Last night I got to see my 16-year-old daughter head off to her first prom, and then be there when her friends gathered at the house after their dance. (I’m glad they chose our house.)

After she left, I sat in front of the television with my son and, together, we cheered for another Cleveland Indians victory. (They’re in first place!)

This morning, we’re heading to Cartersville to let our 6-year-old little girl participate in the Oak Leaf Church egg drop. (She’s very excited.)

This evening, we’ll all go to the soccer field to watch our 10-year-old play soccer. (She’s good.)

I’m growing more and more convinced that part of being a good dad is just being there. I’m not teaching them. I’m not coaching them. I’m not asking them to do something new. My only goal is to be there.

Same principle also applies to reaching people for Jesus. We can’t help people take next steps if we’re unwilling to invest the time to be there.

I’m going to be speaking at the Christian Web Conference at Biola University later this evening. Though much of this may not make sense without the talk that goes with it, here are my session notes:

Using the Web to Engage Your Audience – Session Notes

Hope to see you tonight for the big gathering. I will be the guy without the iPad.

Later this week, I’m going to be talking about using the web to engage your audience. Improving your content will help you engage your audience. I’ve decided to give away my secrets. Here are 10 ways to generate better content:

1. Tell stories. The stories about YOU are the best.
2. Create compelling headlines. I scan headlines and only read the articles with headlines that grab my attention.
3. Make it scannable. Think bullets, lists, bold type, subheadings, pull quotes, etc.
4. Use pictures and video. Keep videos under 4 minutes whenever possible.
5. Become a thought leader. That means you need to start reading something that doesn’t come from another pastor’s blog. And, you need to create time to think.
6. Meet reader’s needs. You have to develop relationships with your readers to figure this out.
7. Generate a reaction or prompt an action. Move people or frustrate people.
8. Be vulnerable. Share what you’re learning including the successes and the mistakes.
9. Use humor. Like this.
10. Keep it brief. I don’t read long articles on the web no matter who writes them.

Oh, and #11, start a conversation. What would you add to the list?

You may be interested in checking out some of the ministry resources that are available. Here are the folks that are making things happen at TonyMorganLive.com in April:

faithHighway – provides total marketing solutions to attract visitors to churches

dc – design and communication solutions that create raving fans, inspire people, and honor Christ

Know Hope Collective – featuring Mark Stuart and Will McGinniss formerly of Audio Adrenaline

Church Community Builder – a web-based church management software with multi-site capabilities

Clover – provides websites for growing churches and ministries

Ministry Marketing Group – helps churches and ministries identify and communicate their vision, mission, values and ministry events

Outreach Events – specializes in dynamic, outreach-oriented events with people like Scott Rigsby that create opportunities for sharing faith

Standard Theme – the best-coded WordPress theme ever (My site is built on this theme.)

StreamingChurch.tv – provides everything you need to broadcast your services live

TheCommon.org – offers a simple way for people to get and give help to their community

I only have a couple of remaining advertising spots open. If you are interested, email me for more details. I’d love to have you join our team!

Here’s the video trailer for Easter at West Ridge Church:

Services are filling up. If you plan to attend any of our three campuses, get your FREE tickets today!

My friend, Andy, beat out the other Andy (Andy Stanley) for the most popular blog post in March. Maybe Catalyst needs to recruit Andy, the one that’s not Andy Stanley, for their conferences.

Here are the most popular articles from March:

1. A Letter from Andy’s Dad on Marriage
2. My NCAA Tourney Picks
3. What Worship Leaders Can Learn from American Idol
4. The “Culture of Honor” is Hurting Churches
5. Interview with Seth Godin on ‘Poke the Box’
6. The New Normal
7. Unstuck: How do we get different results?
8. Unstuck: Mind the Gap
9. Vote Now: Which eBook should I release first?
10. Catalyst West 2011: Andy Stanley

By the way, I’m not sure why so many folks were interested in my NCAA basketball picks. Obviously, they weren’t very good.

Today is the official launch of my new eBook, Developing a Theology of Leadership. Amazingly, the stats indicate over 1,300 people have already read it since I leaked out the link before the weekend. I’m hoping you’ll find this resource helpful as you begin to consider who you are as a leader.

This eBook is based on a series of articles I wrote about two years ago. Thanks to the help of Ben Stroup, we’ve refreshed the content and added some new features to help you take your next steps in your leadership.

What I love about this and the next few resources I’m about ready to release is that you can’t just read them and put them on a shelf. (They’re eBooks. That would literally be impossible.) Aside from that, each eBook includes a discussion guide for you to begin a conversation with your ministry team. I’ve also included some recommended steps to take the content and “put it into action.” I’m challenging you to do that. Remember, teaching (or reading) shifts thinking, but systems shift behaviors.

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In case you haven’t heard, this morning I was introduced as the new campus pastor at the Oak Leaf campus of West Ridge Church. Let me answer a few questions for those of you who may not be as close to the action as we are:

Are you leaving West Ridge Church? Nope. Oak Leaf became a campus of West Ridge Church in January. Right now, West Ridge has three campuses in three different locations throughout Paulding and Bartow counties. We have a vision to establish three more campuses around our region in the next three years. In fact, I will continue to run point for the church on establishing those new locations.

Will you still be on the leadership team at West Ridge? Yep. That doesn’t change. I still get to hang out weekly with Brian, Paul, Troy, Kevin and Mac (when he’s not on the road). And, I still get to serve with the elders of West Ridge including Glenn, who represents the Oak Leaf campus. I get to serve with guys who love Jesus and have a huge vision to reach this region. Paul will be picking up many of my previous responsibilities at West Ridge to free me up to focus on Oak Leaf.

How long will you be the campus pastor? We don’t know. We believe it’s for a season, but we have no idea how long that may last. We just want to be obedient to God and sensitive to what’s best for the Oak Leaf campus and the overall health of West Ridge Church. We’re very confident it’s at least for the next six to twelve months, so we’re ready to dive in.

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Earlier this week, Today We Are Rich, the newest book by Tim Sanders was released. The book is filled with principles to embrace values like generosity and gratitude which ultimately help produce confidence. Here are my top ten highlights from my reading:

1. “Because we were able to share, we’re worth something. By being able and willing to give, we are rich.”
2. “If you mentally chew on something too long, it will get stuck in your psyche… Analyze something too deeply, and you’ll lose touch with reality.”
3. “Never predict that another person will experience failure.”
4. “Remember, your subconscious is easily directed by your actions, and giving what you feel you lack tells it there is a surplus after all.”
5. “When you give, you need to come from a place of humility, seeking to give to others what you want for yourself. If you give because you feel sorry for the needy, you are not empowering them.”
6. “Confidence in others requires a high level of trust, one at which you are willing to let go of your control of a situation.”
7. “Leaders who don’t follow someone or something bigger than themselves will eventually become drunk with a false sense of their own power.”
8. “How can you detect your higher purpose? It lies at the intersection of a make-a-difference opportunity and your personal capabilities.”
9. “The essence of spiritual maturity is when we begin to follow a purpose and enjoy, but not be governed by, our passions.”
10. “If you pursue your commitments the way you chase your dreams, you’ll someday realize how linked the two really are.”

Visit Tim’s site to download a free excerpt from the book, or use my Amazon link to purchase a copy for yourself.