BillLaMorey.com

What I'm giving up for Lent, why I'm doing it, and why you should consider it too

Next Wednesday (3.9.11) is Ash Wednesday, and that triggers the season of Lent on the Christian Calendar. Lent is a 40-day period designed to prepare our hearts as we anticipate Easter, and the resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate on that day. In the tradition of Lent each believer gives up something important to them that involves some level of sacrifice. The idea is that every time we would normally do whatever we gave up or whenever we strongly desire to, we instead identify with Jesus’ far greater sacrifice for us and we focus on God in prayer and reflection.

In the church I came to faith in, Lent was never really mentioned or practiced. As a result, it wasn’t until last year that I observed this season. I talked about that and why I believe it is a good idea for all of us to observe Lent in a message called “Remember the Time…?” If you don't know much about Lent, I would highly encourage you to listen to this message (because it goes into more detail than I can get into in this context) and consider whether or not this is something you would like to be a part of. I strongly believe observance of Lent will greatly deepen your intimacy with Jesus and your appreciation for His sacrifice for us if you do.

If you do decide to observe Lent, the big question is always “WHAT do I give up?”.  As a bit of a media junkie I gave up Facebook and talk radio last year. This year I am giving up TV and movies; pray for me!!! You can give up anything you feel led to; the key is it has to be a bit of a sacrifice (which is why I couldn’t go with country music). If you decide to observe Lent this year, please post a comment letting me know what you’re giving up so I can pray for you too.

Paid subscriptions that save our church Pt. 1

Regardless of the size, almost every church is short-staffed. Fortunately, there are many tools that can help churches save a lot a lot of time and effort for a very modest amount of money. At Calvary Fellowship, we use several subscription-based services that are worth their weight in gold. I'll be highlighting one each day for this series of posts.

Planning Center Online

We discovered Planning Center at at time when we had outgrown our existing volunteer scheduling system. This was exactly what we needed.

You can use Planning Center to:

• Create an online schedule that anyone can review at any time
• Send automated reminders to people when they are schedule to serve
• Allow people to confirm or decline on the schedule -giving everyone more control and flexibility
• Allow people to block off in advance when they are away or unavailable 
• Attach music sheets, mp3s or other docs for your worship team
• Create an order of service (which we use at our pre-service Sunday AM rundown meetings)

There are more features we haven't even tapped into. It even has an app for smart phones that people can use to review or confirm their schedules with on the go.

The monthly subscription fee varies based upon the size of your church and the amount of storage you use. For us, it has been worth every penny!

Weekly mind-dump 2.27.11

• Great service today, the worship was phenomenal as always. Dave introduced the song "Forever Reign" by Hillsong to the church today and it was an instant hit
• I taught a message called "The Heart of a Minister" (Galatians 4:8-20) which looked at three essential ingredients that should be in the heart of every person who wants to effectively serve God (whether professionally or simply as followers of Jesus)
• 2 inches of snow last night = a 20% attendance drop this morning
• My "fat" pants are starting to look baggier and my "fit" pants are starting to feel looser. That makes me feel good about going to the gym 5-6 days a week lately!
• Love our Friday night Home Fellowship. We're going through the book "Who's In Charge Here?" by Bob Barnes. Very encouraging to learn together with other people striving to be better parents
• I took Emily and Lily to see the Harlem Globertrotters in Hartford yesterday. It brought me back to when I  saw them at the same venue as a kid in the late 70s (with all the awesome guys that also appeared on Scooby Doo like Curly and Meadowlark)
• We had a Barbie-themed birthday party for Emily today -lots of fun and loud-shrieks
• I can't believe Emily is turning 7 this week...time flies!
• It is amazing how much time you can devote to top-secret projects when you cut out a bunch of television
• I don't care about the Oscars at all...seriously not even a litle. I've never liked award shows and this year it looks lamer than ever
• I'm contemplating what I'm going to give up for lent this year? I'm thinking country music. Any suggestions?

Sermon Helper: Instant message; just add a ham

Warning: This post may offend you! (Though that's not the hope or purpose)

I guess what I am about to say is something of an extension of the post I wrote yesterday about how our influencers evenually lead us to our style of preaching. So here is my assertion (these are merely my convictions, and I do not claim they are "thus saith the Lord"): You will never develop your own style or be as effective as you can be until you write your own messages.

I know. Lots of great pastors sell their messages or even give them away and encourage you to use them as your own. And let me say, there are churches and pastors I have great respect for that buy most of their messages. So what's my deal?  Let me give you two reasons I believe this:

1. The content is not your own -I get it, the Bible is the Bible. There is nothing new under the sun. I know, I agree. I listen to other preachers too, and I will "borrow" concepts or insights I learn from them, but not a whole message. I did preach others' messages a handful of times years ago (mostly w/ 40 Days campaigns) and I found it difficult. The way it was written just wasn't my style. It felt very unnatural and inauthentic. When we teach others sermons, it's not that we aren't teaching truth, we're just not presenting it in the voice God gave us (we would have written it differently).

2. The context is not your own -A pastor in CA does not know what the needs/issues/idols are in a local church in CT. So the message the Holy Spirit gave him to teach to his church on a specific day may not be the best one for your church on any given Sunday. For example, consider Galatia and Corinth. What if Paul decided any message could go anywhere at anytime, and he sent a letter to tell Galatia to tighten up on rules and Corinth to lighten up on rules. The results would have been disastrous if he didn't consider the context! To be most effective messages must be written with specific consideration of the audience. There are no shortcuts to this.

What am I trying to say?

I believe there is a place for teaching others' sermons. If you are early in your ministry and especially if you are bivocational. But I see it kind of like welfare: It's designed to help you in a tough season, but (in most cases) it's not meant to be something you depend on for life. Maybe training wheels is a better anaogy? If you're at a place where you need to use others' sermons now...fine. Can I just encourage you to be committed to move past that at some point?

Yeah, you might be able to buy a better sermon than you can write right now. However, with time and practice nobody will be able to write a better sermon for the voice God gave you and for the church He allows you to serve.

Preachers that have shifted my preaching Pt. 4 (The Process of Influence)

Over the past few days I've pointed out several preachers that have significantly influenced the way I preach and the specific shifts they helped me make in my preaching.

Today I want to wrap this series of posts up by talking about the four stages in the normal process of influence that I have observed and where they should lead us (this isn't a checklist, it's just what happens, or should happen, over time):

1. Imitation -This is where we tend to mimmick those we admire. For example the guy that was nice and sweet but suddenly becomes a tough guy in the pulpit, cussing and bragging about drinking because he discovered Mark Driscoll. Or for example in 2005, when I badly imitated Rob Bell once; delivering a message so awful that I  didn't even want to finish it (I pulled the master and to this day it has never been released). It's OK to start out with imitation, (just like kids watching their parents, it's part of how we learn), but we cannot stay there. We have to keep moving if we want to evolve and improve.

2. Evaluation -In this stage we begin to question what we've learned and who we've imitated and begin looking for our own voice. We begin to realize what works for us, and what doesn't. We begin to develop a more clear philosopy of preaching, decide on a goal for our preaching, and then determine whether or not the way we preach is in line with those things.

3. Filtration -This is where we make intentional changes to the way we preach based on the evaluations we have made. We begin to get more critical of our influences in regards to what we we will keep and what we will discard. We still appreciate our influencers, but we no longer simply imitate them lock, stock & barrel.

4. Integration -When we've moved to this stage we've moved past copying others, we've assessed what works for us and what doesn't. We've become more critical and we eliminate much of what we used to imitate. We only allow to remain that which has been processed and has now become our own. We know what we have retained from our influences, what we have discarded, and we know why. What remains has become a part of us and our unique style. At this point we have a pretty good handle on who we are as a preacher.

And that is where the ultimate shift should lead us, to the discovery of our own voice. After all, as I pointed out, I make a TERRIBLE Rob Bell...but I make a pretty decent Bill LaMorey.

Pt. 1 -Bob Coy

Pt. 2 -Andy Stanley

Pt. 3 -Tim keller

Preachers that have shifted my preaching Pt. 3 (Tim Keller)

The third preacher that shifted my preaching in a major way is Tim Keller. I first heard Tim Keller in early 2005. I knew I was moving to the Northeast shortly to launch Calvary Fellowship and I wanted to hear from someone who was making things happen, so I started listening to Tim. The way he dropped knowledge made my brain hurt, but to quote John Cougar Mellancamp, it hurt so good! So I continued listening to his preaching periodically and started reading his books. But it wasn't until a couple years ago when I listened to his Preaching to the Heart series (if you teach/preach you NEED to buy this NOW!) offered through Gordon Conwell that his preaching impacted me and my shifted my entire philosophy of preaching dramatically.

What I love about Tim's preaching is how he digs beneath the surface. He doesn't just address superficial attitudes and behaviors and use Bible verses to tell us why we should either start or stop doing them. He looks deeper into the heart and exposes the idols that drive the attitudes and behaviors we exhibit. He also has a wonderful way of pointing out the difference between irreligion and religion, and the fact that neither can save us. He then points out how the gospel is the answer to our problems and he always highlights Jesus as the hero to every message. This really helped me to learn to move past spiritual self-help or surface-level messages and to dig deep to get to the heart of the matter in my preaching.

Shifts he made in my preaching:

• Being patient because, it takes time to get good-here is a paraphrase of some advice I heard Tim give to young preachers, "Your first 200 sermons will all stink. You'll think some are good, but they're ALL terrible. However, if you can get to that point without killing your church, you'll be alright." Seriously that had to be the most liberating thing I had heard at the time!!!
• Digging deeper -it's not enough to address the sin or the issue in a superficial way, we have to understand the idols that drive behaviors and help people see them too (otherwise we might be offer surface fixes that drive people from irreligion to religion and have them still miss the gospel!)
• Making sure the gospel is in every message - preaching needs to be practical (especially where the Bible is very practical), but pragmatism must not overshadow the powerful message of the gospel and its ability to kill our idols)
• Having Jesus is in every message -whether you are talking about Levitical Law or living with your girlfriend, missions or marriage, Jesus needs to be a part of it. Jesus is central to the gospel, central to the Bible, and central to our faith. And if Jesus is missing from your message, then your message is missing something BIG!

Tim, thank you for your example and all that you have taught me from neighboring New York. I appreciate you, your ministry and I can't wait to read your preaching book (yes, he really has one coming out soon)!

Part 1: Bob Coy

Part 2: Andy Stanley

Tomorrow: The Wrap-up (The process of how an influencer shifs our preaching)

Preachers that have shifted my preaching Pt. 2 (Andy Stanley)

The second preacher that made a major shift in my preaching is Andy Stanley. I first heard Andy Stanely in 2003 at a C3 conference in Dallas, and I immediately connected with his style. Since then I have learned much about preaching from Andy by listening to his messages online, hearing him speak at several conferences and reading his book on preaching, "Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication" (highly recommended).

What I like most about Andy's preaching style is his incredible focus, his clarity, and his intentionality (which is the result of his having a very clear, predeterminded goal for preaching). Most would agree that whether you agree with Andy or not, you will always walk away from his messages with a clear understanding of what he was talking about, what he wants you to do about it, and why he thinks you should do it. I'm sort of embarassed to admit that when I first planted Calvary Fellowship I (like many other preachers) mimmicked him by using his signature coffee table and stool. I have long since moved on from that, but there are some very valuable things I learned about preaching from him that I have retained.

Shifts he made in my preaching:

• To begin with a goal in mind when preaching (ex: if your goal is information transfer you have an easy target, but if it is life transformation that takes a lot more work).
• To narrow my focus -too often I used to teach on a topic and try to dump every single thing I knew aout that topic into one message; the result was info overload and chaos. Andy observes, "I hear a lot of messages that make me think he just preached a whole series in one message."
• If my message is to be clear to others it must first be clear to me -Andy is famous for summarizing his messages into a simple, catchy phrase that he repeats throughout his talks. I did that for awhile, but I often don't anymore. I do however regularly challenge myself to summarize my message in a sentence. If I cannot, I'm not ready to preach it yet.
• Message should be memorized -Andy teaches without notes (or without a lot of notes). I'm not there. I teach with a full manuscript of notes with a few spaces earmarked for "riffing." However, I do spend a lot of time after the message is written reading and re-reading the notes so that I'm intimately familiar with the message which allows me a greater independence from my notes and a great conversational style with our church.

Andy, I've never met you (and you're never going to read this) but nonetheless, thanks for all you've taught me from afar and I'll see you at Drive!

Yesterday: Part 1. Bob Coy

Tomorrow: Part 3. Tim Keller

Preachers that have shifted my preaching Pt. 1 (Bob Coy)

Over the 5 & 1/2 years I've been preaching almost weekly and the few years prior where I did it sporadically, I'd like to think I've gotten better at it. At least I hope I have! What I am certain of is that regardless of whether or not my preaching has improved, it has certainly changed. I have learned from many different teachers all kinds of things (and I still do) along the way. But in this short series of posts I am going to point out a few preachers that have caused major shifts in the way I preach and a few specific things I learned from each of them that pushed me along in a new/expanded direction.

#1 Bob Coy of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. I came to Christ (at least in a meaningul way) at Calvary Fort Lauderdale, I served there for many years, and I spent three years there on staff. So I guess it's pretty obvious that Bob would be a major influence on me. Bob is a uniquely gifted communicator with a very unique style. He is a master at relating to EVERYBODY in the crowd and making people feel he is speaking just to them. He uses humor to breaks down walls of resistance, and it is very effective because it isn't canned; it just comes natural to him. He also has a great way of blending the message so that there are hooks for the seeker and plenty of meat for the seasoned believer. Top notch all around.

Shifts he made in my preaching:

• To start preaching in the 1st place -watching how God used this man with no formal training inspired me that God can use anyone who has a willing heart & hands (& mouth).
• To be myself -I almost wrote, to be humorous, but that's not quite right because it doesn't work if it isn't genuine. Bob has a great sense of humor and he uses that onstage and off. The lesson is be yourself...fortunately, I think I'm pretty funny too! :)
• To write messages that can reach seekers and edify believers simultaneously (tricky and takes a little extra work, but well worth it when you pull if off).
• To teach expositionally aplicationally -I know that sounds funny, but I learned that it is important to teach through books of the Bible, but to have each message be sufficiently self-contained so that a 1st-time guest could come in and still understand and get something out of it.
• To have guts - Avoidance of certain topics is always a temptation for preachers, but Bob taught me to teach the whole counsel of God's word -even when you'd rather shy away from controversy.
• To have a heart -teach the hard stuff, but do so with grace, compassion & sensitivity.
• Always bring your A-game -It was always clear to me that Bob put everything he had into the delivery of his messages. I may not be the best preacher, but his example inspires me to push myself to do the very best I possibly can with the study, preparation & delivery of God's word (God and the people who are listening deserve nothing less).

Thank you Pastor Bob for all you taught me (behind the pulpit and behind the scenes)!

Tomorrow: Andy Stanley

Weekly mind-dump

Some thoughts/observations about Calvary and/or whatever else is currently on my mind:

• I felt a real heavy weight all week to do my absolute best with the delivery of this morning's message because I sensed God's Spirit impressing upon my heart the deep signicance of the rich truth in today's text (Galatians 3:26-4:7)
• I really enjoyed today's service. God was definitely at work: the worship was phenomenal, the vibe was alive, and I felt God' Spirit with me as I spoke. I got to meet some newer attenders I had never met before (I remember when I knew by sight if someone was new or not). The icing on the cake was that a 1st-time guest came to Christ today. Yeah, God!
• I received a great compliment sandwich at church today (that's when you say something nice, then critical, then nice again)
• Looking forward to spending some time with Joe Fisher tomorrow, who is planting Redeemer Hill in Hartford and Will Marotti (New Life Church) on Tuesday. Meeting with church-planters always pumps me up! (Please keep Joe and Redeemer Hill in your prayers -Hartford needs more churches!)
• Our world seems to be going off the rails on a crazy train...I can't remember such chaotic times in my adult life
• There is a new top-secret project I am working on that I am so excited about that I might explode (stand back, just in case)
• Mind-dumps are so helpful...I hope Bob doesn't notice I've jacked his idea
• I have refocused my blog, and I'm attempting to post some of the more helpful and practical things I have learned and am learning with others who might benefit
• Tomorrow I'm beginning a series of posts called "Preachers that have shifted my preaching" and it's about...well, you can probably figure it out

The top 3 challenges in my first year of planting a church Pt. 3

UPDATED 4.20.11: Click here to get a resource to help you succeed!!!

This concludes a series of posts on the top three challenges I faced in my first year of planting Calvary Fellowship. The 3rd is...

Making the big ask -When we started the church I had to learn to ask for help. I did step out of my comfort zone initially and ask our friends, family and other churches (softly) to help with the start-up costs of our church. All together we raised $20,000 to cover the basic costs of launching the church (a paltry sum by most current standards). We probably should have done a better job of being more assertive, but honestly I was just uncomfortable making the big ask (don't misread that, I am very good at making a big something else of myself). This did a couple of things; a) It kept the church budget extremely lean and b) it kept me from being focused solely on the development of the church because I had to work an outside job (I received no compensation from the church for the first year).

At the one-year mark a friend told me I really needed to go fulltime at the church to take it to the next level. He was right, and he also had a plan. He showed me a letter that he had written sharing the vision of the church, our mission field, and our current need. He told me that with my blessing he intended to send that to all of his family and friends to ask them to help fund my salary for the next year. I was very moved. Not just emotionally, I was also moved into action! After all, if he could be bold enough to ask his network for help, than how could I not do the same? He contacted everyone he could think of and I contacted everyone I could think of. Together we raised enough money and monthly commitments for me to quit my job and go fulltime with Calvary. That led to me having more time to prepare for the weekend services and to work on the big picture issues of the church, which soon led to more rapid church growth. At present we have 3 fulltime staff people and 1 parttime staff person all funded internally. I am convinced to this day that had I not learned to make the big ask, we would have remained stuck in gear.

Here are some things I learned about making the big ask:

• I thought I was showing humility by not asking for financial help; I now believe it was a form of pride that I had to work through.
• Those that gave financially didn't see themselves as philanthropists, they saw themselves as investors. Many that gave began to pray for us regularly too. To this day people that gave at our early stage tell me how thrilled they were to invest in something that through their partnership is having a great return for God's kingdom.
• People are more generous than you think; by asking I gave them an opportunity to express that.
• The provision won't always come from where you expect. -In some cases, people I never thought would give were generous, and others I assumed would give large didn't do much of anything (in fact even though some commitments where made but never came through we were OK because  the resources still came from unexpected places).
• Where God guides, God provides -this ties to the prior point, but I'd like to make a footnote on this one. It's God's job to provide, but He does it through people. Therefore it's not wrong to ask people to help and then trust God for Him to touch the hearts of those He would like to funnel His treasures to you through (I had to learn this because that thinking went against some of what I had learned in some circles.)

I truly hope these lessons I learned the hard way are helpful to anyone doing the challenging but rewarding work of planting a church!

In case you missed them:

Pt. 1 -"Maintaing Life Balance"

Pt. 2-"Managing Expectations"