I am sure it is this way in all types of churches, but there are times that I feel the way we are doing church (not that is the only way to do church) is so different that you just feel an instant connection and brotherhood with those who are doing the same thing. God has blessed us in North Georgia with some GREAT churches that I feel very connected with, guys who are doing church that is trying everything in it’s power to reach those far from God, so I thought I would throw their names out there so all of you who call Revolution home can pray for these guys as well. They need your prayers ALWAYS, but Easter is crazy so I am sure they would appreciate some extra prayers this week!

Along with praying for these guys, I would encourage you to notice where they are located and if you have family, know someone, or work with someone in the areas where these guys are INVITE those people to check what these guys are doing!

J.R. Lee - Freedom Church - Acworth, Ga.

Tony McCollum - Fusion Church - Suwanee, Ga.

Shawn Lovejoy - Mountain Lake Church - Cumming, Ga.

Michael Lukaszewski - Oak Leaf Church - Cartersville, Ga.

Steven Gibbs - Stonecreek Church - Alpharetta, Ga.

Scott Whitaker - Stone Point Church - Newnan, Ga.

Ritchie Miller - Avalon Church - McDonough, Ga.

Brian Bloye - West Ridge Church - Hiram, Ga.

Danny Echols - Crossview Church - Rockmart, Ga.

Jim Carpenter - Compass Church - Athens, Ga.

Matt Evans - Rock Bridge Church - Dalton, Ga.

Man, just writing that list got me freaking jacked up!!! I forget how awesome God is moving throughout our state! I am sure there are other GREAT churches that I left off that list, but those are the guys I hang with on a regular basis and those are the ones that popped in my mind.

LIFT THOSE THOSE GUYS UP IN PRAYER THIS WEEK!

As our church continues to grow and as I have taken some things back on my plate that NEEDED to be back on my plate, I am being forced at being more disciplined.  I have to admit it is a struggle.  But, I am seeing the benefits of it in major ways.

I am focusing on three major areas of my life in regards to discipline:

Physical Discipline - I have let myself go and it is 100% a discipline issue.  I am very focused right now on my physical health.  I am two weeks into working out and eating right and I am already seeing a difference and I am already feeling better.  I have a long way to go but without discipline in this area I won’t make it.

Spiritual Discipline - The last two weeks I have been up at 5 every morning.  I have started my day in prayer and in the Bible.  Again, this has been huge and I am already seeing the benefits.

Time Discipline - THIS ONE IS HUGE FOR ME!  My job is to lead this church and I all to often lead in the spur of the moment due to my lack if discipline in the area of time management.  I am being very intentional about my time lately.  I am planning my day the day before, I am sticking to my schedule, I am going into meetings prepared, and I am letting our guys lead like never before while also keeping them accountable to their actions like never before.

Right now none of these three areas come naturally to me, but they are so important for me to be the husband, father, pastor, leader, and believer that God wants me to be.

Discipline sucks, but it is life changing!

Many of you have asked for them, so here very quickly are the points I hit on in my talk at ChurchPlanters.com.

1.) If you have portability issues, you really have vision issues

Though they will never admit it, most churches have a vision to build a building, not reach unchurched people

2.) Eliminating excuses starts with you

You are the leader. You set the tone. If they see you not liking the fact you are portable, the church won’t either

3.) K.I.S.S

Keep It Simple, Stupid. You are portable, accept it. Don’t make your set-up harder than it has to be.

4.) Spend the money to be portable

Spend money on cases, totes, good equipment, carts, etc. Your people are worth it.

5.) Learn from others how to be portable

Don’t reinvent the wheel. There are others out there doing it great. Visit them, call them, email them, look at pictures, etc. Learn from their mistakes where you don’t have to make them.

6.) Staff for portability

Make sure the people you bring on staff UNDERSTAND what it means to be portable. Make sure they understand the difference between being portable and not being portable.

7.) Get creative

Bring your people in and pick their brains on how to come up with better ideas. Running out of space? Get creative.

8.) Look for opportunities to teach about portability

They are everywhere. Let your people hear WHY you are portable and let them hear the results of that.

9.) Plan for problems

They are going to happen, be prepared.

10.) ENJOY IT!!!

There will be a day when you have a building and a huge loan payment. You will miss the days of being portable so enjoy it while it you are in the middle of it.

Tony Morgan is blogging live from the Creative Church Conference in Dallas and he just posted this quote from TD Jakes: “There’s always a Judas at your table, and he’s close enough to kiss you.” I don’t agree 100% with that statement and I would hate to live life with that mindset, BUT I do think there is more truth to that statement than we would like admit.

It sounds like Ed is hitting the issue of betrayal hard and I am betting it is powerful. I think this is something EVERY leader will face at one time or another in their life. Like it or not, it will happen.

Being at Churchplanters.com this week just reminded me of how much I love church planters.  I think church planting is the extreme sport of ministry. To step out on faith where there is nothing, where you know no one, and don’t have any money is CRAZY. That is why it takes a crazy person to do it. Just hanging with church planters pumps me up.

Since the day we started Revolution we have been around church planters.  Honestly, there are church planters in our services, our offices, e-mailing us, and calling us so much that it just seems normal.  You never know who is going to be in the office when you show up or on the phone when you pick it up.  I love it!  It truly is in our church DNA.

I am actually praying that God will get a hold of someone and they will GIVE us a house where we can house church planters for a year at a time and allow them to do nothing but hang out at Revolution for a year and learn and prepare to plane the church God has called them to plant.

This past year, I had to get a grip on my schedule and that meant saying NO to a lot more things.  One of those things was passing on some of the church planters who come our way.  I have LOVED watching our staff embrace the same passion and do whatever it takes to help out those planting churches.

Church Planters are like a fraternity.  You just meet guys that are starting churches and there is an instant connection.  That is why I make it a point to attend ChurchPlanters.com every year and will continue to even after Shawn decides he is sick of letting me teach breakouts.

I heard the expression LEARN AND RETURN one day and it just stuck with me.   I have the honor of meeting with some very sharp people in ministry and I want to be able to spend my life reaching North Georgia and impacting church planters.

If you are a church planter and you are not connecting with other planters and you are not learning from other planters, you will not last.  Start saving your money now for the churchplanters.com conference next year.  Look for opportunities to connect with guys.  I actually heard a rumor this week of a one day church planting thing coming up this fall.  If it happens, sell your car to make it to this one.  I promise it will be worth it.

I live for people discovering their purpose in life.  I know how my life was changed when I knew what God had called me to do and I love to see it in others.

Today I got a package from Ben Arment (this is the guy I told all you church planters about in my session today that has all the worship environment pictures) about his one day conference called The Whiteboard Sessions.  It was the BEST promotional package I ever saw.  It actually got me pumped about the conference and made me look at my calendar to see if I could make it.  When I discovered, I couldn’t, it actually bummed me out to know I can’t make it.

What does that have to do with knowing your calling?  When I got the package, I started smiling knowing that Ben has found his calling.  As most of you know, Ben resigned his church plant a few weeks ago.  I can’t imagine how hard that had to be.  I bet it was the toughest thing he ever had to do, but on the other hand it felt like a thousand pound weight off his chest.  I think it takes a big man to admit they aren’t where they should be and it is time to move on.  I think it takes an even bigger man to have the guts to do follow your passion.

If you have followed any of the journey of The Whiteboard Sessions, it is nothing short of amazing.  I have been blown away with the way in which Ben has put this thing together and I think it is awesome that he is operating in his sweet spot.

I said all that to say this:  If you are looking for a conference to go to this year, check this one out.  8 of the most awesome speakers in the church today, given 30 minutes to discuss one topic all in one day.  That is awesome.

BTW, thanks Ben for the package.  It was awesome!

I just left ChurchPlanters.com and Bil Corneilus KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. Hands, down it was the best talk I have ever heard at a conference. I am literally ready to charge hell with a water gun. It was amazing. I can’t begin to tell you all that he said, you just have to hear it for yourself.

It spoke to me on so many levels that it is crazy. What he said about executive pastors was worth the ENTIRE conference. I needed to hear that BIG TIME. Simply awesome.

Here is the best part: Since there were so many people who had to leave to catch flights, they are going to podcast it for free tomorrow on churchplanters.com. GO LISTEN TO THIS TALK!

EDIT:  Here is the talk.

I met Mark Bjorlo a few years ago online and we have talked a couple of times on the phone and many times through e-mail. The dude is sharp and has a growing church in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. He’s got a great blog with some great church planting and leadership stuff. Right now he is posting some notes from a pastor’s roundtable he is at and it is GOOD stuff.

Check it out here.

EDIT:  He actually has better and more notes on his facebook site located here.

Every church planter I meet says they are starting their church to reach those that are disconnected from God. Many of them grew up in church, became Christians at a early age, and don’t even have a relationship with someone far from God, but they are going to reach those far from God. I listen to a lot of podcasts, watch a lot of videos from other churches, and it breaks my heart to know they are doing a lot of things and a lot of things well, but reaching those far from God is NOT one of them.

I have learned that most church planters REALLY don’t want to reach those far from God, they really want to do church in a cool way. There is a difference. Just because you have great video, loud music, dress casual, and use movie clips doesn’t mean you are reaching those far from God.

I honestly believe most planters would freak out if they started having to deal with the issues that come from reaching truly unchurched people. It is messy, ugly, scary, and actually can keep you from growing because it scares the hell out of those who grew up in church.

We had a person on our staff a couple of years ago who came here because he wanted to be part of a church that reached unchurched people.  The first time his wife sat next to a couple of lesbians, he was rethinking that.  This guy was a nice guy, but he couldn’t handle the ugliness that comes with reaching those that are far from God.  He literally walked around the church on Sundays with a look of terror in his eyes.  He didn’t want to reach lost people, he wanted a church where he could come and wear whatever he wanted and impress other Christians because he was at an church with a little edge.  It wasn’t long before he was running for the hills.  He couldn’t handle the messiness of reaching those with problems.  The sad thing is he isn’t alone.  Most guys can’t handle it.

When I say it is messy, I don’t think most guys understand what I mean, so allow me to walk you through my week that just got done. This is a pretty typical week at Revolution and the side 99% never see.

• I have a bottle of pain pills worth about $400 on the streets sitting in my desk that one of our people’s spouse brought me after finding them. The name on the prescription isn’t the name of the person who brought them because they were bought on the street.
• I had another one of our people lose their job for stealing thousands of dollars from the company they work for.
• I have a addict in our church who has relapsed and in the process is about to lose EVERYTHING and he doesn’t even know it.
• I set up an intervention for an addict that will take place this week. This is his last chance and he doesn’t even know it.
• Last night I was at the ER until 3 in the morning because one of our people took a razor blade and slit both his wrists, his neck, and took around 80 sleeping pills. He’s alive, but I have to say it was the most horrific thing I have ever seen in my life.

All of that was just from this week. That is the life of reaching those disconnected from God. None of those people care how “cool” our church will be tomorrow. All they care about is we have created a place where they can come with all their crap and feel loved and connected.

I’ll be honest and tell you that there are times when pastoring Revolution freaks me out. There are times when I think it would be easier to do what most guys do and plant a church that really is a place for other Christians to come hang out and talk about how we are reaching unchurched people instead of doing it. I think that would be easier, but we would not be charging the gates of hell with that mindset. There are enough guys around doing that and doing it well.

Canton didn’t need another church. Canton didn’t need another church with loud music, casual dress, and “relevant” teaching. Neither do most of the towns where guys are planting. However, Canton did need a place that was loving the unlovable. It needed a place that was willing to get it’s hands dirty and deal with the messy crap that takes place in the lives of those far from God.

When a guy wants to tell me they are starting a church to reach the disconnected, I always ask them if they are sure they want to do that. I don’t think they understand the cost that comes with it. It literally can almost kill you at times.

BUT, if they do understand the cost, they will realize it is nothing compared to the reward of seeing lives changed with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is worth whatever cost there is. I would put everything on the line to continue to do what we do because the payoff is so huge.

Most guys won’t.

end rant.

Over the last few days God has very much convicted me about my growth as a leader.  The biggest thing I see is my lack of focus.  I am always in the middle of about a million things and because that I focus on very little.

As we are popping 1,000 people a week in attendance I have to focus on fewer things where I can focus on a certain things.  Right now I am laser focused on leadership growth.  I need to grow as a leader, I need to equip our staff to grow as leaders, and I need to be around other leaders.

Because of that I am saying NO to a lot more things.  I have cut my blogs back to 25 MUST read ministry blogs and I am going to add 10 business/leadership blogs to the mix.  I am going to spend at least an hour a day reading books that will enable me to grow as a leader.  I am reorganizing the way we do meetings at Revolution where I can be a better steward of our staff’s time. I am going to spend once a month meeting one on one with pastors who are pastoring a church of at least 2500 people.   I am cutting out on some online forums I participate in.  I am learning towards shutting down my facebook account because it is a distraction.  I am going to have Taylor filter my meetings and phone calls even more than we already do.

These things will enable me to get the most out of the time I have.  On top of all that, I am putting people in my life to keep me accountable to make sure I am doing these things.

I refuse to be the bottleneck in our church growing.