Book Review: E-Myth Manager by Michael Gerber

I finished E-Myth Manager by Michael Gerber yesterday.  It was a good book that left me with some good takeaways, application points for myself, and some questions.  I’ll share the takeaways which are mostly quoatables, which caused me to pause or were central points of the book.  I condensed them to for pages of bulletted notes…kind of a Cliff’s Notes for E-Myth Manager.

Download the e-myth-manager-by-michael-gerber-takeaways Document here.

Or, check out the bulleted comments with poor formatting here:

•    An unchallenged idea can be a dangerous idea.

Sunday Wrap-up

• Rain, gusty winds, sunshine. rain, gusty wind, sunshine. Gustav was waiving hello to us this morning as he passes into the gulf.
• That combined with Labor Day weekend pushed us down to 303 people…about 150 people less than last week.
• This Sunday, things will shoot back-up and we’ll get ready for the launch of our 3 service schedule…I’m nervously excited.
• We announced our new message series and started firing off new invite cards. You guys continue to bring friends. It is really an amazing picture of your hearts.
• That’s the most thrilling thing about Life Pointe to me, your heart for the people around you.
• The CURE, our student ministry talked about their “Blood/Water Project.” These guys are stepping it out and moving out of their comfort zone by serving others. Very proud of them.
• Today, we talked about our possessions and how wealthy we are (top 5% of the wealthiest people in the world.
• We read out of Genesis 1:1-2, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Luke 12:15-21, and the Treasure Principle passage of Matthew 6:19-21.
• Ultimately, if you want to see what you value, look where you put your treasure.
• If you want to change your values, change where you put your treasure.
• If you want to change where your treasure goes, change your values.
• Several people made decisions to follow Jesus today. One person made a decision to follow Christ at Communion. I had the opportunity to pray with multiple people out into the lobby.
• Seeing God work in people’s lives, actively actively making them over into new people is exhilarating.

If you could invent anything, what would it be?

I think I’d invent a TELEPORTER so I could avoid sunpass, cut through the traffic, skip flights, and wait until the very last second before leaving the house or office for meetings. Of course, a teleporter may make bathroom locks irrelevant!

What about you?  What would you invent?

Life Pointe Church Fantasy Football

Phil has the scoop.  We’re last minute on this so get it quick.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

I am really excited about where we are going into the fall.  We have great opportunities in front of us.

In the last 12 months, we’ve seen 300% growth in our attendance.  We will soon have gone from 1 service to 3 services (on Sept. 14).  Our life group registrations are doing really well.  Our volunteer base is developing nicely.  In order to keep moving forward like we’d like to, we are making a shift in the way our staff is aligned.

The biggest shift is moving Paul from Executive Pastor to Ministries Pastor (still working on that title).  Paul has really excelled with our groups, membership, baptism, and other relational areas.  As I type, we are going over the 50% capacity level on our life groups in only our 2nd week of group registration.  He’s been responsible for that.  So, he’ll be stepping up his focus in this area as well as overseeing our ministry departments (children, youth, pastoral care, assimilation, etc…).

I’ll be taking over some of the organizational pieces of leadership he was responsible for.  Anne will be handling HR and Administrative responsibilities.  Jesse has been working to assume some of the programming responsibilities Paul had over the past year. That transition will be completed in the next couple weeks.

That will leave me with three direct reports and what I believe is a very strong lead team setup as we go into this fall.  Good strong stuff I think.

Financial Peace & Life Group Registrations

This fall is shaping up to have some great life groups.  We’re approaching half of our groups being at max capacity.  Three of our groups are reading “Financial Peace” by Dave Ramsey.

I’m excited about this.  I first read Financial Peace coming out of college.  I put my last semester’s tuition on my Discover Card along with some other debt I had accumulated…not the brightest thing to do.  I promptly read Financial Peace and began to snowball my debt.  I did that be eating a strict diet of Totino’s Pizza and Vienna Sausages.

I smelled funny.  But, I saved money and got my stuff together.  I’m really looking forward to people in my group getting a handle on their resources so we aren’t missing massive opportunities to give and invest like the wise stewards in this Scripture.

• What are some practical things you can think of that you could do right now to begin wrangling your finances and getting them under control?

Message Wikis @ Life Pointe Church

This Sunday, we are experimenting with more user-generated content @ Life Pointe Church.

TEXT Q&A
Over the past 3 months, we’ve been fielding text message questions at the end of the message. That has been a great experience because it has given voice to our entire church in the moment that questions pertaining to the message arise. It’s helped me to speak to the real needs in our church.

MESSAGE WIKIS
This Sunday, we are going to continue to flow in that direction. But, rather than opening the door further for questions, we are going to open the door for declarative statements OR user-generated content pertaining to the message and the service in general.

We embrace the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of each of our people. God’s power to declare His goodness is not reserved for a handful of leaders. But, His power is given to each of our people and should be expressed within our church body.

We will be doing that through “message wikis.”

WHAT IS A WIKI?
A “Wiki” is a type of website that allows the visitors to add, remove, and sometimes edit the available content. In our application, it is your opportunity to add content to the particular message or service. The content will be added in the media portion of our website next to the audio, video, and Q&A links.

HOW?
As you can see below, we’ve added a line to the bottom of each communication card where you can jot down your thoughts. Place the connection card in the offering bucket. One of our volunteers will upload that content. It should be available by Sunday night.

(click to enlarge)

The “Wife Song” by Tim Hawkins

This won’t get you any points. Thanks to Phil Harris for the link.

Beijing Olympics Loot

Friday night, my buddy Zeke hooked me up with some sweet Beijing Olympics loot, including this Beijing Starbucks Mug.  He had been in Beijing for about 3 weeks for the Olympics.  I also got a coin commemorating the US security detail (He’s the Jack Bauer of LPC).

He’s brought me back other cool do-dads in the past.  We’ve bumped into one another before at Wal Mart buying loot for our kids at the end of an out-of-state trip. I feel like Zeke’s kid.  I love it when he goes out of town and secretly hope he’ll bring me back some goodies! LOL.

Sunday Wrap-up

• Other Sunday Reviews: Ritz, Chris and Phil.
• It is good to be back after 3 Sundays out.
• The hugs from all of my moms were awesome.
• Ela was in the hizzy this Sunday!! That always makes for a great day.
• We’d had some great growth through this summer bumping up over 500 and then slumped a bit over the last 5 weeks.
• We were already committed to a 3 service schedule starting September 14. So, the 5 week slump concerned me a bit that we would have three sparsely attended services soon.
• But, today on our first Sunday after school started, we definitely will be all set for the 8:30, 9:45, and 11 AM schedule three Sundays from now.
• We’re ready right now.
• My hair was a conversation piece.
• Paul was making fun of me. Paul has no room to make fun of people’s hair.
• Jesse was out on vacation. The band was great. The Citizen Cane did a great job leading.
• We hit week 2 of life group registration. We’ve got some great new leaders and some great books we’re working through.
• We talked about “Money” today in the kick of of our Loaded series.
• It seems like the American church has one of two approaches to money: avoid talking about OR hyper-prosperity gimmickry.
• We laid out the challenge to live like your money belongs to God…because it does.
• It was great to have a couple of my friends from out of town with us today, Dr. Jim and Anita Chamberlain, pastors of Christ Walk Church in Fernandina Beach, FL.
• Did I say its good to be back home?! I had a great time being gone. But, there is no place like home, being surrounded by my own junk, and my own dysfunctional church family.

Something New

I think it is good to periodically switch things up. Paint a room a new color. Rearrange furniture. Break up the status quo. Change of scenery and change of pace can lead to discovery of new methods, energy, and mindset.

I figured I needed to change things up…told you I would. So, I now have yellow hair.  What the heck?!?! I feel like kickin’ butt this fall. Everything is on the table.

So, if you are getting used to “how things are,” change it up. We’re going for it this fall…expecting new things, expecting to reach our neighbors…totally willing to do anything short of sin to accomplish that goal. Does yellow hair really fit into that equation? I doubt it. But, I’m definitely willing to go the distance in making it hard to hit hell from Homestead.

This Sunday Begins a New Series: LOADED

We’re doing a series called “Loaded” staring this Sunday!!  You won’t want your friends to miss it. We’ll be giving out “green prosperity handkerchiefs” and promising massive returns on your giving! LOL. Just kidding.

I’ll actually be laying out a BIG challenge for you this week that is going to push you to stop living week to week. Changing our self-centered, I-have-to-have-it-now lifestyle is actually worship. The way you spend your money is an indicator of where your values are. I believe we’re all going to be stretched and grow this Sunday.

If you have friends that are living beyond their means, are pressed financially, or are incredibly prosperous but do not have a strong concept of how money relates to eternity, do everything you can to get them to Life Pointe Church this Sunday.

The Brother Barry Remix – Hook it up, Brutha!

This may generate more incoming links than any other post any in the history of travisjohnson.net. Ready? Enjoy listening to the Brother Barry Remix.

I personally know the artist that put this little diddy together. All I can say is, “I am in awe of your mad skills!” For the original Brother Barry videos, you can enjoy them here, here, and here.

9 Years with My Sweet Heart

Today, Kelly and I celebrate our nine year anniversary. When I asked her out, I knew we were getting married or she was going to break my heart. Within two weeks of dating, I told her I loved her. Her dad gave me a “So You Want To Date My Daughter” Application. I filled it out.

Months later, I called him to ask his blessing on us getting married. I didn’t want to ask because I didn’t want him to say “no.” She had everything on my list and more. We got married over the summer in between her junior and senior year. She moved into my 250 sq. ft palace of an apartment. Life has gotten better every day since then.

She’s my best friend, an incredible mom, and she can’t keep her hands off me (which has led to all kinds of things…like her being an incredible mom).

She’s beautiful, more today than any other. She’s stubborn, which is a prerequisite for loving me. We’ve made a ton of memories. I’m looking forward to all the memories we haven’t even made yet. She’s got spunk, which makes me smile and keeps me thinking fast.

I love you, babe. Thank you for the best 9 years of my life.

Kourtney’s First Day of School

I was supposed to take Lil’ K (Kourtney) for her first day of school (K-4). Thanks to Tropical Storm Fay (a total non-event), school was cancelled. I had to spend today in Tampa and didn’t get the privilege of taking her to school. Kelly took her instead.

So, I’m living vicariously through this picture. When I get home, I’m sneaking into her room to give her a hug and kiss. What a strong little lady, Kourtney is. She’s so smart, helpful, and excited about school. Me? I’m just a proud dad, missing my little girl.

Tropical Storm Fay Damage in South Florida (MUST WATCH VIDEO)

Hurricanes in South Florida are child’s play until you at least get to a Category 2 storm.  As a result, some people work really hard to make tropical storms a little more interesting, like this cat on Fort Lauderale beach.  OUCH!

Top Reasons I’m Glad I Was Away From Life Pointe For 3 Sundays

• Because a break is good.  Just ask Bob.
• Because I had meetings in San Antonio and vacation in Tennessee.  After my meetings in Texas, I needed the vacation.
• Because creating leadership vacuums causes other leaders to step up.
• Because the leaders at Life Pointe are on game and do well without a bunch of hand holding.
• Because Jesse spoke twice while I was out.
• Because Paul spoke once (now if we can just get him to blog more frequently than once every two months).
• Because I attended here, here, and spoke here.
• Because on the first week of four weeks of Life Group sign-ups, we registered about 1/3rd of our church without me doing the work on any of it…the S.Y.S.T.E.M. is being worked by our leaders.
• Because I am rested and really ready to tackle some exciting things this fall.
• Because absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I’ve never been more appreciative for my church family than I am right now- can’t wait for Sunday.

Book Review: “Made To Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath

Top 10 Takeaways from “MADE TO STICK” by Chip and Dan Heath

1. Stickiness means that your ideas are easily remembered, understood, and have a lasting impact- they change your audience’s behavior.

2. The oldest class of naturally sticky ideas is the proverb – a nugget of wisdom that often endures over centuries and across cultures.

3. The Six Principles of Stickiness are SUCCESs: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions and Stories.

4. The Villain to Stickiness is the “Curse of Knowledge,” which is a naturally psychological tendency that consistently confounds our ability to create ideas using these principles.

5. No plan survives contact with the enemy. Instead of creating detailed plans, articulate a Commander’s Intent, which is a crisp, plain-talk statement that specifies the goals and desired end of an operation. As soon as people understand the Commander’s Intent, they begin generating their own solutions.

6. Get to the Core. To get to the core, we’ve got to eliminate the superfluous and tangible elements. You must weed out the really important ideas that are not the most important idea. A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

7. If you say three things, you don’t say anything.

8. Tversky and Shafir’s study shows that the more options people have, the more paralyzed they become. Prioritization rescues people from the quicksand of decision angst.

9. Most technology and product-design projects must combat “feature creep,” the tendency for things to become incrementally more complex until they no longer perform their original functions very well. When your remote control has fifty buttons, you can’t change the channel anymore.

10. The first problem of communication is getting people’s attention. We can’t demand attention, we must attract it. The most basic way to get someone’s attention is to break a pattern. Surprise gets our attention. Interest keeps our attention.

Ready for Something New?

I am.  Share what you are going to do to switch things up?  Then, guess what I’m going to do.

Blog Wasteland

Last week, I was in San Antonio.  I didn’t have time to blog here…didn’t have time to sleep either.  This was a blog wasteland.  But, I’m back.  Expect travisjohnson.net to become a hub of sarcasm and enlightenment once again.

Sunday Wrap-up: Rock Hills Church Edition

• This marks Sunday #2 away from Life Pointe. Man, I miss my crew.
• Last week, we were at Cross Mountain Church, a church affiliated with the AG.
• This week, we were at a brand new church that meets in a theater, Rockhills Church, a church affiliated with the RCA.
• We basically got the same message over past two Sundays.
• The first week was a ministry fair and a drive for volunteers.
• This Sunday, Rock Hills was doing their last preview service. They were trying to bring their team together as they prepare to launch regular, weekly Sunday services.
• I loved the hospitality at Rock Hills.
• The band was exceptional.
• Dave Lantz spoke and shared a good call to come be a part of the team.
• I walked away with a few good ideas. We’ve been talking about making some changes with our coffee. We’ll pull the trigger on that this week.
• Now, while I’ve been away, Alex and his team pulled off our first ever youth camp with 44 students! Awesome.
• I’m still waiting for some Life Pointe wrap-ups…nothing up yet. But, I expect to see Chris, Jesse, Phil, Ritz, Bill, and Venus to have something good soon.