Today is June 1, and as for me, summer has started! This weekend our 6 summer interns arrived; the weather outside is very warm and it’s staying daylight way past 8:00pm. I know summer doesn’t ‘officially’ begin until later this month, but June 1 is close enough. Summer is my favorite season. As I look forward to the next few … Read More
Vacation Reads – A Little Fiction is a Good Thing
I’ve been on vacation most of this past week (I interrupted my vacation for one day on Wednesday to kick-off a new Tampa Coaching network but more on that later). One of the ways I relax on vacation is through reading. This time, in addition to my usual non-fiction list, I decided to throw in some fiction books – particularly … Read More
Bring Everyone Together on Occassion
Today we are doing one big combined worship service at The Journey. When you have multiple services and especially when you have multiple locations, I think its important 2 or 3 times a year to bring everyone together for one big service. This does several things: – It allows you to communicate vision to everyone at once – It allows … Read More
Monday Proflections: The Week Ahead
I love Monday’s – if things go right on Monday I’m sitting pretty for the rest of the week. Here’s a few things on my calendar that I’m looking forward too and that I thought might benefit you: Monday – Today is the last today to get the free Evangelism Seminar (57.00 Value) that Roy is offering. Click Here. Tuesday, … Read More
Monday Memory Tips for Church Leaders
I wonder if its harder for pastors to remember things on Monday than any other day of the week? Most of us are a little ‘cloudy’ on Monday’s due to fatigue from our weekend obligations. So if that’s you, here’s five Monday memory tips for you (full disclosure – I’m a sucker for memory tips – it’s a little known … Read More
Q & A: How To Read More
Got this question from Church Planting Coaching Network Alumni Mike Sorcinelli (New Day Church – www.newdaychurch.cc ) in Longmeadow, MA: “I really want to be a reader but it literally took me 6 hours + to read your book “Fusion”, which is a short book. It’ll take me almost a month to read “Planting Missional Churches” (I’m about half way … Read More
Q & A: Who Develops Leaders At Your Church?
My friend Che Chowan from Church on the Rock in Ocho Rios, Jamaica (yep, that’s me and him in the pic, taken at a recent seminar I did in Florida) sent in this question from the Ask Nelson button on the right —-> “Hey Nelson. Good blog. Do you personally disciple a group in your church for leadership development, outside … Read More
The Two Questions That Can Change Everything
“Day after day the congregations became stronger in faith and larger in size.” – Acts 16:5 When I read this passage in Acts it struck my with the power of its’ clarity. These congregations that Paul and Timothy visited grew BOTH stronger in faith AND larger in size. Those are the questions I need to regularly ask about The Journey … Read More
When to Challenge the System
Jay Curlee in Corpus Crisiti, who works with my friend Bil Cornelius, got me thinking about systems today (its not that hard to do – ha! I talk, speak and write a lot about church systems as most of you know). Here’s what he asked: “Progress demands change. It demands a leader who seeks to push through the chaos of … Read More
Sometimes you gotta pull away
If you’ve listened to my Developing A One Year Personal Growth Plan resource then you know I’m a big fan of pulling away. Pulling away for a time of relaxation, recovery and renewal. There are several key times to pull away, including: – Every week (your sabbath) – Every year (your vacation) – After a busy ministry season This last … Read More