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The Myth of the Summer Slump
MYTH: Memorial Day is right around the corner. You know what that means… Low attendance. People head for the beach, the lake, or the kiddie pool in the backyard and leave you preaching to empty rows. Oh well, that’s the way the summer goes. Just hold on and count the days until fall. There’s not much you can do.
REALITY: Memorial Day is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to grow your church to the next level!
You have one week until summer (unofficially) begins. Are you ready?
At The Journey, we have grown every summer since our start in 2002. How? By choosing to take advantage of the freedom summer gives us to be creative! We have come to understand that summer is the perfect time to connect new attenders with the church, through creative outreach, creative messages, and creative small groups. So, while all of our regulars do their summer sunning, we are keeping our attendance consistent.
Just think about the effects of this approach when fall hits – All of your regular attenders will get back on track and all of the new people you started assimilating over the summer will be truly connected and ready to go deeper… That means a huge fall growth spurt! That means momentum! That means more people headed towards becoming fully developing followers of Jesus!
Or you can sit by the pool and wait for the leaves to start turning… The choice is yours, but here is my suggestion:
Plant this summer so you can reap the harvest in the fall!
- Nelson
P.S. – To learn more about how to creatively connect newcomers this summer, download our Maximizing Summer MP3 - use this code to get it for FREE: maxsummer
(Note: Coupon Expires 6/15/08) -
Taking Off The Mask
Most pastors want to be perfect. But we can’t be. So what do we do instead? We try to make people think we are perfect. We put on the mask of perfection and go about our day, never letting anyone get too close. Because, if they did, they might see that we are actually (gasp) human. I hope no one minds if I quote Jim Morrison…
“That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is… You get to love your pretense. We are locked in an image, an act. The most important freedom is to be who you really are.” – Jim Morrison
I would add that the most important freedom is to be who you are in Jesus. Thanks to what He has done, we don’t have to walk around pretending to have it all together. The people in our churches don’t want to see our act. They aren’t looking for a performance. They want and need to see leaders who are real people, complete with imperfections, transformed by and walking in grace.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am not advocating that we air our dirty laundry for the world to see. I am simply saying that we don’t have to spend our days pretending to be something we are not. We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to keep people at arm’s length so that they won’t see the chips in our armor. Some of us need to work on being ourselves, authentically, all the time, no matter who we are with or what the circumstances. Let’s start leaving the mask at home. There is truly great freedom – and great love – in being every ounce of who God has created us to be for this moment in time.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory…” – Paul (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
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Webinar Results - Very Cool
Just finished a webinar with 62 church leaders from across the United States and Canada. All I can say is WOW! How cool to be able to train so many through technology! Some of the churches had 8 people around the computer - talk about exponential impact.
No word on when the next one will be but we are in the process of scheduling Fusion, Worship Leader and Activate Webinars soon. If you have a suggested topic, just let me know.
Also, since this technology is such an effective way to train people, I’m considering my first Tele-Coaching Senior Pastors Network for August - click here. Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks to everyone who was at the event today. I’ll be answering your questions on the blog in the near future.
Nelson
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Why Your Ministry Should be Messy (at least a little)
For me, one of the great challenges of Church Leadership is the tension of not getting everything done that I would like to get done every day. With several billion people on the planet who still need to be reached, I may not get to check everything off my “to-do” list before the day is over. Let’s face it, if we are committed to reaching and disciplining people, things are going to get a little messy.
The great king/philosopher Solomon said it like this:
“Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.”
- Proverbs 14:4
We all have to resist the temptation to make the church a place with the primary purpose of “keeping the stables clean” instead of our God-given purpose of reaping a harvest. We may feel a little more in control if we focus on “keeping our stables clean” but our church will never reach it’s full redemptive potential.The great car racer/philosopher Mario Andretti said it like this
“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
I’m not saying we should take this to an extreme. Mario Andretti took pit stops in every race and even the cattle were to observe The Sabbath. But I am saying that a ministry that is moving forward will be (and maybe should be) messy (at least a little).
So let’s take seriously our God-given responsibility to plan and prepare and let’s also not be a afraid of the mess from time to time.
Nelson
P.S. For more on the Sabbath check out check out my resource “Leadership Skills For A Growing Church.” And yes, that’s a picture of my messy desk above!
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Fusion Webinar in Less than 24 Hours
In less than 24 hours the next Fusion Webinar will begin. I’m very excited to one again teach the principles of how to retain first time guests and move them through a clear process from newcomer to fully committed member.
We can handle 999 people on the phone/internet webinar so there’s still room for you! Why don’t you take a moment and register right now - the event is tomorrow, May 14 from Noon - 2:00pm EDT. All you need is a computer and phone to join in. Register by Clicking Here.I look forward to being online and on the phone with everyone tomorrow.
BTW, still wonder what in the world is a ‘fusion webinar’? Check out this post.
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Debate versus Denigrate
Yesterday I read an article by someone disagrees with some of my ideas about church planting (launching large, building the church from the outside in, etc.). He wrote a great article and made some great points that offered alternatives to my views.
I actually wrote him and congratulated him on his analysis while clarifying some of my own positions. We exchanged several emails that were respectful and, I believe, God honoring. It was healthy and productive.
It reminded me that there is a difference between ‘debate‘ and ‘denigrate.’ I love it when Church Leaders debate. I’m sickened when we denigrate.
Maybe this is on my mind because I’m doing a teaching series right now on the power of words (Tongue Pierced) or maybe God is trying to remind me to use my words to build up rather than tear down. Either way, I want to remove any hint of denigration from my life.
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” – Psalm 19:14 -
Bruce Lee on Time Management
Next week we are launching my new Time Management Resource (get a sneak preview here) - I’m fanatical about time management. In fact, I’m set-up so that Google sends me any new posts or links on Time
Management. Here’s one I couldn’t resist sharing. From Martial Arts Expert (and one of my childhood hero’s) Bruce Lee:“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”
“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”
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Monday Proflections: The Week Ahead
I love Monday’s - if things go right on Monday I’m sitting pretty for the rest of the week. Here’s a few things on my calendar that I’m looking forward too and that I thought might benefit you:
Monday - Today is the last today to get the free Evangelism Seminar (57.00 Value) that Roy is offering. Click Here.
Tuesday, Part 1 - I’m doing a video shoot for Sunday (I’m going to be away in two weeks but wanted to push our Summer Growth Groups that day). I loving going ‘on location’ in NYC to do a promo video.
Tuesday, Part 2 - We have a summer planning meeting to figure out how we can impact over 500,000 people this summer with Servant Evangelism. Here’s a resource I did a while back on Maximizing Summer and how you can grow during the summer (it’s true - don’t buy the old myth that you have to remain stagnant until the fall).
Wednesday - From Noon to 2:00pm EDT I’m doing a Fusion Webinar. I’m very excited about this. Last time we had over 200 people on the call/live internet feed. Why don’t you join me?
Thursday - Taking the day off and Kelley and I are heading to Atlantic City with Alexander’s college fund! OK, we are going to Atlantic City and Alexander is going with us and the gas prices will probably eat into his college fund but we are going to meet friend and be recharged (at least that’s as much as I’ll admit in a public forum).
Friday - The first meeting of my next NYC Coaching Network. 18 great pastors from around the country will be flying in. We had record applications this time and it was so hard to select. I’m thinking about starting a tele-coaching network late summer/early fall. Here’s a preview.
Saturday - my last day in the office before I head to Saddleback Church to speak at Rick’s Stealth Purpose Driven Conference. Let me know if you are going to be there.
I love doing what I do!! I can’t wait for a great week and I hope you have one too.
Nelson
P.S. I almost forgot - the new edition of The Church Leader Insights Newsletter comes out on Tuesday too. It should arrive in your inbox between 10 and 11am. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can sign-up on the right side of this page —->. I put the newsletter together last week and there’s a ton of great stuff on evangelism, leadership and church growth plus my two latest book recommendations.
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Sunday Preparation
In about an hour I will deliver the 10am message at The Journey-Manhattan. The message is “The Art of Confrontation” and it’s part 2 in our Tongue Pierced series.
I tried something new this past week in preparing for this message. I came in early on Tuesday morning and the message was sorta burning in my head (you’ve been there, right?) so I went out into our conference area set-up my handy dandy portable recorder and delivered the sermon without a script - just let it flow out of my head. Afterwards, I had some of our staff listen to it and give me feedback.
Surprisingly, they (almost) all liked it.Encouraged by their feedback, I found a company online who would transcribe the MP3 in about 48 hours and send it back to me as a Word doc. I got it back on Thursday, we ran thru it again and I spent a couple of hours tweaking the message. It felt really good to have the message completed by Thursday night.
I wonder if it today’s message will be better than my last one? I hope so . . . that’s one of my goals as a communicator: to be better this week than I was last week.
Off to deliver the message. . .
Loving Sundays,
Nelson
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Pentecost Sunday and a HUGE Freebie
One of the reasons I started this blog is because we needed a great place to give away free stuff. Well, yesterday Roy took this to a whole new level by giving away our #2 bestselling resource - The Evangelism Seminar!
Why? Because tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday. Here’s what Roy said (and keep reading, I’ll tell you how to get your copy):
In honor of Pentecost Sunday , we are giving away “The Evangelism Seminar” between now and Monday. We’ve never done anything like this before! This is a $57.00 seminar that we are giving away for FREE!
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
Because we want to thank you for being a Church Leader Insights customer and we’d like to do anything in our power to see “Pentecost” happen in as many churches in as many places as often as possible.One of our values at Church Leader Insights is generosity so I love what Roy is doing. Here’s how to get your copy of The Evangelism Seminar:
Just CLICK HERE and add “The Evangelism Seminar (Fully Downloadable Version)” to your cart. Enter the coupon code “pentecost” when you check out and you will be able to download the entire seminar for FREE! (Notes: No quotes in the code; code expires at 11:59pm EDT on 5/12/08)
And Roy makes one more request: “Would you forward this post to 3 friends so they will be able to take advantage of this free gift of ‘The Evangelism Seminar?‘”
So Happy Pentecost Sunday (or is it Merry Pentecost)!
Nelson
P.S. If you are reading this post and the 5/12/08 deadline has passed, don’t worry. Keep reading the blog, we’ll be giving away tons of other free stuff in the coming weeks and months. Or, if you are a church planter, you can get tons of free stuff anytime by clicking here.
Church Leader Insights is a bi-weekly publication sent via email that focuses on effective leadership, church growth, church planting evangelism and much more.
