Dr. Eldridge & the Rockbridge (part 1)

I was decluttering my office, the other night and discovered an overlooked copy of the fall 2003 issue of a publication from the seminary I graduated from. As I browsed through the magazine I discovered for the first time that one of my favorite professors is no longer at the seminary.

Dr. Daryl Eldridge was a professor at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth when I was there, and became dean of the school of Religious Education not too long after. Dr. Eldridge was always scholarly and scripturally sound, and his classes were always challenging, but he also had his head very much in the reality of ministry in the local church and the technology of the day. He was also very accessible to students and gave me extra guidance a number of times along the way.

When I read the brief article about what he is now doing, I had a lot of questions. So I immediately started up the google machine and found the website with the answers. I spent a few minutes browsing the site and was greatly encouraged by what I saw there. Dr. Eldridge is now the President of Rockbridge Seminary, an interdenominational school that Rick Warren has called "the future of global seminary education."



I quickly discovered that Rockbridge is different in at least two ways:

1. Rockbridge is a fully online Seminary.
2. The Rockbridge curriculum is designed around the five purposes of the church: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism.

Reading about this sparked a memory.

Back in the wonder years of 1992, I was in a class with Dr. Eldridge where we were discussing what's going on in learning and what the future holds. Of the things you'd expect, use of computers, multimedia, etc., one of the items in my notes stood out to me now: "Fully electronic schools."

Reading about Dr. Eldridge's new adventure, I just thought, "Wow. He was talking about that as a possibility over a decade ago, and now he's in the forefront, leading the way in that very thing. Dr. Eldridge challenged and encouraged me during my days at Southwestern, and is still on the cutting edge of ministry and God's purposes all these years later.

I've since had a few great email "conversations" with Dr. Eldridge, and I'll be sharing more about that in another post. Pretty cool stuff - He has been starting a seminary from scratch, and we have been starting a church from scratch! If you haven't already, check out their website; it is an innovative and effective seminary in more ways than one.

Portable Church

Our church has been about as portable as you can get. We've hopped all over the place since we started. Some of that has been good and some of it has not been so good. Here are two of many things I've learned about buildings and being portable as a church plant during this time:

1. It's important to stay planted in one place for as long as you can.(How many growing plants in the plant kingdom uproot and move around a lot?) That doesn't mean indefinitely, it just means for as long as you can. There's a certain excitement to making a move, but if it happens too often without accompanying growth, it causes a sense of instability. And I believe that the "accompanying growth" part is the key. You don't have to own it, but it helps if you're in it for a while.
   


2. Being a portable church can be a great thing. For every challenge to being portable, there are a variety of advantages to being portable. For example, being portable means not having a big fat mortgage payment and monthly utilites to deal with that can sap money from other things. Being portable means t that we can plan to use financial resources to pay staff, purchase quality equipment and create compelling environments for worship and children's areas "instead" rather than "in addition to" those expenses. It isn't necessarily "if you build it, they will come," it's more "If you're meeting needs and creating welcoming environments they will come." Being portable also means in some ways it's easier to go to them... "Come and See" and "Go and Tell" are not mutually exclusive.

I know that there are probably some of my team members who are starting to get a twitch in their eye about right now, since they've been setting up and tearing down for so long... but a building can be an asset or a liability, depending on how it's viewed and used.

We may not be in a building of our own for a while, though, and I'm ok with that. It gives us an opportunity to discover and explore the best kind of building we'll need and that fits into the vision of our church when the time is right. When we do build, it will most likely be a multi-use building that benefits the community and gives us interaction with unchurched people during the week in the middle of "the marketplace." Still praying and thinking through that one, and it will have to wait for another post. (And what a post it will be!)

Much inspiration from Ben and Mark, on this.

Couple of Links
Here are a couple of web sites I'm mulling over as we're planning for the launch at the rec center:

Portable Church
and
Group Imaging

What do we need to create the environments we need to create in order to accomplish what we need to accomplish? What do we not need? For our area, the answers to those questions are starting to become clearer, but it's an ongoing challenge.

Portable Perspective
And finally, Church media guru Anthony Coppedge has a great post today about a "portable church" he visited in Arizona. (I like that he refers to Gary Lamb as "feisty" in this post!) Check it out here.

Drive Conference Videos Now Online

One of the conferences that I most wanted to attend but couldn't this year was the Drive Conference hosted at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Andy Stanley and Reggie Joiner led the main sessions, and I discovered from several of the blogs that I subscribe to that they've made the videos of the conference available on line for free. So far I've only seen the first session led by Reggie, and it's definitely worth the time to watch. Very good stuff, and very much where my heart is right now.

I'm hoping to take my whole team to this conference, next year. Watch the videos of the sessions here.

An old cartoon

My friend John posted about his frustration with churches doing "Hell Houses" at Halloween, and it reminded me of a cartoon I scribbled many, many moons ago. The drawing is pretty weak in this one, but I liked the idea. Maybe I'll redo it. It falls under the creative commons license, so feel free to pass it along!


This caused me to dust off an old file of mine that is filled with cartoons and drawings I've scribbled over the years. I'll have to show you some of them as we go along...

Update on Leona: Procedure went well. She was pretty groggy from the anesthesia for most of the day yesterday but went back to work today. We'll know if it made any difference by next week. Thanks for your prayers.

Rec Center, Free Mp3s and a Prayer Request

Roanoke Recreation Center:
I had the opportunity yesterday to do a "walk through" tour of the Roanoke Recreation Center with Ronnie Angel, the Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Roanoke. As we went through the building, stepping around construction workers and materials, I couldn't help but get excited about what a great place for Compass Church it's going to be. More about this later, but let me just say that this area has no idea how cool this building is really going to be...but they will soon. You can follow the progress through the autocam here.

Free Music Mp3s:
My brother, Bill, has some free music Mp3's available for download. "Holy Lord" is my favorite of the three. He has a new project he is working on, but these are pretty cool, also.

Looking at this picture of him, here, I'm still trying to figure out how it is that he's older than me and yet still has all of his hair, while I....Well, I guess God will have His little joke. :-D

Download the free songs here.


Prayer Request:
This has been a tough week for my family. Leona has been really sick for the past day or so with a case of strep and tomorrow she is scheduled for the first in a series of major injections into her back (unrelated) to deal with some issues with her back and neck. Leona had back surgery a few years ago, and is now beginning to have some of the same problems again. Her arm keeps going numb, for example. This procedure is a step to try to avoid another surgery. Please pray for her (and me) as we head to the hospital at 7 a.m. tomorrow. Thanks.

Happy Blog Day To Me

Well, I really can't believe this, but I've been blogging now for one whole year. - As of tomorrow, September 25th, that is. I thought I'd go ahead and mention it here on my "one year blogging eve," since I may not have an opportunity to post tomorrow.

I don't want to be tedious, here, but it really has been amazing. I've met, interacted with and learned from so many people since that first post as a result of this blog and the blogs that I've discovered in the process. Several of those I'll be linking to on my sidebar before long.

Here is a link to that first, simple post: The Next Step - No book yet, but who knows what year two holds...

In what seems to be a blogging tradition of sorts, here are some of my favorite posts from this past year:

1. Tall Tales
2. Un-Wired-er
3. One Who Has Been Rescued
4. Live From The Retro Family Picnic (Audio)
5. Cup o' Joe With Bob (Audio)
6. One Mad Christmas
7. Are You Being Fed?
8. Phone Follies
9. The Church That Fumbled (Part Two)
10. Sermons That Are Too Long
11. Thoughts On Restarts
12. Honk If You Love Whatever

Well, that's one post for each month of the first year, so happy blog day to me! Thanks for reading, looking, listening and commenting. It's really been encouraging to me through one of the most challenging and exciting years of my life.

Ok, enough of all that. Grab a compass and let's move on to the next step and the next post...

Creative Podcasting

There is an element to podcasting that feels a little like the dude on the old "Mr. Microphone" commercials in the early 80's. "Wow, I'm on the radio! Hey good lookin', I'll be back to pick you up later!"

Just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should. My recent Pod blip comes to mind, for example. But with podcasting, it's hard to think of too many reasons why churches shouldn't be leading the way.

So I've been thinking about podcasting recently as it relates to Compass Church and have decided that we probably need TWO Podcasts. I'm still working this through, but here's what I'm working on:

The first podcast is a no-brainer. An mp3 audio file with a feed you can subscribe to of Sunday's sermon/message/talk. Not too hard to put together, really: a simple opener with music, maybe a closing comment, and the talk in between. Kind of a traditional church "tape" ministry online, downloadable and free. Maybe we'll call the first podcast "The Live Wire" or "Sunday Rewind."

But the second podcast is more of a brainer. The whole podcast thing is a new communication tool in many ways, and I believe that we're just beginning to see its potential for ministry - beyond the Sunday message. Maybe we'll call the second podcast "Compass lagniappe." Ok, maybe not lagniappe, but something that communicates something more, something with extra stuff added! ...Ok, definitely not lagniappe.

But this podcast would be caffeinated. It would have extra stuff. It would include more than one person talking. It would have conversations and include more variety. So here are some creative ideas that I'm working on for that 2nd podcast. Feel free to use them in your church, add to them, and let me know how things go!

Some creative podcasting ideas:

• Record the 2nd podcast on Monday morning with staff or team members. Expand on Sunday's message toghether, talk about wins from the weekend, stories, etc.

• Include interviews. Interview people who made decisions on Sunday, people who know a lot about the topic, or just people who couldn't be available on Sunday morning. Maybe a celebrity or pastor from another church? Skype could come in handy, here.

• Include stories related to your series in an NPR documentary/commentary style. Follow someone's journey as they deal with the issue in real life.
  

• Create special, themed shows about your current series or with stuff to help your members reach out to unchurched friends (like a discussion about "The DaVinci Code" or God & hurricanes, or something). Holidays could make for great themed podcasts.
  

• Include ads/teasers for next Sunday or the next series. This could be cool, well produced audio ads or simply you talking about why you're excited about what's ahead.
  

• Include "inside" behind the scenes stuff about what's cooking with your church.

• Feature a staff member and/or have a different staff member host the podcast each week.

• Do a podcast series that deals with each of your church's values.

• Unveil a new song or big announcement on this podcast. Promote it that way: "Listen to this week's (whatever) podcast for a big annoucement!" Let it be where you announce/unveil first.
  

• For those who need the weekly jumpstart, or encouragement read a chapter of Scripture each week, between "commercials" or segments.

• Include a segment that helps people memorize a verse of Scripture. Work it through with your team out loud, each week. Award the team members who can quote it the fastest with a candy bar or apple or something. Have them compete on one week to see who can get the most people to quote the verse from memory, and have them bring their list. Read the names of the people from the lists. Ok, there is all kinds of fun potential here...
  

• Give people a "peek" at a creative brainstorming session of your team. Record and edit, of course...

• Add a quick, "What's Happening This Week" segment, like an audio bulletin board.
  

• Create a "Vision Casting" podcast.

• Do a podcast in a public place. Interview people on the street or in the coffee shop. Ask questions related to your current series. Use audioblogger for that live, "on the street" feel.
  

• Add a third, "5 minute" weekly podcast with a separate feed that counts down to an event or emphasis with the latest news, motivators and people stories.
  

• At the end of a sermon series, do a "best of" podcast that includes some of the best moments or lines from the series.

• Allow people to hear you interact with your staff and other people on the podcast. Create an atmosphere that provides opportunities for laughter. Inside jokes become community jokes.
  

• Don't do the same thing every week. Hey, if it applies to the weekend worship service, why not your podcast?

Both podcasts should become a part of your church's communication strategy quintet: podcast, blog, email, website & print. Make it part of your culture. Make it something that people don't want to miss, that they look forward to, and tell people about. Before long, it could even become another hook in the water for reaching new people for Christ and your church.

Ok, that's all I've got right now. When the Compass Podcasts launch, I'll be sure to let you know. In fact, we're toying around with doing a countdown type of podcast counting down to the launch.

I know there are more possibilities for the second podcast. Any other ideas, out there?

* By the way, if you don't see the picture in this post, jump out of bloglines or your newsreader and check it out. It took about 6 minutes to make and made me laugh out loud at the finished product!

For more:
One More Podcasting Idea (or so...)

"Creative Podcasting" Addendum

Happy Birthday, Leona!

Personal family (but worldwide) shout out to my lovely wife, Leona:

Happy birthday, Leona!

I love you!

Gee, I'm a winner...

So I'm checking out Sarge's latest post over at The Leadership blog, and lo and behold, I discover that I am a winner!

In his Friday Funny Caption Contest, my caption submission for the following photo apparently...um, floated to the top:










"All in favor?" Pastor Doofus asked himself. "I," he replied.

or

"With all barriers now fully in place, Pastor Doofus could finally stop worrying about visitors dropping in at the First Church of Me & Mine."

Thanks, Sarge! Do I get a lovely parting gift?

Creativity and Innovation

Steve Dilla has a great post today describing a creative meeting he had recently to prepare for an upcoming conference at Fellowship Church in Grapevine. He identifies several factors that made the creative planning productive that I think are right on target. I added a comment about one of my little creative strategies. Check it out here.

And speaking of creativity and innovation, something I've been working through over the past several months is this concept:

"Innovation must be driven by discipline, and creativity must be channeled through order. Otherwise you just end up with a great big, cool and pretty mess of inneffective stuff."

Sometimes I find that my right brain creeps over to my left and picks a fight, and a ballroom blitz ensues. Then paint, ideas and scribbles are left all over the place in in a right brain victory while undone to-do lists, missed deadlines and a messy desk are scattered around in the wake of a left brain loss.

And poor Mr. Left Brain really only wanted to help Mr. Right Brain be successful. Boy, my right brain can really be a punk, sometimes...

This is not a good thing.

It's been said that a pond or lake may be able to sprawl out widely but a river channeled through the right river banks can become a powerful force. (or something like that)

Maybe I should make the whole "disciplined innovation" or "channeled creativity" concept a regular feature here. But first my left brain needs to build a little bit of muscle and street smarts to handle his own with my right...

How about you?

What do you think?

The Cutting Edge

Something to chew on:

To thrive on the cutting edge of ministry, you really need to have a firm grip on the handle of the knife.

And if you do it right, you can use a fork and spoon again until a new slice is needed...

Worship & Church Planting Missteps

Mark Batterson made a great "quotable quote" on his blog, today:

"I feel like one of Satan's tricks is getting us to focus on what's wrong with us instead of worshipping what's right about God. It's one of my worship mantras, ... don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God."

Read the full article here. This is a great quote about worship...and to a certain extent, church planting.

Sometimes church planters spend so much time doing autopsies on their latest failure that they forget to learn from it, get up, dust off and keep following the God who never fails.

Faith without risk is safe - but usually pretty lifeless. Cuts and scars prove you've at least been in the game.

Dugout

Today we gathered at the Roanoke Community Park for a brief worship service followed by hotdogs and recreation. The softball idea gave way to kickball to allow for everyone, kids and all, to play together.

The ball field was beautiful, groomed and fresh. I wish I had a picture of it to show you. Green grass, white lines, nicely maintained infield. It's a new park, and the Roanoke Parks & Rec Department has done a great job keeping it looking that way.

But we had a light rain last night, so today the dirt on the infield had been transformed into a very slick mud. And this of course made for hilarious gameplay. There was wacky footwork happening all over the place.

The game ended when Ricky made the play of plays and the wipe out of wipe outs. In a dramatic display you would have to have seen to believe, Ricky amazed us all. He was tearing across the infield to make the play when he hit a ridiculously slick spot, went into a slide, then into a spin, and in the process covered himself in mud literally from head to toe! Unfortunately, he really hurt his knee and ankle in the process, and is nursing the swelling this afternoon!

But because of that "superman sports moment in time" that I wish to high heaven I had video taped, Ricky gets the **Dugout Award** for the day!

Kickball with adults. What a blast. Who knew?

(Especially if you know secret ninja moves from the government, Napoleon...)

What a great day. I have ketchup, mustard, and relish mixed with sweat, charcoal ashes and a bit of mud on my shirt as I'm typing this. As Calvin would say, "Consider this day seized!"

Boring Church Services...

Tony Morgan has a great post today, called:

"10 easy ways to make your church services more boring."

I added a "#11" in the comments section....

It's certainly a constant challenge for every church, but also a great reminder to us all. And you don't have to be shallow or showy or dumbed down to keep from being boring. If your church service has become boring, it's usually because you've gotten lazy, not because your congregation's not spiritual enough.

How could we ever allow ourselves to communicate the greatest news in the world in the dullest possible way? When you're just turning the crank week in and week out, you'll become one yourself before long...

It seems that Kim was talking about this very thing, yesterday...

"I Was A Stranger..." - Jesus (Mt. 25:35)

Deann hit another home run today with a challenging and close up look at an amazing story from the ongoing drama that is unfolding in Hurricane Katrina's wake.

Check it out here: I Was A Stranger: Ministry in the Astrodome and Beyond

A standout quote from a couple interviewed in her article:

"We were obedient. That's all he required of us," Shelly said. "God will put the puzzle together. We were the link because God works through people. He wants willing vessels."

Man, does this world ever have a need for more, intentional, Christ following, "links."

Deann gave me a sneak preview of one more article that will be posted on Christianity Today's website on Friday. It's far more personal, and describes how the crisis has hit far closer to home for her. I'll post a link tomorrow.

www.compasswired.com

"North Point Fellowship" is no more. Really. We gave it a good go...

Not the church, but the name!

We are now Compass Church, and that means our website domain has changed. And my email. See my profile for the new address. The North Point Domain is soon to slide away, also, so please update your bookmarks and favorites to http://www.compasswired.com to see what's cooking with us!

And speaking of what's cooking with us, it is hard to express the buzz that is happening with our team right now as we are getting ready to launch at the Rec Center. We spent the weekend in Corsicana at a team member couple's house on the lake (Thanks, Gary & Brenda!) and came away with renewed vision, stronger relationships and a cool plan.

Here are a few highlights of things to come that are on the Compass burner at the moment:

• Divide and Conquer Prayer and Outreach Strategy (This is very cool and part of a broad strategy throughout the fall. More about this later)
• We're providing lunch for the Roanoke Rec Department staff next week.
  
• Compass Backstage Pass - Upcoming Special Worship Service(s) near our new worship space including music, video, testimonies and vision casting for all of our current and potential supporters.
  
• Volunteering and presence/info at the "Celebrate Roanoke" city event
  
• Preview Services in November and December
• Press releases throughout the fall related to our name change, use of the Rec Center and a number of fun surprises ahead...
• Volunteering presence at key Neighborhood association organized events in October and December
• A potentially show stopping float in the Roanoke Christmas Parade leading into our Narnia Series.
  
• Parent's night out/Christmas gift wrapping night in the works
  
• 2 Part Narnia Series in the December preview services
• 3 simultaneous Community Christmas Eve Services/events in 3 different outdoor locations involving candlelight, carols, the Christmas Story and fun for kids. (There are several logistical and people challenges here, but could actually be the coolest thing we're doing. More details later)

Oh, man, could I go on and on, here. I haven't even mentioned the new band Kim is forming. I'll save it all for future posts.

Want to join our team? Zip me an email, and let's talk.

Interested in partnering with us? We're also looking for additional churches and organizations to become prayer and financial partners with us as we creatively and passionately reach out to our community with the incredibly good news of new life in Christ!

Compass rocks.

Deann, Katrina and Church Compassion

I've known Deann Alford since I was in Kindergarten, and even earlier. She is someone who could probably tell you stories about me growing up that I would prefer she just keep to herself. That's why I'm glad that these days she tells stories that matter.

She's currently covering responses by churches to the Hurricane Katrina crisis for Christianity Today and other publications. She's just written a great piece covering 2nd Baptist Church of Houston's "Operation Compassion" that includes a great quote from Ed Young, Sr.

Check it out here: Houston's Religious Communities Scramble to Help Evacuees

Disaster, Chaos, Tragedy & Hope

Things are getting pretty tense in Louisiana, Compass Church's neighbor to the east and the state I grew up in. The way it is playing out is unbelievable, with the best and absolute worst in people coming out. And the stories pouring in are pretty heart wrenching.

I read an article in the Shreveport Times today, that compared Hurricane Katrina to last year's hurricane Charley (estimated $15 billion in U.S. damages, 10 lives lost), which was followed 2 weeks later by hurricane Frances (estimated $8.9 billion in U.S. damages, 7 lives lost), which was followed by hurricane Ivan (estimated 14.2 billion in damages, 25 lives lost). The total loss of life from those 3 hurricanes combined was 42. The numbers have not yet been validated for Katrina, but the estimate has been set in the thousands of lives lost. I'm hoping that number is incorrect, but it certainly has to be in the hundreds.

This AP article describes the situation as of today. It seems as if there is disaster upon disaster happening in the wake of Katrina, and darkness of every kind has made its way into New Orleans. (side note: The Police Chief's name is "Eddie Compass.") I'm not meaning to neglect the other areas affected, like Mississippi, but New Orleans seems to have some unique situations happening at the moment.

Where is God at times like this?

Without meaning to oversimplify things, let me just say that He is right here with us. Stirring and moving in the hearts of His people. Wanting people who do not know Him to turn to Him. He is wanting people who are hurting and in despair to find peace and strength in Him. He is calling His church to be His hands and feet to meet real needs and demonstrate help and hope in the middle of disaster.

One day there will be no more pain or suffering or tragedy. On that day God will wipe away all tears and heartache. Jesus made such a day possible 2000 years ago on a cross, and it is a day that I long for with all of my heart. But until that day comes, there is much to be done and many more people who need to be a part of that great day. There is a hurting world who needs a friend, a blanket, shelter, food and a Savior. During, after and even before a Hurricane or other disaster.

I'm encouraged to see what Churches are doing to respond to this need, even as the church responded when the Tsunami hit the shore. And there are many good things happening and that are going to happen throughout this thing.

Here are a few stories that demonstrate that:

• PD mentor churches help shelter refugees from Hurricane Katrina

• Refugees Look to God For Strength as N.O. collapses in chaos
  

• First Person: Hurricane Katrina: How Can We Help?
  

And there are many more churches, organizations, individuals and denominations doing some good stuff, right now. And that should be encouraging to all of us who are followers of Christ.

To make a donation to help meet the incredible need, click here for a range of options. And pray for the peace of New Orleans.

"Audio Blog Day" Post 11: All Blogged Out; Turn Out the Lights

[run time - 2 min. 26 sec.]

• Who won the game
• We wish you a merry audio blog day
• Blog nog
• Prayer time
• A new tradition
  
• Final announcement
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 10: 3rd Quarter

[run time - 45 sec.]

• Uphill battle
  
• Matt "Leekie"
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 9: 1st Quarter

[run time: 40 sec.]

• Bad post timing
• Hopes set high
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 8: Pit Stop

[run time - 1 min. 8 sec.]

• Pre-game show
  
• What's for supper?
• Sizzlin' - mmm...
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 7: Michael On Board

[run time - 2 min. 25 sec.]

• Results from Art Class
• Workouts and Scripture
• Uh's and Um's
• Hebrews 12:11
• Innovation & Discipline
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 6: Back to Matthew

[run time - 1 min. 3 sec.]

• Hot van
• Gas prices
• New Orleans
• Hey from Matthew

"Audio Blog Day" Post 5: Back to Melissa

[run time - 1 min. 35 sec.]

• Headache
• Hey from Meliss
• Audio Blog Day shopping
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 4: From the Ortho

[run time - 1 min. 8 sec.]

• To the school
• The result from the Orthodontist
• A surprise encounter and shout out
• Finally to work
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 3: To the Ortho

[run time - 1 min. 40 sec.]

• Michael thoughts on the orthodontist
• Audio blogging on the road
• Art and buhbye
  

"Audio Blog Day" Post 2: At the Curb

[run time - 1 min. 28 sec.]

• To the school with Matthew
• Football schedule confusion
• Something in the road
• The drop off
  

Audio Blog Day

[run time - 1 min. 20 sec.]

I have a crazy day today where the schedule is more imposed on me than I have control over. I thought I'd take you along and give you audio snapshots of how the day goes. If this gets ridiculously dull, I'll probably delete the whole thing. If not, you'll get a goofy "look" into my day...

All posts will be about a minute or two in length.

Talk to you soon.

This post:

• Groggy start
• Melissa to sectional rehearsal
• Train fun
  

Blogging Church

If you haven't heard about this, yet, Brian Bailey and Terry Storch are writing a book called...well, check it out here.

And just for fun, notice the "Blogging Sr. Pastors" on the sidebar...

I'm looking forward to this book coming out, and watching the process unfold on their site!

Coffee Shout Out

Mark Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C., and they are really doing some incredible things up there.

I made a comment on Mark's blog, letting him know about a cool retro coffee flick, and he gave me a huge "shout out" about it. Check it out here.

Thanks for the nod, Mark!

South Alliance Stirrings

I spent some time today at Starbucks visiting with my new friend, Richard Thomas. Richard is planting a church in the South Alliance area, and is still in the early stages of preparation. He is looking at a launch date of Easter 2006.

It was encouraging to hear about his calling, his willingness to learn and to observe his humble but steadfast spirit.

Richard also has a music background, so we definitely had some things in common. One fun fact to know and tell about Richard is that he spent some time as a band director in the Keller Independent School District - teaching Middle Schoolers! I'm thinking that's qualification enough, right there - If he could handle that, he can handle anything! :-D

Richard is the second person I've had actual human face to face interaction with as a result of blogging. I believe there are great things ahead for Richard and I enjoyed meeting him, today! Check out his new blog here.

Any other church planters in the Alliance, Texas area who'd like to get together for a cup o joe? Drop me a line!

Flippin' Sweet...

So I was driving home early in the morning yesterday on my way home from a workout when I passed a school bus. As I drove by, something caught my eye. (and we all know how painful that can be!) Dangling behind the bus was a long string....and an action figure bouncing along the road!

When I realized what it was, I started laughing out loud.

I'm thinking that the conversation in the bus three minutes before I passed it started this way:

"What are you going to do today, Napoleon?"

Those crazy kids.

((Ardent)) Audio

Had lunch today with Steve Dilla, the ((Ardent)) Follower. Steve's a great guy with an incredible future, and I really enjoyed hanging out with him for a while today. It was great to hear his story and how he wound up on staff at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, and what God is teaching him, right now.

Steve's the first real live human being that I've actually interacted with in the real world as a direct result of blogging. Very cool. Listen to the audio post above, then check out his blog!

Update: Steve posted about our lunch on his site - check it out here. Steve, you rock! And I mean that literally, since the Newsboys are leading worship for you guys this weekend....

Compass Airlines...

Kim has a great post on her blog that pretty much describes the vibe of Compass Church, right now...Check it out, here.

Honk if you love whatever

Ah.

So here's how my day gets going this morning:
(First realize that I'm driving our completely uncool van, which is uncool in more ways than one because the air conditioning is broken.)

I get Matthew to school by 7:00 a.m. (which is basically when Leona has to be at school)
I get Melissa to the Orthodontist by 7:30 a.m.
I get Michael to school by 8:00 a.m.
I pick up Melissa from the Orthodontist around 8:05 a.m.
I take Melissa to school around 8:15 a.m.
I go to the store to pick up a couple of extra things for Michael's birthday and arrive around 9:00 a.m.

And then things begin to get goofy.

Leona calls as I'm arriving in the parking lot. I turn off the ignition while I'm still on the phone, and suddenly there is this frightening and freaky buzzing sound. Then the horn starts honking. Loudly. On its own. Hooooonnnnk! Honk! Honk! Hooooonnnnk! Honk! Honk! The keys are not even in the ignition. I start it back up, and it keeps honking. At this point the people in the parking lot are beginning to stare, and Leona is beginning to laugh.

It's still honking. Did I already say that it is loud? Hooooonnnnk! Honk! Honk! Hooooonnnnk! Honk! Honk! I'm now driving out of the parking lot and heading to the mechanic that worked on the van a few days ago. Obviously, something has gone horribly wrong.

The thing honks all the way from Watauga to Keller, causing quite a bit of confused and befuddled looks along the way, I might add. It finally stops honking about two blocks from the mechanic, so I stop at another parking lot and kill the engine. I take a breath and turn the key again. Hooooonnnnk! Honk! Honk! Hooooonnnnk! Honk! Honk! I just about jump out of my seat.

As I drive into the parking lot of the mechanic, the thing is still honking like a constipated duck in a yodeling class. The people there are coming out of the building and looking at me like, "Whoa, chill out - we'll look at your van. Keep your shirt on! What's the matter with you?" I just lift up my hands like a prisoner and kind of wave at the steering wheel. They don't quite get it until I get out of the van and it's still honking the goose national anthem.

A couple hours later, the car alarm that we didn't even know was installed on our van has been surgically removed, and the haunting honking noise is just a mind numbing memory. The next several hours are spent with a makeshift lunch, picking kids up from school within an hour of each other, making a couple of trips to the store, stopping by the house for a cup of lemonade, and sweating profusely. Yes, it's about 100 degrees in the DFW Metroplex right now, and yes, reparing the air conditioning will have to wait till another day...

But believe it or not, I'm still thankful.

Because old "Chitty Chitty Honk Honk" is paid for. And I'm celebrating my youngest son's birthday, tonight. And I'm really getting excited about how the plan is coming together and all that's ahead for Compass Church. And I have a beautiful, smart and supportive wife. And I have great kids. And God is good. And heaven's gonna be great, one day and it probably won't be this hot or sweaty there... And once again, I'm realizing I'm still a pretty blessed guy.

And that's pretty honkin' cool.

A Few Church Planters I Have Known...

I've had some great conversations and interactions lately with some other Church Planters in the Alliance, Texas area. Each of these guys have different personalities, passions and approaches to Church Planting, and they each have a unique vision and calling for the churches God has called them to plant.

There is definitely a unique set of challenges that Church Planters and their families face. Leona and I are looking at the possibility of forming a Church Planter's & wives' fellowship in our area that meets once every 2 months or so for prayer, fellowship and encouragement. I'm looking forward to seeing how each of these churches that God is forming has an impact for the Kingdom in this area over the next several years.

Let me introduce you to a few of my rowdy Alliance, Texas area church planting friends (at least the ones that I have talked with recently) :

John Henson | Highland Community Church
Douglas Shoelles | Church of the Resurrection
Brandon Thomas | Keystone Church

Check em out. They're good guys, and there are a lot of people who need the Gospel in this area. I'm confident that they will each reach and connect with people that Compass Church never will, and vice-versa. God is a big God, with a big heart, boys and girls.

And by the way, if you're planting a church somewhere in the Alliance, Texas area, and I haven't had the opportunity to meet you, drop me a line. Let's get a cup o joe and talk church planting!

Under the knife

Oops! Updated with a source link 8/17/05. I thought that line sounded familiar!

I once had a conversation with someone who wondered if a certain church planter was "cut out" for church planting.

The church planter in question had left a sweet ministry position he had been in for several years, moved his family to a new location, raised support, pulled together a makeshift team of people, left the security of the church staff position that he was in for the uncertainty and insecurity of planting a church - all because of a burning desire to reach out to the unchurched with the Gospel, and respond to what he sensed was the unmistakable call of God.

The church planter experienced a variety of difficult challenges on the field, however, and had not launched with the crowd that was originally hoped for. He had not seen the number of people baptized that he or his original supporters had hoped for.

Following a withdrawal of funds from a major initial supporter, and the exodus of a key team member family, the church planter had a "crisis of belief" (to quote Henry Blackaby), did a lot of prayer and soul searching, and came to the conclusion that God was still calling him to plant the church in the area. He believed that ultimately, he and the church had experienced a time of purging, preparation and planting that was necessary for the next phase, and not that he had a lack of calling, giftedness, talents or personality to fit the task.

So was and is this pastor "cut out" for church planting?

Hmm, "Cut out?" Well, I understand the question, and the intent behind it, but I'm not sure it's always the best question to ask when a church planter has had a tough go of things. Of course, sometimes it is, but not always.

Maybe we should ask if they are "called and being cut out." How much they are "being cut out" before they launch a new church is important information to know and work with ahead of time, but hanging in there and still having vision and a sense of call for the long haul says a lot to me about what has been and is being "cut out" in a church planter.

You know, if you step out in incredible faith and risk and respond to God's call to plant a church - not just talk about it, but actually do it - that says quite a bit about you already, doesn't it? (Thanks to John for the link) Unless course, you're just trying to prove something or you can't get another job or you just have a hard time getting along with people...

When a church planter hits a wall, the best questions should probably be more along the lines of, "Are you called, are you learning and still willing to learn, and are you making course corrections (nod to Ben) to achieve the goals God has set before you? (And if funding disappears, are you still in?)"

Every situation is different and every church planter is different. There are certainly some common characteristics among many of them, but I have to tell you, every church planter I have met is really different. Different in style, personality and voice. Different in talent, leadership ability and level of creativity. Different in background, education and in the number of people who started the adventure with them. They've all been, well...different.

But they have all had a sense of God's call to plant a church, and they have all had God do amazing "shaping" and "cutting" in their lives to get them to where they are and where they're going.

I know I'm not who I was when I first started planting. There was still much to cut out of me, for sure. And I'm a heck of a lot more "cut out" for it today than I was when I started. I have the scars to prove it. It's what happens when you go "under the knife" and let the Great Physician mold you and "cut you" into who He wants you to be.

Are you "cut out" for what God has called you to do? ...Or have you been called by God and is He is cutting you into who He wants you to be so that you can do what He wants you to do?

"Hardest Part of Leadership" from an Ardent Follower

Steve Dilla has a great post at his blog, Ardent about the hardest part of leadership.

I added a comment that included this statement:

"The devil tends to distract me not with the overtly obvious temptation to commit, but with the subtly obvious temptation to omit..."

What are you not doing or becoming today that is keeping you from doing what God is calling you to do as a leader and keeping you from becoming the leader that God intends for you to be?

Compass "Values Added"

The "values" page is now updated on our church transition website. Check it out here.

King of the Google Page Ranking

Ok, I know how much effort many people put into being at the top of the Google Page Rankings. It's a science. It's an art.

But how many websites are not only #1 on Google for the searched item, but are actually in a class by themselves? Well, I don't know.

But I'm one of them.

Google either of the following: pod-blip or "pod blip" and you will see that I'm standing alone in my field.

I couldn't be more proud. Perhaps Apple will be adding a "blip" feature to itunes this time next year.

Blip on.

North Point /Compass Update...blip

Pod blip?
2 Major challenges for North Point Fellowship
2 Major opportunities for Compass Church
Want to serve with me?

On my way out of Doug's Office

Quick post on my way out of Doug Walker's office at one of our supporting churches, Fellowship of the Parks. Allow me to apologize in advance for my annoying high pitched laughter...

A little perspective looking back while going forward

The right gift set, talents & personality are worthless without calling, commitment & passion.

The “wrong” gift set(?), talents & personality are everything with calling, commitment & passion.

The Blip is Back

Well, for some reason, the audio from my "poor pastor's pod-blip" was missing for a day or so. This of course, may not have been a bad thing. It is a short post that I did completely with my tongue in my cheek, and we all know how difficult it is to talk that way...

Anyway, props to Terry for being a great sport and for the nice email. Will there be future "pod-blips?" Hmm, have to get back to you on that.

Well, it's back now, in case you missed it, in all of it's goofy glory. When you listen, think: I bet this guy washes his paper plates...

Thoughts on Restarts

Ok, back to business!

Recently I was asked a few questions by someone who is considering leading a church through a restart. These are great questions and things I'm working through a bit myself at the moment, so it was good timing. (If they give me permission, I'll update this post with their information and more background on their situation)
Update: He did. Check out Loren Hicks, a campus pastor at UCLA, and originator of the great questions!

I may look at a few of these in a more indepth way in future posts, but for now I'm just throwing them all out there at one time.

Now I know that there are some great church planters/pastors out there who occasionally drop by this blog who have a wealth of knowledge & experience. What would you guys add to my thoughts, here? I could use some fresh thoughts, also!

Here are the questions and my responses.

I think that even though this is a restart, that the best success will come from thinking like a church planter.

1. In a church plant/restart like this, what would you consider as the critical success factors?

Here are some things I would be shooting for:

• A clear and compelling vision that you can share passionately.
• Complete "buy in" to the vision of at least 90% of the original group. (It is very likely that you'll lose at least 10% of that group, anyway. Focus on who you will be trying to reach even more than who is already there.)
• Financial base raised/committed before "relaunching." (sounds like you're on the road there, already)
• Evangelistic/Outreach strategy that builds "pre-launch" momentum.
• Strong, unified leadership team and structure.
• Good, thorough understanding of the area, the people, and the culture. What are the felt needs?
• Critical mass at the official "relaunch." Shoot for over 100 people in attendance. This will completely change the old landscape and establish momentum and excitement about the new direction of the church.

2. What would you consider the initial steps in a restart to be? (some of these repeat/flesh out the above items)

• If you have never had a church planter's assessment done, it could be very helpful to discover your personal strengths and challenges you may need to work on before beginning.
• Answer the following questions in your own heart in a way that can be communicated with authority and passion:

Is there a need for a "new" church in this area at this time?

Is there anything distinctive about our church?

Are there people who will not be reached by anyone else unless we reach them?

• Completely "survey the land" - Know everything you can about the area.
• Develop a "prospectus" that includes a timeline, budget, and your vision & values.
• Gather/build the leadership team to realize the vision. (Get the wrong people off of the bus and the right people on the bus and in the right seats, ala the book, "Good to Great")
• Develop/enlist a prayer team.
• It may be a good idea to consider creating a whole new identity for the church. New name/logo/etc.
• Develop a marketing (think: "how to communicate the greatest news in the world and who we are as a church" to the community) plan. Include everything from newspaper articles to service projects to advertising.

3. Do you have any suggestions on looking for a leadership team? Would you look for a certain criteria?

• Start by considering people that you already know and have worked with in the past.
• Bill Hybels suggests looking for CIA: Chemistry, first, Integrity second and Ability third. I would also add that you should look for people who understand your vision, values & where you're going - and want to go with you.
• Consider enlisting a designer/visuals/media person, a volunteer coordinator and a community relations coordinator to the team.

4. Are there any resources you would point us towards?

You may be familiar with all of these, but here's a start:

• The Purpose driven Church planter's conference
  
• Percept Demographics
  
• Church Planting Village (This is a site for church plants of the North American Mission Board, SBC, but has good stuff for any denom.)
• The book, Visioneering by Andy Stanley
• The book, Starting High Definition Churches by Ron Sylvia
• The book, Simply Strategic Stuff by Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan
  
• The Church Planter's Toolkit by Robert E. Logan & Steven L. Ogne (a bit dated, but still a good resource)
• The Church planting forum on Pastors.com
• A lot of blogs, but here's a good start: Gary Lamb
  

Well, there are certainly more things to consider, (and many, many more resources) but I hope these are helpful. Please let me know how things go, and I pray God's best for you, your family, and the church God has put on your heart!

Grace & Peace,

Johnny

A time to laugh...

"A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:4 - NLT

"God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for the time will come when you will laugh with joy." Luke 6:21 - NLT

"2 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, "What amazing things the LORD has done for them." 3 Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!" Psalm 126:2-3 - NLT

Poor Pastor's Pod - Blip...

Like a podcast....but not really.

Inspired by Terry Storch, but please don't blame him.

Hey, sometimes you just need to kick back, blow off some steam, and get a little silly...