I did not mean to knock that guy upside the head with the entire head of lettuce I threw into the crowd.

If you are clueless as to what I am talking about, here is the low down:  We did a message today called LETTUCE which was about our finances.  I cut up some lettuce and talked about how we leave God out of our cut then I talked about how God wants to be first and recut another head of lettuce.  I then talked about how when we are out of lettuce that is when God shows up and I dumped about 30 heads of lettuce out on a table.  They started rolling every where and I decided to hit home my point I would toss some into the crowd.  Well, as I was throwing them, I guess I nailed someone upside the head.  Ooops.

I know I sound like a broken record but I can’t believe how productive this week has been!!! Malcolm and I have been meeting all week talking about things that have needed down for 2 years and they are actually getting done!!!!

Malcolm has the BIGGEST white board I have ever seen in my life. Seriously it takes up the entire wall and it is full from one end to the other.

North Georgia you don’t know what is about to hit you!!! We have made a pretty good impact running by the seats of our pants. However, pre-game is over. Make no mistake about it, we are here to play ball! This town and other churches for that matter haven’t seen anything yet. We are about to rock this town with the message of Jesus Christ like it has never seen. We are raising the bar and taking everything to another level.

I actually feel sorry (I used to feel mad) for those that have left RSC because they are about to miss what God is orchestrating here.

I actually feel sorry for other Christians in town who have nothing better then call us a cult because they ain’t seen nothing yet. People criticize what they don’t understand.

I actually feel sorry for other churches that have nothing better then to explain away what God has done here to try to justify the fact they are doing very little and in many cases, nothing. With what we are about to do they are going to have a lot of explaining away to do.

I actually feel sorry to those that literally hate us in this community because you are about to get so much of us that you aren’t going to know what hit you. Your hatered fuels me.

If you are part of The Stone, all I can say is get ready. We are getting the systems and plans in place to take it to another level and YOU are going be a part of making it happen. We will not be satisfied with what has already happened here because as long as there is someone who needs to hear the gospel, we won’t rest.

If you thought the first 2 1/2 years were a wild ride, you hang on because that was nothing. That was simply the opening act and the main event is about to start.

The last three weeks, God has been rocking my world! I am so back in the game it isn’t even funny. I know the devil has to be pissed at himself for not knocking me out when he had the small chance a few weeks ago. All he did was let me off the hook when I was feeling fried and now I’m back and more pumped up than ever.

No excuses. Not lack of a building, not lack of funds, not people hating us, not people not liking where we are headed, NOTHING is going to slow us down. I have been in so many meetings this week with people who are stepping up and making it happen that it blows my mind. New people are standing along people who have been here since the start and the time is now to press forward.

It is odd, our attendance has dropped slightly for the first time ever. It seems like every week I am hearing about someone burning out or deciding to move on, yet God just keeps sending more people and where I would have been freaking out a year ago, today I stand here calm and more confident than ever that we are the BEST place we have EVER been in the life of RSC!

Hang on because the party is just getting started….

I have had a ton of people tell me over the last few months how they have been told that RSC is a cult. :)  Then today I had a pastor in town call the office because his new youth guy asked him what our story was because he had heard we were a cult.

It is amazing the rumors that will get started about your church especially from Christians who have NEVER darkened the doors.  People can be nuts.

I promise we aren’t going to make anyone drink grape Kool-aid

My digits and email are getting lit up with planters and pastors asking me about our move to bring on Malcolm on as our Executive Pastor three weeks ago. Let me say upfront, it could be the BEST move we have EVER made at The Stone.

In just three weeks, I already feel like a totally different person. I have been able to lead, cast vision, and focus on my teaching like never before. Seriously, I can’t tell you how much I am in the “zone” when it comes to studying and creativity right now. It is off the hook.

Everyone thought it would be hard for me to turn loose of so many things but it has been easy and it has been easy because it is Malcolm doing it. I have been asked over and over what went into our “hiring” process for Malcolm so I thought I would simply share what went into OUR process. This probably won’t work for everyone.

1. Malcolm was one of my best friends - He has been with us since before we launched, he served every week, our families hung out, my wife at one time worked with his wife in a business, our kids play together, etc. He had my back BEFORE he was our executive pastor and before he worked on our staff. I am a FREAK about loyalty. I don’t trust a lot of people and this role had to be someone I trusted. Has it changed our friendship? A little. But we both sat down and decided this role and what God wanted was more important the ability to keep things like they have always been.
2. Malcolm was from within - I tried to bring in an outsider to fill this role and it did not work at all. The executive pastor HAS to know the culture, DNA, and vision of the church BEFORE he has the job. Malcolm already proved he knew that stuff. I don’t think you can EVER bring an Executive in from the outside. It has to be an insider.
3. He doesn’t need the spotlight - Sounds weird but the role of Executive is a thankless job at times. In many ways you are just as vital as the Lead Pastor but the Lead Pastor gets the credit. You work tirelessly behind the scenes and 99% of the people never see that. Many guys struggle with that. I’ll be honest, I would struggle with that. Malcolm could care less about the spotlight. He cares about seeing the Gospel advanced.
4. He worked for free - Yep. To be honest, we never actually hired Malcolm. He started last June for FREE as our Connection Pastor and drew NO salary until September. Even then, he never knew what the check would be until he got it. That made the decision easy.
5. He thinks in systems - I cast vision and instantly Malcolm is thinking HOW to make that happen. He is thinking steps and how we get from here to there. Your executive has to be a systems guy.
6. He is teachable - Malcolm has NEVER done a role like this before. He was a school teacher before working at The Stone. However, he won’t hesitate to get on the phone and learning from others who are getting it done. I can make sure he learns how to be an executive pastor. I can’t teach loyalty and vision. Chunks has a great post on this here.
7. He understands me - I will NOT lie. Working for me is HARD. Malcolm understands me like few people. He knows my personality and the way I am. He knows how to respond when I am mad. He knows how to respond when I am in a funk. He understands when I am serious or when I am cutting up.
8. He’s a leader - People follow him. It is that simple.
9. Our staff respects him - Getting respect from our crew is HARD. Malcolm gets that and that is important.
10. Our people love him - The bottom line is our people love him already. I didn’t have to sell them on him, they already loved and respected him.
11. He doesn’t want to be the Lead Pastor - I don’t hire people that want to preach or be lead men. Not against them but if they feel called to do that then there will come a time when they will leave and do that. I want a guy having my back that is in it for the long haul.
12. He is NOT a YES man - Publicly, you will never hear him say NO but behind closed doors he has a mind and isn’t afraid to share his opinion. I want that. I don’t need people who won’t share their thoughts with me.
13. He understands that The Stone is my vision and that I am the Lead Pastor - Again this is a respect and honor issue. Malcolm knows God called me to lead RSC and he is fine with that and loves that.
14. My wife approved - Yep, I asked. When it comes to my assistant and the role of executive pastor I sat down and asked DeAnna who she thought would have my back and who I could trust. I actually did the same thing when bringing on Preston and Tim. I value her opinion.
15. He felt called to do it - Yes, he did it because I asked but he also will tell you that years ago God told him that he would be in that type of role.

Like I said, we are only 3 weeks in but a year from now we will be double in size because of this move. You asked, so that was our thought process in that move.

One of the things I have a huge heart for is addicts. I prayed that God would send us a ton of addicts when we started RSC and he has rocked our world in that regard. We actually have what I call “addict row.” Seriously the entire front row of church is FULL every week with addicts who are doing all they can to overcome their addictions. I love it.

A lot of churches don’t want to fool with reaching addicts and I can’t say I blame them. However we love having them! I can’t wait until we have an entire section of them sitting together and rocking it out for God!

Reaching addicts is MESSY. We have learned a lot along the way and since this is one of the main questions I get when talking to planters, I thought I would share with you some things I have learned in ministering to addicts.

1.) Stand Strong On Right and Wrong - We don’t in any way sugar coat their addictions. We let them know very quickly what the bible says about their life style and make no apologies about it. The biggest mistake I see is pastors “baby” those with addictions.

2.) Don’t allow their addiction to be a crutch - Many addicts will use their addiction as an excuse as to why their life sucks.  Don’t allow that.

3.) Don’t allow their recovery to come before God - The “program” is great.  God is better.

4.) Find someone who can relate to them because they have “been there, done that” - I grew up with and addict for a dad (he’s been clean for years) so I can relate some but not like someone who was an addict.  We have some sharp guys in this regard that know what it is like.

5.) Expect from them what you expect from everyone else - We don’t treat them any different.  They are held to the same expectations as everyone else at The Stone.

6.) Be real with them - Shoot straight with them.  Cut through the crap and just be a real dude around them.

7.) Realize they are needy - Don’t mean this in a bad way, but our addicts are a needy bunch and they will tell you that upfront. :)  They are the ones who will just drop in at the office, they are the ones who want a handshake, they are the ones who want you there for them.

8.) Realize they bring baggage - That is life and I love it!  Some of the stories from our addicts and the baggage they carry is rough.  It comes with the job.

9.) Keep them accountable - EVERY week when I am around one of our addicts on Sunday, I NEVER hesitate  to ask about their soberity.  They know I am going to ask and they expect it.

10.)  Get them in a support group - You can’t break addictions alone.  The ONLY type of program we do outside of Sunday morning and Home Teams is an addiction group on Wednesday nights.  I love those meetings.

Taking a cue from Michael we did a survey over the last few weeks in the church and the results are interesting, I thought.

Here are some of the interesting things:

• 56% of our people drive 10-20 minutes to The Stone
• 44% of our people come from the north.  I got to admit that surprised me.  East towards Cartersville (the biggest town beside of us) was only 8%
• Which band best illustrates your musical taste?  29% Rascal Flats, 24% Nickelback, and 27% Journey.  The Rascal Flats suprised me a little but not much.
• 62% came because of an invitation, 28% because of a sign, and ONLY 11% because of a mailer.
• Only 28% of those who attend visited the website before attending the first time.
• 48% were not attending church.  14% were attending about once a month.
• 96% would follow us if we moved to a location that added 10 minutes to our drive.
• 70% of the people returned because of the teaching. :)  10% of the music (thought that would be higher), 3% because of children’s ministry (Total Surprise, thought this would higher)

Man, we have had some incredible meetings the last two weeks.  Today we had a great staff meeting.  We got a ton of stuff accomplished and it was a very productive day.  We are changing the way we are doing some things and improving our systems and structure to enable us to grow.  I hate slowing down and we aren’t but summer is a perfect time to make these adjustments and tweaks along the way.

We are putting the systems in place to be a church of 2,000 and we are believing that God is going to send those people in the next year!  We’ve been 2 1/2 years without ANY tune-ups and it was starting to show.  We are two weeks into this transition and I can already see the changes especially in me.  I feel so great!  My mind is as clear as it has been in a long time and I think the difference is going to show up in my leading and on Sunday’s when I am teaching.

Hang on RSC, we are about to turn it up a notch!!!!

We had a CRAZY morning this morning to say the least.  I had some mic troubles and ended up using a hand held (how do people preach with those things?) but I personally thought the service came off great.  I preached a pretty hard message to our men and they totally received it.  I came strong and the feedback was great.

Our attendance stuck the place up and has the last few weeks which is weird for us during the summer BUT that is life.  We are using this time to really get our systems in place and get ready for everyone coming back in August.

It was a good day and a great reminder of why I love pastoring this place.

I hate being away from The Stone.  I need to be away at times and it is healthy for me to be away, but I hate it. :)  I was gone last week and I am so ready to preach this week I can’t stand it!!!!!!!!!!

My time with God right now is rocking my world.  I heard something a few weeks ago at a roundtable where someone made the comment that as pastors we need to preach from the overflow and not so much the preparation.  That is good stuff!

I have been spending a lot of time in the Bible the last few weeks and it has been amazing how that is coming out when I sit down to work on my message.  I sit down already having pages from my journal in which to pull stuff from.  It is awesome!

Sunday is going to rock!

We have been in the creative zone this week.  If you are a pastor I am sure you know what I mean.  This week is going to be a hard hitting message to our men and next week we have some GREAT creative elements planned as we talk about THE craziest principle in the Bible.

I love it when things are clicking.  There is just a good vibe in the office this week and I am back to feeling like something big is about to happen.

I honestly believe we are going to look back on the Summer of 07 and remember this as the summer we got our crap together and started acting like THE Church that is going to turn this town upside down for the cause of Christ.  For 2 1/2 years we have flown by the seats of our pants and it has been awesome.  But now our systems and structure are starting to catch up with our Sundays and that is going to take us to the next level.

I love this gig.