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Friday Five

1. I officially have a new "My Starbucks" which lovingly has agreed to double as my office, too! If you're ever at Village at Sandhills, drop on by the Starbucks in the town center. There's always a party goin' on...:-)

2. On top of being my office, I think this Starbucks may be our first meeting location! Yeah, pretty much the whole staff is slapstick fired up (no idea where that phrase came from) about what God is doing in Columbia and specifically, what we sense He's doing with us.

3. I need some books. Any recommendations?

4. I'm torn on whether or not I want Carolina to get an invite to a bowl. On the one hand, I do because clearly, we need the practice. Also, we'd have the opportunity to close out the season with a win. On the other hand, I don't because we don't deserve it after losing 5 in a row. And, if we lost the game, we'd wind up with a losing season and a 6 game losing streak. And, should we get into a bowl, I'm not sure even winning the Bell Helicopter We Lost 5 In A Row Playing On A Blue Field While It's Snowing Bowl would feel like a proud accomplishment. Tough call.

5. Christmas shopping for the girls this weekend! Might be my favorite thing in the world to do, besides shopping for LB. The best part: whether we spend $1000 or $10, we can't lose. Their joy and gratitude is off the charts regardless. Which is good, because $10 is about the max this year! :-)

Have great weekend!

Pour Your Heart Into It: Build an Authentic Brand

"We never set out to build a brand. Our goal was to build a great company, one that stood for something, one that valued the authenticity of its product and the passion of its people.

...we're creating something new. We're expanding and defining the market. We didn't set out to steal customers from Folgers or Maxwell House...

Starbucks build up brand loyalty one customer at a time...by word of mouth, with patience and discipline, over a period of years, you can elevate a good local brand to a great national brand - one that remains relevant to individual customers and communities for years.

The most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart...their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign."

Patience...one customer at a time...period of years...are not phrases I am prone to use or be excited about. I want it big, fast, now, and fast...did I already say fast? :-)

What is now a global icon started as a small coffee roaster in Seattle, WA. Starbucks harnessed the energy of passionate, discerning coffee drinkers by offering them the most authentic product they had ever seen or tasted. They weren't competing with Folgers and Maxwell House because the Starbucks product was entirely different - high quality, dark roast, bold taste, 100% pure. Those passionate, discerning coffee drinkers quickly became coffee evangelists and shared the story one to another.

What does an authentic expression of Jesus and His church look like in your city? How can you connect with Jesus-followers who really do love Jesus and really do want to see their friends and their city fall in love with Him? If you can create an authentic product and invite them in to help create it while they are experiencing it, you're well on your way to seeing your "brand" take off, one evangelist at a time. The most powerful moves of God in history started with one and spread to another.

The problem is that it takes time and the competitor in you and me wants to trump the system and draw a crowd. :-) But, in doing so, authenticity runs the risk of being compromised and the "one customer at a time" evangelism will stop.

In our short time in Columbia, God has given us increasing clarity on what He has called us to do. It's different...way different than anything I would have ever dreamed. But, as He intersects us with passionate, discerning believers, they literally ignite right in front of our eyes with passionate enthusiasm for what could be and should be. They want to know about websites, blogs, anything that we have that they can pass on to friends. It's scary, really, because it's almost out of my control...almost because I still have the enormous responsibility to ensure we remain authentic to what God has called us to.

I have no idea where this will all wind up in Columbia, but it's exciting now. And, in what can only be an act of the Holy Spirit at work in me, I am totally okay going one step at a time, one conversation at a time, one day at a time.

Pour Your Heart Into It: People Matters

Schultz on mentors:
"To any entrepreneur, I would offer this advice: Once you've figured out what you want to do, find someone who has done it before. Find not just talented executives but even more experienced entrepreneurs and businesspeople who can guide you."

I can't say enough how thankful, blessed, and blown away I am by the people God has surrounded me with that serve as mentors, lightening rods, coaches, and idea incubators. I'm an external person and if I can't talk about what's going on, what I am dreaming about, or what I don't know about with other people, I'd go crazy. You will, too.

Schultz on hiring smart people:
"Then as now, I was conscious of having to show the people around me that my self-esteem and confidence were strong enough to absorb the arrival of new talent, managers who were more qualified than I to handle certain segments of the business...I also had to make sure that I clearly handed them the authority to do what they needed to do...I tried to make the message I sent to them as unequivocal as possible: 'I hired you because you're smarter than I am. Now go and prove it.'"

Not much else to add there. I've learned that if I am not secure enough in who I am in Christ and how He has called and equipped me as a leader to hire people smarter than me, then I am single-handedly putting the lid on what God wants to do.

Schultz on shared success:
"When you run a race as a team, though, you'll discover that much of the reward come from hitting the tape together. You want to be surrounded not just by cheering on lookers but by a crowd of winners, celebrating as one. Victory is much more meaningful when it comes not just from the efforts of one person, bur from the joint achievements of many...Success is sweetest when it is shared."

Shared ownership of a vision/mission is priceless in church planting. I've learned that the heard way. The vision God has given you is not "yours," it's His - He chose to cut you in on the deal. The best way to see success is to share ownership. God has His people already positioned all over your city...they just need a leader who's hair is on fire for the Kingdom and who will galvanize them to accomplish together what could not be accomplished alone.

Pour Your Heart Into It: Grande Passion with a Shot of Resilience

"It feels so good to be back...Five years ago, I changed my life for this company...I'm here today because I love this company. I love what it represents. Working together we can take everything that Starbucks means to the people of Seattle and multiply it on a national scale. We could share our coffee mission so much more widely."

- Howard Schultz, August 18, 1987, the day he became Chairman and CEO of Starbucks

What if...you had to endure a cup of Sanka magic coffee-like mix this morning instead a cup of hot, fresh, dark-roasted, big-flavor Christmas Blend coffee? Starbucks, as we know it, almost didn't happen. Only because Schultz decided to ignore the critics, naysayers, and conventional wisdom do I hold a red cup with a green logo filled with the best coffee in the world this morning. Thank you, Mr. Schultz! :-)

What if thousands of people in your city missed their chance to meet Jesus because you gave up...because you listened to the naysayers...because you listened to the critics...because someone said, "you can't do it that way," and you listened? Did you really change your life's direction to walk away from the vision God gave you because it got tough, someone disagreed, someone said "No," or money got tight?

I met with a church planter this morning who has every reason in the world to quit...except one. There are still a ton of lost people in his community and this past Sunday, he saw an entire family cross the line of faith. What kept Schultz in the game keeps him in the game...a grande passion with a shot of resiliency.

Ain't Skeered

If you communicate on a regular basis, want to someday, or know you should but are sacred to death, check out Tina Su's advice over on the Think Simple. Be Decisive. blog. Then, come back here and let's discuss...

What do you think? What would you add? How do you deal with the nerves and/or the fear?

Pour Your Heart Into It: Find Your Own Sound

"Part of what constitutes success is timing and chance. But most of us have to create our own opportunities and be prepared to jump when we see a big one others can't see. It's one thing to dream, but when the moment is right, you've got to be willing to leave what's familiar and go out to find your own sound."

- Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It, p. 64

When Schultz discovered Starbucks, it was a small store that sold the highest quality, dark roasted coffee beans that when brewed, had a flavor few even thought was possible from coffee. Schultz knew at first sip that this coffee had to be accessible to everyone. Problem was no one ever thought of coffee as an experience to be enjoyed. Not until Schultz left what was familiar...coffee as a necessary evil to be endured for the caffeine...and found his own sound...coffee as an experience to be anticipated and enjoyed by anyone, even non-coffee drinkers.

Schultz saw "a big one" opportunity that others couldn't see, even the original owners of Starbucks. He heard a sound that no one else heard. He left what was familiar, motivated Starbucks to leave what was familiar, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Success in church planting is determined by how willing you are to leave what is familiar and find your own sound. A few years ago, what was familiar in church world were things like hymns, robes, pastors in suits, three-point sermons, and Sunday School. Could it be that now, familiar is rock 'n roll bands, pastors in jeans, funky church names, slick marketing, and technorati rankings? Just a question I'm even asking myself.

If God has called you to start a church, chances are high He has not called you to start your perfect idea of church in whatever city you can find enough money and enough people to do it with you. But, it's a virtual certainty that He has called you to discover what is familiar in your city...robes & hymns, rock 'n roll & jeans, "y'all come"...and do the opposite!

What would it look like if you threw off everything that was familiar and prayed like crazy for God to let you hear your own sound. And, in hearing your own sound, what if you then could see a "big one" opportunity that no one else sees?

Schultz discovered there was a way to "do coffee" that no one else ever thought was possible. There's a way to reach lost people in your city and mine that no one has thought of yet - not better, just undiscovered and/or unchartered. Are you willing to let go of what is familiar and find your sound? In doing so, you may just unlock a move of God no one thought possible.

Break for Turkey

That time of year again...

Food...

Family and Friends...

Leftovers...

Football...

More leftovers...

Carolina/Clemson...

More, more leftovers...

Decorate for Christmas...

Much to be thankful for around here.  God's movement in us and provision for us has been breathtaking.  So, we're going to press pause for a few days and enjoy Him, each other, and the people He allows us to do life with!  Have a great Thanksgiving!

Time for a Makeover

LB and I finally have another TV show addiction that's not on Thursday night! Literally, the only shows we really watch are The Office and Grey's Anatomy with occasional "flips" to other shows. But now, we have a new addiction...and it's a good one!

Not sure if we had this in Greenville, but our Columbia cable package gets us the Fox Business channel which means every night, we have a financial counseling meeting with Dave Ramsey via The Dave Ramsey Show. Wow...we love that guy!

The show is addictive for two reasons: 1. You get to hear real-life stories. Talk about weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. 2. Dave Ramsey is smart, simple, and credible. The dude lost it all several years ago..by lost it all, I mean millions...and he's on a crusade to keep people from experiencing what he experienced. He's straightforward, which can hurt sometimes, but when it comes to money, we all need someone who is straightforward.

Here's the deal for us...we've done well with our money for our almost 8 years of marriage. Wait...I should say LB has done well with our money! :-) We don't use credit cards except for my ministry expenses, we save strategically, we live well below our means, etc. But, we're in a really different season right now. And some parts of our system aren't holding up.

So, we're getting a makeover! Molly and I went to Barnes & Noble Sunday after church and bought the book. LB read it Sunday night. I read it last night. This week, we're devising a new game plan.

A few weeks ago, I told you that one of the things I am working on in becoming a better leader is pastoring my family. Obviously, a HUGE part of pastoring my family is working with LB to ensure that we are honoring God in the way we give, save, and spend the money He gives us.

I know some things are about to change BIG TIME for us...I'm praying Starbucks can still make it in the budget :-)...but we're ready for it. It will hurt at first, but the end result will be worth it all!

Are You Kidding Me?

Can you believe what God is doing in Charlotte, NC through Elevation Church?

6.4 million over two years...really? Holy smokes!

It's so easy to look at what's happening there or in Anderson, SC or Dallas, TX or Oklahoma or wherever else there is a church that you pay close attention to and want to capture it all in a bottle and bring it back to your place. The catch is...those guys refused to take shortcuts. They didn't look for quick-fix bottles from other places. They figured out what was already there and harnessed it.

Pastor Steven Furtick and the crew at Elevation worked, prayed, and fasted hard before they ever set foot in the city of Charlotte. And when they got there, they worked, prayed, and fasted even more. I know that for a fact. And look what all that work, prayer, and fasting has unlocked now!

Way to go, Elevation! Thanks for the example of what God does when we move in step with what He is already doing. Glory to God!

Haste Makes Waste

Hard to believe Thanksgiving week is already here.  Snuck up on me big time.  I'll delay the series of posts based on Pour Your Heart Into It by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz to next week.

Reading in Proverbs today and this hit me like a brick:

"Ignorant zeal is worthless;
   haste makes waste.

People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,
   so why does God always get blamed?"

Any other high-strung, fast-paced, runaway, ultra-competitive church planters feeling the kick in the pants I'm feeling right now?

It's as if the author is saying, "Go ahead, run out in all your passion and drive.  Do something crazy.  But if God's not in it, don't blame Him when you drop like a rock."

Make no mistake about it, without a consuming passion and drive, you can't make it in church planting.  But if that's all you've got, you won't make it either.

It's not hard for me to get fired up about an idea or to lie awake at night dreaming of what could be and should be while adrenaline rushes through my body.  Everybody keeps asking, "When is your church going to launch?"  I'm ready to say, "NOW!"

But here's what I know: if we would have launched this church 6 months ago, 3 months ago, even 1 month ago, it would have been the wrong church.  And it, along with me, would have dropped like a rock crying out, "But Gooooddddddddddd....."

Here's what I've learned: the more I learn, the more my passion grows.  The more my passion finds root in the solid foundation of cultural exegesis, the more I sense and see the Holy Spirit clearly at work.  And, the more I sense and see Him at work, the more I see God's passion for Columbia over my own.  Which, more than anything else, cranks up my passion to mind-bending levels.

Without quenching the drive you have to see your vision realized, what can you do today to ground that vision in knowledge...about your community, your church, your family, what God is already up to around you?  The more you ground it the stronger and clearer your vision will be.  And, when you roll it out, you won't see how fast it drops, you'll see how fast it flies.