Well, now they’ve done it!

For years one of the frequently asked questions in my coaching networks has been “How can I read more?”  And for years I’ve been able to quietly give a tip or two in passing and move on, but now…

The team here at Church Leader Insights has twisted my arm and convinced me to share my hard-earned – and up until now closely held – secrets to reading more in a brand new, 75-minute webinar called (creatively enough) “How to Read More.”

The How to Read More Webinar
Tuesday, February 16
1:00pm – 2:15pm Eastern
12:00pm – 1:15pm Central
11:00am – 12:15pm Mountain
10:00am – 11:15am Pacific

Here’s some of what I’ll be sharing:
- How to find time to read (without robbing time from the more important things)
- How to know what to read (and what NOT to read)
- How to increase your reading speed (hint: its not by becoming a speed reader)
- How to retain what you read
- How to get everything you can from a book
- How to stay motivated to read (and not to feel guilty if you aren’t)
- Plus much more

Plus, just for Pre-Registering you’ll receive over $97.00 in FREE BONUSES (that’s more than three times your investment).

So, will you join me (on the phone and over the internet) for this practical training opportunity?

Hurry though, you have to pre-register to get your bonuses and this thing is filling up fast!

REGISTER NOW FOR THE
HOW TO READ MORE WEBINAR

P.S. If you’ve been waiting to apply for my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network, now’s the time — it starts next Thursday — Click Here to Download Your Application

I‘ve found that February is one of the best times each year to reach new people, so ’tis the season for Big Days!

I just received a great report from Jamey Stuart, Senior Pastor of Believers Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Jamey is a two-time coaching alumni, an advanced coaching grad and one of our great CLI-certified trainers – he gave me permission to share this report with you:

Hi Nelson,

Our Big Day was BIG!

If a Big Day is an all out push towards a specific Sunday in order to break an attendance record and reach as many as possible for Jesus, then we did pretty good.

Average attendance at Believers has been around 585 recently. Sunday we had 796! Our previous non holiday attendance record was 694, so we smashed some records and created a lot of buzz and a lot of momentum.

We had 5 people make decisions for Christ, but I had some very significant spiritual conversations with folks who are clearly getting close and even got a couple of them connected with a small group. It was a GREAT Big Day!

Thanks for your leadership and teaching to make it happen. Felt like I implemented the plan and had a textbook big day. In saying that, I don’t want to discount God. He kept the bad weather north of us, he touched peoples’ hearts, he brought them in. Grateful just to be a part of it.

Anyways, thanks for your impact on Believers Church in Chesapeake, and thanks for your friendship!

Blessings,

Jamey

That’s an awesome report Jamey – Go God!

And great job cooperating with Him to “smash some attendance records.”

P.S. Time is running out for you to apply for my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network (it begins next Thursday) — click here for more information and to apply now!

P.P.S. To learn more about planning and executing a Big Day in your church, check out The Ignite Seminar.

I am convinced that right now is the best time to grow a church.

People  are most open to the Gospel in times of tension, trouble and transition — and there’s plenty of each going around!

So, I’m excited about the potential for growth over this next year and I want to help you break your next growth barrier this spring.

So, with that desire and in preparation for my new Tele-Coaching Network (which begins next Thursday), I want to give you your choice of one of my bestselling Growth Barriers resources (Breaking the 65, 125, 250 or 500 Barrier).

To receive your Free Growth Barriers resource, click the link below and enter the current growth barrier you’re facing (65, 125, 250 or 500):

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/giveaway

P.S. There’s still time to apply for my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network, but you need to hurry! For more info and to apply, click here.

“A good marriage is when you’re married not to someone you can live with, but to someone you really cannot live without.”
– Dr. Howard Hendricks, Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

Like Tim Ferriss in his book The Four Hour Work Week, I think a little TV for relaxation is OK (24 anyone?).

But every once in a while there’s a show that is entertaining and instructive. Here’s one:

The Shark Tank

During this one hour show entrepreneurs make sales pitches to a group of investors and either walk away with money or straight-talk-street-smart advice.

So far, I’ve found leadership lessons in every show (think ‘early Apprentice,’ before it went haywire or like ‘The Pitchmen’ before Billy Mays passed).

I have to thank my co-author Jennifer Henson and her husband Brian for turning me on to this show.

This is a great show for leaders and church planters. Check it out!

- Nelson

P.S. Are you learning anything from a current TV show that you would recommend?  Click the “Ask Nelson” button on the right side of this blog and let me know.

Don’t miss this month’s Church Leader Insights Podcast, where I interview Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC, about leadership, stewardship and moral integrity.

In this special podcast, you will actually get an ‘inside look’ into my current TeleCoaching Network for Senior Pastors where participants had the chance to hear from Perry… now, you do too.

Click Here to Listen Now

P.S. Did you know that you can subscribe to the podcast, so that you’ll automatically get each month’s CLI Podcast?

For more info on Subscribing to the Podcast, click here.

Do you know what?

I’m sick and tired of hearing everyone tell me why right now is such a bad season for the local church . . . whether its the constant news about the economy or the uncertain mood of our nation or you name it.

Everybody seems to be telling us pastors that we should just ‘hunker down’ and ‘hold steady’ or ‘wait it out’ until the economy turns around, the weather gets better or . . .well, you get the picture.

But you’ve been lied to!  They are wrong!

NOW is the BEST time to grow your church!  And I’ll tell you why.

People are MOST LIKELY to attend church and turn to God when:

1-    They are under tension
2-    They are in transition
3-    They are in trouble

And right now there’s a ton of each going around.  Everywhere you turn there’s trouble, transition and tension  . . . and (between you and me) that excites me!

Because I know that right now people are more open to God then they’ve ever been in my lifetime.

That’s why I will say it again: NOW is the BEST time to grow your church.

Now is the best time to reach new people.

Now is the best time to be aggressive about evangelism and assimilation.

Now is the best time to challenge yourself and your people to step it up.

Now is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see our churches impact our cities and communities like never before.

I heard one pundit say, “Never waste a crisis!”  I don’t want you to waste this time of crisis either by listening to the lies of the slow-growth/no-growth mentality coming from certain areas of the ministry world.  They are wrong!

I mean, think about . . . almost all of the churches that we look up to today as model churches (I’ll resist mentioning their names since we all look up to different ones and come from different denominations and backgrounds. .  . But you know who they are) are churches that chose to THRIVE not shirk back during the last economic recession.

One highly influential church that I am intimately familiar with was birthed during the last great recession of the early 1980s . . . and today, thousands around the world are being impacted.  I can’t prove it but I can only imagine that the pastor of this church heard the no-growth/slow-growth pundits of his day saying it ‘can’t be done in 1980′ so just ‘wait it out.’  Thank God he didn’t listen!

I hope you won’t listen either!

So, let me ask: what could you do over the next six to twelve months to give your church the best opportunity to capitalize on the tension, trouble and transition that we are facing?

To say it another way, what are you going to do over the next 6 to 12 months to grow your church?

Are you going to buy into the lies of those who say, “wait – not now – this too will pass”?

OR

Will you step up to the call that God has placed on your life and say, “Here I stand . . . everyone else may slack up and shut up and back up but I’m going to step up and reach up and (dare I say it) grow up and be the Pastor God called me to be.”

Will you say, ” Whether the economy is on an up turn, a down turn or a u-turn, I’m going to reach out to the lost people in my community and do everything I can in the power of God and His Spirit to keep them from perishing!” (See 2 Peter 3:9)

That’s what I’m doing and that’s what I’m challenging you to do.

In fact, I’m going one BIG step further . . .

I’m looking to PERSONALLY INVEST my time, talent and God-given ministry insights to come along side of Pastors (like you) with this mentality.

Here’s how committed I am . . . .I’m going to do all I can to not only be the pastor that God has called me to be here in New York City but to also be the ‘COACH’ God has called me to be to other pastors.

In just a few short weeks, I’m starting a new Coaching Network for kingdom-minded, church-loving, evangelistically-passionate pastors.

And if this is you, then I want you to consider applying.

I’m not looking for complacent, weak-in-the-knees, mealy-mouthed ministers who are looking to ride it all out until the next boom time.

I’m looking for passionate, God-called, Spirit-driven pastors who are ready to see their church (and themselves) go to the next level.

Here’s what I know . . . now is NOT the time for average!

Now is NOT the time for average leaders, doing average things in average ways.

Now is NOT the time to do what we did last year and “hope” for different results.

Now is NOT the time to stick our seminary-trained heads in the sand and expect that the devil is strapped for cash and won’t bother us until things turn around.

Now IS the TIME FOR ACTION.

Now IS the time to accept new challenges . . .

. . . to break out of the confining box of what we’ve always done

. . . to invest my time and resources in the handful of opportunities that can significantly impact the growth and Kingdom-reach of my church.

Are you READY for the challenge?   Is NOW your time?

If so, then please follow this link to learn about my NEW Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors that begins on Thursday, February 18.

Follow this link (or keep reading for even more):

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Since 2004, I’ve personally coached over 600 pastors (you can read some of their testimonies below) and I’ve probably talked to 600 more who drug their feet or shook their head and refused to join or even apply for one of my networks because of one lame brained excuse or another.

Believe me, I’ve heard it all:

I would join your coaching network IF . . .

If it was on a different day . . .

If it didn’t require a 12 month commitment . . .

If it was at a different time . . .

If it was in my town . . .

If it wasn’t a long distance call . . .

If it was half the investment price . . .

If you offered me a scholarship . . .

If the application was online . . .

If things were better between me and my elders/deacons/staff/wife or dog!

If . . .If . . .If . . . NOW is not the time for if’s!  Now is the time for action.

Trust me, you’ll thank me later for being so hard on you.

The fact is, the average Pastor who completes my network sees 30% growth in their church within a year after completing the network.  Many see MUCH MORE!

What could God do in you and your church over the next year if you just had the faith to step out, stand out and fill out your application?

Keep reading the FAQ below for more details or you can download your application right now at this link:

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Yes, I’m fired up as you can tell from this email.  I’m fired up about those who lie to us and try to hinder the work of God and I’m fired up about the incredible potential of the local church and I’m fired up about this new Tele-Coaching Network.

But mainly, I’m fired up because I know what God can do in our churches over this next year!  Join me on this ride, won’t you?

I look forward to reviewing your coaching application and I apologize in advance if I can’t fit you in because you waited too long to act or if your application doesn’t prove to me that you really want to be a part of this ministry-changing, Kingdom impacting and leadership-defining network.

Your friend (and truth-telling-renegade-pastor),

Nelson

P.S. I know that some of you are like me and you want to read all the details.  Well, at the link below you can find the answers to Frequently Asked Questions, testimonial videos, and much more.  Read it closely but don’t wait too long to apply.

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Today I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for Vince Antonucci and his new book, “Guerrilla Lovers: Changing the World with Revolutionary Compassion” (along with a bunch of free resources for pastors, guerrilla assignments, and more at www.guerrillalovers.com).  Vince is a church planter and pastor, and so he knows about fundraising and teaching about money…

So Vince, one of the chapters in the book had to do with how a guerrilla lover handles their money.  Can you tell us about that?

Answer: Sure.  We live in the richest country in the history of the world, but most of us spend most of our time trying to figure out how to get more money.  Guerrilla lovers try to figure out how to give it away.  It’s a whole different approach to spending.

Like, for me, I’ve made a decent amount of money in the last few years.  And I’ve spent it in all kinds of ways – an iPod, a car, clothes.  But, to be honest, I can’t remember how it felt to purchase any of those items. They were all things I was excited to buy, and felt like I “needed” but actually acquiring them gave me no rush.

Let me tell you what did.

On two different occasions in the past year my wife and I decided to give some extra money away. Both times we knew of a family in need and realized that some of our extra could meet their need. So each time we told our kids what we were going to do, filled an envelope with hundred dollar bills, and drove over to the home of the family.

We wanted our act of kindness to remain a secret, so the whole way over we discussed how we could drop off the money undetected. The kids were getting more and more excited, but tried to whisper. (I’m not sure why, maybe they think our car is bugged.) Finally, nearing the house, we turned off our headlights and parked behind a tree.

I quietly opened my door and then ran towards the house, keeping cover behind bushes and parked cars. I slid the envelope under the welcome mat and then ran back to the car. I gently closed the door, we put the car in reverse, turned it around, and then sped away, everyone in the family celebrating that we had not been caught and imagining how the family would react when they found the envelope.

That was a rush. I can’t think about it without smiling.

And that’s how guerrilla lovers spend their money, and that’s life changing.

Thanks Vince, that’s good stuff!  And if you want to order Guerrilla Lovers, you can do so here.

Over 600 Senior Pastors have already signed up for my Top 3 Growth Barriers Webinars this week, are you one of them?

I really enjoy doing this webinar – it’s 2 hours of content, based on my bestselling “Growth Barriers Workshop” resource.

You’ll learn to identify the top 3 growth barriers that all churches face regardless of size AND some principles and strategies to break through each of them!

So if you’re a Senior Pastor and haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time and space for you to sign up – but I encourage you to register now.

I’m doing this webinar at 4 different times for your convenience:

Tuesday, February 2 (1:30pm – 3:30pm)

Wednesday, February 3 (3:00pm – 5:00pm)

Wednesday, February 3 (7:00pm – 9:00pm)

Thursday, February 4 (4:00pm – 6:00pm)

(All Times EASTERN)

To find out more and to register now, CLICK HERE before it’s too late!