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Megablog

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Today started out at Springcreek Community Church for the Dallas stop of the Killing Cockroaches Tour. It was good to meet some new friends and then reconnect with some old friends including the guys from Fellowship Technologies. Beyond that, the family hung out at the pool, we enjoyed Mexican food at Uncle Julio’s and then we wrapped up the day roaming around Galleria Dallas.

While we’re in the middle of our family vacation and the book tour, life on the blog continues. As I was thinking about my blog readers today, I recalled this post when I passed 2,000 subscribers. (It’s about 5,500 subscribers now…so this post is probably even more applicable today.)

What if we talked about blogging like we talk about the church?

You may not notice it, but I’m facing inner-tension in my life. Regrettably, I’m approaching 2,000 subscribers. Some might celebrate that new megablog status, but I’m dealing with all kinds of turmoil. Let me explain…

  • I recently had a few subscribers leave my blog for smaller blogs. They were looking for a site where they could shake hands with the blogger at the end of each post.
  • I’ve started getting complaints that I don’t do enough posts for singles.
  • Some folks won’t subscribe to my blog because it’s too “attractional.” They think I need to find a way to bring my message to the people rather than expecting them to come to my site.
  • I’m getting complaints that my posts need to be longer and deeper. People think I’m making it too easy for folks to understand what I’m saying. Something about a camel and the eye of a needle…
  • There are some people who think bloggers should only use the Times Roman font. [continue reading>>]

Leaders Need to Drive

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Today we headed down the road toward the other Dallas – not Dallas, GA but Dallas, TX. We stopped in Jackson, MS for the night. Highlights from the day included seeing the Talladega Speedway, watching Jacob almost make himself sick by eating a footlong Philly steak sandwich, eating a great meal at Sweet Peppers Deli and cruising the Capitol area in Jackson.

All the driving reminded me of this post about leaders. At some point, leaders need to…

Drive the Car

Recently, I gathered with a group of guys for breakfast and to talk about leadership. One of the guys was talking about the challenges he and his wife have faced in recent months with their marriage. We all face those challenges. No marriage is immune. He’s married to a very wise woman, though. His wife suggested that she was getting really tired of talking about all the things that they needed to fix in their marriage. She was tired of all the discussion.

She went on to liken their marriage to owning a car that’s always in the garage. You get in the car. Sometimes you even start the engine. Most times, though, the car is up on the lift so that you can tinker with it. You own the car, but you’re always under the hood trying to analyze what’s wrong with it and what needs to be fixed. One day she said, I’m tired of trying to figure out how we need to fix the car–I just want to drive it.

That’s powerful. And, the thought occurred to me: this is a leadership lesson. If God has gifted you as a leader then you need to lead. You can read about leadership. You can talk about leadership. You can go to leadership conferences and hear men and women share their greatest leadership lessons. You can analyze your leadership ability, and you can have others help you tweak your leadership skills. All of that is worthless, though, unless you eventually get behind the wheel and drive the car. Leaders will never become leaders unless they lead. [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: Have you ever experienced those times as a leader where you really wanted to drive the car? What are you doing to help other leaders, particularly young leaders, have the opportunity to drive the car?

Bad Web Sites

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We had a great launch to the Killing Cockroaches Tour today in Atlanta at West Ridge Church. And, it was also a great launch to our family vacation. Among other things, we ate at a Japanese grill, played at the pool, cruised the big city of Dallas (Georgia) and ate at The Varsity in downtown Atlanta.

While we’re on the tour/vacation, I’ll be sharing some of the posts that inspired the book…that inspired the tour. Here’s a favorite from the early days of the blog. Here are…

10 Easy Ways to Keep Me from Visiting Your Church Because I Visited Your Website

  1. Avoid telling me what’s going to happen at your church this weekend. I found churches that had weather reports but nothing about their upcoming weekend service. I found two churches that had prominent information about upcoming golf scrambles (which I appreciated as a golfer), but nothing about this weekend’s service. Why would I come if I don’t know what I’m going to experience?
  2. Put a picture of your building on the main page. After all, ministry is all about the buildings.
  3. Use lots of purple and pink and add pictures of flowers. Really. Are you expecting any men to show up? And, for my benefit, please don’t put any doves on your website. Doves scare me. [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: What, in your opinion, doesn’t belong on the list? And, now that it’s about four years later, what should be added to the list for it to be current?

Killing Cockroaches

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Tomorrow I begin the Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour with a stop at West Ridge Church in Atlanta. In all, there will be six stops in six cities. Over the next three weeks during the tour, I’m going to share some of the blog posts that inspired the book. Maybe at the end we’ll have some sort of poll for you to pick your favorite.

There’s probably no better place to start than this post. This is how the book got its name…

Killing Cockroaches

I was sitting around the breakfast table with a bunch of guys this morning and was reminded of an incident that took place at a former job. This was before ministry. I was a city manager–kind of like the CEO of a business. I was responsible for leading an organization with a $20 million budget and 150 employees. I was the man. I wore a suit. Everyday.

One day I was working at my desk, and I heard a woman scream from the other side of the office building. Just a few seconds later, the screaming woman ran into my office. She explained that she needed help. She had found a cockroach in her office. And, for whatever reason, she thought this was a problem for the “CEO.” Remember, I was the guy who wore a suit. Everyday.

I’m not sure why I did it, but I slowly pushed my chair away from the desk. Stood up. Walked down the hall. Entered the screaming woman’s office, and proceeded to kill the cockroach. I was wearing my suit, which, of course, I wore…everyday.

It’s been about eight years since that incident. I don’t wear suits anymore, but there are still days when I come home a little mopey. I guess the frustration is all over my face. Emily will take one look at me and ask, “Did you have to kill cockroaches today?” [continue reading>>]

Cockroach Tour Buzz: When was the last time you caught yourself “killing cockroaches?”

Killing Cockroaches Tour Launches Monday

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All the fun begins on Monday! We’re hitting the road for 6 events in 6 cities. I’ll be offering 1/2-day workshops in all these locations:

The events are designed for both staff and volunteer leaders. I’ll specifically be addressing these two topics:

  • Building Teams and Empowering Leaders (Volunteer/Staffing Strategy)
  • Finding Your Focus (Outreach/Discipleship/Communications Strategy)

The early bird rates for the Chicago stop end tomorrow. Registration for all the stops will remain open through the day of the event.

Hope to see you somewhere along the way!

Early Bird Deadlines Approaching

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Couple quick notes for those of you who are trying to watch your checking account while you wait for that government stimulus package to kick in…

  • The early bird rates for the Story Chicago experience end in two weeks on June 30. I’ll be there with about 1,500 of my closest friends. Hope you’re one of them.
  • The early bird rates for the Atlanta and Dallas stops for the “Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour” end this week. After tomorrow (for Atlanta) and this Thursday (for Dallas), the rates jump up an extra $10 per person. The early bird deadline is 2 weeks before each tour stop.

By the way, we booked our entire trip last night. The Morgan family is ready to cruise America in style…or whatever descriptive word you might use to describe driving over 3,000 miles in a minivan.

Hope to see you at one or both of these events.

Killing Cockroaches Tour Update

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In case you haven’t heard, my family is hitting the road for three weeks for the Killing Cockroaches Summery Tour 2009. I’m going to be offering half-day seminars in six cities across the South and Midwest. The event will feature stories and learnings from my recent book, Killing Cockroaches: and Other Scattered Musings on Leadership.

This event is designed and priced for both staff and volunteer church leaders. Early bird pricing ends two weeks prior to each event date and then increases to $39 per person. That means there’s only one week left to register for the cheap rate if you plan to attend in Atlanta.

By the way, Atlanta is winning the registration race so far. Dallas and Chicago are running neck-and-neck for #2. St. Louis is in the basement (kind of like the St. Louis Rams).

Hope to see you at one of the six stops!

Schedule

9:00 am     Check-in

9:30 am     Session 1: Building Teams and Empowering Leaders (Volunteer/Staffing Strategy)

10:15 am   Q&A

10:45 am   Break

11:15 am   Session 2: Finding Your Focus (Outreach/Discipleship/Communications Strategy)

12:00 pm   Q&A

12:30 pm   Event Concludes

Host Churches

Atlanta – June 29 at West Ridge Church in Dallas, Georgia

Dallas – July 2 at Springcreek Church in Garland, Texas

St. Louis – July 6 at Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Missouri

Chicago – July 8 at The Orchard in Aurora, Illinois

Columbus – July 14 at Grace Church in Powell, Ohio

Nashville – July 17 at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee

LifeWay Wins the Prize!

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killing cockroachesDuring our date last night, Abby and I stopped by the local LifeWay store to browse books. Look what Abby found. There was a whole stack of Killing Cockroaches.

With that, LifeWay wins the “You’re a Really Cool Bookstore Award” for carrying a sufficient quantity of books so that potential Killing Cockroaches owners don’t have to walk away disappointed.

And, with that, I’m also naming Thom Rainer the first recipient of the “You’re a Really Cool CEO Award” for making it all possible. Thanks Thom!

(By the way, Thom, has there been any sign of Ed Stetzer at the LifeWay offices yet? Any confirmation that he actually works for you? I find it odd that Ed never mentions you when we talk. Very odd…)

Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour 2009

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It’s official! The Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour 2009 is going to happen. The Morgan family is super excited about jumping in the family truckster and traveling throughout the country. It’ll be a combination family vacation and training workshop tour. Here are the details:

  • Stops in 6 cities: Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Columbus and Nashville
  • 1/2 day workshops hosted by 6 great churches
  • Events scheduled over 3 weeks beginning June 29 in Atlanta and concluding July 17 in Nashville
  • Teaching on 2 topics: “Building Teams & Empowering Leaders” and “Finding Your Focus”
  • Plenty of time for Q&A to dig deeper on these topics and more
  • Priced (only $29) so you can bring both staff and volunteers

You can find more details on the schedule, the topics and the host churches on the registration page. Seating will be limited at all locations, so be sure to register today. If it’s anything like my past experiences with similar events, some of these locations will sell out.

I’m looking forward to having you meet my family and getting the chance to hang out with you. This is going to be fun. I hope you’ll join us.

UPDATE: The early bird rate of $29 will end two weeks prior to the event. Register early to save money.

The Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour?

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Last night during family fun night we talked about the possibility of renting an RV and hitting the road this summer. The primary purpose would be family fun. The secondary purpose would be to meet up with church leaders in different parts of the country to talk about leadership and strategy and other stories from Killing Cockroaches.

Want to join the fun? Right now I’m looking for:

  1. Churches in Columbus, OH, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Nashville and Atlanta that may want to host a gathering, and
  2. Sponsors and advertisers who may want to partner with me to make it happen.

If you fit in either of those categories, email me and let me know you’re interested.

If you think you may want to participate in the “Killing Cockroaches Summer Tour” with your team, stay tuned. We’ll let you know if it’s a go or not in the coming days.

Anyone have an RV for rent?

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