New Blog

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New Blogsite

Follow my new Blogsite at www.kevinbordeaux.wordpress.com

Homosexuals are not destroying the Church. The Church is....

I posted a new blog at: www.kevinbordeaux.wordpress.com 

Is Creativity overrated?

New blog post on creativity at my new site: http://www.kevinbordeaux.wordpress.com 

New Blog Address for Kevin Bordeaux

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Summer Affects Everyone's Grass

DO NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. 

I have something to admit. I love my neighbor's grass (not his wife). I would like to just lay in it. I will refrain from doing that because that sort of practice may be frowned upon. 

I became very discouraged early on in the summer. 

My grass was turning brown and dying. It seemed like all the neighbor's yards looked great, except mine. As I was mowing my yard one day I looked closely to my neighbor's grass I noticed that their grass was being affected by the summer heat too! It was refreshing. 

We usually fall into the trap of thinking that our grass is the only one being affected by heat. The truth is that we all are affected by the heat. This could be your marriage, ministry, job or overall life. You are not alone in your struggle. You are not alone in your situation. 

I realized several key factors that changed my perspective in this. 

1. Summer affects everyone's grass. 

A game changer for me was realizing that the perfect yard beside me had flaws too. The perfect marriage, ministry or job has flaws. Summer had affected their yard too. 

Everyone is going through something. Don't withdraw or isolate but rather connect with people. You'll be surprised that summer is tough on everyone. 

2. Water your own Yard. 

I also noticed that my neighbor waters their yard. I wasn't doing that. They minimized the effects of the summer heat by watering their grass. You may go through a "summer" season but you can also minimize the damage it causes. In your situation, apply some principles that others are applying that make their grass green. Stop complaining and stop making excuses. I went out and bought two sprinklers. I water my grass usually while I'm spending time with God. It's a great reminder to water my own grass. Water your marriage, water your ministry, water your marriage and water relationships. 

3. Don't Covet Your Neighbor's Grass. 

Finally I had to stop lusting after their grass. They worked hard for their grass. I needed to put time in my yard as well as be thankful. Coveting your neighbor's wife was a no-no on the 10 Commandment level. Why? Many reasons but one is very relevant here. Coveting causes ungratefulness with what you currently have. If you are ungrateful then you will not value what you have. You will stop investing into what God has given you. If you believe there is something better than God's gifts to you that is simpy spelled, "S-I-N." 

Everytime you look at a yard I pray these truths stick with you! 

IN vs. ON

Let's face it. As leaders we have a lot of tasks that have to be done. There are tons of conversations with people that come up. Don't forget the event that is breathing down our necks or the sermon that is due up again. 

There are a lot of small things that demand our time. 

There is a story of a farmer who was forming a field. He started off by tilling the ground, marking boundaries and even putting up the scarecrow. After a while he began to plant seeds. As he was planting he noticed weeds, bugs and some stones. He worked tirelessly to plant seeds and take up weeds. He spent hours in one section of the field. He forgot to plant the seeds according to the proper season. Because of the distractions he planted haphazardly. He walked up months later and made the statement, "I have been so focused on weeds and seeds that I have all but destroyed the field." 

That could be many of us today. You could be focused on the day to day management that you have lost site of the big picture of the "field." The field could be your health, your marriage, your finances or your ministry. 

The key difference is between working IN it and working ON it. 

Working IN it is: 

•Day to day tasks and management. 

•The lesson, the talk or event. 

•Conversations or helping someone. 

All of these are important but you have to take time to pause, reflect and look at the big picture. 

Working ON it is: 

•Looking at the fulfillment of the mission and goals/results. 

•Big picture planning and calendars 

•Reflecting on your roles in life and your calling. 

Doing this is hard but keeps the field healthy and producing. 

Start to look at your week in terms of working IN or working ON. Both need attention. 

Which one do you "lose" yourself in? 

What Guests Need to Know About You

In the last blog I talked about what you need to know about the 21st century guest. In this blog there is something they need to know about you. 

Many churches have brochures for first time guests with their "hundreds" of ministries. Guests often open it up, get overwhelmed and close it. They will later find it several months later when cleaning out their cars. Other churches have the really cool packet with tons of information. They may even give out a coffee mug with candy and more information. 

We have not had money to make cool packets or start hundreds of ministries. Our story at Thrive is that we have be very, very focused. We do everything on a shoe string budget. So, we give our guest 3 things. They get a life book as a gift as they enter. In that book a connection card and a Growth Track card with our 101-401 is found. 

We focus on helping first time guests understand their clear next step. We let them know where and how to return the card several ways. Our VIP hosts show them. I open up with that next step in my message. They get the next step info in email and a letter so they understand that fully. 

Once they get to 101 we focus on helping them again with next steps. Our whole system is set up to help them connected into the life of our church. 

Does everyone know what their next step is at your church? 

How are guests taught their logical next steps? 

Are your steps clear or do you have 70 classes leading in different directions? 

Make clear next steps. Over communicate those steps. Make each step easy and attainable. Help them personally go through each step. 

3 Truths about the 21st Century Guest

•The 21st century visitor: 3 Truths About Guests Who Come through Your Door

Pastors and Church Leaders, READ UP:

Our generation has more people who are skeptical and indifferent toward church as well as more people who are really hungry for the truth. 

There was a shoe salesman who went to a small village where no one had shoes. He phoned back and said, "No one here has shoes. No opportunity here." Another shoe salesman went and phoned back, "No one has shoes here. Lot's of opportunities here."

It's all about perspective. America is more like the setting in the book of Acts than ever before. There are more unchurched than we have seen in our Country's history. We have to be aware of our culture and meet our culture where they are at with the Gospel. We have our greatest opportunity ever. 

In order to do this you have know the people who will come in the door of your church each week. 

Here are 3 basic attributes of those who come through your doors: 

1. They are Skeptical: 

•Our generation is skeptical of preachers and churches. They have every right to be too. High profile preachers have been caught in scandals, affairs and embezzlement. Because of these facts people are a little less "trusting" up front. They may have even been hurt by a church or pastor. So, we have to realize that because of these experiences the guest is evaluating every word and action. Don't take it for granted that they just believe you. They don't. Their arms are folded and they are arguing with you the whole time while you are speaking. 

2. They have more Options:

•There are a lot of really great churches in our communities. That's the truth. I know we all feel our church is the best but there are so many great, godly and missional churches in our communities. Most folks under the age of 50 are not looking for their denomination affiliational church. They no longer move to a community looking for the Southern  Baptist, Methodist or Pentecostal Church. So, they usually are looking for a church where they can feel comfortable and grow. So, church shoppers are now the reality of most guests who come in the door. You are one of five they are going to try out. This is even true of the unchurched. We have tons of stories where the totally unchurched mapped out 3-5 churches after research on the internet and they ended up choosing us. They have options. 

 

3. They are Searching: 

•People really want truth this day and time. They are searching for authentic leaders to follow. They also are very informed. Our generation has more access to knowledge than any other generation in history. They can search and find seven different views on a topic  while you are speaking. This means that we must not treat people in our congregation as "idiots." They probably know as much about the Bible as you do. Share the history of the account you are teaching on. Make a bridge between that world and their world. Finally help it help them practically. They have felt needs. They are hurting somewhere. They are searching. Pray each week that God would help you help them find Him in their need. 

Change the Scorecard (new metrics)

The Right Metrics in Church

As we look at the new year there is excitement of the possibilities of what it will bring. Most of us have closed the physical and mental books of last year. In order to stop the cycle of “end of the year depression” and “beginning of year highs” is to start using the right metrics for success in churches. If you are part of a church, leading a ministry in a church or even pastoring a church you can agree that we measure success on different metrics than the Bible. The question is usually, “How many are you running on Sundays?” or we talk about finances. If you are a small church then you kind of make up your own metrics. You talk about the outreach event you accomplished or how many responded to the altar call. The point is that we have to change the metrics of what we consider “successful.” I had a professor who would say all the time, “Thousands pack out sports arena’s because they have great entertainment. They yell, they get loud, they play music and enjoy the sport but nothing spiritual is really happening.” I am afraid that could be many of our churches in America. What really matters in churches?

I don’t have all the answers. We are on a journey at Thrive to discover these metrics for our body of believers. Here are just a few of the metrics that we matter. If you want to find some great statistics to follow then pick up Bob Franquiz’ book, “Pull.”

The following metrics are what we give in our annual report each year to our partners.

Metrics to change the “scorecard:”

Baptisms versus Average Attendance:Don’t just say how many you are attending on Sundays, but talk about how many have been baptized versus your average attendance. A healthy church has 15%+ of their attendance baptized in that year. So, instead of asking, “How many you running?” Ask, “How many have we baptized this year and in the last 5 years against our average attendance?”

Small Group % Participation versus Average Attendance: You should be measuring how many of your people are engaged in small groups versus your average attendance. A church should set a high mark on this one. Plan and pray to have 40%+ of your people involved. Talk to the congregation about it. Ask them to pray with you about it. Make it the norm.

Actively Serving in the Church Body versus Average Attendance: Another important metric is looking at how many are serving on a team in the church versus your attendance. In the same manner as small groups, this metric should have a high bar. You should pray and plan for 40%+.

Small Groups that are Actively Involved in the Community Each Semester or Year (depending on your group structure): We have a standard that every small group, we call Community Groups, have to engage their community each semester. They pray, get ideas and find creative ways to engage their community. This takes the small group participation % to another level.

The Ways Your Church is Engaging Your Community: Each church should have a unique niche of how they engage their community. It may be just one thing and that is fine. But always reflect on how your church is actively engaged in your community.

Salvations: Enough said.

Baptisms versus the number of Salvations: You should be measuring how many baptisms you have versus the number of salvations. For instance in 2013 we had 125 salvations and 48 baptisms. That is about 38%. If you have a high number of salvations but a very low baptism rate then that shows that people are not taking the next step after surrendering to Christ.

Membership: Now I know what you are thinking… Yes! We have 500 on our membership roll. The issue is that you only have 200 attending. In the 50-90’s we had the mindset of “stacking” the membership roll. We are in a season now where we are making it harder for people to become a “member.” We use the term “partner.” You have to go through 101 and 201 before you can sign up for partnership. Partnership for us is where you acknowledge God has called you to partner with the vision at Thrive. We have about 31% of our attenders that are partners. They are the extreme navy seals of our church. You should strive to have a process for membership, set the bar high and give them the next step after membership. Our next step is that you will now be on our Dream Team. You will be asked to lead and mentor.

Have you noticed the big difference in these metrics? They are all percentage based. It doesn’t matter how many you have showing up to a show on Sunday but the idea of actively making disciples. Take some time to review these metrics. Use these as your new scorecard. When someone asks how your church is doing, don’t blab just about nickels and noses, but talk about the % involved in serving, groups, baptized and partners. Change the scorecard!

5 Ways to Stamp Out Drama

5 Ways to Stamp Out Drama in the Local Church: 

Let's agree and be honest that drama exists in EVERY church on SOME level. I had a leader in a meeting ask me a good question, "What do you mean when you say drama?" 

Drama (in Kevin's terms) is the stirring up of dissension and disunity among a group of Christians that are attempting to live on mission together. This could be a church, small group or ministry in the local church. 

This stirring up detracts the group from their God-given mission and destroys Christian love in the community. 

Here are 5 simple ways to keep your ministry drama free. The whole community of believers on mission need to commit to these 5 "drama busters." 

1. Everyone is an Advocate for the Defenesless. 

•Don't allow someone to talk about someone else when they aren't present to defend themselves. Refuse to have that conversation or better yet, defend the defenseless. I often point out positive qualities about the person to shut the drama queen or king up. 

2. Emotional Maturity is a must for everyone.

•Accentuate emotional maturity as a key to leadership. Don't allow people who claim to be mature act like babies. Storming off angrily, pouting, stone-walling, selfishness and being hot-headed are just a few examples. Let your leaders know that the fruit of the spirit (of a Spirit-empowered life) is a must for leaders. 

3. Identify and Qurantine Drama Machines.

•Like cancer you have to identify and quarantine these drama producing people. 

Identification can be hard though at first. Some people try to find communication points with a new person so they may complain about something in their past or open and share a bad situation currently. That's not drama. Drama is the direct attempt through stirring up dissension in the ranks of the community on mission. Identify that. Confront them. 

Next we have to quarantine them. This simply means you allow them to be a part of the life of the body without spreading the disease. Like cancer, you find it, isolate and do surgery or zap it with radiation. You want to get them out of any places where they can spread.

 

4. Clarity in all areas. 

•Be very clear about EVERYTHING. Quickly deal with issues in a spirit of meekness. Be clear about your mission and vision. Over communicate. 

5. Confront Issues.

•This is the hardest part. Drama doesn't just fix it self or get better. It spreads and destroys major organs. In a loving manner confront those who you see stirring dissension and strife. Let them know that, "We don't do that here. You need to talk to __________ if it is such an issue."

Don't let this live in your organization's culture. It's better to lose a few who get wrapped up in drama than spoil the whole bunch. 

4 Steps to Breaking the 200 Barrier

4 Steps to Breaking the 200 Barrier 

The hardest barrier to break in church growth is 200. The average size church in America is 87 adults. Why is this? Because the pastor can be the center of attention and all-knowing guru while the people can use him as the "go-to" person. 

We made a mad push to break the 200 barrier in fall of 2013. We were at 175. Our verbiage was to "obliterate" the 200 barrier. So, with that in mind we started deliberately teaching our leaders on the dynamics of breaking this barrier. It is not a matter of numbers but a matter if the heart. Do you really want to reach people for Christ? It's going to cause you to break your comfort zone. 

Remember: Breaking a barrier means your total adult attendance has been at that number for at least 2 months. 

4 Principles to Breaking the 200 Barrier: 

1. Break 125 

•A pastor can get to this point just by being a funny, charismatic pastor. They can do it by being relational and hosting a quality worship experience. At this point the pastor has it on his shoulders. He should connect with these first 100-125. 

2. Pastor Dethroned

•These next 3 are the hardest. You built it to 125-150 on you being the go-to guru and solving all problems. 

The easiest way to dethrone the pastor is to make a hire that splits your duties. At this point you need another pastor who focuses on assimilation, groups and management. The pastor then starts directing people to this person. He allows them to oversee and solve problems. 

Now this is a shift because up till now you have been the direct connecting point. The people and you have to shift your mind-sets. 

3. Multiple Cell 

Another characteristic of the church from 50-150 is that they do everything as a whole. There are a few affinity groups such as men, women, youth and young adults. But you are pretty much still a single cell organism. 

Action steps are creating small group environments that go beyond affinity groups. 

Another action step is to publicly confront the notion that everyone in the church must do it all together. 

We mobilized our groups to become missional in outreach. They all chose an outreach individually. 

4. Few Family Disease Cured 

A church of 50-150 have those several families/groups that run the church. They serve on the boards, ministry departments and leadership roles. 

The key to breaking this is to breaking this is to level the playing field. Spread leadership out. Raise other people up. 

We did this by elevating the status of small group leaders and ministry team representatives. Multiply leaders and raise up other voices to help bring balance. 

Your goal should be 75-125-150 and then 200. At each level you have to make cultural shifts that challenge the previous level. 

Pastors remember... You have to be willing to change, stop blaming and make these shifts first in your own life. 

Helping Your Church Learn to Value the Unchurched Part 2

In my last blog I discussed some signs that your church may not value the unchurched. I would suggest that you look at those points with your team and discuss where you are at in a 1 to 10 scale. 

After that you can help move your church to a place to where you start valuing the unchurched more. Most Christ followers in our generation believe that the engine of the Church is to primarily help them get a "good feeling" or meet their needs. The engine of the Church is to help people far from God know Christ. 

Here are some things I have done to help myself and our tribe be more cogniscent about the unchurched. 

1. Pray with them about it: Engage your congregation in prayer for them. Make it a point to pray for those far from God in your community. We do this each week at our ACTIVATE service on Wednesdays. 

2. Post about it: Use Social Media to remind the church about the focus of those far from God. Tell personal stories and solicit prayer for those far from God. 

3. Preach on it: Take time to use the platform as a place to talk about being missional in focus. Show the people what shape your country is in and the need of people far from God having their lives changed by Christ. Share series, messages and stories of engaging those far from God in relationship. 

4. Proclaim it (do it): Model it as a leader. Make it your mission to live on mission. As you do it, share about it. Spark the fire in others by active passion in you. 

5. Be Patient with it: Be patient with the church getting it. Be patient with those who you are living on mission for. Church folks have been trained mentally to be self-focused and look out for what is best for them. Be patient as they learn the difference between "outreach" and living on mission. Your church can do outreach and the people are still never taught to live on mission. Be patient as you share this paradigm shift. Be patient as you build relationships with those far from God. It's a long, hard, arduous and tough mission. 

•How do you plan to use each one of these platforms to help your people learn to live on mission? 

•How do you plan to reshape the mindset of your church to value reaching those far from God?

4 Things LEADERS Should Never Do on Social Media

Social media is a terrific tool that we have access to in our generation. We can rapidly share ideas, thoughts, principles and ultimately the Gospel. I wrote a blog several months back on how use it for marketing. Today's blog is less about marketing and more about how a leader should use or not use social media. The way we use it can reveal how emotionally mature we really are. 

These 4 points are just some general guidelines to what leaders should not do on social media. 

1. Degrade other Ministries or Denominations:

•I have heard it said that the easiest way to try to look good is making others look bad. 

•We should never degrade other ministries or even denominations because we are polluting others with half-truths without the person (s) being able to defend themselves. 

•Emotional maturity is best shown when we are able to co-exist and even celebrate with others who are different. 

2. Snipe People who Hurt Them 

•Leaders should never go after people who have hurt them, especially in a passive-aggressive manner. I realize this is tough. It's very easy to vent on social media platforms. The main reason we should not do this is because it reinforces unhealthy ways to deal with conflict. We should always deal with conflict in person or possibly a call but never by writing snipe comments or aggressively going after someone who hurt you. 

•This also goes for arguing or trying to get a point across on social media. You should minimize or not respond then make time to sit with that person. Don't try to prove a point in social media interaction. 

3. Use for Personal Pity 

•Another expression of emotional immaturity is trying solicit pity. Only you can judge to see if your post is trying to get pity or you are just sharing your heart. I can't discern that for you. 

•There are some folks who, when they need attention, go for the pity "posts." Eventually people will get tired of you needing pity. 

4. Not Use it at All 

•Because of all the possible problems that come from social media there are people who just don't use it at all. Yes, you will find out things about people's lives that you did not want to know. You will have posts that anger you. But, you shouldn't retract from it as a leader. This is actually an immature response in some cases. If God leads you to get away or off, that's a different story, but don't let the drama, disappointments and just plain annoying folks keep you off. 

As a leader you have the ability to interact, have fun, share ideas and learn to be very patient with people. Instead of retracting, learn to engage and love people in it. 

*Our Connections Pastor at Thrive, Keith Rowell, wrote this informational and sarcastic blog a few years ago. Here is the link to "Different Types of Tweeps:" 

http://youthpastorconfessionals.blogspot.com/2010/05/different-types-of-tweeps.html?m=1

7 Ways You Know Your Church Doesn't Value the Unchurched

I was on staff at a church one time where during the whole year we didn't see anyone accept Christ, have their life transformed or baptized. I told God that if this is ministry I want out. We hosted programs, conferences and events. We had good music and preaching but no life transformation. 

I believe we as churches have to intentionally pursue the unchurched. We have to bleed passion for those far from God. 

As I work with church planters and revitalization projects here are 7 ways (not exhaustive) that you know your church doesn't value the unchurched. 

1. You expect them to be the missionary. 

•We have made the unchurched the missionary in the 21st century. They are the biggest missionary group in the world. The church today expects them to take a mission trip to our church campus instead of us meeting them where they are at. 

•When a church loses the edge of pursuing those far from God this happens. There has to be a certain passion and push to go after them. 

•We have split this into two primary categories at Thrive: 

1) Missional Outreach: This is 1st Corinthians 13- love or as King Jimmy calls it, "charity." We do not expect return. We are simply engaging, giving and connecting. We do not judge the results by how many come to the campus or accept Christ.  

& 

2) Missional Marketing: This is going after those far from God through marketing tools such as strategic postcards, Internet, invite cards, bracelets and more. We want those folks seeking and interested to connect with our family. We want them to come to a worship experience, surrender to Christ and become part of our family. 

2. You expect them to understand your church culture instead of exegiting theirs. 

•This is where you are more concerned about the style of church you have than the type of people you are going to reach. You may do strange things in your church service that people in your target community don't get. (Hint: we all do). Instead of changing the culture you keep doing it your way and wanting them to adapt. 

•Exegete your culture. What do the unchurched, dechurched and churched all have in common? What have they experienced in church before? What will they not understand about your church? What may be confusing? 

Here is a tip: If you always have to stop and explain WHY you are doing this strange practice or are getting a ton of questions- then stop to ask why this is happening. 

3. You use language that they don't understand. 

•Please bear with me. This is sensitive but it has to be done. Our church services are littered with strange words to the unchurched or offensive words to the dechurched. 

Verbiage such as:

-apostolic mandate (whatever that means)

-five fold ministry 

-corporate destiny (first time I heard this I literally had no clue what the dude was saying. I thought he was speaking to business owners. Seriously)

-Kingdom (I asked a group recently what was the Kingdom of God after a dude preached on it. They were stumped)

-God speaking (clarify to people what that is) 

-Destiny (it means fate to the unchurched) 

-tithing [which is a biblical practice] (for months after I got saved I didn't know what was happening at offering time. They taught on "tithing" each week. Still was clueless. Let them know at this time we are going to worship God by giving) 

-take the city (we don't do this alone. It takes all the churches)

-army of God (sounds like Islam) 

-prophetic 

Help your leaders learn to say all these biblical ideas in everyday language. If you want a great commentary on this watch the film, "Jesus Camp," with the commentary on. The directors are far from God and VERY confused looking in on this camp. 

4. Signage is poor. 

•You expect them to know where everything is at. Over speak with signage. Make sure you have great signage pointing to entries, kids, restrooms and exits. 

5. You care more about pleasing or appeasing attendees than the unchurched. 

•"This is just who we are. We don't reach the unchurched but we have revival every week. Our people love it and would leave if we changed." That may be your best course of action. You may need some over fed, fat Christians to leave. 

•Going deep and not reaching the unchurched is a farse. If you have revival and folks are not surrendering to Christ then it's not revival. It could possibly be (not in all cases) your people flicking off the unchurched as they go "deep." Christ was crucified so people far from Him could come to know Him. 

•Stretch people to trade off so they can see those people far from God reached. 

6. You aren't prepared for them. 

•This is in two ways:

a) No guest services that make them feel like Jesus is on campus ready to greet them. From the parking lot (beginning) to the parking lot (end) they should feel overwhelmed with love. 

b) Your songs, message and whole experience is geared to the churched only. Your team needs to openly discuss  how the unchurched may perceive what they are doing. 

7. You don't pray for them corporately. 

•We pray EVERY Wednesday for people far from God in our community together. You get what you pray for. I believe if a church is praying and really prepared they wil see the unchurched come. 

Pray through these values to see if you believe you need to change a course of action to reach the unchurched. 

3 Reasons why Frustration is Your Most Dangerous Enemy

We all have this same issue the creeps up on us as leaders: frustration. 

There is an Old Testament picture of the price of frustration. God told Moses to strike the rock and water would flow. Moses struck it with frustration (anger) more than once and then God informed Moses that he would not be entering the promise land because of this. What was the big issue? Frustration. 

We may not be trying to get 1 million people into the promised land but we can definitely identify. We all get frustrated. We all have had the sound bite, "That's all I can stands and I can't stands no more (in your Popeye voice)."

Lets face it. People quit. People who you trusted go behind your back and say nasty things. There is a huge task list. Sometimes it is unthankful. Oftentimes we respond in frustration. 

Frustration is very dangerous to a leader. It is that short circuit in the system that eventually causes the melt down. This is true for marriage, ministry or leadership. 

Here are 3 reasons why frustration is your most dangerous enemy: 

1) It is a build up to a nasty ending. 

•Frustration not dealt with is like destroying the bridge you are going to eventually cross. Anytime a leader reaches a place of continual frustration it doesn't end well. A leader has to realize that once that disease sets in it is almost always fatal. 

2) It demoralizes the team or relationship.

• A frustrated leader often has nothing of value to add to the team at that point. They are usually jaded and bitter. They spew negativity about people and the future. 

Let's face it. At this point it's hard to lead with vision. Most of the talk is of past hurt and what people are not doing. It ultimately makes it impossible to lead a team. 

3) It causes perpetual ungratefulness. 

• Probably the worst problem is this. There is so much to be grateful and thankful for. We usually let the 1,000 things going great be overshadowed by the 1 thing that is going wrong. 

Frustration causes us to miss the beautiful things happening in our midst. 

If you feel like this is you then you need to confide in someone and dump on them. Secondly be prepared for advice and perspective. Let that come from trusted friends and from God. Pause to hear what He is saying. 

Finally, sit down and count the cost. Can you overcome this disease of frustration at your current assignment or do you need another one? 

5 Marks of a Missional Worship Experience

This blog is not designed to teach "style" or "model." I simply want to give you give marks of a missional worship experience. 

We teach our people to live on mission all week. We also work with our ministry teams to be missional on Sundays. Every Sunday every volunteer is taking a mission trip. We are prepared for people far from God to be filled with life in Christ. 

Here are 5 marks of a missional worship experience: 

1. You are expecting people far from God to show up. 

•First and foremost this has to be the key. If you don't expect it then the rest of this blog is pointless. What you pray for and are expectant of comes to fruition. Every team leader and volunteer has to have that mindset. 

•If you are not expecting it them you will just turn your experience into camp meeting each week seeking to satisfy the ones who are coming. 

2. You gear every ministry with the mindset of mission. 

•Our mission at ThriveChurchVA is "we exist to help people experience God's love through Christ." 

•From your parking team to kids ministry; they are on mission. They are cognoscente that they will interact with people far from God. Constantly remind your church of their mission. 

•Help them understand that they participate in the wins. If someone gets saved at your experience help them understand that they, being on mission, played a part with that. 

3. Your worship song selection is Gospel-centered and engaging. 

•Worship is the engaging of mind, emotions and will. You want your songs to speak to them of God's love, the cross and His power that is available to save. You also want them to connect at the deepest level about God's love toward them. Finally you want them to do something. The result of worship music should also inspire people to want to respond to God's grace. 

•Keep a detailed record of all the songs you do. Plan them out and look at the big picture at what you are communicating. Worship leaders preach every week through the song selection. What are you preaching and teaching? Is it Gospel-centered? Does it reveal the true nature and mission of God?

•Be aware of singing songs that don't make sense to non-believers. Also, don't just sing the Apostles Creed or the Doxology. The song selection should be prepared to help them in the three areas  of mind, emotions and will. 

•Many times we do one if these really well but we fail in the other areas. Some churches sing a lot about "praise" but very little about the One who they are praising. Some sing about breakthroughs and new things but never the work of the cross or Christ. 

The main question to ask when looking at the music portion of your worship experience is this, "Are we teaching people the fullness of who the God of the Bible is and are they engaging with Him?" 

This is the essence of worshiping in spirit and truth. 

4. You pass by the cross when you preach and show them the real Hero of the message. 

•We have many different series that we preach. Some are felt needs, others the Gospel and some verse by verse. No matter what series you are in you always need to drive them by the cross. I had an elderly Bible professor tell me that. It has always stuck. 

•Make sure that people see the finished work of Calvary in the message. If you can preach it without needing the finished work on the cross then it is probably not Biblical. 

•Finally show them the real Hero of the story. We often make David, Moses or Joshua the hero. Remember that you are not slaying giants. Jesus did it and is doing it on your behalf. You are not conquering promised lands, Jesus has done it and is doing it on your behalf. Never let someone leave your message believing that they are the center and hero of the story. Point them back to the cross and Christ. 

If you are not preaching this then refer back to point #1 for the reason why you are not. 

5. Your two goals at the end are that people far from God connected with Him and that the people walking with God leave with a missional focus. 

•The main goal is two-fold. You can't make it one or the other. You want people leaving feeling more connected to God and having a greater awareness that they are in mission for God. 

•If they leave with one or the other they are in trouble. If they leave just feeling more connected to God without a sense of mission they become self-centered. However if you try to get people on mission that are not walking with the Savior they feel drained and can even become just a social justice machine. 

•Intimacy and Mission have to be married. Make sure that is woven throughout the worship experience. 

The worship experience requires lots of prayer, planning and evaluation. You can use these five points to see if you are putting together a missional worship experience. 

The Secret to Understanding Demographics

The Secret to Understanding Demographics

Let's get to the point. Demographics are misleading. I didn't think so four years ago. I had the best demographics for our church plant. I studied them and even memorized certain portions. But it didn't prepare me and truth be known it didn't even help me. Yes. I said that. They were misleading because I was not taught the secret of demographics. 

If you view demographics as just numbers, stats and ratios then you will be misled. 

The culture behind the numbers and stats are more important than the numbers themselves. For instance, you may have "City A" with 40% of the population 20-40 years old. So, you assume that you will mostly reach that group. So you sit in an office and make a plan based on those demographics. After a while you find out why you are not reaching that group. You moved from "City B" and reaching that group is like shooting fish in a barrel. You pop up a church and boom- they come. It's not happening here in "City A." Why? The culture is totally different. 

You need to put culture to your demographics. You can't exegete your culture by numbers on paper. You have to be baptized in that culture. For those pastors and planters who grew up or pastored previously in the city they do ministry in it's much easier. But if you are a church planter or accepting a pastoral assignment in another area then you need the numbers and stats but don't make any assumptions based on your previous culture. 

4 Things to Remember: 

1. All cultures are unique and different. Chicago and Atlanta are metro cities but totally different. Their cultures are very different. Find out what makes the culture unique there. Certain portions of the US have culture pockets. Some pastors work better in their culture pocket. A pastor from NY may not do very well in a Southern rural town just as the country preacher from a rural town may not make it in Seattle. 

2. Don't base your target on demographics alone. 

Get baptized in the culture. I worked for a government agency helping folks who were unemployed get back to work. I saw hundreds per week in South FL. I quickly realized the culture and my estimation of demographics were wrong!

3. Talk to the locals. 

Talk to pastors, natives and pilgrims. When I planted my first church I resisted the wisdom of local pastors. Granted most of them were very negative and cynical but I did not listen. In my most recent endeavor I just sat in onunch meetings and asked questions. Also, listen to the natives. Read responses to online newspaper articles. Find those who have been there for years and ask them questions. Also, talk to Pilgrim's. find out why people are moving to your community.

4. Don't ignore demographics. 

At first glance of this article it may seem that I am downing demographics. Not so. Learn them. Memorize them and adjust accordingly. 

The secret is to know the culture of each people group in the demographic that is represented. This is an ongoing task. Don't think you have it figured out after 3 months or 6 months of being there. You will continue to exegete and excavate that culture that will give you more insigt on the numbers and percentages. So, never recite numbers with out attaching the local culture if every group represented.

7 Secrets to Make the Most out of Summer

May 31-Sept 7 is church summer time. The months of June, July and August are usually a time for vacations and travel for families. 

I saw one church sign say, "I am glad God doesn't take vacations." You can sense the pastor's frustration. 

Summer can be fruitful. I am not saying you will break major growth barriers. If you do, that's great. But most past it's are trying to blindly walk through summer. I have heard that if you plateau during the summer you are probably growing. Encouraging, right?

Here are seven short secrets to making the most out of summer. 

1. Focus on getting better before bigger. 

•Take time to meet with ministry leaders and make each ministry better. Focus on getting better in all your functions. As the founder of Chick-fil-a said, "If we get better out customers will demand we get bigger." 

2. Plan strategic events that create momentum toward the fall. 

•We are hosting a baptism bash and BBQ, a community wide VBS and two back to school bashes. These events help build synergy and excitement within the church that bring momentum toward the fall. 

3. Use the summer to evaluate the previous six months. 

•Look back at averages, numbers and stats. Breakdown percentages of those serving, in groups, conversion growth, attendance and finances. See how much you have grown, declined or plateaued. 

4. Don't use all your creativity in preaching during the summer time. 

•We do a verse by verse teaching starting after Memorial Day and it continues through most of the summer. We teach through a book of the Bible. Don't use creative series during the summer. Save those series for Sept-May. Save up those creative juices. 

5. Summer doesn't mean you have to shut down. 

•I know there are several ways to skin this cat. The main point is to not quit during the summer. Use it strategically. 

6. Have a half-time huddle at some point.

•All sports teams have a half-time huddle. The coach reviews the first half of the game and gives an "adjusted" game plan for the second part of the game. Do the same with your church. 

7. Do some fun things during the summer with the church. 

•When people think of summer they think of BBQ's, water and fun. Have some fun events that can bring your folks together. Just have some fun! 

There are hundreds of other things ministry leaders can do during the summer. These are just a few ideas. 

Routine vs. Rhythm

Q: I get this question asked a lot ,"How do you get so much accomplished and stay so focused?"

A: Routines are deadly while a rhythm is necessary for growth as a leader. 

The people (including this guy) who face constant burn out are those who have a routine but no rhythm. This means their routine is a habitual problem that puts them in the direct line of burnout. 

A routine can be very deadly. For instance, your routine could be that you: 

•take on every task as it comes. 

•don't say no to opportunities or needs. 

•leave work late every day because you can't say no. 

•allow other people or co-worker's lack of planning put you in a tough spot. 

•don't schedule meetings properly or schedule too many. 

•allow people to back you in a corner by needing it "right now." They need to learn to plan as well. 

•have no daily and weekly task, meeting and emergency schedule.

And the main reason is you don't have a rhythm. Lets be honest: your routine of spontaneity, haphazard planning, lack of foresight and inability to say no is taking its toll on you. 

2013 was the year I had to move from an unhealthy routine of the hamster wheel to a healthy rhythm. 

A rhythm means that you establish certain tasks on certain days, live by a calendar, protect your personal time and refuse to be spread thin. 

A rhythm looks like this: 

•certain tasks HAVE to be scheduled and completed weekly. I will even say, "I am in a meeting." It's that serious. I am meeting with that task. 

•schedule personal devotion time and exercise. Being physically unhealthy is the result of a routine as well. 

•Plan time in each day for "surprise" or emergency tasks. They will happen. Stop being surprised.

•live by a schedule. This means you can't stay on the phone as long as you want or surf the Internet all day. There are times when I can't take calls because I have scheduled "meetings" with critical tasks. 

•if it's important they will leave a message. Schedule times to return calls and emails. 

•have downtime EVERY DAY. Don't be so consumed with work that it's a you do or think about. 

Here is the easy way to do this. Plan your week around the big tasks that have to happen that week and every week. 

I write my Sunday message on Monday. Why? The media team needs it and I don't want them to be pressured late and I want that monkey off my back. I have 4 major tasks everyday that have to be accomplished. I work through those first and then go to "surprise" tasks that come in via email or call. The schedule dictates my time, not feelings or other people. 

Take time this week to set up a RHYTHM. Remember, don't complain because you are the master of your schedule. If you live in a rhythm then others will have to adjust their routines to your rhythm.