BillLaMorey.com

Forget resolutions, set some goals in 2012!

The 28 books I plan to read in 2012

I'm setting personal goals in several categories for myself in 2012. One of which is in the area of reading. As they say, "leaders are readers," so here are the books I plan to read (in no particular order) in 2012:

In Search of Timothy	Tony Cooke
Steve Jobs	Walter Isaacson
Doctrine	Mark Driscoll
Boundaries	Henry Cloud
Crazy Love	Francis Chan
The Meaning of Marriage	Tim Keller
The Life You've Always Wanted	John Ortberg
King's Cross	Tim Keller
Great By Choice	Jim Collins
Blink	Malcolm Gladwell
Telling the Truth	D.A. Carson
Knowing God	JJ Packer
Christians are Hate Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You've Been Told	Bradley Wright
Following Jesus	N.T. Wright
Fields of Gold	Andy Stanley
The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching	Haddon Robinson
The Spirit of the Disciplines	Dallas Willard
She Calls Me Daddy	Robert Wolgemuth
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth	Gordon Fee
In My Place Condemned He Stood	J.I. Packer
Leading on Empty	Wayne Cordeiro
Leadership Gold	John Maxwell
Made to Stick	Chip & Dan Heath
Speak to Win	Brian Tracy
The Origin of the Bible	Philip Comfort
A History of Christianity	Paul Johnson
Warlord	Ted Bell
Spiritual Discipleship	Oswald Sanders

What are YOU reading???

Fill your pulpit wisely!

Churchleaders.com just published an article I wrote entitled "Why Your Church Should Bring in a Specialist." Check it out here!

Weekly Mind Dump 9.04.11 (Labor Day Edition)

• I cannot believe how difficult it has been readjusting to the hectic schedule with the kids back in school...it is exhausting and it make the Labor Day holiday even more necessary!
• Also tiring is the pre-packing as we get ready to close on and move into our house in just over 2 weeks (after 18 months into a "6-month" rental season, we are ready!)
• This morning at Calvary I returned to the pulpit after 5 weeks of not preaching (3 by design and 2 by circumstances)...I was a little nervous, but also very excited to shared God's word.
• I resumed our Agents of Change (Esther) series with a message entitled "Do the Right Thing" (with apologies to Spike Lee)
• In hindsight, I realized that the title slide should have said "Do the Right Thing: A Calvary Fellowship Joint."
• Worship we phenomenal today. Dave led an acoustic set that was beautifully rounded out with the addition of 2 sisters new to the worship team  playing the keyboard and the cello.
• LOTS of regulars out today for the holiday weekend, but I was encouraged to see LOTS of 1st-time guests.
• One of the things I hate most in this world is the abuse and exploitation of children. I am so thrilled that Love146 co-founder Rob Morris will be speaking at Calvary Fellowship next Sunday to share a message on biblical justice and talk about how we as a church can stand up against human trafficking locally and globablly.
• Today I discovered that a well-known, respected theologian that I admire is also a Megadeth fan...I like him even more now, but I won't tell you who he is!

Weekly Mind Dump 8.28.11 (Special Hurricane Edition)

• God gave me a great message to share, and after 4 weeks out of the pulpit, I was so excited to teach yesterday!
• I also have some good friends in town for the weekend that live in the Middle East, and I couldn't wait to introduce them to our church.
• Who could imagine that after moving from South Florida to CT, we would have to cancel our church service yesterday due to a hurricane?!?
• Fortunately, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm and didn't do much in our area (we never even lost power, though some surrounding us did and had basements flooded, etc.).
• Hurricane TV watching yesterday included such gems as my first viewing of Dog the Bounty Hunter and a rewatch of Josie and the Pussycats (the movie). -Remember Matthew 7:1!
• This past week I accepted an invitation to serve on the board of directors at my daughters' school. It is an honor and an irony considering I was sent to the principal's office so frequently when I was in school!
• It struck me this week that when a catastrophic event occurred people went through massive preparation so they would be alright with whatever happend and yet many of these same people have gone through zero preparation to be ready for eternity even though we all  face a certain and deadly personal storm someday.

Casting the Vision to your church's accounting department

(This post is an excerpt from "The Top 3 Accounting Mistakes Churches Make." Pastors and church leaders who work with the finances can get the full report for FREE here.)

I know this may seem weird. We tend to think of casting the vision as something we need to do to raise money, not to help those who manage the money we already have! But pastors, you must understand the heart and mind of your accountants here. They have been wired and trained to manage the resources they are entrusted with as efficiently as possible This means they have an eye to sniff out waste and trim the fat that they perceive in an organization. You want that!

My wife Rebecca has been called a pit-­‐bull with lipstick for her tenacity in areas like this! However, sometimes they will see things they have identified as wasteful and it creates a burden for them. Then when they do the right thing and share that with their pastor or manager, they find their concerns are simply dismissed. Often frustration is then amplified instead of buy­‐in being generated because a pastor or leader didn’t take the opportunity to cast vision.

For example let’s say money is tight and the accountant is upset because the church spent a substantial amount of money on muffins, bagels and coffee last year. A wise pastor would then point out how those hospitality items created opportunities for first-­time guests to stay and get connected and for regular attenders to stick around and experience fellowship opportunities with other believers after service, which resulted in numeric and relational growth in the church. Accountants need to bring you into their world, but you need to bring them into your world too.

(Get the rest of this report here.)

Weekly Mind Dump 8.14.11

• My staycation began on Friday...woo hoo!
• On Friday I watched the movie "Rio" with my girls. It is one of the most fun, not to mention gorgeously animated, kids' movies I have seen in awhile!
• This was a sad week of goodbyes.
• Some good friends and a core family at Calvary, the Leonards, are moving to Florida this week; we'll miss you guys tremendously!
• There were some even more bittersweet goodbyes as 2 friends graduated from earth to Heaven this week.
• Dr. Bob Beatty was one of my bible college instructors. He even made classes like hermeneutics and church history fun!
• Ray Ramos was a friend that was a great example and encouragement to me in my early Christian years. On Thursday afternoon I read a quote on Facebook he posted by Bono. Three hours later I learned he died of a heart attack. 
• I found myself thanking God more this week and hugging my family a little tighter and a littler longer.
• Since I had the Sunday off I visited my friend Michael Larkin's church, Catalyst in Middletown. They do an excellent job, and my family and I had a great time worshipping God with them today. (In keeping with the theme of the week; the message was about Heaven.)
• Michael went out of his way to welcome, honor, and thank us. We were very moved and excited that we could play a small in helping him and this great church get off the ground.
• I'm looking forward to hearing the message Nicholas taught at Calvary this morning. Even though I had a great time visiting another church, I really missed our church family!
• This week I am working on a top secret writing project this week...shhh. :)

Why you should bring in the specialist to your church

Teachers of God's words have the incredible privilege and responsibility to teach congregations we pastor about God and His word. The influnece we have in shaping many people's theology is very high and thus it demands that we steward the responsibility very carefully and prayerfully.

Fortunately, we have been given the gift of teaching (hopefully, if we teach!) to help us. However, we all have a different gift, different passions, and different experiences. That means we are going to be incredible in some areas and deficient in others. Our temptation will be to constantly stay in our areas of competence and avoid the areas of deficiency. However, the wise and humble pastor will employ the strategic use of the specialist to minister to his church in the areas he isn't as strong.

For the record, I am not saying we should outsource areas uncomfortable to us (like giving, sex, etc.) just so we can avoid them; that's weak. I am saying that there are some people that God has given a unique and powerful voice, and we would be wise to bring them in strategically to teach on issues we would never do as good a job on ourselves.

For example, at Calvary Fellowship this past weekend we brought in John Rankin. John is a brilliant theologian with an amazing gift for apologetics teaching and debate. He taught a message called "I Have Never Met a Real Atheist" and then engaged in debate with some atheists/agnostics in the crowd. He helped build the intellectual faith of our church in a way I never could.

"I Have Never Met a Real Atheist" from Calvary Fellowship on Vimeo.

Another example, is Dr. Bob Barnes who we are are bringing in the fall to teach a parenting seminar and a message about parenting at our Sunday morning service. Bob writes books about parenting, teaches conferences, runs a parenting organization. etc. Not to mention he has grown kids that are doing pretty well! Bob will help speak to families and encourage parents in a way I never could.

Every preacher needs a break. Why not think through your own deficiencies, the needs/concerns of those in your church, and bring in the specialist the next time you take a Sunday off?

Weekly Mind Dump 8.7.11

• What a difference a week can make! This time last week my wife had been in bed for a week knocked out on meds and this week she is up and at 'em pushing through the pain with physical therapy. (I detailed the turnaround in this post.)
• LIFE LESSON: The wrong advice will have you checkout out of life on the sidelines and the right advice will push you to get back in the game and press on!
• One of my favorite songs right now is "Rise Above" from the Spider-Man broadway show.
• I was thrilled to have John Rankin back at Calvary this morning to share a message with us called "I Have Never Met a Real Atheist." LISTEN HERE.
• I was really happy that a group of atheists/agnostics came out to service today after seeing this event promoted on Facebook (ad pictured). They were good to talk to and they asked some great questions (so be sure to listen to the end if you check out the audio).
• While I love to teach, I also love to have a break from it for a few weeks. It helps keep me fresh and helps keep things fresh at our church as we are all exposed to different voices with different gifts/talents/passions.
• My girls asked me to see Cars 2 today, I agreed and it was sold out! Didn't that come out a month ago?
• As a consolation, I took them to Dairy Queen. TIP: The Blizzard of the month is Nutter Butter...you should obtain one ASAP!

Don't be a pushover!

I am currently involved in a small group at our church right now that is going through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Last night was the discussion on negotiating and getting the best deal. If you haven’t checked it out, you should!

While Dave was talking about searching for and negotiating over the best possible deal on a personal level, it got me thinking about searching for deals and negotiating for our churches. After all, what church doesn’t need more money. Too often we turn right to raising more money, but an important part of being a good steward is also cutting down the bottom line expenses wherever possible.

For example, not long ago I asked a staff member to source some prices on recurring supplies. He came back and told me their “best prices”, and I told him “that’s not good enough” (thanks, Ramsey!). I instructed him to go back and tell them we were also checking into their top competitor (which we mentioned by name) and that they should sharpen their pencil and get back to us with their best prices before we make a final decision. Amazingly, their best prices became way better!

A lot of time people think churches (and even Christians for that matter) are easy targets. We shouldn’t be if we want to be good stewards. I’m not saying you should be a bully, I’m just saying don’t be a pushover! Ask for the best deal and  get the best price for whatever you buy. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

Speaking of best prices, between now and August 8^th, Sharp Churches is offering 20% off our “Turnkey Accounting Kit.” This will help your church save money and manage your money better at the same time! Just click here and then use coupon code Turnkey20 to save 20% until August 8th! Not good enough? Why not try practicing your negotiation skills on me?