Most people who loved a book then see the movie leave disappointed. The movie just never seems to be as good as the book.
This phenomenon happens for every church planter too. Most planters will experience those on their launch team begin to leave their new church between years 1-3. There's, perhaps, many reasons for this but one is:
And though 1 out of a 1000 church plants experience rapid growth, most don't and patience hardly keeps pace with imaginations.
Are you a tactician or a strategist?
Tacticians may sacrifice the war for the sake of the battle. Tacticians crave immediate results with little regard for the long-range ramifications. And tacticians get frustrated with the strategists because the strategist continually asks the why questions.
Strategists see the big picture. They begin with the end in mind. They may even pass on a good opportunity to reserve personal or organization energy for the best opportunity.
They both need the other. But knowing which you are and who works for you is a must for your personal fulfillment and organizational mission.
I've posted in the past about my love/hate relationship with Facebook. On the one hand, it can gobble up precious time. Sometimes an hour goes by and I'm still surfing peoples profiles.
But on the other hand, especially lately, I am reconnected with old friends. We're sharing pictures and even created a group from our teenager years when we were in youth group together. Here's a pic someone posted. Can you guess who I am?
Because I'm always curious how other churches structure their weekly rhythms I thought I'd post how our weekly staff meeting will look on a monthly basis.
Recapping the weekend and beyond:
I'm not the biggest fan of college football but while in Indiana we were only 5 minutes from Notre Dame. We drove around the campus and literally walked around the football stadium (hoping to find a way in).
Now I find myself watching the Notre Dame vs. Michigan ST game on a Saturday afternoon.
Funny how proximity changes perspectives.
Here's my traveling buddies posing with Touchdown Jesus:
After landing in Chicago and walking through the gate I ran into Linda and Terrill from The Rock. Ever have one of those moments when you see someone you know but not in the same context you know them from? Great to see you guys again!
I love to travel. I look forward to it but honestly as much as I love it I also hate being away from my family. I'm a wuss when it comes to how much I miss them.
So proud of my daughter Marissa who's learning to play the flute. Man, she's pretty!
Takes after her big sister Cambria and both take after their mother!
We arrived in Indiana but to do so we drove through corn. Miles and miles of corn.
Just thought you'd like to know that.
Several innovation leaders I follow on Twitter are whining over the last couple days about the new Facebook. These guys are noted as pastors that push the envelope of creativity and in some cases write very popular blogs and books on innovation and relevance.
I would be willing to bet their problem with the new Facebook is not so much with the changes but the fact that nobody asked them. Therefore their tone is like many of those we all lead when change is forced too quickly without the process of "buy in" from the people.
My theory is this:
Anyone going to Granger next week for the PEACE Summit? Would love to meet up. Send me an email.
As a pastor I've never had someone new to the church stop by the office just to tell me how much they enjoyed the service.
Until today.
Perry is his name and he attended The Wedge, Brooklake's Sunday evening gathering. It's candle lit, distorted and real. Love it and really believe it will be Brooklake's largest gathering in the not to distant future.
At least that's what Perry and I think!
The September 08 issue of Harvard Business Review has an excellent piece titled, How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity by Ed Catmull (co-founder of Pixar).
It's a great read for any organization striving to create and deliver content of any kind. Especially applicable to those in local church leadership is the Taking Risks principle:
This feature has inspired me to write an article for church leaders. Here's my outline:
2 Reasons we Pastors Minimize risks:
1. Perception that failure is bad stewardship.
2. Tension lives between alignment and empowerment.
I'll let you know if it gets published. If not in print, then here on ScottHarris.org!
My 39th birthday is September 21st and what I want is to give an entire African village clean water...hundreds of men, women and children clean drinking water! Click here to help me reach my goal.
Had a great lunch today with Josh Hebert, planter/pastor of Life at the Ridge Church in Redmond, WA. I absolutely love talking with planters! They are contagious!
Our conversation centered about vision. More specifically, how to communicate it more effectively. Seems like every leader I talk to struggles with this part of their role.
But for what's its worth, nothing is better than a story. Every great leader has leverage the power of a story so ask people for permission to tell the good things God does in their life and with their permission tell it over and over and over.
I like stuff. But what I want for my 39th birthday is to give an entire African village clean water. An entire village of hundreds of men, women and children clean drinking water for a very long time! Please watch this video and read on.
The September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.
So, if you planned on giving me a gift for my 39th birthday, please give in my name to Charity: Water. If you didn't plan on giving me a gift, perfect... Give someone life.
Most of you already know that lack of clean drinking water is the number one humanitarian crisis in the world. So I'm serious when I say, please bless me by giving someone else a cold drink!
Click here to give throughout the entire month of September. I've set a goal of $1,000. Which will provide 50 people clean drinking water each and every day.
Now that's the perfect birthday gift!
Really looking forward to beginning a new teaching series this Sunday called 2nd Chances. I'll also be speaking at the Sunday evening service called The Wedge, where the worship is loud and longer. Can't wait. Come out at 7pm if you can.
Property owners, business owners, civic leaders and every tax payer is thankful the soulful southern city of New Orleans was spared from the destruction they faced 3 years ago.
Was it the right decision for local and federal leadership to issue a mandatory evacuation? Of course it was!
Such is leadership. Yours, mine and every leader that has lived. You will make decisions that are right but many times will never be validated. If the levies were breached and it was Katrina all over again...that's validation for the decision to spend millions of tax payer dollars.
Parents, pastors, employers and every other kind of leader...don't let your appetite for validation keep you from doing what's right, even if nobody ever realizes it.
Had a great time last night meeting many of the key leaders and their families at Brooklake. At first I felt a little like the new kid in 2nd grade on the first day of school but it didn't take long for the conversations to get going. Everyone was so welcoming!
Shot some hoops, swaps stories of how God called me and Michelle into the ministry and had brats for dinner. Finished the evening around a fire.
And my daughter, Cambria, met a friend! What could be better then that?
Just received a Facebook message from someone who's feeling the call to plant a church. I'll keep his name and location a secret for now because he hasn't gone public with his current church yet. However, I was impressed with him reaching out to me. Not because I have all the answers but because he knows what he doesn't know.
As with any endeavor, there is a ton of really good resources out there to help someone start a church. But as someone whose been there...there is nothing like talking to those who have gone before. No book, conference, worshop, etc should replace the coaching you get from someone whose "been there, done that."
Looking forward to helping this guy and with his permission, I'll post some of our conversations.
In the meantime, who do you need to seek out that's been where you're going? Contact them this week and take them to lunch.