The following are a list of thoughts from a Georgia boy who just spent four days in Northern California.
- I visited the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at Bayside Church (www.baysideonline.com). Along with seeing my wife in her wedding dress and the birth of my daughter, it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The indisputable proof that it provides to the confirmation of the Bible and the promises of God is breathtaking.
- Tony Morgan’s (www.tonymorganlive.com) book Killing Cockroaches is now the greatest leadership book I’ve ever read. I cannot recommend it enough. Could not put it down.
- Every church is different and has a unique DNA. Your church is different than the church down the street…or across the country.
- However, most churches I visit that are well lead have many similarities in the areas of vision, leadership, missional initiatives, discipleship, volunteer development and implementation, and service to the under-resourced. It is their effectiveness that can vary.
- Lincoln Brewster (www.lincolnbrewster.com) is as amazing a Worship Leader as I’ve ever seen. To get a picture of how God uses him, go to the video page on this blog.
- I topped 1,000 twitter followers on Thursday.
- Churches east of the Mississippi build large gathering spaces in the lobbies and fellowship halls of their churches. Because the weather is so nice, West Coast churches create some of the most amazing outdoor landscaping and environments for people to connect. I really enjoyed suffering for Jesus by reading Killing Cockroaches by a waterfall in 70 degree weather.
- I had four people make fun of my southern accent on this trip. This happens often but always in good fun and I have fun with it. However, three of the four had some venom to it this time. I’m not making any statements. It’s just an observation.
- I walked into Outback Steakhouse holding my blackberry. As I walked passed a person, I overheard them say “Look, he’s still got a blackberry.” I always knew I was behind the technology curve, but it is now official!
- I was listening to a Sacramento sportstalk when the discussion came up regarding Tyreke Evans winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. They were saying ‘That was a good pick last year. That was a wise choice last year. He played well last year.’ implying this was not a foundational building block but rather something to complain about.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of similarities with sportstalk channels across the country as well.