Since its debut back in January, God has been using Fusion: Turning First-Times Guests Into Fully-Engaged Members Of Your Church to help churches of every shape and size from all over the country – and even all over the world!

I am humbled by the reception the book has received and thrilled that it is truly helping to change lives.

At least once a week, I get an email from a pastor or church leader who wants to share how Fusion has impacted the way they do ministry. Thought you may be interested in taking a glimpse into a few of these stories:

“I just wanted to let you know that your book, Fusion, has changed (our church). We will never look at a first time guest the same way; they are all gifts from God.  I have heard your talk on assimilation two times, but it really struck a spiritual nerve with the book. I hope you write a book on every system.”

“Thank you for writing Fusion. It has me more excited than ever to reach lost people and to have a plan ready for them when they come, so that we can see them go from first time visitor to membership. I really liked the fictional story that made it all hit home. I have recommended it to several other pastor friends.”

“A few weeks ago, I was discouraged about how few were coming each week to our new church plant, but after reading Nelson’s formula about the number of guest per 100 people who already attend, I realized that we are in the 5 to 7 per hundred and are actually doing pretty well.”

“We will have an Assimilation Team meeting for the first time in a few weeks to get organized. I am very excited and have been pouring over the appendix and making it ours.”

This is just a tiny sampling of the overwhelming response to the book. If you have read Fusion, I hope that its principles have helped you revitalize the way you move newcomers from first-time guests to fully-developing followers of Jesus.

If you haven’t read Fusion, I encourage you to do so. By tweaking your assimilation system in the right way, you can infuse your church with new life. Just click here to check it out.

By the way, if you have a story about how Fusion has changed the assimilation mindset/process in your church, I would love to hear it!

Thank you for helping Fusion to make such an impact.

- Nelson

The September 11 attacks happened less than two months after Kelley and I moved to New York City to launch The Journey. In an odd way, I thank God that He brought us here before that infamous day.

There is a sense in the city, even seven years later, that if you didn’t experience September 11, 2001 as a New Yorker, you can’t relate to the horror of being here during the attacks… and you had better not try. If we had come in after the fact and attempted to do ministry – to help people wrap their minds around their questions and grief – we wouldn’t have had the same ability to empathize. We wouldn’t have had the same voice.

The Journey launched weekly services six months after September 11, 2001, on a schedule that was not our own, but totally God’s. Since that day, I have been privileged to pastor in New York City. It’s a city unlike any other.

The Journey currently meets under the shadow of the Empire State building, seen here on September 11, 2001 with the smoking towers in view just behind. This is the city we love. Its people are strong and courageous. They are intelligent, thoughtful and resilient. God is doing an amazing work here and we are humbled to be part of it.

Spend some time thinking about your city. What is its story? What events, both good and bad, have helped to shape and define it in the last couple of decades? To do ministry effectively, you must understand the voice of your city – and learn to speak the same language.

On this anniversary of, arguably, our nation’s worst tragedy, also take a few minutes to remember and reflect on how you felt on September 11, 2001. Say a prayer for the families who still deal with the resulting loss each and every day and for our country as we continue to move into the future with the lessons of September 11 always fresh in our hearts.

- Nelson

Earlier this week, I came across a quote by Og Mandino that really struck me:

“Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best you can do.”

When I read this quote, I immediately thought about the Raving Fans principle of “Deliver Plus One.” This principle teaches us to deliver excellence consistently and then to go beyond that to give people one percent more than they expect. (Those of you who have read my book, Fusion, and who have spent any time with me in seminars are familiar with the book Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. If you’ve never read it, add it to your list.)

The Og Mandino quote and the principle of “Deliver Plus One” operate from the same mindset. That is, always go the extra mile.

Church leaders are busy people and we tend to get caught up in the big things. But when we make the conscious effort to take “that additional few minutes” or “deliver the very best” we speak volumes to the on-looking world – many of them skeptics.

Take some time today to think about the little things in your life. Are you delivering the best you can? Are you delivering not only what’s expected, but an extra one percent?

Let’s break it down:

• Do you take the time to deal with small staff concerns?
• Do you mail your first time guests an unexpected free gift?
• Do you serve Starbucks coffee on Sunday mornings rather than Bargainbucks?
• Do you go out of your way to speak a word of encouragement to the people serving?

You may have heard that “the devil is in the details.” I prefer the opposite spin on that saying. I believe that God is in the details. Why? Because it’s the details – the little things in our lives and ministry – that give us the best opportunity to truly reflect the extent of God’s grace and love.

- Nelson

Sunday was a big day at The Journey – and you know how I love Big Days!

We’ve been gearing up for this Big Day with Kerry Shook for over a month and it really paid off. We had a huge number of first-time guests and everyone was very receptive to Kerry’s message (almost 1200 in attendance and 102 first time guests!).

If you haven’t read Kerry and Chris Shook’s book, “One Month To Live,” I encourage you to pick it up. It’s an incredible lesson in perspective. The main question the book poses is “How would your life change if you found out you only had thirty days to live?”

I find myself considering this question not only on a personal level, but also on a ministry level. Just think about it:

If you found out that you only had one month left on this earth, how would that change things in your church? Would you be tempted to walk away? Or would you use the last thirty days to reach as many people for Christ as you possibly could – to make sure that they would be in heaven with you one day?

As church leaders, we operate (we should operate, anyway) with a different mindset than the majority of job-oriented individuals. Most people, upon finding out that their lives were about to end, would walk away from their daily routines and never look back.

But our daily routines reach far past our own interests. We are not in this for a paycheck. If we are on fire for the people in our communities who don’t know Christ, the perspective of only being on this earth for thirty more days should spur us into action.

Collectively, we need to make an effort to resist the “Someday Syndrome” in ministry. You know, “Someday I’ll do a Big Day.” “Someday I’ll be better about reaching out to the community.” “Someday I’ll address the changes that need to be made in my church.”

Instead, let’s keep the “One Month” perspective fresh in our hearts and minds. Time is elusive. It passes too quickly and takes with it so many of the opportunities for outreach that we put off. Every day is a gift from God – an opportunity to draw closer to Him, spend precious time with our families, grow to our full potential, and reach a world who needs to hear the truth.

Someday never comes. Make the most of this day.

- Nelson

P.S. If you aren’t familiar with the Big Day concept, check out my resource “The Big Day by clicking here.

The fall ministry season has officially started and I’m more excited than ever about the next few months!  September to December is one of my favorite times of the year.  Here’s what’s happening with me and Church Leader Insights that may be of interest to you this week:

Monday – Our team @ The Journey will be focused on follow-up from yesterday’s Big Day with Kerry Shook. Check back here tomorrow for more on the day.

Tuesday – Watch your email for The Church Leader Insights Newsletter today (be sure info (at) churchleaderinsights.com is in your address book so it doesn’t go to spam).  Seven great articles in this newsletter and my latest book recommendations.  If you aren’t a subscriber to this free newsletter, use the box at the right to sign-up.

Wednesday – I’ll be in Tampa today (which will be hurricane-free I hope!) for my Tampa Coaching Network.  My next “in person” Coaching Networks will begin in January or February of 2009 – once again host in NYC and Tampa.  I hope to have the applications ready by the end of the month.  In the meantime, to be added to the priority wait list (you’ll be the first to get an application), just email cristina (at) churchleaderinsights.com

Thursday – A very busy day for me as I finalize the message for Sunday (yes, I do try to keep The Thursday Midnight Rule) and prep for Sunday’s Growth Group Leader Training.  But from 1:00pm – 3:00pm EDT today I’ll be on the second call of my Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors (the first meeting was incredible and I can’t wait for the second.  A great group of guys on this call!).

Friday – I’m taking the morning of this day as a study day.  I need to finalize some One Month to Live sermons and develop an outline for our Oct/Nov Financial Peace series.  This evening, I’ll be alone in the house with Alexander (he’s now 25 months old) as Kelley has a night of scrapbooking planned.  I don’t know what Kelley will be doing (seriously, I really don’t know what scrapbooking entails) but I know Alex and I will be doing a lot of jumping on the beds and watching Diego (Go, Diego, Go!).

Saturday – A rare Saturday Sabbath (Wednesday is my normal Sabbath) which probably means more jumping on the bed with Alex and even more Diego!

I love my job!  Make it a great week at your church….

Nelson

P.S. I’ve received a lot of great questions recently via the Ask Nelson box at the right (just below my pic) and have been able to respond to most of them either directly or on the blog.  I love to get your questions!  Next week I may devote the entire blog to your questions so if you have something for me, send it over!

Today at our Manhattan location we kick-off a four week series based on the bestselling book “One Month to Live” and the author of the book, Kerry Shook, is our guest speaker.  Kerry is the pastor of Fellowship of the Woodlands in Woodlands, TX.  His church was one of our sponsoring churches when we started in 2002.  I can’t wait for Kerry to share with our people.

Off to the first service!  Have a great Sunday,

Nelson

“The devil doesn’t care how big your church is – he cares how influential it is.”
- Brian Houston, Pastor, Hillsong Church, Sydney, Australia

(Quote courtesy of Perry Noble, read the entire post here)

Today, I will conclude our Lessons from “Yes!” series with three final truths from the book:

“Resistant children who easily find excuses not to do their homework or tidy their room are more likely to be persuaded if they’re first asked to take a small step in that direction.   As long as they feel they’ve said yes to the first small request voluntarily—rather than through coercion—the psychological momentum should propel them toward scholastic awards and cleaner living quarters in which to place those awards.”

“The labeling technique involves assigning a trait, attitude, or other label to a person, and then making a request of that person consistent with that label …you can use the technique to remind clients that their decision to deal with your organization shows their confidence in your company and in you, and that you appreciate and will continue to justify that confidence.”

“Asking, “Will you please call if you have to cancel?,” led to a no-show rate that dropped from 30 percent to 10 percent. If the caller then adds, “We’ll mark you down as a ‘yes’ and I’ll let the others know as well,” the commitment has three components that potentially cement that potential voter’s commitment: The commitment becomes voluntary, active, and publicly declared to others.”

Take these lessons from “Yes!” and apply them to your preaching, your communication and your church sign-up processes…you will be more persuasive!

To purchase the book “Yes!” from Amazon.com click here. I highly recommend you get it, study it and make the changes it suggests.

Have a great Friday!

Nelson

On Tuesday, I shared with you what I’ve been learning from “Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive.” Here are some more lessons:

• Research shows that those who tend to come in on time should be praised for their behavior (as opposed to chiding those who are late). Make sure people know just how much punctuality is appreciated.
• People have a natural tendency to do what most other people are doing, even when the behavior is socially undesirable.
• When lots of choices are made available, consumers often find the decision making process frustrating – perhaps due to the burden of having to differentiate so many options from one another in an attempt to choose the best one. When the Head & Shoulders company reduced its number of popular shampoo products from twenty-six to “only” fifteen, it quickly experienced a 10 percent increase in sales. (Are we offering our church members too many ways to grow instead of focusing on the most impactful few?)
• When you have to share a message that may bring fear or uncertainty, pair the fear-inducing message with a clear, specific, easy-to-follow plan….perhaps Roosevelt’s assertion should be amended to say “the only thing we have to fear is fear by itself.”

Some final thoughts from “Yes!“ tomorrow!

Nelson