Igniting Growth In Your Church – Week 3 of 6

Welcome to week 3 of my 6-week blog series, “Igniting Growth In Your Church.” I trust that this Thursday series is driving you deeper in your study of my new book, Ignite: How To Spark Immediate Growth In Your Church.

Last week we dissected the four best times of year to do a big day. Now that you have a big day on your calendar (you do, right?), the next step is to understand how you, as the pastor, can use it to ignite evangelism in your church…

Today’s Topic:

Pastor – Igniting Evangelism Through the Stage, Staff and Structure

Each and every time you step in front of your crowd, you have the chance to speak truth into their lives. Whether you are preaching from a stage to thousands of listeners, from a pulpit to hundreds, or from a makeshift sanctuary to just a handful, you have been given incredible power to shape the lives and eternities of every person listening to you.

That’s exactly why the responsibility for keeping the evangelistic temperature in the church boiling hot falls on you. There are three ways that you can raise the level of evangelism in your church…  1) through the stage 2) through your staff and 3) through your church’s structure. Let’s look at each one in a little more detail:

Stage: What gets presented from the stage is more likely to get accomplished in the pews. In other words, you can’t keep quiet and assume that your people will do anything. You have to challenge. You have to encourage. Here are three of the most effective ways to use the stage to challenge your people toward evangelism:

• Tell Your Own Evangelistic Stories
• Have Others Give Their Testimony
• Teach an Evangelism System

Staff: Challenge your staff to be actively involved in evangelism and then hold them accountable for what you’ve asked them to do. Encourage them to lead the way by:

• Serving in Evangelistic Activities
• Praying for Unchurched Friends
• Praying and Fasting for Big Days
• Inviting Friends to Church

Structure: Think about the underlying structure of your church. Have you structured with an eye to the greater community? Have you structured in a way that helps you mobilize your people for evangelism? You can either structure your church for control or for growth, but not for both. Here are three of the best ways to make sure you are structuring for growth:

• Plan Regular Evangelistic Events
• Engage Small Groups in Evangelism
• Allow People to Belong Before They Believe

As you use the stage wisely, expect the best of your staff and structure your church for evangelism, you will be cooperating with God in reaching people for His glory. He will bless your efforts with lots of new people!

For more in depth information on how you can keep the evangelistic temperature of your church red hot, make sure to pick up your copy of Ignite: How To Spark Immediate Growth In Your Church. You may also want to check out my popular resource, “The Evangelism System.” Just click here.

So now you have an idea of what you, as the pastor, need to do to foster evangelism in your church. But what about your church members? How can you mobilize them for evangelism? That’s what we’ll talk about next Thursday. Make sure to check back!

- Nelson

P.S – If you missed the first two posts, don’t worry! Just click here for Week 1 and click here for Week 2.

Great Lesson – Saturday Quote

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
— Benjamin Franklin: 18th century statesman, scientist, and writer

Profane Preachers

On my recent panel discussion at Fox News I was asked if I thought it was appropriate to use foul language in the church (curse words, profanity, etc.).

My answer was ‘No’ and I did my best to explain it, but honestly, Ed Young says it so much better than me in this 3 minute video:

Thanks Ed!

P.S. Looking for something “clean” to say from your pulpit?
Check out these Sermon Series

Feeling Good

I just finished the video shoot for the Easter message. . . we filmed the entire message from start to finish at noon today.  I’m feeling good!  I sorta wish I had the pressure to finish my message by Tuesday noon each week (OK, not really).

But it does feel good to know the manuscript is done and there’s a (pretty) good video in can.

We did the video shoot of the message because we are beginning monthly services at a new location this week (Journey-Queens) and we wanted the first message to be via video since the location is a video venue.  Hope that makes sense.

All other locations will be live this weekend.  But. . .if anyone gets hit by a bus we have a video back-up!

I’m praying that none of you are hit by buses on Easter Sunday

Nelson

A “Wonder”-ous Opportunity

I have been invited to lead the Teaching Track at the Willow Arts Conference on June 10-12. The theme is “Wonder” and it’s definitely a wondrous opportunity for me.

In fact, with big names like John Ortberg leading this track in the past, it’s got me scratching my head… everyone else must be out of town that week.

Seriously though, it is a tremendous honor and I hope you will consider joining me. The folks at Willow put together a powerful conference each year and this one won’t disappoint.

Here’s the link if you’re interested:
http://www.willowcreek.com/events/arts/2009/index.html

Either way, I hope you’ll pray for me as I prepare.

Thanks!

P.S. If you don’t already have it, I encourage you to invest in my Planning a One Year Preaching Calendar resource by clicking here: https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p93&navicat=35

Is this true about your sermons?

I heard this quote last week:

“Samson killed a thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. That many sales are killed every day with the same weapon.”
– Anonymous

I wonder, could you replace the word ’sales’ with the word ’sermons’?

Nelson

Are You Preaching for Action or Knowledge? (A Quote)

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Keep it Simple (A Sunday Quote)

“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
– Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist

Winston Churchil – Preaching Advice?

The short words are best, and the old words are the best of all.”
–Winston Churchill

Lessons from “Yes” – Part 3

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

Lessons from “Yes” – Part 2

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

Lessons from “Yes” – Part 1

Recently our strategic team at The Journey finished studying the book “Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive” by by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, Robert B. Cialdini.  Between now and Friday, I want to share with you some of my key lessons from the book.

I believe that we must learn to better help people say ‘yes’ to the most important things in life.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes/lessons:

There are six universal principles of social influence –

1. Reciprocation (we feel obligated to return favors performed for us),
   
2. Authority (we look to experts to show us the way),
   
3. Commitment/consistency (we want to act consistently with our commitments and values),
   
4. Scarcity (the less available the resource, the more we want it),
   
5. Liking (the more we like people, the more we want to say yes to them),
   
6. Social proof (we look to what others do to guide our behavior).

…the power of the principle of social proof: When people are uncertain about a course of action, they tend to look outside themselves and to other people around them to guide their decisions and actions.

More from ‘Yes’ on Thursday.  I highly recommend you read and study this book with your team.  You can pick it up at Amazon.com by clicking here.

Tomorrow, watch for the final installment of the series “Slack=Lack.”

Nelson

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.

Two Saturday Communication Quotes

“By all means, show don’t tell . . . reveal your personality . . . be the message rather than narrating it, but above all, be authentic.” – Dr. Frank Luntz, author, Words that Work

“A great line isn’t spoken, it is delivered.” – Jack Klugman, actor

Is it possible to replace the word ‘line’ with the word ’sermon’ in the quote from Klugman above? Just wondering… Have a great Saturday!

Nelson

Words that Work – Part 4 of 4

Happy Independence day to everyone here in the US! Today, I wrap up my four part communication series based on the excellent book Words that Work by Frank Luntz with this selection where Luntz quotes the famous novelist George Orwell.

George Orwell language rules:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Not a bad list for those of us who work on ’sermons’ each week!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of posts. Again, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Dr. Luntz’ book. You can order it here through Amazon.com.

Nelson

Words that Work – Part 3 of 4

On Tuesday, I started a series of lessons from the book Words that Work by Frank Luntz by giving you his first four rules of communication. Here are rules five through nine:

Rule Five…Novelty: Offer Something New
Words that work often involve a new definition of an old idea. (In preaching the goal is not to have a ‘new idea’ but to share the ‘old ideas’ in new ways.) There’s a simple test to determine whether or not your message has met this rule. If it generates an “I didn’t know that” response, you have succeeded.

Rule Six…Sound and Texture Matter
Says (Aaron) Sorkin: “The greatest speech of all time is ‘I Have a Dream.’ You read the speech and it’s perfect. Listen to the speech, it gets more perfect. The way as the speech moved on, the phrase ‘I have a dream’ stopped being the beginning of each stanza and began being the end, ‘That one day, we will be judged not by the color of our skin, by the content of our character, I have a dream.’ That’s what jazz musicians do. They take a phrase and they move it. It was phenomenal delivery.”

Rule Eight…Visualize
The word: imagine. Whether it’s the car of your dreams or the candidate of your choice, the word imagine is perhaps the single most powerful communication tool because it allows individuals to picture whatever personal vision is in their hearts and minds.

Rule Nine…Ask a Question
“Is it live, or is it Memorex?” “Where do you want to go today?” (Microsoft) “Can you hear me now?” (Verizon Wireless) “Got Milk?” In his work, (Tony) Schwartz found that people reacted best to language and messages that were participatory—allowing the receiver to interact with the message and the messenger.

Rule Ten…Provide Context and Explain Relevance
You have to give people the “why” of a message before you tell them the “therefore” and the “so that.”
Some people call this framing.

This is no doubt the best book on communication that I’ve read in the last year. How about you? What’s the best communication book have you read lately? Feel free to share your comments below.

Nelson

Words that Work – Part 2 of 4

Here are some more insights on communication from the book Words that Work by Frank Luntz… Take a look at a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

“It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.”

“The key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener’s shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart.”

“Words that work, whether fiction or reality, not only explain but also motivate. They cause you to think as well as act.”

And I’ll conclude today’s post with this quote from the book by former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan:

“Your style should never be taller than you are.”

Nelson

Words that Work – Part 1 of 4

Today I’m starting a four part communication series on lessons I have learned from the book WORDS THAT WORK by Frank Luntz. Although this book is about two years old (a revised updated paperback version is scheduled for release next month), it’s one of the best I’ve read on the topic of communication. While it focuses on political and corporate communication, the lessons for pastors and church leaders are easy to extract. I recommend that you read and study this book. Here are four of the rules he offers for good communication:

Rule One…Simplicity: Use Small Words
Avoid words that might force someone to reach for the dictionary…because most Americans won’t.

Rule Two…Brevity: Use Short Sentences

Rule Three…Credibility Is As Important As Philosophy

Rule Four…Consistency Matters
Message consistency builds customer loyalty. Ronald Reagan was the only politician I ever saw who seemed to enjoy saying the same words over and over again as though it was the first time he had ever spoken them.

Are you violating any of these rules in your speaking, preaching or church communication? More tomorrow.

Nelson