The Dip Take Two...

As a staff this morning, we listened to the audio from a message that Pastor preached in October of last year. In hearing it a second time I was profoundly impacted in a different way then I was the first time I had heard it. In fact, I was looking at the notes that I had taken the first time (which were pretty thorough) but was still able to take an additional page of notes during the second hearing.

I learned a lot from the message itself but one thing that stuck out to me even above what I learned directly from the message was that I still took away fresh insight.

I could have checked out and thought to myself, "this message isn't for me, I've already heard it...this message is for everyone else..." but then I would have missed out on a powerful truth that God showed me.

Don't check out!

You might already know the verse, "Love the Lord your God...and Love your neighbor..." but you've got a different neighbor today then you did when you read it last time.

You might have already heard the Gospel message preached, but this time you've got your lost friend sitting beside you.

You might already know that God is a loving Father who disciplines His children but now you have kids of your own and that truth all of a sudden means a lot more to you.

Here's a practical suggestion. Get a new Bible. Your old one is marked up with the insights you discovered the last time you read it. Start fresh and God will apply His timeless truth in a new way to your new circumstances.

"You're Crippled in Both Feet"

Every single week I believe that Pastor Furtick brings a powerful message that impacts people in profound ways. This week was no exception. if you have not heard the Message from this past Sunday check it out here.

During the 10:00 service at our Providence Campus, Pastor Furtick picks up a boy from the crowd to play the part of Mephibosheth from 2 Samuel 9. The point of his picking up the boy was to illustrate that even when we are crippled in both feet God comes to us and carries us.

Read the excerpt from an email written to us from the boy's mother that was used in the illustration in this message. The go back and watch the message again from the time stamps 24:30 - 32:40 with this excerpt in mind:

My son is physically disabled. He acquired polio from the vaccination when he was an infant in a Russian orphanage. We adopted him when he was 7 months old from Kirov, Russia. He has very limited muscle in his left lower extremity and left buttocks. He also has weak abdominal muscles. Although he has received the best medical care(I am a physician), there is little that can be done. He will walk with a limp the rest of his life. He cannot jump or run or do many of the things the other boys do. However, he is known to so many people because he still tries everything--with a smile on his face.

When Pastor Furtick was describing characteristics of people at the end of the sermon--he was literally describing my son. He looks fine from the waist up--you would never know(and Pastor did not).He will walk with a limp the rest of his life but God will love him no matter what. I can't even describe my feelings about today except to say thanks...

Behind every statistic there is a story! God is moving in powerful ways.

"THE 6"

Last week I was WAY off on my predictions for attendance at THE 6.

This week I saw lines of cars turning in at 5:40 and here's what I thought to myself, "Are You serious?"

Now, the capitol "Y" in "You" was intentional, because my thought was actually a silent prayer of disbelief. For the second week in a row the Butler 6:00pm worship experience was the largest service of the day at Butler. The campus itself was over 1800 people. It's just not supposed to happen this way!

At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a huge crowd on the 1st in spite of the game. After all, we've been saying it for 3 years, "Every Sunday is Superbowl Sunday at Elevation" and perhaps a "smaller" crowd will mean 500 people!

God is doing some amazing things with THE 6. For those of you who have committed to attend THE 6 in order to make room for others in the morning, I guess I don't even need to say thank you...you're getting your reward in full!

If you haven't come to THE 6 yet, you may want to check it out this week. It will be your last chance before you'll need to make arrangements to DVR the game. Just a friendly suggestion from a HUGE football fan...Here's some proof for the doubters of my fanship!

Is This the Right Quick Win?

Yesterday, I posted on an article I read in Harvard Business Review. Check my post out here to catch up.

The tool I described at the end of that post is on the right.

I challenged the team that leads the Butler Campus along side me with achieving a pretty lofty goal related to the number of volunteers on our campus. (Since we just launched a new service time we need to recruit more volunteers)

In order to ensure that our goal (90% new volunteers on Sun. pm teams by 2/9/09) was worthy of the time and effort we ran it through the grid on the right. At the end of the exercise, everyone agreed that it was at least a 9 and therefore worth our attention.

As there boss, I could have just said, "here's the goal, get it done" and they would have gotten it done. But I am not just interested in achieving today's goal but in laying the foundation for achieving tomorrow's. Since I believe I am only as good as the team I lead I am glad to have stumbled on a tool that can help me create that team while achieving necessary goals.

The Quick Wins Paradox

I read an article the other day in Harvard Business Review. It was about new leaders trying to prove themselves to everyone they lead and it was very challenging. You can check out the abstract here. Or get your own copy of the magazine for like 20 bucks!!!!

Basically, the article highlighted all of the mistakes I have made as a developing leader and listed them in order like they have been following me around for 3 years. The only thing missing from the article is pictures of me actually making the errors, otherwise it reads like an interview. My guess is, if you have lead anyone at any time you'll feel the same way after you read it...

The article outlines five traps that new leaders fall into:

1) Focusing too heavily on details - "Here's an inventory report I developed for your department...use it!"

2) Reacting negatively to criticism - "Then I'm just going to take my ball and go home..."

3) Intimidating others - "Do you like your job?"

4) Jumping to conclusions - "after 2 1/2 minutes of conversation I think we should throw away your system and start over..."

5) Micromanaging - "Do you think that color works? I mean, if I were developing that report I would use green not blue..."

The basic point of the article is that in order to establish yourself as a new leader you'll need to strive for that "quick win". Everyone is looking to the new leader to make a difference. If I hire you to work for me I want to know that I invested wisely and the right "quick win" can give me that confidence. The problem arises when you go about trying to achieve the "quick win" in the wrong way inevitably falling into one or more of traps above.

Instead, the article describes that the leaders who are successful focus on the following:

1) Communicating a clear vision

2) Developing constructive relationships

3) Demonstrating empathy

4) Play a hands-on role in developing team capabilities

5) Pull everyone together

Picking the right "quick win" becomes very important and the article provides a diagnostic tool that was exceedingly helpful. I'll post my thoughts about that tool tomorrow. In the meantime, if you're leading in any capacity, I would highly recommend the article.

And We Kicked it Off Right...

WOW!



The first Butler 6pm worship experience this past Sunday was amazing but my faith was way too small:



I expected 565 people to come...there were 779!



I expected about 50 people to respond to the message...and they did, but so did 75 additional people making a total of 125 people who came home on Sunday night!



My dream was to break 1500 people at the Butler Campus for the whole day...(I have a hard time writing this number) - 1998 came!



Over all on our campus this week we saw 334 people "Come Home" and in our church 925 people total!



We have a lot to celebrate. We have a lot to be thankful for. God has placed all of us in the middle of something amazing. If you were at the 6pm worship experience Sunday, you, like me, felt that "something amazing" in a way that you have never felt it before.



Here are some pictures:

Forecast: Sunny Skies

Last night I looked at the weather for today and realized that the forecast was for sunny skies. When I saw that it would be 50 degrees and sunny when I would be leaving work to come home I decided to ride to work this morning. The problem was at 6:15am when I left my house I felt more like this guy:

Here's what I know: when the forecast is for sunny skies sometimes you have to endure this:

in order to enjoy this:

This Sunday night we are launching our first evening worship experience at the Butler Campus of Elevation Church. For those of you who have been part of the process of getting this service off the ground you can empathize with me when I say it is not always easy! Recruiting your friend to volunteer with you, stepping into a leadership role that you're uncertain about, giving up your seat at a convenient time to make room for someone else, or agreeing to volunteer all day to get us through the launch of this service are all examples of how you have decided to trust the forecast rather than the circumstances.

Well, now that the morning ride is over and the day has shaped up to look like this:

I'm glad I rode to work today.

This Sunday is going to be a benchmark day for the Butler Campus. For those of you who have trusted the forecast get ready for a great ride!

See you Sunday!

"Take That Devil"

We have a little saying around here that most of us use sparingly. I probably use it more than I should...but then again, there are a lot of good opportunities to use it!

When something happens that clearly advances the Kingdom of God and therefore subdues the attacks of the enemy against God's Church you might hear someone on staff at Elevation say, "Take that Devil...".

The heart behind it for me comes from the charge that Jesus gives to Peter when he tells him, "You will be called Peter (rather than Simon) on this rock I will build my Church and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it." - Matthew 13:18. To which I would say - Take that Devil.

So, I hear that a homeless man was given a ticket right outside the doors of our Christmas Eve service. He comes in and gets saved. I say, "Take that Devil".

I'm quietly flipping through the Scriptures and I read something like this...Take that Devil!

We have planned an incredible worship experience for this Sunday's Come Home series. You're bringing your friends who are far from God and when they are exposed to the Power of Christ and see that they need him in their lives they're going to "Come Home" to Him...so you will quietly say under your breath, "Take that Devil"...and maybe you'll add a little fist pump - that's appropriate.

At Butler we are launching a 6pm worship experience. we've been climbing an uphill battle to get the facility secured, identify volunteers, and get ready for the new service. This week it's going to happen and hundreds of people are going to come and dozens will have their lives changed. What else can I say?

Sometimes you need a phrase that carries a measure of celebratory violence...if you don't already have one of your own your welcome to use ours.

See you this Sunday!