Church

This weekend at we are starting a new teaching series based off of Craig Groeschel’s new book “it” (a review of his book HERE). This will prove to be an awesome series, and you want to be sure to catch it live because it won’t be availabe “on demand” until a few weeks after. The series starts this weekend, and you can view it through LifeChurch.tv’s Internet Campus, here are the times:

• Saturday 6:30pm CDT
• Sunday 9:00am GMT+1, 10:00am CDT
• Tuesday 8:00pm CDT

The LifeChurch.tv Internet Campus is also going to start offering some new experiences times, be sure to go and check out what’s happening on the Internet Campus Blog!

Book Review: ‘Church Planting Movements’ by GarrisonThis is a book review of an incredible book I just finished titled: ‘Church Planting Movements’ by David Garrison.
www.tonystewardblog.com

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If you want a copy of the book click below:

"Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World" (David Garrison)

This is just a heads up to any of my blog peeps who are in Atlanta. Greg Atkinson is holding a Church 2.0 forum there at Perimeter Church. A Church 2.0 forum is where I first met Greg here in Orange County, and I found the forum to be not only informative but fun! That and the free Wahoos lunch, which I think there is a free lunch for the Atlanta meeting as well. (10am to 2pm at Perimeter - www.perimeter.org)

There is also a good deal of networking that goes on here, I was able to meet people who were looking to innovate as pastors through both creativity and technology - some of those connections are bringing a lot of value. SO, all that to say if you are in the Atlanta area I would highly suggest checking it out!

Facebook Event Page Facebook Group Greg’s Blog

Check out a new post I just got up on over at the Digital Leadership Network blog. It is talking about who your church website is most likely for, and what they are looking for when they get there. I’d love to have a conversation about it over at Digital - see you there!

Most church websites look like they are for the elders or deacon board of the church. The site is mainly the “who we are / what we believe” static statements and pages. Can I be honest and let you know that neither first timers or your members really care too much about that information. Of course it needs to be there, and of course it is good to have up on the site.

But most church websites I’ve come across not only have that information up front, but they have organized the site the way that elders / deacon boards / staff are used to looking at the information. It is setup like a budget spreadsheet / ministry index - instead of a site for who your real audience is and what they are needing when they come to your site.

[From Digital @ Leadership Network]

What do you think Church 2.0 is and do you have any questions about it?We are here at the Echo Church media conference and at doing a Church 2.0 Panel. Two things:
1. What would you say Church 2.0 is?
2. What are you questions about church 2.0?

I have had the opportunity to fly out and hang at the Echo conference this weekend. I am so thrilled that I’ve gotten the chance to meet so many amazing and talented people. The best part of the conference for me has been hanging in the lobby and connecting with people. Oh, that and hearing a message by Donald Miller on the power of having your own story, your own narrative, being the passionate story God wants your life to be - so challenging and deep - I could listen to him talk every day (at least until he ran out of things to say

Make sure you check out unifyer.com - had a chance to meet and talk with Matt and Lance from there today - they are incredible guys with a heart for ministry and they have a web communications tool that I am continuing to be more and more impressed with - that and they’ve built an iPhone app for it - so I am pumped just to play!

We are getting ready to start day two here at the Celebrate Recovery Summit, being hosted here at Saddleback Church. And after getting a chance to hear so many incredible stories, and teaching about the process of recovery I heard a consistent terminology that really had an impression on me.

“Don’t be a pharisee”

What this means is don’t be a person that says, “I don’t need recovery.” At first I didn’t understand because there are obviously millions of Christians who aren’t in a recovery program and their life and faith continues. But this phrase comes from the fact that during Jesus day it was the Pharisees who didn’t think they needed saving. It was the purely religious that were hiding their “hurts, habits and hangups” behind a plastic faith - and Jesus saw right through them.

I think the “light bulb” moment was when I realized that Celebrate Recovery’s method of recovery is directly tied into the process of sanctification. Every christian is in a process of sanctification, the real issue is that for most of us we are extremely passive in it. We don’t really take time to sort through the rough spots in our character, in our relationships and in the source of our behaviors - that is were Celebrate Recovery comes in.

It isn’t just a recovery process for people dealing with substance and other forms of abuse and addiction. It is also a process that helps people to find their identity in Christ, and find the sources of their sin and destructive behaviors. And we all have those things we consistently fall into; whether it is anger with our kids, wondering eyes, computer sites, truthfulness, bitterness, or a controlling personality.

Jesus calls all of us to a lifestyle of recovery; meaning a life spent seeking to become more like Christ and to be constantly saved from ourselves - to be in recovery from our “former self.”

So, what is a point of action? Check out Celebrate Recovery they have small group materials, they have excellent resources to help being a CR ministry at your church, or check out John Baker’s new book “Life’s Healing Choices” - it is an excellent book to sort through these areas of recovery we all need.

“Life’s Healing Choices: Freedom from Your Hurts, Hang-ups, and Habits” (John Baker)

John Townsend is doing a session right now at the Celebrate Recovery Summit right before lunch and is knocking it out of the park.

The point of his talk that hit me the most was his teaching for this group of Celebrate Recovery leaders being “people of the ask”. That most of us at some point in a group will let go and state our problems such as:

• “my marriage is terrible”
• “my kids are out of control”
• “I can’t find a job”
• “my drinking is bad”

But it isn’t as intuitive for us to ask for what we need to help. Whether this is because we don’t feel worthy of someone’s help, because you have a hard time receiving love, or you don’t know what to do. John’s point is that we must be people of the ask who will not only be comfortable (in the right setting) sharing your issues and problems, but that you need to ask for what you need help with. If you need encouragement, advice, prayer, or a friend - you know what you need to at least get started.

This is such a simple point, but revolutionary for relationship and getting the help you need in your life.

[Here are a couple of John Townsends Books:]

“Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life” (Henry Cloud, John Townsend)

“Safe People: How to Find Relationships That Are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t” (Henry Cloud, John Townsend)

This second session is all about leadership; and it is very practical and helpful.

Pastor John Baker started off by asking “What kind of leader are you going to be?” There are two type of leaders:

Shepherds that minister one on one with people and Ranchers that lead and train the shepherds. As a Celebrate Recovery ministry grows, as the leader of the ministry if you continue to be a shepherd you will only get in the way of what God is doing, and your will burn out.

Celebrate Recovery has found that organizing there groups into a T.E.A.M. structure.

Trainer - in charge of training and development of leaders from within the Church and Celebrate Recovery.

Encourager - in charge of shepherding and pastoring people. Creates fellowship events and helps to identify new small group leaders.

Assimilation - in charge of promoting the ministry to the church and community. A connector and networker, you help get the right information in front of the right people.

Ministry Leader - in charge of everything else ;). They are responsible for the teaching, training, events and are the main point of contact from the ministry to the Church.

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There was more definition into each of these positions by the national T.E.A.M members, but Celebrate Recovery has an incredible leadership structure and team environment that anyone can learn from. Here are some pictures of the Celebrate Recovery Regional Directors and State Representatives: (huge group)