Pastorpreneur

My Dad's Passions...

So, like a lot of people, I've been thinking about my dad. My father in law and father both are with the Lord now.  My step-father-in-law (we just call him dad!) is still living.  But today, on Father's Day, I've been thinking about my dad.

My dad had LOTS of flaws.  Big ones.  Many of those flaws I grapple with today.  But today I have not been thinking about his flaws.  I have been thinking about his passions.  In the end...8 years after his death...it is his passions that have shaped me.  Here are a few of them...

1)  Dad was passionate about Jesus.  Jesus was not a word in a song, an image on a screen, or a dusty memory.  Jesus was who my dad loved.  I think all of his life my dad knew that Jesus had forgiven him greatly.

2)  Dad was passionate about his family.  My dad and mom never had a "ken and barbie" marriage (whatever that is!), but they loved each other and they sure loved us kids.  4 kids and dad & mom...we were a very tight family.  We've been through lots of storms...but we're still tight.  Dad was often the glue (or the sledgehammer!) of the family...and we are just now figuring out how to do it without him.

3)  Dad was passionate about reaching lost people.  I've seen my dad lead people to Christ in restaurants, airplanes, car dealerships, homes, ballfields, etc.  My dad was passionate about leading people to Jesus.  I never thought I was an evangelist like dad...and I'm not in the technical term...but his passion for lost people flows through my veins to this day

4) Dad loved life.  He loved to travel. He loved his Boston Celtics (which was rough for me as a Laker fan in the 1970's).  He loved to eat.  My dad loved life.  When he died, my oldest daughter said, "Grampie lived until the day he died".  Dad's passion for life is something I've come to later in life...and praying that I make up for lost time.

Well...that's just a snapshot.  My dad had flaws--BIG ONES (just like I do).  But his passions are what stayed with me and shaped me.

Teams: The God Factor

I was recently sharing with the team that is putting together Thriving Churches International about the importance of teams.  While I was sharing, I used an illustration that seemed to impact several team members, so I'm going to share it here as well.

The basic point of my illustration was that teams need to have a common goal, unity of spirit, and healthy relationships.  But even if all that works, there is still (especially in ministry) a HUGE God-factor that is responsible for any measure of success we ever experience.  So when you get to be part of a team that experiences the movement of God in powerful ways...don't ever take that for granted; celebrate His goodness and the amazing privilege it is to serve Him.

My prime example?  The Apollo space teams which got to participate in a moon landing as the ultimate fulfillment that came from the promise of a President several years earlier.  Think about the joy of the Apollo team.  Now think about the Challenger space team.  Imagine the years of hard work, the effective team principles they lived with.  Now think about their pain and loss as they, and the nation, experienced tragedy together.  Was the Challenger team less committed?  NO WAY!  I'm betting the Challenger team was made up of hundreds (thousands?) of dedicated people all pulling for a glorious launch.  And yet that team had to confront pain, loss, difficulty, defeat, and probably despair.

The lesson for all of us?  There is an amazing God factor whenever we do work (alone or in teams) in His kingdom.  We pray for Him to use us and our teams.  But whenever we do get to experience the joys of ministry that works and seems miraculous...let's not forget that HE is the source of any success and impact we have...and let's remember to celebrate the miracle that He inhabits.

Reproducing Who You Are...

So I'm talking with a friend and leader in our church .  In that conversation, he talks about how people in a meeting went from being very excited about something to developing an action plan--with what seemed to him to be very little prayer.

I felt like he was describing a real problem that sometimes happens with...ME!  People around me (like me!) tend to move from passion to action.   Here is what I think should happen:

Prayer---Passion---Prayer---Action

The truth is that you can have the right passion and take the wrong action unless prayer is part of the entire process.  Truthfully, I believe that...

In fact, I think that Prayer+Passion+Prayer+Action=Kingdom Impact

what do you think?

Pastorpreneur book reviewed again!

It's exciting to me that Pastorpreneur continues to be impacting the lives of men and women.  Originally issued in 2003 as a paperback, Abingdon Press released it here in 2009.  I'm excited about how men and women in the marketplace can release their entrepreneurial gifts for ministry and how pastors and church leaders can get entrpreneurial to reach their communities for Christ.

So, I always like it when the book is reviewed.  Here is the link to the latest review:  Pastorpreneur review here 

I'd love to receive your feedback on Pastorpreneur as well.  And, as always, if you are in a ministry or marketplace role and want me to hook you up with 10 copies or more...e-mail me at john@cvcwired.com

Thanks!  

5 Disciplines of Genius

Found a great article from Bob Buford's Muse Letter (you can subscribe here) that describes five disciplines of genius that make Half-Time work (Bob's life work is called Half-Time.  If you have not read the book--MUST read!.  This list is very good and very convicting!

1) Low cost probes to find what works.

2) Discover and focus on your strengths

3) Take responsibility for results

4) They say no (rejecting the good for the best)

5) They find mentors (personally or in community)

So..how are you doing with developing what God has given you? 

It has been a LOOOONG time....so here's to catching up

Not sure I have ever gone this long without posting to the blog...ouch!  So...here is one of those whirlwind updates for the Pastorpreneur family...here is what's been "up" since Easter:

*  Weekend services at CVC have been great, with our series on "Jesus in Da Crib" helping us address relationship health, including one particularly intense week where I spoke about lust, pornography, and adultery. 

*  The Thrive Conference was OFF THE HOOK in every possible way.  Unbelievable speakers, environment, impact, oh man!  70+ people from CVC attended and many are still "messed up" in the best possible sense of the word.  We also launched Thriving Churches International  at the conference and are already seeing great responses.  Over 1200 children were sponsored for Compassion International and there are over 1000 pre-registrations for Thrive 2010!

*  Family is doing really great; Dena is finishing up her first year of a Master's Degree at Biola/Talbot in Apologetics, Rachel is completing her last year of high school/first year of community college-she leaves for William Jessup University in the summer.  Joshua and Harrison are doing well in school and playing baseball like crazy.  Pam and I are going to see Jennifer and Derek this week for a reception in Derek's family home in Carver, MA.

*  God is on the move in so many dimensions...and we get to experience it every day.  Thanks so much for your prayers and support!  

Love is Here-Easter triumphs!

What an amazing Easter celebration we had at CVC.  We had 8 services on our Minden campus and 3 services at our Dayton campus with combined attendance of over 4200 people.  This in an area where only 100,000 people live within 30 miles of us and typically only 5% attend church on a given weekend.

Today, I was just given a list of 488 "barrier" cards that were dropped into a chest at the foot of the cross during our 8 services at the Minden campus.  UNBELIEVABLE.  I will be reading and praying over that list for quite some time....believing God for His working in the hearts and lives of the hundreds who made decisions to name and surrender the barrier that was keeping them from experiencing the love of God in Christ.

We are humbled and awed at the stewardship of these lives; pray for this weekend at CVC as we start a new series called, Jesus in Da Crib.  We'll be looking at how Jesus radically alters our relationship map.

Love is Here...NOW!

I grew up going to church every Easter (multiple services!) so I relate most easily to those for whom the Easter expeience seems like an annual experience without much personal impact.  SO...every year I pray that history will become HIS STORY and therefore make it OUR STORY.

This year at CVC we are doing our human best to demonstrate the connection and personal impact.  We've already had our first two services on Friday and have our next two today (4:30 and 6 p.m.), followed by 4 on Sunday (8,9:30,11,12:30).  Pray that we will be faithful to the TRUTH and to the STORY of the RISEN KING!

Join with followers of Jesus around the world in celebrating the Risen Christ this Easter!

Pastorpreneurs say God is not Dead!

Several years ago I coined and trademarked the term Pastorpreneur.  Here is what I wrote in the first edition of the book in 2003 (a new paperback version of the book has just been released by Abingdon Press

As I have shared the concept of partnerships with a number of pastors, some have called this “an entrepreneurial strategy for churches.” It combines the aggressive goals of business with God’s heart for people. I later merged these ideas and coined the term pastorpreneur. A pastorpreneur is a pastoral innovator, a creative dreamer who is willing to take great risks in church ministry with the hope of great gain for

Chris

t and his kingdom. Like any good entrepreneur, this kind of leader isn’t wild-eyed and foolish. He assesses goals, opportunities, and risks very carefully, but he is willing to attempt great things for God. His path is checkered with successes and defeats, but his successes touch many more people than if he had chosen to play it safe, and he learns from his failures so even they are stepping-stones to future gains.

Since that time, the term has appeared in a number of places including online definition soure sites, Christianity Today,  Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox, and in The December 2005 Edition of The Economist.  Most recently, John Micklethwait, the Editor in Chief of The Economist and Adrian Wooldridge, the Washington Bureau Chief of the same publication, wrote in the April 7th, 2009 edition about the fact that "God is not dead" (whew..that IS good news!) in response to the Newsweek article of April 13, 2009 declaring "The End of Christian America".

In the article, the writers cited Rick Warren and      Bill Hybels as positive examples of Pastorpreneurs.  Both men have positively impacted my life and ministry and I'm excited about their Kingdom Impact.

Pastors and Entrepreneurs AND Pastorpreneurs...all for the glory of God!

Thrive 2009 Sold Out-Studio Seating Now Available!

Well friends...I'd been warning you that Thrive 2009 would sell out.  And, it has.  BUT, in order to squeeze in more people, we are going to provide up to 600 additional seats at a RECESSION BUSTING price of $50!!  Oh my goodness...you still get to experience all the amazing stuff of Thrive (I was in a programming meeting yesterday and you better get your seatbelt on)...and catch all the breakouts...for about 80% OFF the base price. You can register here for the $50 Studio Seating