Tuesday, March 30, 2010
How To Get The Most Out Of Easter
Easter is right around the corner. Here are 6 ways to get the most out of Easter!
1. Remember Good Friday Communion – Let’s give thanks to God for the gift of Jesus this Easter Season at our Come-and-Go communion from 5 to 7pm on Friday, April 2nd. Receive communion with your family.
2. Celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - The Resurrection is the central doctrine of our faith and reminds us that we serve a Risen Savior! Please consider attending Saturday night service in order to make room for the unchurched guest on Sunday.
3. Invite your friends – Bring your friends to PCC this Easter to one of our 5 weekend services: Saturday at 6pm, Sunday at 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am and 1pm (Spanish). Use the included card to invite your friends. Bring a friend to each of the services!
4. Serve – This Easter, please serve during one of the Easter services. We need extra volunteer help in our children’s ministry area and the parking lot. Discover the joy of serving God and his people this Easter.
5. Fast and Pray – A praying church is a powerful church. Please join me and the staff and leadership by continuing to fast and pray for God to do a miracle this Easter. We are believing in God for hundreds of people to come to Jesus this Easter.
6. Give a special Gift – Please give a special Easter offering this year. We are only $75,000 away from being able to pave our parking lot. What a great way to give back to God for giving us His Son – the ultimate gift of sacrifice and love. Thank you!
I look forward to seeing God do miracles this Easter at PCC. Join Rebekah and me as we reach out with the love of Jesus to our community!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday Night Reflections
Today was yet another amazing and dare I say - an historic day at PCC. Here are some reflections and thoughts on Palm Sunday 2010.
- The early morning prayer with all the staff and volunteers was awesome. It's so inspiring to do ministry with such committed and selfless people. We had over 170 volunteers in ministry today.
- Worship was crazy awesome and God-anointed. I am so grateful for our band and singers who bring it every week. You guys rock!
- Last week 67 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Many people responded in faith in Christ today as well. It never gets old watching people surrender to Christ!
- The video story of Michael and Diedre Castle was awesome. What a story of joy in the midst of a difficult circumstance (Michael is currently on dialysis after 2 failed kidney transplants that stemmed from organ damage following a stroke).
- I met two ladies after the third service that are also on dialysis and they were first time guests. They loved the service and were so inspired by the Castle's story.
- We wrapped up our series on the book of Philippians, "Fill it Up." Really enjoyed this series and learned so much about true joy.
- Today well over 1400 were in church! Go God! Thanks for inviting your friends PCC!
- We piloted the new 1pm Spanish speaking service. It was awesome. They had 174 poeople in attendance. Pastor Emilio did a fantastic job preaching the Word and the band and creative arts team were awesome, as well. I can't wait to see this ministry grow.
- Can't wait to launch the Saturday night service this Easter weekend and to attend the Spanish service as well. PCC will offer 5 services each weekend!
- Don't miss the Come-and-Go Good Friday Communion service this Friday. What a great way to kick off Easter weekend.
- I had 4 couples ask me to perform their weddings today. Spring is here and love is in the air. Unfortunately I'll probably only do one of the weddings myself because of scheduling but we'll get them all married one way or another. I'm thankful for a great staff where we share the ministry responsibilities.
- We need 200 people to commit to attending the Saturday at 6pm service! If you normally attend the 10 or 11:30 Sunday service, please switch to Saturdays and then come back and serve on Sunday.
- We handed out really cool water bottles today with our PCC logo on it and an invite card inside. We are going to fill them up with candy or gift cards or other kind sentiments and hand them out to our friends this week and invite them to Easter Sunday at PCC. I think that's so much cooler than giving out palms on Palm Sunday.
- Can't wait for Easter Sunday!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
How To Get The Most Out Of Easter
Easter is right around the corner. Here are 6 ways to get the most out of Easter!
1. Remember Good Friday Communion – Let’s give thanks to God for the gift of Jesus this Easter Season at our Come-and-Go communion from 5 to 7pm on Friday, April 2nd. Receive communion with your family.
2. Celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - The Resurrection is the central doctrine of our faith and reminds us that we serve a Risen Savior! Please consider attending Saturday night service in order to make room for the unchurched guest on Sunday.
3. Invite your friends – Bring your friends to PCC this Easter to one of our 5 weekend services: Saturday at 6pm, Sunday at 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am and 1pm (Spanish). Use the included card to invite your friends. Bring a friend to each of the services!
4. Serve – This Easter, please serve during one of the Easter services. We need extra volunteer help in our children’s ministry area and the parking lot. Discover the joy of serving God and his people this Easter.
5. Fast and Pray – A praying church is a powerful church. Please join me and the staff and leadership by continuing to fast and pray for God to do a miracle this Easter. We are believing in God for hundreds of people to come to Jesus this Easter.
6. Give a special Gift – Please give a special Easter offering this year. We are only $75,000 away from being able to pave our parking lot. What a great way to give back to God for giving us His Son – the ultimate gift of sacrifice and love. Thank you!
I look forward to seeing God do miracles this Easter at PCC. Join Rebekah and me as we reach out with the love of Jesus to our community!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
10 Stupid Things That Keeps Churches From Growing
I'm reading Geoff Surratt's book, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing and I'm feeling like a complete idiot because I've done just about all of them. Here are some of the highlights:
*Trying to do everything on your own
*Not taking care of my family
*Weekend worship services that are not done with excellence
*Promoting talent over integrity
*Staying in a bad meeting location for too long
*Copying other successful churches and their programs or styles
While I thank God for the growth we've experienced at PCC, I'm reminded every day that it's only because God's grace that we are where we are. On the flip side, I think one of the stupidest things a leader can do when his/her church grows is believe that they actually had something to do with it. This isn't false humility here. This is dealing with the reality of pride that comes with success. I pray for a continued God-dependence and God-inspired risks that keep me on my knees in prayer for the future of our church.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Why Large Churches Don't Grow
Thought this was an interesting read from Dan Reiland. You should check out his website here. He offers road-tested leadership advice from deep inside the ministry trenches. I receive Dan's monthly Pastor's Coach email. Thanks Dan for challenging me to stay on mission!!!
2nd Baptist in Norman, Virginia has averaged just a little over 3,000 for almost three years. They shot up quickly as a very successful church plant. 1st Baptist launched them with staff, money, and a huge building they renovated in a strip- mall. The building was formally a grocery store with lots of traffic in the area. The other businesses are still successful and pull in large numbers of people during the week. The parking is great and the renovation, now seven years old, has been well taken care of. There has been a little staff turnover, but nothing unusual. The worship services are amazing and the children's ministry is strong. Their small groups are above average. The church has a little coffee shop with a friendly vibe to it. The senior pastor is focused on evangelism. There seems to be no reason for the church to have stopped growing.
So what's the answer? How can these larger churches figure out the code to grow again? It's complicated, but not an unsolvable mystery. Prayer and fasting is required. Diligence is demanded. But these churches can grow again. If your church is anything like Redeemer or 2nd Baptist, your church can grow again as well. It's not easy, but absolutely doable.
The following are five possibilities for you to consider. The list can be longer, but these should be among the first things you have candid conversations about. Jump in, talk honestly, and see what you discover.
• Have you forgotten where you came from?
There was a day when every large church was small. The leaders chased every creature that breathed who showed any interest in attending. They also chased people who showed no interest in attending. Every individual mattered! The leaders were relentless in their pursuit of new people. Repeated phone calls and contacts were made with zeal. There was little money, lean and often inexperienced staff, and faith-filled vision was the best thing you had to offer. Zealots with vision and a promise!
Now, there are people everywhere you look. The church is strong. You have resources. You don't have time to mess with everyone's questions and concerns. You can't. If they leave, its not that you don't care, but there are twenty other people who want your time who are waiting in line. Success mixed with pressure can change your perspective in the wrong direction. You can forget where you came from.
You can't do ministry the same way in a larger church as you do in a smaller church, but your heart and passion must remain the same. Humility, zeal, and a spirit of hospitality are vital to continued growth. There is something about gratitude for people and dependence upon God that is critical for churches to grow. If that begins to slip, take some time to reflect on your humble beginnings. That may free up something deep within you that unlocks a key to your church growing again.
• Has innovation taken a back seat to excellence?
Doing things with a world-class bias for excellence is good, but not if you burn all your energy in doing things right, rather than doing the right things. Excellence is important but not if it stifles innovation. Innovation in some ways is counter-intuitive to excellence. Innovation is messy. It requires change. Innovation doesn't always work right the first time. But innovation is essential. Innovation keeps churches alive, healthy and growing.
I have a deep affection for small group ministry. In fact, I invested a tremendous amount of energy into small group leadership as part of my Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Seminary. At that time, and for many years after, I possessed an unalterable belief that small groups could only be successful if done within a certain reproductive model involving apprentices and a certain time frame. Innovation has allowed me to discover, consider and implement something new. At 12Stone Church we now do small groups in a semester system. We had the previous system down to a near flawless science, but as good as it was, it wasn't keeping up with the needs of the church. Innovation got us to something new and improved. How you do small groups is not the point. Innovation is the point. The thing is that the process was messy, and we still don't have the semester system down to a science. But it's the right new thing for now, we have more people in small groups than ever. I suspect that when it's "perfected" it will be time for innovation! Get the point?
So what in your church is excellent but needs innovation? Is it your worship service, children's ministry, or world mission strategy? How about your efforts toward compassion and justice? Maybe its leadership development or your staffing systems. Always press toward innovation.
• Has the primary leadership become distracted?
Believe it or not leaders in large churches can get bored. Not because there isn't enough to do, but because they've been doing the same thing over and over again for years. This "boredom" leads to the potential to be distracted by other endeavors that appear more exciting and challenging. These "other endeavors" by themselves can be good, but perhaps need to be set aside until the church is growing again.
Distractions can also come in the form of pressure. Finance is a common source of tremendous pressure. If the financial problems of a church become so overwhelming that the key leaders can't help but be consumed by them, it is easy to see how they might lose sight of the vision. That's the primary definition of distraction. The leaders have taken their eyes of the main thing! The scary thing is that the leaders are working so hard in the midst of it all that they often can't see that they have become distracted. Asking the question is a good start and having outside help come in with fresh eyes is beneficial.
Distractions can come from a number of others things such as personal issues, discord in the church, lack of focus, unclear strategy or spiritual attack. How about your church, are you distracted or on target?
• Does the machine override the mission?
At 12Stone Church www.12Stone.com where I'm part of the leadership team, "mission over machine" is one of our mantras. At somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 in attendance the machine has shown up and it's hungry. (It really kicked in at about 4,000). It demands all our attention and it's never satisfied. The machine always wants more but never gives more. We understand the need to be organized, to have policies, and the complexities of communication at this level. This is no longer a mom and pop deal. Life in a larger church is different. That's part of the price tag of reaching people. But you can never give in to the monster called "machine".
Mission must always come first. Hire for mission, organize for mission, invest financially for mission. Make the machine suffer on occasion. Make sure the machine serves you, not you serve it. For example, always hire for growth (first) over maintenance. The pressure to hire staff to help you with the "stuff" of the church will always be with you, and you will have to make some of those hires. But stay tough. Hire staff that help you reach the mission over staff that help you maintain what you have. You do, however, have to learn to live with the tension. Larger churches without good machinery fall into chaos. The machine is not going away, just keep it tamed. Show it whose boss. Mission first!
• Has a God-dependence been replaced by self-sufficiency?
No leader means to do this, but it happens. It is never a pastor or board member or small group leader's intent to take God's place, but it happens.
It's a strange process but easy to see how it happens. You trust God when there is little, because there is no option. The resources are few and you say: "Help me God because I can't do it without you." And God provides. Then there is more, perhaps even much more. Pressure exists when there is little to work with, but there is far more pressure when the resources are greater. This is true because there is so much more at stake. So you, or I, or anyone in leadership is tempted to take back the reigns of leadership because we can't risk that God will continue to be in control and take care of what is at stake. In your mind you know that is dumb. But in your everyday leadership you are tempted to step in and attempt to make things happen yourself. On paper it's crazy, but it's possible for leaders to get a little crazy.
For me, when I have too much work to do I'm tempted to pray less and work more. It's the same thing. Crazy! So the spirit of God prompts me to stay faithful in my prayer time and remain dependent upon the Father. This pattern always works, self-sufficiency never works.
I encourage you to take these five questions and take a close look at your church. Talk with your team and I trust that you will discover something that helps your church grow again. If your church is growing, these questions can serve as preventative medicine and help keep your momentum going.
"Why Larger Churches Don't Grow "
by Dan Reiland
2nd Baptist in Norman, Virginia has averaged just a little over 3,000 for almost three years. They shot up quickly as a very successful church plant. 1st Baptist launched them with staff, money, and a huge building they renovated in a strip- mall. The building was formally a grocery store with lots of traffic in the area. The other businesses are still successful and pull in large numbers of people during the week. The parking is great and the renovation, now seven years old, has been well taken care of. There has been a little staff turnover, but nothing unusual. The worship services are amazing and the children's ministry is strong. Their small groups are above average. The church has a little coffee shop with a friendly vibe to it. The senior pastor is focused on evangelism. There seems to be no reason for the church to have stopped growing.
So what's the answer? How can these larger churches figure out the code to grow again? It's complicated, but not an unsolvable mystery. Prayer and fasting is required. Diligence is demanded. But these churches can grow again. If your church is anything like Redeemer or 2nd Baptist, your church can grow again as well. It's not easy, but absolutely doable.
The following are five possibilities for you to consider. The list can be longer, but these should be among the first things you have candid conversations about. Jump in, talk honestly, and see what you discover.
• Have you forgotten where you came from?
There was a day when every large church was small. The leaders chased every creature that breathed who showed any interest in attending. They also chased people who showed no interest in attending. Every individual mattered! The leaders were relentless in their pursuit of new people. Repeated phone calls and contacts were made with zeal. There was little money, lean and often inexperienced staff, and faith-filled vision was the best thing you had to offer. Zealots with vision and a promise!
Now, there are people everywhere you look. The church is strong. You have resources. You don't have time to mess with everyone's questions and concerns. You can't. If they leave, its not that you don't care, but there are twenty other people who want your time who are waiting in line. Success mixed with pressure can change your perspective in the wrong direction. You can forget where you came from.
You can't do ministry the same way in a larger church as you do in a smaller church, but your heart and passion must remain the same. Humility, zeal, and a spirit of hospitality are vital to continued growth. There is something about gratitude for people and dependence upon God that is critical for churches to grow. If that begins to slip, take some time to reflect on your humble beginnings. That may free up something deep within you that unlocks a key to your church growing again.
• Has innovation taken a back seat to excellence?
Doing things with a world-class bias for excellence is good, but not if you burn all your energy in doing things right, rather than doing the right things. Excellence is important but not if it stifles innovation. Innovation in some ways is counter-intuitive to excellence. Innovation is messy. It requires change. Innovation doesn't always work right the first time. But innovation is essential. Innovation keeps churches alive, healthy and growing.
I have a deep affection for small group ministry. In fact, I invested a tremendous amount of energy into small group leadership as part of my Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Seminary. At that time, and for many years after, I possessed an unalterable belief that small groups could only be successful if done within a certain reproductive model involving apprentices and a certain time frame. Innovation has allowed me to discover, consider and implement something new. At 12Stone Church we now do small groups in a semester system. We had the previous system down to a near flawless science, but as good as it was, it wasn't keeping up with the needs of the church. Innovation got us to something new and improved. How you do small groups is not the point. Innovation is the point. The thing is that the process was messy, and we still don't have the semester system down to a science. But it's the right new thing for now, we have more people in small groups than ever. I suspect that when it's "perfected" it will be time for innovation! Get the point?
So what in your church is excellent but needs innovation? Is it your worship service, children's ministry, or world mission strategy? How about your efforts toward compassion and justice? Maybe its leadership development or your staffing systems. Always press toward innovation.
• Has the primary leadership become distracted?
Believe it or not leaders in large churches can get bored. Not because there isn't enough to do, but because they've been doing the same thing over and over again for years. This "boredom" leads to the potential to be distracted by other endeavors that appear more exciting and challenging. These "other endeavors" by themselves can be good, but perhaps need to be set aside until the church is growing again.
Distractions can also come in the form of pressure. Finance is a common source of tremendous pressure. If the financial problems of a church become so overwhelming that the key leaders can't help but be consumed by them, it is easy to see how they might lose sight of the vision. That's the primary definition of distraction. The leaders have taken their eyes of the main thing! The scary thing is that the leaders are working so hard in the midst of it all that they often can't see that they have become distracted. Asking the question is a good start and having outside help come in with fresh eyes is beneficial.
Distractions can come from a number of others things such as personal issues, discord in the church, lack of focus, unclear strategy or spiritual attack. How about your church, are you distracted or on target?
• Does the machine override the mission?
At 12Stone Church www.12Stone.com where I'm part of the leadership team, "mission over machine" is one of our mantras. At somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 in attendance the machine has shown up and it's hungry. (It really kicked in at about 4,000). It demands all our attention and it's never satisfied. The machine always wants more but never gives more. We understand the need to be organized, to have policies, and the complexities of communication at this level. This is no longer a mom and pop deal. Life in a larger church is different. That's part of the price tag of reaching people. But you can never give in to the monster called "machine".
Mission must always come first. Hire for mission, organize for mission, invest financially for mission. Make the machine suffer on occasion. Make sure the machine serves you, not you serve it. For example, always hire for growth (first) over maintenance. The pressure to hire staff to help you with the "stuff" of the church will always be with you, and you will have to make some of those hires. But stay tough. Hire staff that help you reach the mission over staff that help you maintain what you have. You do, however, have to learn to live with the tension. Larger churches without good machinery fall into chaos. The machine is not going away, just keep it tamed. Show it whose boss. Mission first!
• Has a God-dependence been replaced by self-sufficiency?
No leader means to do this, but it happens. It is never a pastor or board member or small group leader's intent to take God's place, but it happens.
It's a strange process but easy to see how it happens. You trust God when there is little, because there is no option. The resources are few and you say: "Help me God because I can't do it without you." And God provides. Then there is more, perhaps even much more. Pressure exists when there is little to work with, but there is far more pressure when the resources are greater. This is true because there is so much more at stake. So you, or I, or anyone in leadership is tempted to take back the reigns of leadership because we can't risk that God will continue to be in control and take care of what is at stake. In your mind you know that is dumb. But in your everyday leadership you are tempted to step in and attempt to make things happen yourself. On paper it's crazy, but it's possible for leaders to get a little crazy.
For me, when I have too much work to do I'm tempted to pray less and work more. It's the same thing. Crazy! So the spirit of God prompts me to stay faithful in my prayer time and remain dependent upon the Father. This pattern always works, self-sufficiency never works.
I encourage you to take these five questions and take a close look at your church. Talk with your team and I trust that you will discover something that helps your church grow again. If your church is growing, these questions can serve as preventative medicine and help keep your momentum going.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Bet The Farm
Sometimes in life you have to bet the farm. You know, empty the bank account and invest in a God-inspired idea and pray, work like crazy and hope for the best.
That's what God did at Easter. He sent his Son to start an entirely new approach to how people would relate to Him. After Jesus raised himself from the grave and conquered sin and death, he commissioned his follower to go and make disciples. In essence, he bet the farm. What if they failed? What if they chickened out? There was no built-in contingency plan. No back up plan B, C or D if the original A plan fizzled out. God bet the farm on Easter.
That's what we are doing this Easter at PCC. Here's part of our go-for-broke-or-die-trying plan:
1) Fast and pray like crazy.
2) Invite as many people as possible through a radio ads, newspaper, billboards, 50,000 piece mailout, personal invite cards and more.
3) Providing 5 different worship experiences to choose from including starting a brand new Saturday evening service at 6pm and a new Spanish speaking venue at 1pm on Sundays.
4) Encouraging the people of PCC to personally invite as many of their friends as possible.
5) Giving away thousands of dollars worth of prizes the weekend after Easter to provide our Easter guests an incentive to come back and worship with us again.
6) Kicking off a brand new series on Easter called "Healer" that will address how Jesus heals all our hurts in life.
7) Going on prayer drives and prayer walks in our communities.
8) Putting door hanger invites on our neighbors houses to invite them to church.
9) Giving away a special gift on Palm Sunday to all our attenders that they in turn can give to their friends and invited them to Easter.
10) Did I mention tons of prayer and fasting?!?!!
What are you doing this Easter to make the central teaching of our faith - the resurrection of Jesus from the dead - undeniable in your community?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Workin it Out
Last weekend we kicked off our new, four-part series on the book of Philippians called, "Fill It Up". This week we will be studying the text Philippians 2:12-16 where Paul says, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
I can't wait to preach on this portion of scripture. God has been challenging and confronting me with this passage as I've been studying this week. You don't want to miss it.
We also have a really cool, hard-hitting creative element that we will be doing in each of our services. My prayer is that God is going to do a new work IN all of us as we work FOR Him in this community. You can't work out what God hasn't worked in. So be here this weekend!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Sunday Night Reflections
God never ceases to amaze me in what He is doing at PCC. Here are some of the highlights of this weekend.
1. We started a new series on the book of Philippians called "Fill it Up." Today's message was entitled "How to Live a Joy Filled Life." To listen to the message, go here.
2. Here's how we defined joy: Joy is NOT what happens to me, but what God is doing in and through me. Joy is internal, not external. Joy is based on what is happening inside of me, not outside of me.
3. Easter is April 4th - hundreds of PCCers have committed to fast and pray for our church and community as we reach out with the love of Christ during this strategic time of the year. Please email me at pastordave@poconocc.com to join the army of prayer warriors. I will send you email updates over the next 4 weeks as we prepare for Easter.
4. To reach more people this Easter, PCC is starting a Spanish speaking service/ministry at 1PM on Sunday's. My friend, Pastor Emilio Quinterros, is going to join our staff and lead this ministry.
5. This Easter, PCC is also starting Saturday night services! What a great opportunity to reach more people for Jesus. The Saturday night services be held at 6pm beginning April 3rd and run for six straight weeks. This will be a test drive to see how we like Saturday services at PCC. I need 200 people to commit to attending Saturday nights at PCC.
6. The Creative Team did an phenomenal job this weekend. The music, stage decor, program design, video production were awesome. Thanks so much for all you do! I especially enjoyed the gospel rendition of "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven.
7. Many people made commitments to follow Jesus today. It was incredibly humbling to be used by God to introduce people to Jesus. Ministry is incredibly rewarding.
8. One of the quickest ways to lose your joy in ministry is to listen to naysayers and critics. Don't be sidetracked by that negativism and navel gazers. Just make following Jesus your priority and let God take care of the critics.
9. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5
10.God always as a purpose behind every problem.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Marriage Seminar @ PCC
On March 12/13 PCC is hosting Mark Gungor and the "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" seminar. This is a wildly entertaining and informative marriage event designed to bring hope and positive change to marriages. It creates better communication in marriages, helps spouses better understand each others’ needs, and rekindles romance in marriage relationships. Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage appeals widely to husbands, even those who may typically resist marriage ministry!
To register online, go here.
This is going to be one event you don't want to miss. Bekah and I will see you there.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Samson and Delilah
Here's a video we showed at PCC during the last weekend of our Sexual Resolution series. Tim Hawkins is hilarious. Thanks for the laugh, Tim.
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