I recently did a wedding for a Spanish couple who are friends with someone who attends New Day. I met the couple for the first time the day of the wedding. We hit it off pretty good, and everything initially went off without a hitch. By my estimation things couldn't have been going any better...until... At the very end of the ceremony when it came time for the presentation (the part of the ceremony where, having declared the couple husband and wife, I present the couple for the first time). So … [Read more...]
Is this your Mom?
From time to time I'll be posting lessons learned from my failures. Today I want to share a funny one. One Sunday morning I walked up to someone on our worship team who was with a woman I had never seen before. Like an idiot I led off with "Hey Tim, is this your mom?" Tim said "Nope. This is my girlfriend." You won't be surprised to learn that Tim and his mom...I mean girlfriend...no longer attend New Day. Lesson learned? Everyone should be slow to speak! (James 1:19) Be sure to check back … [Read more...]
How We Use Planning Center
We use Planning Center to: Schedule musicians and singers for Sunday. One month out the songs are chosen for each service and added within Planning Center. Then a request is sent to each volunteer, who can either confirm or deny availability for the week(s) they are needed. Schedule our production team (the people who run the computer, soundboard, lights, video cameras, etc.) Each week a request is sent to each volunteer, who can either confirm or deny availability for the upcoming Sunday. … [Read more...]
How & Why We Use Constant Contact
Constant Contact is an online email marketing company. Once our mailing list got bigger than my personal email could handle, I got a subscription to Constant Contact. At New Day we like to build on proven foundations, and after doing some research I discovered Constant Contact was a staple email marketing company, used by many of the churches I was trying to learn from at the time. Here's what we use Constant Contact for at New Day: To send a weekly email to our church. Included in the email is … [Read more...]
How we use YouVersion
YouVersion is a free and easy way to read your Bible online or on your smartphone in a number of different translations. Here's a couple reasons why I like using and promoting YouVersion to others: The Bible is often viewed as an ancient book, out of touch with the times. Allowing people to access it digitally, in my opinion, helps correct that misconception. I love being able to say on Sunday "If you have your Bibles or YouVersion on your smartphone, please turn with me to..." It's cool and … [Read more...]
Church Metrics
Church Metrics is undoubtedly one of my favorite resources. It's a free tool, compliments of LifeChurch.tv that helps you easily track your church's key metrics such as salvations, baptisms, first time guests, attendance, giving, etc. You can track anything you like and then easily create helpful reports or charts. Here's an example of one report I receive each week. I set it up so each Tuesday I get a snap shot of the last six weeks (click the picture to enlarge). Here's an example of an … [Read more...]
Riverbanks
Good employers will give their employees riverbanks to operate within. A riverbank is a metaphor for boundaries. A river has a riverbank on each side keeping the water where it needs to be. Without riverbanks, the water would just go everwhere, which would be good for no one. Giving employees riverbanks does two very beneficial things: It keeps them moving in the right direction, giving them focus. It allows them to use their unique personality and God-given talents to get the job done, … [Read more...]
Delegation vs Abdication
I like Bruce Tulgan's take on delegation in his book It's Okay to be the Boss: "Some managers make the mistake of thinking that delegation is about letting go. Sadly, delegation is not at all about letting go of work. Delegation is all about getting work done through others - and that is an intense, hands-on endeavor." Leadership by abdication is telling an employee or volunteer what to do, but then disappearing into the sunset, never to be seen again. This is not responsible delegation, … [Read more...]
When a Volunteer Needs to be Fired
In Peter Drucker's book The Effective Executive you'll read the following story: General Marshall during World War II insisted that a general officer be immediately relieved if found less than outstanding. Marshall flatly refused to listen to the argument: "But we have no replacement." "All that matters," he pointed out, "is that you know that this man is not equal to the task. Where his replacement comes from is the next question." Sometimes we are scared to do the right thing because of the … [Read more...]
Why You Don’t Have More Volunteers
When you have a volunteer shortage (church wide or in a specific department) I think there are at least three questions you should ask: 1. Are you asking God for volunteers? If you need more volunteers, the answer begins with prayer. James 4:2 says "You don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it." And Matthew 9:38 says "So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." Step one is to pray for more volunteers. 2. Are you prepared … [Read more...]