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

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!

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.

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.”

You can read the full article here.

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.

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

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.

So Much to Say, So Little Time – Making the Message Stick

Most of you are probably familiar with the book Made To Stick, by Heath brothers Chip and Dan. I recently took a fresh look at one of the concepts that the brothers dive into in their “Simple” section…

How many of us struggle with having to fit all the things we want to say into the little bit of time we have on Sunday mornings? You know how it is – You want to communicate truths that are really going to impact people, but sometimes the clock paralyzes you and makes your message less effective than it could be. So how can you get important ideas to stick in such limited time? By making your core message simple, compact and meaningful.

As the Heath brothers say, “Compact ideas help people learn and remember a core message…. To make a profound idea compact, you’ve got to pack a lot of meaning into a little bit of messaging.” Okay… but most of us church leaders love to pontificate. So where’s the sweet spot? How do we actually go about that goal of packing a lot of meaning into a little bit of messaging? Here are three quick ideas:

-    Tap into existing schemas. In other words, call on something that your audience already understands in order to help them grasp the new information you are giving them. Example – You may not know what a pomelo is, but as soon as I describe that it is basically an oversized grapefruit, you will. Why? Because you understand a grapefruit.

-    Avoid the “Curse Of Knowledge.” Don’t get caught up in explaining any one thing so fully that you minimize its effectiveness. You don’t have to tell your people everything in one sitting. Find the balance between giving them an exegesis and making sure they understand how to apply core truth to their lives.

-    Use good metaphors. A good metaphor can help people wrap their head around difficult to understand information. Think about the common metaphor of the brain as a computer. Since most of us have an understanding of how a computer works, the metaphor gives us some essential insight into our own brains.

The bottom line is to keep your message simple, without watering it down. Find your core and then figure out how to express it in the form of a compact, meaningful idea. When you do, your message will stick!

I hope your sermon goes great this weekend!

Nelson Searcy

P.S. Looking for examples of this concept, just check out the Book of Proverbs for some examples of powerful, compact ideas.

Q & A: What About People from Other Churches?

I recently got this question from a friend in New Hampshire who attended the recent Launch Conference that Kerrick and I did here in the city:

“How do you handle people from other churches who want to join your church?”

This is a great question that we all should wrestle with.  There are three types of church growth:

Conversion Growth – when new believers join your church by evangelism

Biological Growth – when children of members are evangelized

Transfer Growth – when a person from another church joins your church

Transfer Growth is the most tricky because there is no clear path for assimilation and because there are two kinds of transfer growth:

Transfer “IN” growth – when a church member from another city or state moves to your city and wants to join your church.

Transfer “ACROSS” growth – when a church member from another church in your city wants to join your church.

I’m not a big fan of Transfer “ACROSS” growth but it does happen.  So what should you do when it does?

For the answer to this question, I’m going to quote our Executive Pastor Kerrick Thomas (my co-author on several books and CLI resources).  Here’s what he had to say:

“As far as handling people from other churches – honestly all we do is to not do them any special favors.  We don’t discourage them from coming in any way.  However, just because someone has served in a leadership role in one church doesn’t mean they automatically get to do so here.  We have a leadership ladder at The Journey. And if you want to serve in leadership in the church – you start by serving others in entry level positions and earning your way.  We have seen church plants put people from other churches in positions of leadership right away because they know how to do things and have been Christians for a while – but unless that person has bought into the vision of the church (and worked through baggage) then it usually ends with discontent and them spreading that discontent to others who were otherwise happy.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself – thanks Kerrick and thanks for the question from New Hampshire!  If you have a question, send it over – just use the “Ask Nelson” button on the right.

Nelson Searcy

P.S. If you haven’t yet joined the thousands of people who have read my NEW Report on Organic Church Growth entitled “Healthy Systems, Healthy Church,” check it out here.

P.S.S. Kerrick is beginning a new Tele-Coaching network exclusively for Executive Pastors in June.  Click Here to download an application or for more information.

Photo Courtesty of Flikr

The Truth About Church Systems (NEW Free Report)

One question I get constantly is ‘Nelson, what do you mean by Church Systems?‘

Great question. And one that definitely needs addressed.

Because if you really get ‘church systems’ it will dramatically improve how you lead your church and increase your understanding of how God grows our churches
(often much faster than we think possible)

But if you go about it the wrong way…yeesh.

So for the last few weeks our team (me, Roy, Jennifer and some of my top coaching alumni) have been quietly putting our heads together and cranked out this Special Report titled

“Healthy Church, Healthy Systems”

Get your copy here:

Get Healthy Church, Healthy Systems

You wanted a roadmap? You got a roadmap – and then some.

This is a step by step blueprint describing the ‘church systems’ process that I have taught to hundreds of coaching alumni (many of whom have seen huge spirit produced growth almost as soon as they went to work on their systems), written about in all my books and shared in this top rated podcast.

This report is a guide book to true organic church growth.

(dare I use the words ‘organic” and ‘church growth’ in the same sentence – read the report!).

Get Healthy Church, Healthy Systems

Gotta run… I can’t wait to hear our thoughts on the report.  Also, if you find it helpful, please share it on your blog or direct your readers here to get their copy.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

P.S. Roy has put together a great deal called The Church Systems Package that ties in well with this report.  It’s a great way to jumpstart the growth of your church and to start implementing right away the lesson of the report.  Click Here.

Monday Memory Tips for Church Leaders

I wonder if its harder for pastors to remember things on Monday than any other day of the week?  Most of us are a little ‘cloudy’ on Monday’s due to fatigue from our weekend obligations.  So if that’s you, here’s five Monday memory tips for you

(full disclosure – I’m a sucker for memory tips – it’s a little known fact but when I was a kid I once used my parents credit card, without their knowledge, to buy a “How to Remember Anything”-type kit from a late night infomercial.  Now there’s a lesson I’ll never forget!)

FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

1- Write it down and schedule it as soon as you think of it. I heard long ago that ‘Pale ink beats the best memory.’  Have a way to capture every thought and then schedule it on your calendar or in your to do list.

2- Connect first names with physical characteristics. Most of us meet tons of people and we struggle with names.  Let’s say you meet Rita and she had red hair.  Remember her as Red Hair Rita.  Note sure how that would work my my name?  Oh well, it works some of the time.

3- Keep common things in the same place, always! Always put your keys in the same place.  Always put your stuff to take from home to the office (or vice versa) in the same place.  When I travel I always put my wallet and keys on the top of the TV (note to hotel thieves) but it works . . . I haven’t forgotten anything in a long time.

4- Use a password manager on your computer.  The best way to improve your memory is to ‘not have to remember it at all.’  Since I’m on a Mac I use 1Password.  There’s similar password managers for all types of computers, even for those of you still using TRS-80s.

5- Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition (ok, enough!).  There are some things that you should repeat over and over in your mind so they become part of your long term memory and you don’t have to look them up every time.  Jason (Worship Arts Pastor at The Journey) challenged me a few years ago to memorize my credit card numbers and its not only been a huge time saver its been a great exercise for memory.  What are key things you need to memorize?  Whatever it is repeat it over and over for 7 days and most likely it will become part of you.  This is why we have a weekly memory verse card each week at The Journey.

What else do you do to improve your memory? I’ll continue this list of tips sometime in the future (if I don’t forget!).

Nelson Searcy

P.S. This post was inspired by a classic Top 10 Post at LifeHacker entitled “Top 10 Memory Hacks”

Photo Courtesy of Flikr

Excited About Sunday and Tongue Pierced

In just about 90minutes we’ll be kicking off the first of our four services at our Manhattan Location (where I’m teaching today) and we are beginning a brand new series called “Tongue Pierced” that’s based on Proverbs 18:21:

“The tongue has the power of life and death.”

Today’s message is called The Power of Words and its an intro to the entire series.  I can’t wait!  Here’s the rest of the titles:

The Art of Confrontation

The Art of @#!$%$!

The Art of Praise

Words That Last

Worship Leader Intensive – May 14 -15 (and a Freebie)

On May 14 and 15 Jason Hatley, The Journey’s Worship Arts Pastor, is leading is premier event, a two day Worship Leader Intensive (Hint: Pastor,  you may want to make sure your Worship Leader is at this event).

During this event he teaches you how to overcome the top “7 Challenges Every Worship Leader Will Face.”  Here’s how Jason’s describes the event at www.WorshipLeaderInsights.com:

Specifically designed for the church’s main Worship Pastor and up to 2 additional staff members or key volunteers, the Two-Day Worship Leader Intensive is a fast paced, all you can take event that will help you overcome the challenges that you face as a worship leader.

You will learn proven principles and action steps on how to…

• Develop a personal leadership growth plan that will help you lead at an optimum level
• Work with the Lead Pastor to fulfill your role, and give him everything he needs
• Plan farther ahead than ever before, and create more impactful services than ever before
• Maximize the number of people serving on your worship arts team
• Make the most of the resources spent on the Sunday service for now and the future
• Create a culture of excellence for yourself and your volunteers
• Ensure that every Sunday service is successfully planned for and executed
• And much more!

Now let me ask: what Worship Pastor doesn’t want to lead at his or her best? Invest in your ministry in 2008, by investing in your leadership potential.  And remember, the financial investment is PER CHURCH (one price for up to three people). Click here to learn more or register now.

Nelson Searcy

P.S. If you are committed to attending but you simply can’t afford it, email me and I’ll do all I can to get you a partial scholarship, just let me know the amount you can invest.

P.P.S. Whether you can make it to the event or not, I’d like to give you a free copy of Jason’s resource “Starting A Worship Arts Ministry From Scratch.”  Click on this link and then use this coupon code when you check out: wacp  (Note: this code will only be valid until May 15, 2008)

Q & A: How To Read More

Got this question from Church Planting Coaching Network Alumni Mike Sorcinelli (New Day Church – www.newdaychurch.cc ) in Longmeadow, MA:

“I really want to be a reader but it literally took me 6 hours + to read your book “Fusion”, which is a short book. It’ll take me almost a month to read “Planting Missional Churches” (I’m about half way through) and there are so many books I want to read (I’ve got a pile of them on my shelf). Do you have any tools or resources for learning to read faster?”

Mike, I love your passion!  All leaders are readers.

As for me, I haven’t always been a reader, in fact I don’t think I ever read a book from cover to cover before I became a Christian (at age 17) but since then God has given me a passion for reading and its been one of the primary sources of my on-going growth as a leader.

I still struggle with reading all that’s on my shelf but here’s one major tip:

Skim, skim and skim!

Most big books (like the one you mention above from my friend Ed Stetzer) can easily be skimmed and you’ll still get 75-80% of the content while saving 90% of your time.

Here’s a few things I’ve learned::

- Only read the chapters that interest you (read the table of contents and then the first and last paragraphs of the chapters that interest you. If that’s helpful, read the entire chapter.)

- Only thoroughly read those books recommended by a good source (like the ones we recommend in the CLI newsletter.  Hint: You can subscribe for free on the right —>)

- Read as fast as you can with no distractions and then next time try to do it even faster – shoot for one page every minute and then one page every 45seconds and then every 30seconds.  I currently read one page at less than 30sec with a high retention rate.

- Listen to books on tape at twice the speed (use m4b setting on your ipod).

- Read in blocks of time with a goal – say to yourself, “I’m going to read Fusion in this two hour block of time” and then push yourself to do it.

- Be sure you have good glasses (if needed).

- Read, read, read and read some more!

Your mind is a muscle so exercise it and it will increase. I currently read 3 to 5 books a week but the goal is not quantity. The goal is to read what is most helpful and to retain a large part of what you read.

So what have you found helpful in reading faster with greater retention?

Nelson

P.S. The next round of Church Planter Coaching starts in July and will be lead by Kerrick Thomas.  If you hare launching a church this fall or next spring, now is the perfect time to apply.  Click Here for More Information.

What is The Path of Discipleship in Your Church?

“What is the path of Discipleship in your church?”  This is a question I get a lot.  My response is usually that the path of discipleship at The Jouney is not knowledge driven with an appeal for people to serve at the end, but service driven with the knowledge that people need provided along the way.  There is a huge difference between the two.

Knowledge is a very dangerous thing.  In 1 Corinthians 8:1 Paul told the Corinthians “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  When we teach a class at The Journey that is knowledge based, we let people know that if they sit through 3 hours of Bible teaching and leave without acting in a different and more loving way as a result of the class, they have become less spiritually mature as a result of their attendance.  They would have been better off if they had stayed home and taken a nap!

What is the path of discipleship in your church?  Do you challenge (and give opportunities) for people to serve and provide the knowledge they need along the way, or do you give them knowledge and training and then try to convince them to serve at the end?

“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” – Jesus (John 13:17)

P.S.  You might want to check out he sermon series “Fully Engaged: The Power of a Committed Life.” It helped us challenge those attending The Journey to act out their faith in a deeper way.

Hanging with Church Planters

Today Kerrick and I will be leading a one day Launch conference based on our Church Planting book of the same name. The event will be here in NYC. We have a full house coming from all over the US.

If you have a moment, please pray for us! There’s nothing more exciting than hanging with a group of fired up church ‘launchers’,

Nelson Searcy

P.S. We are in the final stages of confirming other one day Launch Conferences in Syracuse and Cincinatti. Kerrick will be leading both. More info soon!