100th Blog Post

This is my 100th Blog Post.

When I started blogging on April 13, 2008, I was already late to the game….so I had a lot of catching up to do!  Today over 1000 people read this blog each day (with gusts up to 5000) and I’m having a blast sharing content and observations with you.  The bottom line: I’m committed to doing this for a long time (or at least until some other technology supersedes blogging).

I started the blog for three reasons:

1- To provide on-going coaching to my 300+ Coaching Alumni

2- To share ideas and insights to supplement my books and resources

3- To give away free stuff.

I think I’ve achieved all three goals goal (you are ultimately the judge and jury). Your comments, links and notes of appreciation lead me to believe that I’m on track.

To celebrate this 100th Post, here are links to the Top 5 most ‘linked-to’ posts I’ve done (I measure success by links, not comments):

Little Things Don’t Mean A Lot – They Mean Everything

How to Conduct a Newcomers Reception

The Truth About Church Systems (Free Report)

How to Read More

Living Off Peak (Time Management)

I hope you continue to enjoy the blog!  If you have any questions you’d like me to address, just use the Ask Nelson button on the right.

Nelson

Monday Proflections – July 21, 2008

Here’s what’s happening with me and CLI this week that may be of interest to you.  Busy week….

Monday – The CLI store has been down for maintenance all weekend and will be down for most of today.  Updating software is always a pain but we had to upgrade in order to continue to serve you. You data is safe but even when it ‘goes live’ we may still have some formatting and graphic bugs to work out.  It should be online later this afternoon.

Tuesday – If you are near Miami (or can get there by Thursday) be sure to join Bob Franquiz for The Evangelism Seminar.  He’s one of a handful of pastors that I’ve personally trained to teach my material.  To learn more, click here. If the website isn’t working (see Monday above) please call 212.730.8300 x212 to register.

Wednesday – Last chance to register for my Stewardship Seminar either Live in NYC or video cast by web around the world.  Call 212.730.8300 x212 to learn more or to register.

Thursday – I’ll be teaching The Stewardship Seminar in NYC (which is also being video cast to anywhere in the world) and Bob Franquiz will be teaching The Evangelism Seminar in Miami.  See Tuesday and Wednesday above for links to register.  Please pray for us and for those who attend!

Friday – I’m leading my NYC Coaching Network during the day and ‘investing’ the evening in a potential staff member and his spouse.  I’m investing a ton of time this summer looking for A-players to join our staff.  Are you interested?  Contact me!

Saturday – Today is the highlight of my church year – Beach Baptism at Jones Beach.  Over 50 people signed up as of today but I’m praying for 100.  If you are anywhere near Jones Beach, feel free to join us for 2:30pm baptism.  I may need your help in the water!

In addition, watch for lots of great posts this week and for an update on my tele-coaching network for Senior Pastors (it’s not too late to apply).

Make it a great week!

Nelson

P.S. If our web store is still under renovation and you need to register for an event or purchase a resource, please call Cristina at 212.730.8300 x212.  We are upgrading to better serve you!

Immediate Action

Today I’m teaching at all four Journey-Manhattan services and I’m challenging everyone to do a Servant Evangelism project right after the service.  I’m giving them a bag of SE material and sending them out to ‘Do It Now!’  I did this a couple of years ago and about 20% of those in attendance did it – I’m praying for 50% today.

What action to you want people to take after you teach today?

Off to the first service….

Nelson

The Price of Greatness

“The price of greatness is responsibility.”
– Winston Churchill, Former British prime minister

Be Ready to Reward

Imagine something with me for a minute… Let’s say I walked into your office right now and said, “Hi, I’m Nelson Searcy and here’s $1000. I want you to use this $1000 to improve your church.” What would you do? What’s the first thing that pops into your mind?

Would you invest in your volunteers? How? Would you do something special for your staff? How would you spend that $1000? Would you be willing to use it to reward?

I started thinking about this question when I came across a recent blog post by Phil Gerbyshak. He had some good ideas around the concept of using the $1000 to thank and motivate his staff. He said that he would reward his staff by buying:

• “A Good Lunch: I manage 8 folks, so at $25 per person, that’s $200
• Refreshing Beverage of Choice: Some like iced coffee, some iced tea, and some want juice. At $5 per person, this would spend another $40 of my $1000.
• A Box of Thank You Notes: Hand written thank you notes are a very effective way to let your team know you care, especially if you offer them with specific praise. 40 thank you notes means 5 thanks per person. That’s another $25 spent.
• 40 Stamps: I like to mail my notes to my team at home, instead of just handing them to them at work, so their family can see them too. $16.80 cost.
• Frozen Custard: If you’ve never enjoyed frozen custard before, you don’t know what you’re missing. Maybe it’s just a Wisconsin thing, but instead of ice cream to fill a sweet tooth, I’d go and get some frozen custard from Kopps, not far from where I work. $50. (What special treat is near your church?)
• Direct Lighting: One of the worst things that can happen at work is eye strain, and it happens frequently if you don’t have good lighting. My team sits at their desk in front of their computer all day, so an investment into some direct lighting would be nice. I’d guess this would be $300.
• Amazon Gift Cards: Maybe this is cheating, but this is what I’d buy. With whatever is left over, I’d buy Amazon gift cards in various denominations to have on hand for the next time I need a spot reward. $400.”

Click here to read the opinions of some others who chimed in.

So, any ideas? What would you do? Spend some time this weekend thinking about what you could do to boost your team’s morale – with or without the $1000.

Have a great weekend!

Nelson

Do You Have Enough Money?

Let me guess… No! None of us ever feel like we have the money we need to do all of the ministry we want to do. But the truth is that you have enough money to do everything God has in store for you and your church. The question is not whether it is there; the question is whether or not you understand the importance of tapping into it in the right way…

Every dollar you need to do ministry is in the pockets of your regular attenders and members. To often, we just don’t know how to harness the power of that money like the Bible says we should.

Let me remind you of a critically important truth – Financial stewardship is inseparably linked to spiritual growth. If your people aren’t giving like they should, they aren’t growing like they should.

That means that if you aren’t challenging them to bring the full tithe, you are doing them a disservice as their pastor. And you are also doing your church and its ministry a disservice. But when your regular attenders and your members are giving as they ought to, your church will be fully financed. That’s the way God set it up. Not to mention the fact that you will have a church full of faithful, growing Christians!

So, next time you feel like you don’t have enough money, step back and take a hard look at the situation… are your people bringing the full tithe? Why not? Are you challenging them to give in the ways we’ve all been instructed to give? If not, your problem isn’t a money problem, it’s a stewardship problem.

Nelson

P.S. – If you want to learn more about teaching your people to give in a God-honoring, practical way, check out The Stewardship Seminar.

P.P.S. You might also check out my upcoming Stewardship Seminar Webinar – you and your entire church can watch in as I teach the Stewardship Seminar to the live audience in NYC. Click here to learn more about the audio and video webcast or click here to join us live in NYC!

Learn to Break Your Next Growth Barrier at My New Webinar

My new webinar on Breaking the Top 3 Growth Barriers Every Church Faces is less than 24 hours away…but there’s still room for you!  All you need to participate in this webinar is internet access, a phone and a desire to grow your church!  Click here to register now.

The webinar is tomorrow, July 17, from 1:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern Daylight Time.

During this two hour live webinar, which is based on my bestselling Growth Barriers resources, you’ll learn:

- Why God gives us time to break growth barriers
- The top two decisions you must make to break the next barrier
- The right questions to ask in breaking barriers
- What is a growth barrier
- What is keeping your church from growing the way God desires
- How to identify and break the three most common barriers blocking your growth
- The 70% rule of church growth
- How to mobilize your people for evangelism
- How to cooperate with God to see your church growth
- The principle of spiritual readiness
- Plus much more

I can promise you that this webinar will be worth your time and investment.  I’ve taught these principles to hundreds of pastors in church of 65 and 6500 and they’ve all told me they walked away with something that would help them grow.

You can get a sneak peak at what I will cover by downloading the webinar notes by clicking here.

So, click here to sign up now. I can’t wait to be with you on via telephone and webinar on Thursday.

Nelson

P.S. In case you are wondering, ‘what in the world is a webinar,‘ I answered that question here when we did our first one.  Click here to read it.

Where There’s Slack There’s Lack – 1 of 8

SYSTEM #1: THE WEEKEND SERVICE SYSTEM

Let’s start this Wednesday series “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” by looking from the outside in – meaning we’ll work from the systems that are most obvious/ directly influence your people to the ones that are meant more to keep you and your team on track. We’ll jump in with the Weekend Service System…

Also known as the Worship Planning System, the Weekend Service System is what helps you plan, implement and evaluate your weekend service(s). You know that your weekend service is the front door to your church. The way you plan, implement and evaluate your music, preaching, transitions, offering, etc. is key. This is game day… the day you need to be at your best… the day you need to be totally reliant on God… the day you need to have some assurance that things are going to go just like they should so that people will have the best possible opportunity to encounter God. If you slack in prepping for your weekend service(s), the lack will be obvious. So think about it:

When was the last time you watched a “game tape” (a tape of a recent service)?

How have you been evaluating each service to make sure the next one is even better?

When was the last time you really communicated with your worship leader?

If you don’t pay close attention to the details of your worship service, it will atrophy. Yep, that’s just another way of saying that if you slack there will be lack.

I challenge you to spend this week digging into your Weekend Service System. Think about how you can make your service better. Evaluate everything. Give attention to the areas you’ve been neglecting. The worst thing you can do is let your service run on auto-pilot. God is always up to something new. Make sure you are in a position to magnify whatever that is!

We’ll pick up with a new system next Wednesday! Enjoy the rest of the blog between now and then… and if you haven’t already, make sure you download the free Church Systems Report by clicking here.

Nelson

P.S. – For more information on planning weekend services that will have maximum impact, check out this resource.

Where There’s Slack There’s Lack – New Eight Week Series

INTRODUCTION:

I’ve been playing with this phrase in my mind for quite a while now. It’s a true statement, don’t you agree? Where there’s slack (in energy or effort), there will be lack… a lack of fruit, a lack of results, a lack of passion…

Those of you who are familiar with me and with Church Leader Insights are pretty well versed in the eight systems of the church. You know that your church is a bundle of systems that God works through to keep everything on track. There’s the Evangelism System that helps you reach new people, the Assimilation System that allows you to smoothly integrate newcomers, the Worship Planning System that makes sure your weekend service is the best it can be, etc. (If you aren’t familiar with the eight systems, let me encourage you to download this free Church Systems report and learn about them.)

Like with any system, these eight systems give us what they are designed to give us. If we are slack in building or maintaining them, they will not produce the results we want. We have to do our part to make sure that all eight systems are set up and functioning correctly, so that our churches will be healthy and growing…

You may be saying, “Yeah, Nelson. We know. What’s the point?” Well, let me ask you a question. Have any of your eight systems been lacking? Could their lack be caused by your slack? This blog post is just a little introduction to a new blog series I’m going to be doing on the idea of “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack.” Starting tomorrow and continuing every Wednesday for the next eight weeks, I will look at one of the eight systems and challenge you to make sure you aren’t slacking off in its implementation. We’re going to figure out together where you are seeing lack and what you can do about it.

I fully expect that these next eight weeks will take your church systems to the next level. Are you ready? Make sure you stay on track with us. Don’t get slack… You know where that leads…

Nelson

P.S. – Click here to download your free Church Systems report.

Monday Proflections – July 14, 2008

Here’s what’s happening with me and Church Leader Insights that may be of interest to you this week:

Monday – In addition to the usual Sunday follow-up, we are following up on our three newcomer receptions from yesterday.  I was privileged to host in two of the three locations – 30 newcomers in Jersey City and then over 60 in Manhattan.

Tuesday – Watch your CLI email today for an invite from me to join my new Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors.  You don’t have to wait, you can learn more and apply now by clicking here.

Wednesday – I’ll be leading a live Coaching Network in Tampa today – this is my first network that is truly international.

Thursday – I’ll be hosting a live webinar today on “Breaking the Top 3 Growth Barriers“ – its from 1:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern Time.  All you need is a phone and internet access to join us.  It’s not too late to register by clicking here. I promise it will be worth your time and the small financial investment!

Friday – In addition to putting the final touches on Sunday’s message, I’m also finalizing my notes for next weeks Stewardship Seminar, which I’m teaching live here in New York City and webcasting around the world.  Why don’t you join me live in NYC by clicking here or join me via webcast by clicking here.  I’m very excited about the new section entitled “Managing Stewardship in a Downturn Economy.”  I hope you can join me!

In addition, watch for a new blog series starting this week around the “Slack=Lack” principle…but more on that tomorrow.

Have a great week!

Nelson