Dave had asked me to submit a blog on processministry to let everyone know about a really great resource we were introduced to called TechSoup.org...TechSoup has literally saved us a few thousand dollars.
TechSoup.org is a company which acts as a filter for organizations wanting to donate their software (whether out of generosity or tax purposes) to nonprofit organizations. Techsoup then gives this software away charging only a small fee for their overhead. All you have to do to receive this donated software is:
That's it...here is what we were able to purchase...and yes these are full copies...you can register them and get all updates applicable for that software.
Microsoft Office Professional Edition: $20
Adobe Creative Suite for Mac: $160.00 (originally $1800.00)
Norton 360 for PC: $30 for 15 licenses
Norton Internet Security for Mac: $15
There you have it...
By the way...their customer service is really good...if you run into any problems or just need help getting through the process you can email or give me a call.
lanny@thecrossingchurch.tv
1.214.295.1027
If you could start and pastor a young church with the knowledge of three books, which ones do you choose and why? After not reading much the last few months, I'm ready to read a couple after Easter.
1. Planting Missional Churches - Ed Stetzer - not too sexy, but the church planting handbook after the Bible.
2. No Perfect People Allowed - Burke - with the church fighting the image problem of being judgemental, John does it right.
3. Rethinking the Church - James Emery White - challenges the way we flesh out the five purposes of the church.
4. The E-Myth Revisted - great business principles that can be applied to help us operate bigger. Unfortunately, we didn't learn this stuff at Bible school.
5. Never Eat Alone - Ferrazzi - nothing has inspired me more to get my butt out the door to engage others with confidence.
Anyone read Simple Church or The Multiplying Church by Roberts?
I'm doing some research to develop an accountability system for myself and pastoral team. I've begun interviewing ministry peers and leaders regarding their accountability system as well as what's out their on the topic.
Can you help? I realize accountability is born out of relationships. However, that can also be code for not having any accountability in a pastor's life. And since we're all aware that most pastors don't fail for a lack of leadership skills, etc BUT due to some type of ethical, moral, or spiritual decline, I'd like to know what you're doing to be held and hold others accountable:
Just wanted to highlight a resource that could potentially be huge for church plants. It's a virtual phone system called GotVMail that helps creates a virtual office that connects callers to staff members wherever they are, on any type of phone - home, office, VoIP, or mobile - without any equipment to purchase or maintain... as well as provide some validity to phone callers.
I found media and other training on the web that uses streaming video. We're always looking for help in these areas. Now, if I can find somebody that has a gift to pick up media - now I have some pretty inexpensive way to train. It's www.lynda.com.
Just a thought for ya.
I participated in my first online leadership training webinar with Ken Blanchard. It was pretty good. There was some great ideas I got from it. You are able to ask questions by posting while he's teaching. There is a power point and you receive audio through your computer or a toll free number for better quality audio. They send you the notes and audio recording through email. It's pretty cool. Being virtual - it's even better.
They offer other training through their site on WebEx Event Center, but you can look for Ken Blanchard Companies on there. The next free leadership webinar is March 13.
Do you know of any resourceful leadership training sites?
Do you also notice that leadership training is going more and more online?
Has anyone had a "Porn Sunday" yet? We just had one, but it wasn't as emphasized as what the "PS" Manual suggests. We talked about Joseph running from sexual temptation. Sharing a whole sermon on porn was a challenge, but it received the best feedback I've had on a sermon since I started the church 2.4 years ago. I felt that it gave me more credibility with people also. (I'd be willing to share my sermon with you - just let me know.) I had some other resources, but the best resource was from none other (who else?) than lifechurch.tv. Here's their soundbyte:
"Pornography is a multi billion-dollar industry that is tearing apart marriages and families everywhere you turn. This addiction is raping the minds of people all around the world…Christians, non-Christians, men, women AND children. The facts surrounding this ugly elephant in the room will blow your mind. Join us as we partner with XXXChurch.com, the nation’s largest anti-porn ministry, for National Porn Sunday. You’ll walk away empowered with the truth necessary to battle America’s dirty little secret…pornography. Please visit www.pornsunday.com for additional information and resources."
Go to lifechurch.tv and check out the MANUAL (it's like over 40 pages of information with at least 3 sermons).
It's good time for you to talk about accountability and filtering software for kids and men/women alike. covenanteyes.com and pureonline.com are great sites for any pastor or any attender of your church. It can be a great Sunday
Any thoughts from you guys?
There is so much to learn when it comes to church planting. There are whole books written on it, blogs, downloadible resources, and much more. If you were going to teach just one lesson in an hour on church planting what would you say (you probably already have a lesson - would you share it?)?
Here's mine:
What does it take to start a church?
Acts 13:2 “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
I. Starting a church is going to take more than most people think.
A. It’s going to take:
1. Blood.
(Acts 22:20 “And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'”)
2. Sweat.
(Acts 18:3 “and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.”)
3. Tears.
(Acts 20:19 “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.”)
B. Learn to balance life and ministry, if you want long-term success.
1. Process life.
2. Refuel your heart.
3. Build relationships.
II. Start a church the right way.
A. If you are on staff at a church and you feel that God is calling you to start a church relatively close, there are some things you need to think through.
1. Talk to the senior leader before you tell anyone else in the organization.
2. Approach with humility.
3. Can the leader bless the transition?
Helpful hint: If you are disguising a church split as a church plant, then you can expect God’s judgment rather than His blessing.
4. What is the right ethical distance?
5. Communicate openly and honestly with your leader.
6. Do not recruit people from the church.
7. Stay blameless.
B. Be careful not to plant a church until you can find a parent church.
1. You need a spiritual cover.
2. You need financial support.
3 things to plant a church
1. Start – good heart
2. Successful – good vision
3. Significant – $300,000 --- looks like you’ll need at least $150,000 your first year, and at least $50,000 in cash to start…
3. You need leadership help.
4. Be thankful.
C. Fundraising is a key.
D. Be prepared before you start.
1. Communicate to your fellowship.
2. Read books about church planting.
3. Establish your vision and values.
4. Study structure in the days you don’t need it so that when you do need it, you will have it. Great resource for planting a church: www.crosswalk-church.com
5. The average necessary preparation time seems to be six months to a year before you start.
6. Make sure you have systems of ministry in place before you start.
7. Recruit, recruit, recruit. recruit ethically, ask, pray. Have faith about God sending you team members, but be careful to not plan anything without committed leaders.
8. Watch out for the temptation to give people positions in the church. Call them coordinators and let every body know that these are temporary places of service until we can get established. Church planting coaches say that people who are with you in the beginning probably won’t be with you in six months. They need to be focusing on who they can serve instead of who and what can serve them.
I was talking to a gentleman the other day in a Starbucks and he works with .com real estate where he purchases prospective domains and then hopes to sell them to companies in the future. Anyways, he asked me if I knew what .mobi was and I said, "No." He began to tell me about .mobi and I got interested to the point that I wanted to share it with you. We all know that handhelds are getting to the point where people are relying on them even more for the internet and pretty soon every phone will have the ability to access internet. Accessing the internet from your phone/handheld device will be the norm.
.MOBI has been dedicated to delivering the Internet to mobile devices via the Mobile Web. This is a different format than your regualar .org or .com site.
Something to think about: should you secure a .mobi for your church? Just a thought.
Have you guys heard anything about it or have any comments?
If you were able to attend: What's one thing you picked up/learned from Multiplicity 2007? Thanks to Steve Pike for a great conference.
Have you ever had that shocking experience where you suddenly realize that something you were taught as a child or grew up believing was totally false? It is amazing how we easily will accept some things as "fact" just because someone famous said it or someone we trusted believed it. In this series we will put some common spiritual beliefs to the test to find out what is FACT and what is just FOLKLORE.
Myth #1- All Good Ideas are God Ideas
Myth #2 - God Wants You Happy
Myth #3 - I've Got All The Time In The World
Myth #4 - God Carries A Big Club
Myth #5 - There Are Many Ways to God
Myth #6 - Christmas Is All About What's Under The Tree
Myth #7 - There Is No After Life
Myth #8 - Hell's No Big Deal
Leadership Network has just released some new studies on church planting in America. You can download all the information at Leadership Network Church Planting Study
The link will take you to a blog by our friend Ed Stetzer (who will be our keynote speaker at Multiplicity). You'll be able to download PDF's of four different study documents.
Here are some of my take aways:
1. As a movement, the AG is headed in the right direction in developing systematic approaches to assessment, training and coaching. All three are proving to make a big difference in the long term viability of new churches.
2. Churches that plant churches are healthier than other churches.
3. The proper role of the national organization is to support the multiplying efforts of local churches and leaders as well as regional cooperative efforts. That is exactly what the Church Multiplication Network is all about.
4. We can do way more together than we can ever do by ourselves.
5. Once again, church planting is demonstrated to be THE most effective methodology of evangelism.
6. Thousands of new churches are being planted each year. New church plants are the norm rather than the exception. We can no longer rely on strategies that plant by "remote control." For example, the idea that we can send out a few thousand flyer's and end up with a crowd is simply a myth. New churches must be built on a foundation of authentic relationships and building that foundation takes time!!!
Feel free to respond to this post with your observations from the research
I got into a dialogue at www.futureag.blogspot.com about what media of the secular world should be used in our churches. When we think about TV shows, Music, U-Tube or house created media what standerds should we use?
I was wondering if we could talk about what standards you have on what you use and what you do not use in your churches.
I came up with a few guidelines and I think they could be tweaked a little so help me think through this...
1) Does it add to the message- how many times have you heard a song that so and so wanted to sing that had nothing to do with the message.
2) Does it cause another to stumble- I would hate to see someone come to church and see a video clip that encouraged them to act out on destructive behaviors.
3) Does it Condone Sin- I don't think it has to promote right living in the moment but I think it needs to not glorify or condone sinful activity.
4) Does my wife or team say no- I love having the group work through the angles with me.
I am sure I am missing a Guideline or two but my concern is that as we engage this culture and push the envelope further down the line to contextualize our message that we do so in a healthy and Godly way.
What do you think?
All of us need RESCUING at times… 
What's a resource that you could pass on to someone else? Mine would be the magazine - Fast Company. It's inexpensive. Book material is older than magazine material by the time it's published, and Fast Company gives me great ideas for sermons. Pass it on... What's your resource?
