do, don’t use “ED.” Everyone knows friends of Ed Stetzer always pay full price.

Killing Cockroaches Tour Launches Monday

2009-06-23T15:27:38Z

All the fun begins on Monday! We’re hitting the road for 6 events in 6 cities. I’ll be offering 1/2-day workshops in all these locations:

Atlanta (June 29) at West Ridge Church in Dallas, Georgia
Dallas (July 2) at Springcreek Church in Garland, Texas
St. Louis (July 6) at Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Missouri
Chicago (July 8) at The Orchard in Aurora, Illinois
Columbus (July 14) at Grace Church in Powell, Ohio
Nashville (July 17) at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee

The events are designed for both staff and volunteer leaders. I’ll specifically be addressing these two topics:

Building Teams and Empowering Leaders (Volunteer/Staffing Strategy)
Finding Your Focus (Outreach/Discipleship/Communications Strategy)

The early bird rates for the Chicago stop end tomorrow. Registration for all the stops will remain open through the day of the event.

Hope to see you somewhere along the way!

New David Crowder Band Single

2009-06-23T12:56:28Z

The David Crowder Band released a new single today. You can listen to it free below:

How He Loves – David Crowder B…

If you like what you hear, you can download from Amazon using my affiliate link.

By the way, what’s your favorite Crowder album? (I vote for Illuminate.)

tonymorganlive.com

My Next Steps Update

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Killing Cockroaches

Killing Cockroaches

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