A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Bil Cornelius talk about “When Blended Families Collide.” It’s the best message I have ever heard on the subject. I’m re-posting it here because I know there are so many families that would benefit from watching it.
VIDEO: When Blended Families Collide, Pastor Bil Cornelius from Randy Bryan on Vimeo.
This video above should work in most browsers. If it is not showing, click here to download it.
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I just got this video from http://jasoncurlee.com (amazing blog BTW). He got it from the Verge conference. I wanted to re-post it here because the message is so timely.
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I am an Apple user. I have to admit I am often disgruntled but so far, I’m sticking with my Mac.
I’ve had owned and pwned 3 iPhones. They are great phones and are perfect for most people. But they weren’t for me. I switched to Android for many reasons and I’m going to talk about the top four here. I have a mytouch 3g and hope to upgrade to the Nexus One in the near future.
Here are the advantages:
1) They are root-able. The iPhones are too but Apple seems to spend more time and money on stopping the “rooters” than they do on innovation. The Apple terminology for “rooting” is called “jailbreaking.” I think EVERY single iPhone “update” has disabled the jailbreak of the phone in the process. That really ticks me off.
I stick with HTC hardware for the Android and they have NEVER put out an update that un-rooted a phone as far as I know. There is a huge developer community at sites such as http://xda-developers.com. What goes on there is done in the OPEN… thousands and thousands of developers working to make the phones better and more able to do useful stuff. In contrast, the iPhone community must do all of their work IN SECRET (!!!) lest Big Brother, er I mean Apple, finds outs and sends them a Cease-and-Desist letter, or worse.
That leads me to #2…
2) The Android platform is “open-source.” This means instead of just 1 company working on the code, an unlimited number of people are able to do so. This has many advantages. First of all, open sourced software tends to be more secure than proprietary software because thousands of eyeballs are pouring over the code every day. Holes in the software are quickly found and patched. Second, since it is open source, there is no Big Brother lurking around and seeing if the developers are being more creative than Big Brother himself. Creativity is encouraged not squashed. Right now, I am running the bleeding edge version of Android on my mytouch 3g. It is version 2.1. The official t-mobile version is 1.6. But because I have rooted my phone and the OS is open-sourced, I can stay as up to date as I want. In fact, I load a new ROM on my phone at least once a week. You could say I’m addicted to the bleeding edge.
3) There are way FEWER “App store shenanigans.” This is what turned me away from the iPhone for at least the foreseeable future. It happened when Apple banned all apps using Google Voice. They said it was because it caused an overlap of services and people would get confused. It’s all a bunch of hooey. They didn’t allow Google Voice apps for the iPod. That would NOT have overlapped any services. And they HAVE approved many apps that allow VOIP, even over the 3g networks. They banned the Google Voice apps because they are mad at Google plain and simple. It had nothing to do with what is best for the customer. All I can say is “Wow.”
On a side note: It is true that GOOGLE runs the official app store for the Android. But they have mostly stayed out of the approval process. I could see the day coming that Google interfered with the Android app store like Apple did. The good news is that if they do, there are already other legitimate app stores for Android out there and ready to serve up the same apps the official store does. And since Android is open sourced (see #2) the thought police won’t be around to shut the 3rd party app stores down.
4) App Freedom. Android apps are allowed to do whatever they want, like an app running on a real computer. For security reasons, they have to get approval from the user at installation time for the things they will be doing like say “accessing the internet” or “reading the state of the phone.” Apple apps, on the other hand, are tightly restricted. Apple Apps are not allowed to communicate with each other for any reason. Apples Apps are not allowed to run in the background. Android apps can do both of these things. The Android platform is NOT the prettiest platform, Or the slickest. It’s missing a little bit here and there. But that apps can do almost anything! Copy and paste was in the OS from day one. My twitter app (seesmic) can open a link to a web page and still stay running. The possibilities are endless.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments…
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Our verse for the day at BAF San Marcos is Hebrews 10:25: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Reading it got me thinking about some stuff.
1) We don’t show up at worship just so we can have our name checked off on some roll. Its so we can be encouraged. If someone was discouraged, disconnected, or unproductive, my first question for them would be “When was the last time you worshipped at church?”
2) I know it’s elementary, but as leaders we HAVE to get number 1. If the people we lead aren’t at church, they are moving towards discouragement.
3) When people are discouraged, the health of their relationship with God is in danger, even if they don’t know it or admit it.
4) This verse says to meet together. It implies more interaction than just coming in late, leaving early, and/or never interacting with anyone. We may start there, but we need to move towards being a part of what’s going on.
5) Time is running out. The Day of God is approaching. That truth should effect everything we do… from inviting people to church to raising our kids.
Your thoughts?
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HEY PASTORS: Bil Cornelius, the pastor of Bay Area Fellowship, is starting a new mentoring program!
Pastor Bil’s goal is to provide the insights that helped explode growth at Bay Area Fellowship to almost 7,000 in six campuses and many more to come.
If you are interested, the first scheduled day is December 8, all day. Bil will meet with no more than 15 to 20 leaders so JUMP ON THIS NOW!!!!
Here’s a sample of what you will learn:
If you are interested in this program you can read more about it, or get an application [HERE]
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We came up with these the other night at our Leadership Team meeting. Nothing fancy… definitely not an exhaustive list… but wow, Romans 12 has a lot to say about leadership. So here goes:
1. Serve others.
2. Learn to stay joyful in what you do.
3. Choose to be passionate and have compassion.
4. Be patient.
5. Pray without ceasing.
6. Leadership is sacrifice.
7. Constantly renew your mind.
8. Defeat evil by doing good.
9. Stay humble.
10. Lead hard.
11. Be a bright light.
12. Don’t ever think you know it all, be a lifelong learner.
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I hear a lot of excuses. Especially when people are asked to serve or do something a certain way. Many are totally legit. But sometimes, they are what they are… just excuses. Here are some I hear:
1) “God is in control so it doesn’t really matter what I do.” Wow. God IS in control. No doubt. But we have a part to play. If we didn’t, there would be no need for commandments.
2) “I will pray about it.” Ok, I believe in prayer. I believe in being God directed. But wow, when are we going to just trust that God is big enough to direct our lives. Here is my challenge to you: decide that you are going to do only what God wants you to do then just go for opportunities as they come. Which leads right into #3…
3) “I don’t want to get ahead of God.” I challenge you to put #2 into practice then see if you really can leave God behind. Do you really think you can outrun God?
4) “I’m too new at this Christian thing.” There are times when this is a legitimate excuse. The Bible warns not to make someone a pastor while they are a new believer (1 Timothy 3:6). But dang, serving is at the heart of being a Christian. If you are new, that is awesome. But you won’t experience healthy growth until you start to serve. Which leads right to #5:
5) “I don’t have everything I need.” This one covers a lot… skills, talent, money, the perfect plan, etc. Here’s the deal… don’t miss this… you will NEVER have everything you need until you step out to do what God is leading you to do! You learn the skills as you go… the resources and the people you need are in the harvest… God provides as you step out in faith so you will trust Him and give Him the credit. If you are waiting until you have everything you need, you are going to be waiting a LONG time.
6) “I might look foolish if I do this.” Wow! That’s a good reason TO do something! What are you risking for God? What are you doing that SO relies on God that if He doesn’t come through people will laugh at you? It’s time for us to get foolish, people!
Can you think of other excuses people use?
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At Bay Area, we are always looking to take it to the next level. If you serve in any area, here are a few points to think about:
1) What do you have to do to take the area you lead to the NEXT LEVEL?
2) Do you have an insatiable appetite for excellence or are you settling for 2nd best?
3) I think your view of God determines your level of excellence as you serve him. Let that sink in for a minute. What do you think?
4) At any given point, you should be leading at least 2 people who could replace you. Who are you leading who could replace you?
5) A friend of mine just told me that his team is volunteering at a local kids organization to mentor disadvantaged youth. I love the idea because it involves raising up the next generation of leaders. Who are you raising up to lead?
6) What level of sacrifice is too much for you as you lead God’s people?
7) What are you DOING to reach those who don’t yet know Christ?
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Here’s what’s on my mind right now:
1) I really loved BAF San Marcos today. I know I always do but something awesome is going on. Lives are being changed. We’re growing. It’s fun and exciting to be a part of the BAF family.
2) @johncatkinson and @jasoncurlee came down to hang out, encourage, and critique. I am seriously pumped about meeting with them tomorrow to get critiqued. I love feedback from strong leaders like those guys.
3) I’m stoked for @cadillaczak and his new church @revyourlife. A new church was born today. Thanks, Zak, for stepping out and inspiring all of us to take bigger risks.
4) Spur Leadership was phenomenal this year @Mac_Richard! I brought my 14yo son with me on Friday to check out Steven Furtick and General Tommy Franks. Wow, 2 of the best talks I have ever heard. This was my favorite moment: http://twitpic.com/k0sbu This young woman asked General Franks “Do you have any advice for a young person wanting to lead their generation?” He called her to the front. We all thought it was because he liked her question but it was because he couldn’t hear her. It was a special moment.
5) The leaders at BAF San Marcos are awesome. I love serving with you guys!
6) My 11yo is trying out for a worship leader position with element student church. I can’t tell you how proud that makes me.
7) I’m not feeling too hot tonight. I hope I can rest well tonight and get a full day’s work in tomorrow.
8) Next Sunday’s message at BAF San Marcos is going to rock our world. Probably our most important message yet. Thank you Jesus that we have had a lot of messages like that in 2009. Seriously, what a blessing.
9) Our BAF San Marcos facebook page has 139 fans after about a week. Please fan us too at http://facebook.com/bafsanmarcos. Thanks!
10) I should end on ten. It’s a good solid number. Nite!
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This is Part 2 in a series. Check out Part 1 here.
The other day in Multi-Site Staff meeting, we talked about ways that many campuses were connecting with their community. In the meeting, I made a long list of things we did while we were FOSM. I’m planning on sharing them with you in this series. So let’s pick up at #5…
5) Facebook – We started advertising on Facebook about a year ago. It’s not the most effective method in a way that can be measured… butts in the seats. But I like it because for about $200 we were able to get over 1.3 MILLION pages impressions on the screens of people in the San Marcos area. There are about 20-25,000 Facebook users in our immediate area. I really like the fact that our logo was seen over a million times. I can’t help but think that these were seeds that God will use in the future.
6) Flyers in businesses and schools – San Marcos is a music town and a college town. Because of that, practically every business allows flyers to be posted in their place of business. At one point, we paid a guy part-time just to put up flyers. You know, the kind of flyer with the little tear off part. This guy developed a list of about 150 places to put up our flyers. Hardly a week went by that didn’t see someone show up at FOSM because of one of these flyers. And yes, every time he posted a flyer, he tore off one of the little tear off thingies, just so we wouldn’t look like losers.
A note about Flyers in schools: For a brief while, we were able to distribute flyers to elementary age school kids as long as the event advertised benefited the community. The school district no longer allows “outside” flyers so we are not able to do this anymore.
7) Business Cards – These are little cards with a logo of the church and some church info. Here’s an example of one we are using for BAF San Marcos. These cards don’t do anything earth shaking. They are just tools. Tools that you and your people can use to help you invite people to church. I use them so much I feel inadequate if I don’t have some on me. We give them out to church attenders at our campus almost every weekend.
8) Breakfast Tacos – Around here, everybody loves breakfast tacos. They are pretty much a staple in most of Texas, especially South Texas which just so happens to be the BEST part of Texas, lol. Anyway, we love to serve our community in any way we can, especially with FOOD! It’s awesome to just take 10 dozen or so tacos to the Police Department with a poster that says “Thanks for what you do.” Another way is too take 10 dozen or so up to your local school with the same kind of poster. Some of these people we really RELY on (fire, police, teachers, etc) rarely get thanked or honored. Tacos are a great way to do that. Donuts are too. :)
Coming up in part 3: Serving IN the community
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I am the Campus Pastor at Bay Area Fellowship San Marcos but that doesn’t mean that everything expressed or posted here reflects the views of the church. It’s basically whatever is on my mind. Consider yourself warned :) more...
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