Kicked Out of Jordan Creek Mall

TJ and I were filming a video clip for the Cantaloupe message series at Jordan Creek Mall this morning when a security guard approached and invited us to leave the mall. Apparently, no filming is allowed on the mall property? Who knew? :)

Fortunately, we got all the footage we needed. So, come to Christian Life Assembly this Sunday to see what the mall doesn't want you to see. That's quite a plug, isn't it?

Happy Administrative Assistants Day

I have two great administrative assistants--Vanessa Schaad at Christian Life Assembly and Gloria Bradshaw at the Iowa Ministry Network. I want to tell them both thanks for all of their hard work. They both are tremendous and gifted women. Thanks for all that you do.

I realldy do appreciate them both, but I also know Vanessa's mom always reads the blog and wanted to be sure to score some points by mentioning her daughter!

Two Great Resources

At this year's district council, we're giving out two new cd's to all of the pastors: Breaking the 125 Barrier and Breakdown or Breakthrough.

If you're a pastor and would like a free copy of each of these leadership lessons Cds, please e-mail me at pastor.glenn@lifenow.org and we'll send you one right away.

Congratulations, Tom!

My good friend Tom Jacobs was just elected superintendent of the Iowa Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God. He replaced Richard Arrowood who is retiring after serving eight years as the superintendent and eight years as the secretary-treasurer. Tom is committed to the mission of equipping and encouraging Pentecostal leaders and churches to fulfill the great commission.

One of the things I've learned from Tom is that all ministry flows out of relationship. I think that's a critical insight, even more valuable during this transition time for the Assemblies of God. I look forward to looking with Tom to creative some life giving relationships all across our state.

Break Out to Break Free

Looking forward to Sunday. We're doing the third message in the series Breaking Free. This week we're talking about breaking free by breaking out. The big idea is that you've got to change your environment if you want to change your future. In other words, if you want to get where you're going you can't stay where you are. Israel had to get out of Egypt if they were going to be free, and so do we.

This has been a great series. There are two more steps to freedom after this: break up and break through.

See you Sunday!

Thursday Midnight Rule

We started something new this week--the Thursday Midnight Rule. That means that everything for Sunday has to be completed by Thursday midnight. The idea is to not be pushing at the last minute for the service--to give us time to breathe and increase creativity. To get started, we made a list of everything that has to be done for a Sunday service to go. Here it is:

• Adult Technical Order Completed
• Adult Order of Service Completed
• Adult Music Pulled
• Songs put into Computer
• Backgrounds on Computer
• Christian Life News (CLN) Filmed, Edited, and Put on Computer
• All Props Completed
• All Videos Completed
• All Dramas Completed
• All Special Music Completed
• All Worship Team Members Called
• Message PowerPoint Completed
• Worship Folder Completed
• Worship Folder Inserts Completed
• Cd's for Bookstore Completed
• Café Prepared and Ready
• Message Completed
• CLN Written
• Study Guide Written
• Message Outline Completed
• Puppet Skits Written
• Rovercomer Skit Written
• KidsCount Worship List Selected
• KidsCount Technical Order of Service
• KidsCount E-mails to Volunteers
• Kid Volunteers Contact
• Nursery/Preschool Workers Contacted
• KidsCount Room Prepared
• Order of Service Completed
• Message Completed
• All Props Purchased and Completed

This list may not be all-inclusive, but it's a start. It doesn't include getting ready for The Edge, Let's Get Acquainted, or other special events. Church doesn't just happen. It takes a lot of people using their gifts to create a powerful worship service. Thanks to everyone who serves at CLA!

Great Leadership Book

During the sabbatical, I read Henry Cloud's book Integrity. What a great read. Don't let the title throw you--it's not about ethics, it's about leadership. He uses integrity in the sense of wholeness of character to meet the demands of reality. There are six components to the character required to lead according to Cloud. Here they are:

1. Establishing Trust

2. Oriented Toward Truth

3. Getting Results

4. Embracing the Negative

5. Oriented Toward Increase

6. Oriented Toward Transcendence

He unpacks each of these big ideas in creative ways throughout the book. It was one of the most creative books on leadership that I've read in a long time. For example, orienting toward truth means much more than being honest--it means defining reality in your organization, instead of living in a fantasy that makes you feel better as a leader. It's powerful stuff. Of course, you can order it from www.amazon.com.

He's Back!!

After being gone forever from the blogosphere....I'm back. It's probably going to take a while to get folks reading again after such a long absence, but I'm ready to start typing. After coming back from the sabbatical, it's been difficult to get back in the swing of things, but I'm ready to go.