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Set People Up to Succeed

2009-11-05T10:36:00-05:00

The other day I was reading in the book of 1 Chronicles in the Bible, and came across this verse:

"Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it." 1 Chronicles 15:22

It made me think about how often in the Church we don't put people in a position to succeed because they serve where they aren't skilled. Here are some scenarios that come up:

People don't know where they are skilled - In this case it's best to let them serve wherever they would like to at first, or even where you need them, but it's important to evaluate how that role fits them and try to help them learn what their gifts and abilities really are.
People want to do something they aren't skilled at - This is one of the most difficult because it means having a hard conversation to let them know they should probably serve in a different capacity that utilizes their true gifts. Interestingly enough, like the verse in Chronicles, music is where we find this happen a lot.
People don't realize how skilled they are - Some people are more skilled than they realize, especially when it comes to leadership. We have to recognize that and encourage them to reach their full potential by giving them opportunities.

The team, the mission, and the Church has to come before any individual and if everyone has that attitude, and we work hard to set people up to succeed, great things can happen.

CCC Web Presence

2009-11-04T10:50:00-05:00

At CCC we have been working on upgrading our web presence for a while now. The biggest upgrade was overhauling our website (see left). The new website runs on WordPress and is adapted from a theme/design that was done by Rob Spangler for another one of our websites: thrivebaltimore.net

Tons of people were involved with making it happen, starting with Rob's design, Zak's modifications for the new site, Ryan's kickin' graphics, Adam gathering and managing content from the staff team while I tried my best to learn WordPress on the fly to make it do what we wanted.

In addition to the new website, we launched our new blog, new Facebook page, and new Twitter account. Check it out and let me know what you think. Don't forget to subscribe to blog updates, follow us on twitter and become a fan on our Facebook page.

Music Video Tribute to CCC Kids Volunteers

2009-09-29T08:12:00-05:00

This past May we gathered all the CCC Kids volunteers for an event we called Heroes. It was a time to celebrate everything they do for CCC by having fun and sharing stories. Below is a video our worship arts team created that was part of the fun:

Free Resources for Churches

2009-09-03T10:21:00-05:00

I love how there are so many great resources out there for churches. They're usually from churches who are sharing what they have created. Steven Furtick's announcement of their new resources website made me want to list all the great church resource websites I know of, so here they are:

Inside North Point: http://www.insidenorthpoint.org

Elevation Church: http://resources.elevationchurch.org/

LifeChurch.tv has provided so much that they get a list:

http://open.lifechurch.tv/ (church resources)

http://www.churchmetrics.com/ (church statistics tracking)

http://www.youversion.com/ - (online Bible w/journal)

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/09/01/youversionlive/ (YouVersion Live coming in Oct)

http://www.videoteaching.com/ (free message videos for churches)

http://www.babelwith.me/ (group chat with translation for 45 languages)

NewSpring Church: https://www.newspringonline.com/ (ignore the Google warning)

Revolution Church: http://revolutionbackstage.tv/

Seacoast Church: http://www.seacoastallaccess.org/ (will return soon, bookmark it)

And, you can check out some more stuff at http://churchrelevance.com/free-church-graphics-and-resources-toolbox/

Catalyst One Day Coming to Baltimore

2009-09-01T08:58:00-05:00

Catalyst One Day is coming to Baltimore, MD (Fulton, specifically) on Monday, November 16. A bunch of people from CCC will be going, including staff and volunteers. I'm thrilled about an event like this coming to MD (or anywhere in the northeast) and I'm excited that some of our volunteers will be attending.

If you lead anything, you'll want to attend this event. It is specifically geared towards church leaders but the principles would apply to any leadership context. The theme is momentum.

Grace Community Church is hosting the event. Check out the website to sign up.

Yeah, I know

2009-08-31T08:47:00-05:00

I know it's been a long time since I blogged anything, almost a month in fact. It's been more than a month since I blogged anything besides a video link. August has been a CRAZY month and I just haven't had the time.

For our church and our staff August is typically a down month, and we avoid scheduling things as much as possible. But, we actually had a lot going on this month (not in any specific order):

Made big changes to our auditorium and some other rooms to make room for more people
Worked on a new website that will be unveiled soon
Planned Kindergarten Confidential (orientation for incoming kindergartners and parents) from scratch and launched it today (We had a great turnout and from my perspective everything went well)
Wrote the children's ministry portion of a new book for parents we are creating that explains our strategy for families
KidStuf tech workday to prepare for a new KidStuf season

On top of all that I had to write a 10 page paper that was due last Monday. I was actually on vacation the first week of August but even with that it felt like one of the busiest months ever.
On one hand I'm just whining, but on the other I'm setting the stage to say that we have an awesome team of people (staff & volunteers) who have done a lot of great work this past month to help CCC do a better job of helping people find their way back to God.

Louie Giglio Tells the Story Behind God of This City

2009-08-05T11:38:55-05:00

This is a cool video of Louie Giglio telling the story behind the song God of This City. I often pray the lyrics of that song would ring true for Baltimore, that "greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city".

Fool Proof

2009-07-22T08:11:00-05:00

This is the first in a regular series of posts where I'll share how I'm seeking to apply what was taught in the message on Sunday. The title comes from the parable of the Wise & Foolish builders that Jesus talked about, saying the wise are ones who "hears these words of mine and puts them into practice".

Being that I preached on Sunday this is an odd way to kick off this regular series of posts. But, one of the things I encouraged people to do was share stories of God's faithfulness in their past. One of those stories for me is about money.

When I was about 20 years old I realized I was pursuing the American dream and not really living for God. So, I tried to live more for God in every area of my life. I watched a friend of mine tithe (give money to support the God's mission through the local church) and I realized I had never tithed. It just wasn't modeled for me. I tried to start, but I had little margin financially and could never make it work.

So, I decided to hold God to his promise (that He would provide) and I sold my car to get a cheaper one, which created margin financially, and I began tithing. God was faithful to that promise then and has been ever since in regards to provision. In fact, I would say more often than not I've been blessed when giving, especially when it hasn't been easy. I always point back to that first time when I'm faced with the decision of giving or hoarding it for myself. Yet, I still seem to make the unwise choice too often.

Videoteaching.com

2009-07-21T08:34:00-05:00

LifeChurch.tv is unveiling their newest web-based church resource today, videoteaching.com The site will allow church leaders to download video messages from other communicators to use in their churches. You can follow them on twitter at @videoteaching

Personally I think the Church (universal) is full of people who are teaching the Bible but aren't gifted to do so. In terms of spiritual gifts, teaching is 3rd for me every time I take one of the tests and the work I had to put in to preach this past week just confirms it's not my #1 or #2 gift. The less you are naturally gifted at something the harder you have to work at it.

The reason I think the Church has tons of people teaching that shouldn't be, is because we have assume the senior pastor should be the best pastor, teacher, and leader in the church but that is pretty much impossible. Being great at 2 out of those 3 distinct spiritual gifts is pretty rare I believe. I hope videoteaching.com will help pastors who aren't gifted in teaching leverage their gifts more while still providing excellent Biblical teaching.

Free Resource About Church Systems

2009-07-20T08:54:00-05:00

Nelson Searcy and his Church Leader Insights website is probably the best resource for learning about church systems. Andy Stanley says that "systems create behaviors". As a pastor of a large church he knows how important systems are. But, systems are important for any size church, they just become increasingly more important as the church grows.

Nelson has released the next version of the Church Systems Report on the CLI website. I would encourage any church leader to download that free report and glean everything they can from it. In there, Nelson highlights what he believes are the 8 primary systems of every church and ways every church can improve them.