I wanted to share this brief article that I wrote recently: You and I may look different on the outside but beneath our skin we are a function of common machinery. We both have hearts that pump blood, even though we are different blood types. We both have senses that take in the world, though some of yours may be … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 4)
This week, we’ve been thinking about how you can work with the natural surge that God has built into the Christmas season to influence those who don’t yet know Jesus. We started by making sure we are outwardly-focused this season. Then, we talked about how to increase the number of guests at our Christmas services. Yesterday, we learned how to … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 3)
Yesterday, we learned how you can have more first-time guests than usual at your Christmas service. But what do you do with your guests once they arrive? How can you make them feel comfortable? Is there anything you can do now to make sure they’ll want to keep coming back to your church in the new year? Turning first-time guests … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 2)
Welcome to Part 2 of the “Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas?” mini-series. Yesterday, we talked about the importance of making sure your church is outwardly-focused, especially during the Christmas season. If you missed that post, you can check it out below. Now that you realize how important it is to focus your attention on non-believers this season, let’s jump … Read More
Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 1)
Is your church doing a Christmas play? Hosting a church-wide party? Inviting all of the couples to a Christmas reception? Holding a Christmas Eve service? I hope you are doing at least one or two of these things. Christmas is a time for celebration! But as you go about your usual holiday festivities, let me challenge you to think about … Read More
This Christian life is a great mystery
“This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough: He appeared in a human body, was proved right by the invisible Spirit, was seen by angels. He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples, believed in all over the world, taken up into heavenly glory.” – 1 Timothy 3:16 (Msg) P.S. I’m … Read More
A Day To Remember
The September 11 attacks happened less than two months after Kelley and I moved to New York City to launch The Journey. In an odd way, I thank God that He brought us here before that infamous day. There is a sense in the city, even seven years later, that if you didn’t experience September 11, 2001 as a New … Read More
God Is In The Details
Earlier this week, I came across a quote by Og Mandino that really struck me: “Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best you can do.” When I read this quote, I immediately thought about the Raving Fans principle of … Read More
The “One Month” Perspective
Sunday was a big day at The Journey – and you know how I love Big Days! We’ve been gearing up for this Big Day with Kerry Shook for over a month and it really paid off. We had a huge number of first-time guests and everyone was very receptive to Kerry’s message (almost 1200 in attendance and 102 first … Read More
Where There’s Slack There’s Lack – Part 7 of 8
SYSTEM #7: THE LEADERSHIP SYSTEM Welcome back to the weekly, Wednesday “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” series! If you’ve been following along with us for the last six Wednesdays, let me commend you for putting in the effort to take your systems up a notch. As we learned a couple of weeks ago, effort = excellence when it comes to … Read More