Great Lakes Church
Dave Nelson
DaveNelsonsBlog.com

Continued from Sunday...

On Sunday, we were supposed to tackle Commandments #7 and #8 (from the 10 Commandments). However, we never got to Commandment #8. So, here are the bullet points, along w/ a 6 minute video unpacking the thoughts behind "Don't Steal".
  • Almost everyone agrees that stealing is wrong 'cause it violates another human being.
  • When we violate another human, we violate God. Humans are made in His image and marked w/ His glory.
  • Few people ever think of themselves as thieves.
  • In Matthew 5, Jesus taught us that there is more to the 10 Commandments that what you initially see. He taught us that there is a root problem behind each of the commandments.
  • The root problem of stealing is selfishness. Whenever we do something that takes from another human being, violates another person, or cheapens an individual in any way... it is stealing!
  • In Ephesians 4:28, the apostle Paul challenges Christ Followers to make the transition from selfishness (life is about me) to selflessness (it's not about me). To go from being a taker... to being a giver. To go from being a consumer... to being a contributer.
  • Generosity is the opposite of stealing. The way we make the transition from selfishness to selflessness is by embracing a simpler lifestyle. THIS DOESN'T MEAN EMBRACING A POVERTY LIFESTYLE. It simply means living on less w/ the purpose of being able to give generously to others.
Sorry about the poor audio & lighting quality, but I didn't think we needed to be fancy-dancy with this! If you're an optimist, you'll just think it's some cool color or sound effect. Gotta love web cams.

5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew (Part 5)

Continued from earlier blog posts...

5 - GO BIG!

Do you genuinely believe that the local church is the hope of the world? If so, GO BIG! Plan, strategize and prepare in such a way that when people show up... you're ready!
  • Does the building your using have lots of parking? Plenty of seating? Enough space for kids ministry?
  • Have you mobilized a large team of volunteers to be on the "launch team"?
  • Is everyone on the launch team committed to giving sacrificially and volunteering in at least one ministry?
  • Have you clearly articulated the vision to the launch team so that everyone knows the ultimate goal?
  • Are you praying to have as big of an impact on your city as possible?
  • Are you spending money (yes, the limited funds you have) on advertising to let your city know that you exist?
  • Are you clear in all of your signage (exterior signs pointing people to your building, interior signs that direct people). By the way, NEVER have cute names for your kids programs (ie - Little Lambs). No guest knows what that means. Call it what it is: "2-3 Year Olds!"
  • Do you have systems in place to follow up with guests or connect new people? THIS IS HUGE!
  • Are you making it easy to invite friends (invite cards, practical topics on Sun mornings, etc)?
Please don't think I'm suggesting that every church should be or will be a mega-church. I'm not. I am suggesting that every new church should PLAN, PRAY and PREPARE in such a way that they EXPECT new people to show up!

5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew (Part 4)

Continued from an earlier blog post...

4 - THERE WILL BE MANY MANY CHAPTERS IN THE STORY OF YOUR CHURCH!

Most church planters are type "A" personalities. They are driven people who like to get stuff done. Because of this, it's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to see their entire vision for the church unfold within the first year. This isn't possible. More than that, it is emotionally and physically destructive.

When we started Great Lakes Church, it exploded. None of us expected to be running 500+ people from day one. As a result, I didn't take a single day off for over 6 months. Truthfully, I didn't even want to. I was so caught up in the momentum of what was happening that I didn't stop to think about the fact that our church would have many many chapters in it's story and it was stupid to try and cram them all into the first year.

If you're launching a church, you've got to remember that this is a journey. Don't feel like you've got to sprint all the time! There will always be more people to reach, more programs to start, more money to raise, more volunteers to mobilize and train, more staff to hire, more vision to see fulfilled, etc. 

Initially, not having our own building was GREAT. Today it's a pain. We have to organize our entire church around the seating capacity and time schedule of a movie theater. I'd love to have our own place, but I've had to accept that it's not the right season for our church yet. The same thing w/ Jr High ministry. I'd love to have a program on Sunday morning for 6th-8th graders, but I'm not going to force it. Someday, that chapter of our church history will be written. Just not now.

Dave

PS - If you missed last Sunday, here are the "TOP 10 NAMES FOR A MULLET":

10 - Business in the front, party in the back!
9 - The El Camino headrest
8 - The Achy-Breaky-Big-Mistakey
7 - The Wisconsin Waterfall
6 - The Mississippi Mudflap
5 - The Nebraska Neckwarmer (or Neckbeard)
4 - The Tennesse Top Hat
3 - The Missouri Compromise
2 - The Camaro Crash Helmet
1 - The Canadian Passport





 

5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew (Part 3)

Continued from an earlier blog post...

3 - YOU CAN'T GROW A HEALTHY CHURCH WITHOUT LOSING THE "RIGHT" PEOPLE QUICKLY!

If you have people attending your church who clearly prefer a different way of doing church than the way you do it... don't be disingenuous by pretending you like their ideas or will give their ideas "prayerful" consideration. Invite them to be a part of the church THE WAY IT IS or suggest they find one where they can fully embrace the vision.

I always cringe when I hear church planters say, "I'm meeting w/ the launch team and we're hashing out a vision for the church!!" WHAT?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?! I'm not trying to be mean, but if you don't already have a vision for the church you're starting... you shouldn't be starting it! This isn't a group project. If too many minds speak into the vision, it'll just be a hodgepodge of ideas w/o any clear focus. DON'T ASK PEOPLE TO HELP SHAPE THE VISION. Tell them what it is and ask them to get on board!

Prior to starting a church, this doesn't sound all that difficult, but it is. Nobody likes to lose people. But here is the reality: Regardless of what your vision is, you're going to lose people... so you might as well lose them over something you're passionate about, rather than what "Mr. - I've got lots of ideas, but never want to get involved" is passionate about. 

The clearer you are about the vision, the more quickly people can determine if it's the church for them. If they decide to leave, DON'T CHASE THEM! You'll be left with a church filled with people who are passionate and excited to be there. As a result, you'll spend time and energy moving forward w/ the vision, rather than convincing people why they shouldn't leave!

5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew (Part 2)

Continued from an earlier blog post...

2 - CHURCHES RARELY GROW GRADUALLY... THEY GROW IN SPURTS!

If you're starting a church, and you don't understand this, you will become discouraged VERY QUICKLY! All of us tend to think unrealistically when it comes to church growth. We think that if our church is healthy it will grow every week. It won't. Another thought is, "If everyone who attends brings just one friend a year, we will double by next year this time." This never happens.

The way most churches grow is in spurts. Thankfully, "growth spurts" aren't difficult to predict because they happen in sync w/ the school year calendar. What I mean is that when schools are full-force in session... churches grow! When schools are not in session (June-Aug), nearing a break (Dec), or towards the end of the school year (May), churches typically do not grow.

So, for most of the country, the two seasons of growth are Sept-Nov and Jan-April (I list Sept first 'cause I'm thinking of the school year calendar). Now here's the big question: How will you be PROACTIVE in your planning to ensure you are best prepared for these growth seasons? Here is how we do it at Great Lakes:
  • Just before a natural growth season, I spend one or two Sunday mornings mobilizing as many attenders as possible to become volunteers so that we are ready to welcome more people.
  • We send out a minimum of 50K mailers to the community just before each of the 2 growth seasons.
  • We STOPPED sending mailers at Easter 'cause it happens right before the "summer slump" and it's a waste of resources. Nelson Searcy, the church planting guru, will disagree w/ me on this... but I've got statistical proof to back up what I'm saying.
  • The topics we tackle during the growth seasons are extremely practical (relationships, parenting, dealing w/ the past, etc).
  • We rarely spend money during non-growth seasons (advertising, adding additional equipment, etc). We save everything for the growth spurts that naturally occur.
  • We proactively get ready for growth. For example, this fall we're adding another adult auditorium, adding two new kids rooms, overhauling the check-in process to make it faster, etc. 
  • Our kid's programs plan BIG Sunday morning events during natural growth seasons (ie - Back to School Bash).
I hope this all makes sense. Be smart with your time, energy and resources!

5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew (Part 1)

Recently, I've been talking w/ lots of guys who are launching new churches. I LOVE THIS! History has proven that new churches do an amazing job of connecting w/ people who are cynical of Christians, confused about God and skeptical of Church. Unfortunately, many new churches still fail. As a result, I'm doing a series of blogs on "5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew".

1 - DON'T BE STUPID WITH MONEY!

When I first got married, I wanted to have a home like my parents. The only problem was, they had been married for awhile and it took many years of discipline and hard work to afford the home they owned. Church planters must embrace the fact that they are NEW and attempting to have all the "bells and whistles" is STUPID. Here are some things you can go without:
  • Top of the line Mac computers that equal the technology seen on Star Trek.
  • An audio/video system that would make the sound engineers at Radio City Music Hall drool.
  • Office space (We grew to over 1,000 people, in our first year, w/o an office. YOU DON'T NEED ONE.)
  • A special church phone (Google Voice is FREE and gives you your own number. It can be forwarded anywhere.)
  • A website that rivals one Bill Gates could design. Clovers sites has templates that are simple, clean and inexpensive.
  • Paid staff (It is a waste to pay someone to do something a volunteer is capable of doing. We only hire someone if they will be overseeing and/or mobilizing a large team of volunteers. Our goal is 1 full-time staff member for every 250 people.)
  • "Church provided" cell phones, laptops, etc. Great Lakes Church does not provide equipment to staff members that they should already own. We do give a small stipend each month to help offset some of the costs involved w/ phones, internet and computer.
  • Food! If everybody on staff expects the church to reimburse them for "business lunches" you'll end up spending loads of money. Don't do it. It's amazing how quickly a "business lunch" turns into a "coffee appointment" if the church isn't paying.
Here is a breakdown of our budget at Great Lakes: 10% savings, 10% missions outside of GLC, 80% operations (building lease, salaries, operational costs, advertising, etc.). Also, our 2011 budget will be based on 90% of 2010's offerings. That's right. We plan w/ lots of margin so that the church does not become a financial burden to anyone. Because of this, we have earned credibility with those who sacrifice financially to support the ministries of GLC.

Sunday Recap + The Top 10 Tattoos!

I was a little nervous doing a series on the 10 Commandments, because they seem a little archaic. Surprisingly, this has been an extremely fun and practical series. Yesterday, we talked about one of the most forgotten commandments, "Honor Your Father and Mother". Here are some of the thoughts from the talk...
  • This is probably the most challenging commandment because of how broad the term "father" and "mother" has become. 
  • One of the most disturbing truths revealed in Scripture is that God always works through HUMAN AUTHORITY.
  • Paul, a leader in the early church, says that how we treat authority is a really big deal to God (Romans 13:1-2). By the way, he wrote these words to Christians living under the rule of Nero in first century Rome!
  • I can't believe how many kids don't talk to or rarely spend time with their parents (or vice versa). I know there are lots of reasons for this. It usually comes down to pride, fear or selfishness. I wish I had time to expound on this, but if this is you... read this phrase a hundred times: HUMILITY IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN REGRET! As difficult as it is, humble yourself and pursue a relationship with your parents!
When's the last time, other than Father's Day or Mother's Day, you did something to honor your parents?

Dave

PS: From Sunday, "The Top 10 Most Intriguing Tattoos!"

10) The "I'm Definitely From Arkansas" Tattoo


9) The Multiple Choice Tattoo: A- Young girl?  B- Old woman?  C- Satanic doll?



8) The "I Can't Spell" Tattoo



7) The All I Can Say Is "WOW" Tattoo



6) The Best Use of Nasty Arm Hair Tattoo



5) The Most Creative Tattoo



4) The "I Got This While Intoxicated" Tattoo


3) The "I Hope Jesus Doesn't Look Like This" Tattoo



2) The "I Know I Shouldn't Laugh, But That Looks Nothing Like Her" Tattoo



1) The "U-G-L-Y He Ain't Got No Alibi - He's Ugly" Tattoo

Take a Day Off!

When you look at the 10 Commandments, the fourth commandment seems oddly out of place. It simply says, "Take a day off". That's right. The same God that says, "Don't steal. Don't kill. And don't watch 'The Bachelor'..." says, "Make sure that you are intentional about having margin in your life."

Surprisingly, ancient Israel was much more of a 24/7 culture than we are. They worked all the time. Israel needed every possible day to accomplish what was needed to make society function and to ensure 1-2 million Israelites were fed, while living in the wilderness.

So, why would God place this command on His "Top 10 List"? Here's why:

1) It teaches us DEPEND on God. It's trusting him for 7 days of provision based on 6 days of work. (Exodus 16)
 
2) It helps us APPRECIATE what we have. Busyness and non-stop work distract us from being satisfied or grateful.

3) It allows us the time to REMEMBER what God has done. One of the purposes of the Sabbath was to build into Israel's weekly schedule a time in which they could reflect on how God had miraculously freed them from slavery. (Deuteronomy 5:15)

Recently, I've been trying to make the most of my day off (Mondays) by making sure I incorporate all 3 of the things above. I promise... it's not as easy as you'd think.

Dave

PS - Topping the "Homeschool Jokes Top 10 List" this past week was, "What do you call it when a homeschool mom talks to herself? A parent/teacher conference" (You can laugh now)

Blue Ridge Church is Launched!

This past weekend, more than 20 people from Great Lakes Church headed down to Christiansburg, VA. to help Scott & Lisa Obenchain launch Blue Ridge Church! Here was an email I received from Scott last night...

"I am still pinching myself to see if this is real! What a day - 151 people showed up... 4 people used their connection card to indicate they were giving their lives to Christ...Thanks for everything - keep praying for us!"

Wow! I can't tell you how excited I am that we get to be a part of this. It was less the 2 years ago that we were starting our own journey as a church. I've posted some pics below of Blue Ridge Church's first Sunday. Lets keep cheering them on!

Dave

Some of the Great Lakes Church crew resting after a LONG trip...


Getting the programs ready for Sunday morning...


Classrooms turned into nursery & preschool rooms...






Scott meeting with the volunteers...


People showed up!








Being a Pastor Isn't What I Expected - (Part 7)

Continued from earlier blogs...
  • I NEVER IMAGINED HOW MANY "RIGHTS" I WOULD GIVE UP!
A few weeks ago, I heard a teaching that I'm still thinking about. The essence of the talk was pretty simple: As you are given more and more responsibility, you often lose more and more "rights". This goes against common sense. It just seems like a given that the higher my position on the organizational chart... the more rights and freedom I have! This isn't true. 

President Obama has less rights that most of us. He can't just walk around Washington D.C., w/o the Secret Service, anytime he wants. If he's craving one of  McDonald's amazing double cheeseburgers, and wants to pick it up himself, it's a big ordeal. Remember the Blackberry dilemma he had when first becoming president? Same issue. He had lots of responsibility, but little freedom.

This past week, Gen. McChrystal resigned (aka: was fired) from his job after he and his staff gave unflattering remarks about the Obama administration, in a Rolling Stones Magazine article. Think about this. McChrystal is about as close to Chuck Norris, in his abilities, as one can get. Regardless, because of his position, he lost the right to say whatever he wanted... about whomever he wanted... to whomever he wanted. By the way, I'm the product of a private school education... so I don't know the difference between "whomever" and "whoever", but I hope I'm right.

Last week, people were infuriated when the CEO of BP took some time to watch his 52 foot yacht compete in a race. Because of his position, he lost the right to do this (at least w/o controversy). Believe it or not, I hate getting involved in political discussions. However, I reference these stories 'cause they are well known.

As a pastor, with the RESPONSIBILITY of leading a church, there are many RIGHTS I've given up. I have embraced the fact that there are things I simply cannot do, which most people attending our church can do, and still maintain any sense of integrity or influence. These include: spewing off political views, meeting w/ women alone, living a lavish lifestyle (Ed Young Jr has recently proved this), making decisions w/o explaining "why", getting involved in multi-level-marketing businesses that I would benefit from, giving cliche answers to tough questions, etc. Think about it. NONE of those things are wrong in and of themselves, but any of them have the power to slowly (or quickly) strip away the trust that people have given me. 

Dave

PS - It's Friday, so you probably don't mind wasting time. Here are some hilarious vintage (and chauvinistic) ads that would cause TONS of controversy if they came out today...











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