Books, Books, Books!

On our recent trip to the Superintendent's Conference I took advantage of flight time and time in the sun and finished three books. Here's a brief review:
Making Vision Stick by Andy Stanley. Short book (really short). It has some great ideas about presenting vision. Repeat the Vision Regularly. Celebrate the Vision Systematically. Embrace the Vision Personally. Stanley also talks about "vision slippage indicators." We'll have to talk about that at another time.
Launch by Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas is a book about church planting. It's a must-read for planter and multi-siters. The authors have a great time and use humor throughout the book. It's chock full of great insights. (Hey, they planted successfully in NYC. They must know something).
A Leader's Legacy by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner is a good book on the human side of leadership. It seeks to answer the question, "Are you on this planet to do something, or are you here just for something to do?" While not written from an overt Christian perspective, these guys understand leadership and have a great deal to say. (They are also the authors of "The Leadership Challenge," which has been acknowledged as one of the great leadership books of our time.
Check out these books. Remember, Leaders are Readers!

Christmas Tradition

OK. I admit it. I love Christmas traditions. I stopped at Starbucks last week and picked up the Charlie Brown Christmas CD. The Vince Gauraldi Trio immediately took me back to childhood days, watching ACharlie Brown Christmas on TV and realizing that the Christmas season was in full swing. I especially loved the portion of the program where Linus stands center stage and recites the Christmas story.

You know, I'm not really necessarily a "tradition" kind of person. I love change and growth. But there's something special about Christmas traditions.

For years while we were serving as pastors, I would try to come up with something new for Christmas. Then one year I realized that the most meaningful thing we did during the season was our Christmas Eve service. We sang traditional Christmas songs. We had solos, duets, etc. We asked the band to provide instrumental Christmas songs. We lit candles and sang "Joy To The World." We read the Christmas story. We even read children's Christmas stories and projected the pictures of the pages so that the adults could follow along. It was my favorite service of the year. Almost magical. And the place was packed for both services.

We would always include an opportunity during the communion time, for people to respond to the gospel message. We discovered that Christmas traditions provided a wonderful opportunity to help people connect with Jesus. I guess that's really the purpose of God sending His Son, isn't it?

So, Pastor, if you're a little overwhelmed with trying to find a new perspective on the Christmas story, perhaps you should try going back to the traditional. (Don't expect me to say that very often!) I'm praying that your Christmas services will be blessed and that lives will be changed through everything that you do!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Mother's Day Idea

Looking for a fun way to introduce Mother's Day in your church? Here's a fun link that I received from Guy Fisher. (Click here)

Fireproof, the Movie

If you are looking for a great opportunity to promote healthy marriages in your church and community, you might want to look at Fireproof, the Movie. It's a good film with a very helpful message to spouses who are experiencing difficult marriages. Check out their web site and see if it fits your church's ministry outreach.

Small Group

I was reminded last night why I love small groups. We were blessed to have our group meet at our house. We had a great time of sharing what God was doing in our lives and praying for each other. We enjoyed an open, practical discussion about the fruit of the Spirit, based on our pastor's message. We shared communion together and then just hung out together.

We also made plans to reach out to some students who need a little extra care during the holiday season. So, all in all, it was a wonderful time of growth, relationship building and outreach. All ingredients of a healthy small group!

Thanks, everybody, for doing your part and being who you are!

Renewal

I spoke with a potential church planter the other day and he unpacked a vision for a church that was involved in the renewal of all things. As he talked about touching a specific community in this way, my heart began to be touched by that picture of renewal.
In my devotions this morning I was led to Isaiah 58:12 "those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In." What a great picture. When you connect this text with Isaiah 61, you begin to see a vision of restoration that is needed in each of our communities. Isaiah 61 begins with the words that Jesus quoted about Himself, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." As you read the remainder of Isaiah 61 you see this vision for restoration and renewal developed and made complete.
I believe this is a vision for all of our churches in each of our individual settings. Every community in Iowa deserves a healthy expression of the kingdom of God. They need churches that are active in restoration and renewal, impacting our culture.
May the Spirit of the Lord rest upon you today to preach, heal, proclaim and open your community to the kingdom of God!

Church Updates

Lori and I were at Glad Tidings Assembly of God here in Des Moines yesterday. We had a great service. They burned their mortgage and we officially installed Bill Wenig as pastor. The church is moving forward with people saved during the past two Sunday mornings!

Dayspring Assembly in Spencer welcomed Kevin Grimes (from California) as their new pastor yesterday. The church presented them with a brand new stat-of-the-art snow blower! (I hope they don't need to use it this year).

Keokuk Assembly has elected Pastor David Drew (from Colorado), who will be arriving early in December.

Pastor Dobie Weasel (from Nebraska) is the new pastor at Des Moines Christian Life. His first Sunday at CLA was November 9.

Brad Jackson (from South Dakota) is the new pastor in Oelwein.

In the past month we have installed Steve Neumeyer in Eldora, Bill Sommerfelt in Cresco, and DeWayne Anderson (from Missouri) as pastor in Newton.

I believe God is doing a new thing in Iowa, and I'm excited to welcome each of these great pastors to their new roles. If you have the opportunity, consider calling or sending a note of congratulations to these new pastors.

A Church beyond worship wars

Want to visit a church that has gotten beyond worship wars? Enjoy this 7-minute piece of a great service! (click here). I want this preacher to come read the Scripture text when I preach this Sunday!

Thinking about a sermon calendar

Maybe you're looking toward 2009 and developing a sermon calendar. Here's an idea to get you started.

First, block off the special Sundays that serve as opportunities for specific topics (New Years, Valentine's Day, Mothers Day, etc). Once you've marked off those days, it's eye-opening to see how few Sundays are actually available.

Next, think in terms of series that you feel God wants to address in your church (Prayer, Marriage and Family, Stewardship, Outreach, Vision for your specific church setting, etc).

Then, consider when those series might fit best into the year. You might begin with the Prayer series, and then move to Marriage and Family in February to build it around Valentine's Day. (Check out the new Enrichment Magazine for some great ideas on Marriage and Family. There is material for a couple of series in this one magazine!).

Once you've got these ideas in mind you can start files for each of the series. Get creative about titles and media that you might be able to use to supplement the message and communicate it more powerfully. Sometimes is helps (if you're creatively challenged like I am) to talk about your series outline with someone and ask them to bounce ideas around with you. Talk to other pastors to see if they've done similar series, get their permission, and then "steal" all their ideas that might work in your situation.

I've found that a sermon calendar (even if it isn't absolutely complete for the year) is a real help in so many ways. It removes some of the stress from you when you know where you're headed each week. It gives you time to be creative as you consider future messages. It helps you to stay balanced in your preaching and helps you to cover topics that you feel are most important for your church. Series also give your people another great reason to invite friends to your services, as you advertise upcoming messages that might pertain to their specific situations.

I'd love your feedback on the sermon calendar ideas. Post your comments and we'll help each other as we prepare for 2009!

Next Generation Leadership

I'm preparing for the Next Generation Leadership (NGL) group, which meets this Thursday. We're currently looking at the principles taken from THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE by Kouzes and Posner. It's a great book, and I'd encourage you to read it, whether or not you're involved in NGL.

Leaders are readers. The person you and I become in the next five years will be determined to a great extent by the people we associate with and the books that we read.

I'm looking forward to being with all of you NGL people!

President-elect Obama

The election is over, and we have a new President-elect. Whether your candidate won or lost, I'd like to recommend a great video message outlining the Christian response to the election, delivered by Dr. George Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God. Click here to see the video. If you're a pastor, I'd encourage you to share this message with your church soon.
Keep praying for America and our new leadership, and let's win people to Jesus!

Vote!

This is the day we've been waiting for. No more political ads starting November 5! I hope you plan to vote today. It's a great privilege that God has given us as citizens of the US. This is an extremely important election that will determine policies, laws and probably a couple of Supreme Court Justices. So, pray, then vote, then pray some more!

North Central University Meeting

I'm in a couple of days of meetings in Minneapolis with the North Central University Board. Dr Gordon Anderson (right) shared some interesting statistics. If I understood correctly, approximately 60,000 students from our Assemblies of God churches graduate from high school each year. Only 3,000 of those students attend one of our A/G schools. Of those who attend secular institutions, upwards of 75% are not practicing their faith upon graduation from college. Those who attend one of our schools are much more likely to be actively involved in a relationship with Christ, and with a local church. I'm committing myself to do my best to encourage students to attend an A/G college or university, and I'm enlisting anyone who will help with that task.

Lives are changed at Assemblies of God schools. Help me spread the word!

Week of Meetings

I'm heading into two days of meetings with the Network Presbyters, beginning today. I am so thankful for this group of godly spiritual leaders from across the state of Iowa. I appreciate all of their sacrifice and hard work on behalf of our ministers and churches!

On Wednesday, Lori and I will leave for Minneapolis to meet with the Board of Regents for North Central University. We always look forward to being on campus with the students and the leadership of this great university. We can't wait to see and hear what God is doing in the lives of our next generation leaders! Our plan (as always) is to snag the brightest and best and encourage them to consider Iowa as a potential field for ministry!

Take the Bull by the Tail

I just read a great quote from my favorite book of the week, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham." The quote is actually from Mark Twain, who said, "A person who has had a bull by the tail once has learned sixty or seventy times as much as a person who hasn't." Maybe you feel like you have a bull by the tail right now. Hold on! And learn the lessons God has for you. You may end up bumped and bruised, but you'll have experience that those who've never been on the wrong end of a bull have never had. And you'll have some stories to tell!

Hang in there!

Return to the Blogosphere!

It is official. I am returning to the blogosphere! I'm hoping that this blog will be a place for us to stay in touch and equip and encourage each other. I'd love to hear from you, so when you read something that is helpful, let me know. I wish we could all sit down at a table, share a cup of coffee, and talk about life and ministry. Since that's not too feasible, perhaps this blogspot will provide a forum for some conversation. So, grab a cup of coffee, read the blogs, and write me a comment once in a while!

Catalyst Conference

We just returned from the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. A total of 19 leaders from the Iowa Ministry Network made the trip, and it was fantastic! You can check out the Catalyst podcasts via www.iTunes.com and enter "catalyst" in the search icon. You can also access podcasts at www.catalystspace.com. Click on "contents" and then click "podcasts." You'll gain access to a wide variety of speakers who are actively involved in affecting the culture. Check it out and let me know what you think!