Had a church planter friend of mine direct message me on Twitter today asking about video resources for smaller churches. He’s looking for ways to incorporate media into his message. Here are the links I shared with him:

Open LifeChurch.tv

WorshipHouse Media

bluefish.tv

Creation Swap

Movie Clips

Open LifeChurch.tv is the only site I’m aware of that provides 100% of its videos for free. Both WorshipHouse Media and bluefish.tv will charge a minimal fee for their resources. Creation Swap doesn’t have videos, but you can use that site for free graphics. Finally, Movie Clips is a great free option for search movie scenes by topic.

What other sites would you recommend? Join the conversation by adding your comment.

Several months ago, a few of us were sitting in my office talking about trying to impact the lives of men in our community. It started with a proposal to do a men’s retreat. We talked about that option and everything it would take to pull off a successful retreat. We knew, at best, we might be able to challenge a few hundred guys.

Then we started to talk about what might happen if we could do the men’s retreat on Sunday mornings. It could potentially give us the opportunity to connect with a few thousand men rather than just a few hundred. That’s the genesis of the “Man Up” series that will launch this coming Sunday at the Dallas and West Paulding campuses of West Ridge Church. Here’s the video trailer for the series:

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In continuing with our Church Spotlight feature (you can see the two previous spotlights Cornerstone Church and The River), today I’d like to introduce you to Word Alive Church in Oxford, Alabama, and pastor Kent and Beverly Mattox.

TONY: Who are you?

Kent and Beverly Mattox

KENT: I met my future wife, Beverly, in the early 1980’s. She was a drug dealer and I was a drug addict. While on a date, Bev told me of a vision she had many months earlier while driving down the interstate on a drug run. She said the skies opened up and she saw a man with her that looked like me standing on a platform preaching to thousands of people. She told God “I think you’ve got the wrong person,” and she heard God chuckle and say “I’ll see about that.” As she recounted this vision to me, Beverly told me I was supposed to be a preacher. At that mention, I was the one laughing!

Shortly after that, my life took a downward spiral resulting in a drug overdose that nearly cost me my life. We moved to Orlando, Florida to work with my dad in order to help us get our lives back together. It was during this time in Orlando, Florida that my wife and I were delivered from a lifestyle of drug addiction in 1986. The Lord radically changed our lives and we started ministering the Gospel. I served as an Associate Pastor in Orlando, FL, for ten years before launching Kent Mattox Ministries. After almost two years of traveling the world preaching the Gospel, the Lord called us to start Word Alive International Outreach.

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The guys at Bluefish TV did an amazing job of capturing the impact that Atlanta churches are having by working together. Check out this video:

Are you beginning to see similar collaborative efforts in your communities? What impact is it having? Join the conversation by adding your comment.

Do you ever wonder if what you’re doing is really have an impact? I think it’s healthy to consider that from time to time. Fortunately, as Christ-followers and church leaders we have some wisdom to use as a barometer. Jesus has planned for us to do great things. In Christ, we should be making a big impact. (See John 14:12.) Jesus gave both the church and his followers this measure to determine whether or not we’re really having an impact:

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

I really do believe that a sign of health in churches and individually as Christ-followers is that we will “bear much fruit”. To me, that’s the bottom line distinction between a healthy church and a church that is just…”doing church”.

That’s my fear. I don’t want churches (or people) to so fall in love with their practices and traditions that they begin to see what they do as the measure of success rather than the fruit that’s produced. Individually, we are susceptible to the same trap. We can begin to get so focused on our religious activities (going to church, reading a book, taking a class, listening to sermon podcasts, attending the event, etc.) that we begin to think that’s the win. That may be part of the preparation, but the win is bearing fruit. God gave his one and only Son to save the world. Jesus didn’t die for his followers to attain more biblical knowledge — that sacrifice freed us to do great things and bear much fruit.

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Blankenship is typically the person that helps me discover creative music examples like this. Check out Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic playing Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson for two cellos solo. Very creative.

It’s a great reminder that creative opportunity exists when we collide two seemingly unrelated elements. In this case, the results were brilliant. Of course, you can’t really go wrong with anything written by Michael Jackson.

How do you fuel the creative process to generate ideas like this? Join the conversation by adding your comment.

Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel

Thanks to my friends at Catalyst, I have four tickets to give away. There are two tickets for the Catalyst One Day event in Orlando on February 17. I also have two tickets for the Labs at the Catalyst West Conference on March 2. If you’re interested in the free tickets, leave a comment on this post. I’ll randomly select someone by 5:00 pm EST tomorrow, January 27. Here are the details on both events.

Catalyst One Day

The Catalyst One Day event is coming to Orlando on Thursday, February 17, at Northland Church in Orlando, FL. Join Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel for a one day leadership event focused on the topic of creating healthy organizational culture. This practical leadership experience includes Q & A, dynamic music and a full day of insight from two of the principal voices on leadership in the Church today. Visit www.catalystoneday.com to register to attend. Use special rate code FOB to receive a discounted ticket price of $89. The special rate ends this Thursday, January 27th.

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I had a great response to the “Church Trends” series that ran through the first few weeks of the year. In case you missed any of them, here’s a quick summary of everyone who contributed with some of their quotes that grabbed my attention:

• Sam Chand – “These non-member regular attendees will come to the same church for years and not become members. They contribute financially and attend regularly and remain low-maintenance, but will not join.”
• Brad Lomenick – “With more collaboration and partnering in cities, the Church will be seen as a force for good, and not just a building or destination. I believe that collaboration will lead to more opportunities for influence.”
• Mel McGowan – “Some mistake the only alternative as an “anti-building” or underground house church approach… Real estate development and building can be one of the most incarnational acts that we can join God in.”
• Jenni Catron – “One of my greatest fears for the church is that our young, talented women will walk away from the church because they don’t see an opportunity for their giftedness to be used.” (more…)

A few weeks ago, I invited you to consider joining me for the new leadership coaching network starting in March. Just wanted to let you know that the deadline to apply is this Friday, January 28. After that…well…you’re out of luck.

For those who choose to engage this experience, here’s what you’ll receive:

• Six days of coaching sessions over six months (9:00 am to 3:00 pm each day)
• Focused training on a variety of ministry strategies topics including staffing, leadership development, communications, financial stewardship, volunteer team development, weekend services, ministry structure, discipleship, multi-site and more
• Tools, exercises and best practices to implement after every session
• The opportunity to network with and learn from like-minded leaders
• Dedicated time in every gathering to talk through the pressing issues you are facing
• An invitation to join an online group limited to network participants for continuing dialogue between sessions
• Several free resources and books
• Plus other fun surprises and guest appearances!

Got questions? The specific details are outlined on the coaching section of my site. If you can’t find the answer there, email me.

More important, here’s the online application to join this new coaching network.

(All the cool people are doing it.)

Twice in the last week I’ve had the opportunity to talk with great staff teams about engaging high-capacity volunteers in their church. It’s a good example of how we need to change our behaviors in order to change behaviors. People with huge leadership capacity or specialized skills will not fit into our current volunteer structure and systems. We’ll have to change in order to create opportunities for that type of engagement.

One example of a church and a high-capacity leader that get it is reflected in the story behind Bellevue Church Management System (BVCMS). I introduced you to this free, open-source church management suite a couple of weeks ago. Let me share a little bit of their story.

David Carroll has a background in developing financial software. He’s been a faithful member of Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis for many years. As a member of the church, he saw a need to improve upon their church management system. This tapped into his God-given talents. By the way, I think this offers a few clues to engaging high-capacity volunteers: (more…)