In the spirit of Thanksgiving more than turkey, I thought I'd share a few words of thanks. No particular order, but each is important. Thank you ... to my parents for raising me with good values, good humor, and a good foundation. You may be gone but your memory is alive and well. Thank you ... to my wife for sticking with me for nearly 19 years. I'm glad it's not true that married start looking alike the longer they've been married -- more for your sake than mine. Thank you ... to my two daughters for bringing joy and laughter into our home in their own unique ways. I hope for you more than you'll ever know. Thank you ... to the churches that I have blessed to serve over the last 19 years. It's been a privilege I have never taken for granted. Thank you ... to the…
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Will Mancini has done a great job "translating" Seth Godin for church leaders. His blog post "How Passionate is Your Tribe?" is a great example. Here it is: Here are my three favorite Seth Godin quotes pertaining to tribal passion: "Do you believe in what you do? Every day? It turns out that belief happens to be a brilliant strategy. Can you imagine Steve Jobs showing up for the paycheck? It’s nice to get paid, its essential to believe." "Caring is the key emotion at the center of the tribe… Many organizations are unable to answer the question, “Who cares?" because in fact, no one really does. If you don’t care - really and deeply care - then you can’t possibly lead." "The organizations of the future are filled with smart, fast, flexible people on mission. The thing is, that requires leadership." Because every leader in your church can be…
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As a church planter and fan of church planting, I wanted to pass this along. It's called 10-10-10 and it's about encouraging an explosion of church planting. Next fall on October 10, 2010, churches across the nation will unite to push and pray for new churches. Here's a bit from their FAQ's: What is the 10-10-10 Initiative? 10-10-10 is a unified, cross-denominational emphasis on church planting designed to accelerate the impact of existing networks, organizations, denominations and churches. This 4-6 week, sermon-based initiative seeks to catalyze hundreds of church planting ministries with thousands of existing churches to see millions of lives transformed by the love of Christ through healthy new churches. Why 10-10-10? October 10, 2010 is 10/10/10. August through October are a natural season for new churches to start and a natural season for existing churches to initiate Fall sermon series. The 10-10-10 Initiative leverages the intersection of these…
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Jim and I will be starting a new series this upcoming weekend called "Contagious Generosity." We'll be exploring the value of developing a generous lifestyle and a spirit of gratitude. The college I graduated from had a motto: "Teaching how to live and how to make a living." I remember it was plastered on a billboard just outside of the small town where the college was located. I may not have agreed with everything that my alma mater aspired to be, but I liked the motto. I still do. It reminds me that the most important thing in life is not what you do for a living but how you live. As it relates to generosity, true wealth comes not in what you keep for yourself but what you give to others. It's a radical way of thinking compared to the prevailing wind of our culture. It's also God's way…
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