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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
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Activate Hits Bookstores!
My latest book (co-authored with Kerrick) hits bookstores today! I’m very excited about this new book on small groups. The book has been available on-line for a few weeks and is doing great. In fact, I still think Amazon.com is the best place to purchase the book.
The goal of the book is to help you build a small groups system that motivates 100% Adult
Participation. We’ve been using these principles here in NYC for the last 6 years and regularly see 110% of our adults in small groups. In addition, I’ve seen similar results with several dozen churches that I have coached through the same process.Kerrick and I hope you find this book helpful and beneficial (especially for those of you who have struggled with groups in the past).
And if you’ve already read the book, I hope you’ll post a review on Amazon.com (they really do make a difference).
Your friend,
Nelson
P.S. If you have small group questions, use the Ask Nelson button on the right - I plan to answer a ton of small group questions in the blog shortly.
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Summer Small Groups - Are They Worth It?
This week, our summer growth groups kick-off at The Journey. So far, over 90% of our adults are in a summer group. We should settle in at around 105% participation this summer - a lot of people will wait until this week to join a group. (Our goal is always 100% of our adults in a small group . . . measured against weekend attendance).
For the next few days, you can see an example of how we do online sign-ups for groups by click here (I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t fill out the form, but feel free to steal anything you like).One of the big questions we get about our semester-based small groups system has to do with summer groups. A lot of people question whether summer groups are necessary at all.
I know where this thinking comes from… Summer groups are usually ‘flat’ in attendance compared with the spring and fall semesters. In fact, we’ve thought long and hard about skipping a summer semester but each year we continue to push summer groups.
Here’s why we keep doing summer groups:
- Summer allows for a lot of creative groups that will attract new people (bible studies in the park, fitness groups, bring your kids groups, bbq/cook out groups, etc.)
- Summer is the perfect time for new group leaders to get their feet wet (this summer almost 50% of our group leaders are new!)
- Summer is a great time for returning group leaders to take some time off. We ‘force’ our group leaders to take one semester off a year to prevent burnout. I’d rather them take the summer off since the spring and fall are the times when we need as many groups as possible.
- Summer is a great time for many people to join a group who otherwise have busy fall/spring schedules
- Spiritual growth shouldn’t stop just because it’s hot outside
Hope this helps answer your question about summer groups. If you have more questions just use the Ask Nelson button on the right or post them below. I’ll answer as many as possible.
Nelson
P.S. For more on the complete Groups system we use to attract 100% of our adult attendance to groups, check out my brand new book Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.
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How close are you to Hartford, CT?
On Friday, Bob Franquiz will be teaching my seminar on Assimilation in Hartford, CT. If you are within driving distance (i.e., within an 10 hour drive!) then I highly recommend you make it to this seminar. Someone told me recently that Bob actually teaches the seminar better than I do - but I’m in denial for now.
Bob is a three time Coaching Alumni and one of a handful of guys I’ve certified to teach my seminars. He is also the founding Pastor of Calvary Fellowship in Miami Lakes, FL, where he lives the Assimilation principles he teaches.
Here are all the details on the event:
The Fusion Seminar: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church
Friday, June 20, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - Noon, Hartford, CTThe Fusion Seminar will include:
- Principles to help you create an inviting environment for first-time guests
- How to ”wow” first-time guests into wanting to come back
- The Journey’s complete ”Assimilation System,” used to follow up with the 30+ first-time guests who attend the service each week
- Plus much more!Only $39 per person if you register by June 18.
Click Here to RSVP for The Fusion Seminar in Hartford, CT
And, as always if you can’t afford the investment, call the Church Leader Insights office at 1-800-264-5129 and tell them you need a scholarship - they are limited but they are available.
I hope you can make it - it will be well worth your time!
Nelson
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A Miraculous Story - New Podcast
Most of you know Roy Mansfield as a Teaching Pastor at The Journey or the Director of Church Leader Insights or my colleague on several resources or the monthly podcasts but how much do you really know about him?
Well, in this month’s new podcast the truth comes out! No, I’m not talking about his difficulties with the cops or his past stunts as a traveling ‘houdini’ (more about this in a future podcast perhaps) but rather I’m talking about how God worked in his life and church a few years ago when he suffered SEVEN major strokes in a row!
It’s a true miracle story and I hope you’ll listen by clicking here. Go ahead, click here its free (you can also download the file and listen later).
This podcast deviates from our usual focus on church leadership issues but it is a strong reminder that God can and will use EVERYTHING in our life for his glory!
If you want to send a comment to Roy after you listen to it, just post your comments below. I have it on good authority that he reads this blog every day!
Nelson
P.S. Is there a topic you’d like to see me address in a future podcast? If so, use the Ask Nelson button on the right to send me your thoughts.
P.P.S. If you haven’t already done so, why not subscribe to our podcast via iTunes . . . its free and you will insure that you never miss an episode. Click here to learn how to subscribe.
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A Sunday Thought from Dale Carnegie
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” - Dale Carnegie
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A Big Party Today
Kelley and I are in Atlanta today where our families are all coming together for Alexander’s 2nd Birthday (which is officially June 19). Alex is enjoying life in suburbia as you can tell in this pic:
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Saturday Roundup - June 6 2008
Here’s a few resources, audios, videos and articles I found helpful this past week. Enjoy!
Leading Your Church Through Tough Financial Times by Injoy Stewardship Services (MP3)
Note: You have to opt in to get the 30min MP3Answer to Multi-Site Criticisms by Greg Surratt
Bill Hybels Responds to Misinformation Regarding Willow Creek (Video)
Tony Morgan gives a great analysis of the Hybels video here
Tim Stevens has the transcript of the video if you’d rather read it here.Perry Noble on What You Should Or Shoudn’t Do In Your Pastor Blog
Have a great weekend…I’m off to a Servant Evangelism Outreach on the Upper West and can’t wait to kick off God on Film tomorrow.
Nelson
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Do You Feel Stuck?
Have you ever felt like your attendance was just stuck? Like you haven’t grown in eons and don’t know how to? Believe me, I have! Most churches face growth barriers at five points – when their attendance hits 65, 125, 250, 500, and/or 1000. When you feel like you are on the edge of getting stuck, the first thing you need to do is make sure you are asking the right question about growth:
The Wrong Question: How do I get my church to grow? Your job is not to force growth. When you think growth is your responsibility, you will inevitably make bad decisions.
The Right Question: What is keeping my church from growing? Healthy organisms grow. If you feel stagnation setting in, understand that there are barriers inhibiting your growth and put a plan in place to remove them.
Once you have started asking the right question, remember:
God Wants Your Church To Grow - Your church is an essential part of God’s redemptive plan. Of course He wants it to grow. Just take a look at 2 Peter 3:9. Growth signals repentance and life change.
You Want Your Church To Grow - Sometimes thinking about the next phase of growth can scare us into inactivity. Don’t get discouraged or let doubt set in. God never gives you a vision without supplying what you need to fulfill it.
When you are asking the right question, and you know in your core that both you and God want your church to go to the next level, you will be on your way to meaningful, Kingdom-building growth.
- Nelson
P.S. - Do you know what the most common growth barriers are and how to break them? If not, check out these growth barrier downloads.
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Lessons Learned From Rick Warren - Lesson #2
Lesson #2: Evangelism Must Always Be Our Priority
When I was working at Saddleback Church with Rick Warren, I heard him say time and time again, “As long as there is one unchurched person in the Saddleback Valley, we must keep reaching out as a church.”
Rick understands the importance of making evangelism a priority, or as I like to say, the importance of “staying outwardly focused.” It’s all too easy for us to get busy with the demands that direct our days and let the unchurched people who fill our communities slip to the backburner. But those people are the very reason our churches exist! If we don’t intentionally make it a priority to reach them, we are doing them a disservice and falling short of our responsibility to God.
As you think about how you can make evangelism a priority in your church, remember that evangelism is never an expense – It’s always an investment. Every dime you spend to reach a new person is an investment in God’s kingdom. Every bottle of water or pack of gum you hand out as part of a servant evangelism project is an investment. Every postcard you mail to promote a new series is an investment. God has commissioned us to take His truth to the corners of the earth, and that commission starts in our own neighborhoods and communities.
I challenge you to insert the name of your community into Rick’s quote. Write it out and put it on your desk, so that your focus comes back to local evangelism every day…
“As long as there is one unchurched person in _________________________, we must keep reaching out as a church.”
- Nelson
P.S. - Reaching out to ’serve others’ is always a sure way to make an impact. Click here see how one church made a big statement in their community by helping people offset outrageous gas prices. Remember, it’s an investment. BTW, Mike McGown, the pastor of the church featured in the article, is a coaching alumni who is doing a great job in Houston, TX!
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Lessons Learned From Rick Warren
Last week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my friend and former boss, Rick Warren. Being back in the zone with Rick made me start reflecting on some of the key things that he has taught me over the years– both when I was at Saddleback and since starting The Journey. This week, I’m going to pass some of those great lessons along to you, in a new blog series called, “Lessons Learned From Rick Warren.”
Lesson #1: Pastors change the world.
As pastors, you and I have much more influence than we may realize. When we stand up to teach, we have the opportunity to speak into people’s lives in a way that no other community leaders can. Just think about it – Government leaders may have influence over laws and political issues, but not over individual hearts. Business leaders may have power in their area of expertise, but they don’t have the opportunity to speak truth to many people. And if they did, who knows what that “truth” would be? You and I, on the other hand, are uniquely positioned to stand on God’s Word and instill His truths into the people in our churches, in a way that can change them completely.
So, you and I are God’s catalyst for changing the world. It works like this – Change a few individuals and you can change a group. Change a group (an entire local church) and you can change a community. Change a community and you can change a city. Change a city and you can change a nation. Change a nation and you can change the world!
As you go through your daily routines and rigors of ministry, work with purpose! You have a big calling… The calling to change the world one person at a time!
- Nelson
P.S. - Check back tomorrow for the second “Lesson Learned From Rick Warren.” Here’s a teaser: It will help you reach more people!
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Living Off Peak: Time Management Part 1 of 3
I’m very excited to let you know that my new Time Management Resource is being released today! This resource has pre-sold
better than any other we’ve ever offered. In honor of this big release, I’ll be doing a four-part time management “blog series” this week.Each day, between now and Friday, I will unpack a time management principle that has greatly impacted my life. Here’s the first one:
LEARN TO LIVE OFF PEAK
A couple of weeks ago, I violated this principle. I went shopping for a Mother’s Day gift on the Friday before Mother’s Day. Over lunch, I made my way from my office on W44th to Macy’s (the World’s Largest Department store - I do love living in NYC) down on W 34th St.
It was packed! What should have been a nice 30 - 45minute shopping experience turned into an hour and a half ordeal.
Living Off Peak means that when everyone else is doing a particular ’something’ you are doing ’something else.’ Since ‘everyone’ shops on the Friday before Mother’s day, you (and I!) should shop the week before. Make sense?
This means you:
- Never go to the post office or bank at lunch
- You avoid the DMV at the first of the month and the end of the month
On the flip side, it means you:
- Take the first doctor’s appointment of the morning
- Take the mid-morning or noon flight on Monday (to avoid the Monday AM rush)
- Arrive at the office before everyone else (to avoid the traffic and get in some uninterrupted work time!)
Once you start practicing this principle you will find dozens of ways to apply it. As church leaders there are a lot of things that we do not have control over, but one thing we can all do is learn to live off peak. This one principle probably saves me 3 - 4 hours per week.
Nelson
P.S. You will discover 33 other time management principles in my new resource. Click here to order Time Management for Busy Pastors
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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.
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Charles Arn - Church Growth Hero (If I Dare Say ‘Church Growth’)
Last Saturday, while Kelley and I were in Los Angeles, I was able to meet one of my Church Growth Heroes - Charles (Chip) Arn of Church Growth, Inc. He and his wife Ann were gracious enough to share dinner with me and Kelley at Kate Mantinlini’s in Beverly Hills (yep, we were living it up!).
Win Arn, Charles’ father, was one of the founders of the Church Growth Movement in America and he has greatly influenced my thinking about church. I’ve read everything from Win and Charles that I can find and I always discover something helpful.
Here’s some of my favorite books:
- The Masters Plan for Making Disciple by Win and Charles Arn
- How to Start a New Service by Charles Arn
- How to Grow a Church by Donald A. McGavran and Win Arn
(you’ll have to find it used, its out of print)
Part of our conversation was how ‘church growth’ is a watered down phrase and is often derided term in many circles today.
Chip responded that one of the reasons Donald McGavran (the founder of the Church Growth Movement) and his father, Win, went with the term ‘church growth’ in their initial writings (over 40 years ago) was that ‘evangelism’ had become such a watered down term in many circles.
I always suspected that Rick Warren chose the term ‘church health’ in his book The Purpose Driven Church, because ‘church growth’ had become such a watered down term.
So what term should we use? I still prefer to use ‘church growth’ and ‘evangelism’ but I’m always open to the term that best communicates to today’s leaders (as long as it retains the heart of reaching and disciplining people in the most biblical and effective way possible).
Chip, thanks for the time over dinner!
Nelson Searcy
P.S. For today only, in honor of Chip Arn, I’m going to give away a copy of my “Starting A Second Service” resource - use the Ask Nelson button on the right to request your free copy (I’ll send you the details by reply email). This offer is only good on April 29, 2008. After that, you can pick it up here
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Church Leader Insights is a bi-weekly publication sent via email that focuses on effective leadership, church growth, church planting evangelism and much more.
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