TonyMorganLive.com

"People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be part of something that touches their hearts. The art of marketing today is the ability to build this emotional connection. I am not going to tell people where they should be spending their money, but I would advise that all marketing be authentic, and relate to reaching into people’s hearts to let them know that you want to be part of their life."

Howard Schultz, Chairman of Starbucks as quoted in Know Magazine (Spring/Summer 2005)

It’s official. My newest book with Tim Stevens, Simply Strategic Growth, has just been released and you can now purchase it on a computer near you through Amazon.com. Buy a copy for yourself. Buy several copies for your ministry teammates. Buy a copy for your mom. Buy a copy for your ministry teammates’ moms. We need to get that Amazon ranking on the move so that I can have at least one book ahead of Mark Waltz’s book.

Speaking of Terry Storch, we learned recently through his blog that he’s a big Blow Out fan–the show on Bravo. I tried to watch the show last night. I made Emily watch it with me. It made me feel very dirty. I could only take it for a few minutes. I had to flip back to ESPN. I learned a lot about Terry, though, in those few minutes.

Mark Morgan from Fellowship Church is coming up this weekend to visit Granger and my family. Mark (no relation) and I met through blogging. I think Terry introduced us.

I’m a little bit nervous. I’ve never been on an Internet date before. What if he doesn’t like me? What if we don’t hit it off? What should I wear? So much to think about…

When people ask me why Granger has experienced continued growth through the years, the one area that probably rises to the top of the list has to be the quality teaching that happens week after week. It’s filled with biblical truth. It’s engaging. It’s relevant. I’m biased, but I think I get to listen to and learn from one of the best teaching teams in the country.

I took the time recently to figure out what it is, in my mind, that makes our guys so effective in their communications. This might not apply to anyone else, but I listed what really works for me. With that in mind, here are the:

10 Easy Ways to Keep Tony Morgan Awake and Engaged During Your Entire 30-Minute Message

1. Be real. Let people see the actual human inside you. Most times that will occur through your personal stories.
2. Talk like normal people talk. I didn’t grow up in the church, so I don’t understand when you talk with a Christian accent.
3. Use humor. If you don’t make me laugh, I’m probably going to tune you out. By the way, the best humor is revealed through your everyday life.
4. Don’t tell me what to think. Lead me on the journey toward truth, but let me reach my own conclusions. In other words, don’t try to sell it.
5. Be honest. If I think you’re credible, there’s a better chance I’ll think your message is credible.
6. Avoid being too polished. In fact, I love it when you leave your prepared statements and share anything off the cuff.
7. Reveal your weaknesses. As silly as it may seem, it makes me smile when I hear about your mistakes. It helps me to respect the areas where you are gifted.
8. Be brief. Shorter is better. I’m probably only going to remember one or, at the most, two things that you say.
9. Make me smart. I don’t care how smart you are, but I like it when you make me feel smart. That’s easier when you use small words and make it easy for me to apply what you’re teaching.
10. Tell me why I should care. Help me understand why I should listen. If you don’t help me understand why it’s relevant to my life, I’ll to be thinking about my next blog post or my next tee time or my favorite 80s slow dance songs.

I’ve never had a seminary course on preaching, so I really don’t know anything about what it takes to prepare a good sermon. This list probably only works for me, but at least you’ll know how to keep me awake if I ever visit your church.

It’s my Father’s Day gift. I’m wearing CK One Summer. Yes, I know I smell like a combination of various citrus fruits, but I like it because Emily likes it. I realize it’s a unisex scent. It’s possible that my mom is wearing the same scent. I’m not proud of that, but, as I said, my wife likes it. And, since this is a Baptist-friendly site, I will spare you the details of why I’m confident that Emily likes my new eau de cologne.

Here’s the "box score" for this past weekend at Granger Community Church.

Music: "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani (You read that right.)

Message: "Winning the War for Love" — Rob Wegner, Pastor of Life Development, addressed two more of the"seven deadly sins" by talking about the dangers of greed and lust. He taught about combating both through agape love.

Service Highlights: All I can say is you’ve probably not heard church music like what was used at Granger Community Church this past weekend. I’m guessing Gwen Stefani’s song won’t be picked up for the next edition of the United Methodist Hymnal; however, there was probably no better song to illustrate greed in today’s culture and lay the foundation for an incredible message on God’s love.

Stats: 4,623 total attendance (3,701 adults + 922 kids); 22.6% increase from the same weekend last year

Percentage of weekend attendance by service:

1. Sun 10:15 am = 26%
2. Sat 5:30 pm = 20%
3. Sun 11:45 am = 18%
4. Sat 7:30 pm = 18%
5. Sun 8:45 am = 18%

Final Notes: The service also included a video to promote the upcoming block parties that the church is hosting throughout the South Bend region on July 10. You can view the trailer on the Block Party page at GCCwired.com. Napoleon Dynamite fans will probably really appreciate it. It’s flippin’ sweet!

Received my July/August issue of Outreach Magazine today. The newest issue includes the top 100 largest and fastest-growing churches in the United States. This is the second year for the listing in cooperation with Dr. John Vaughan at Church Growth Today.

Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Florida jumped 4,330 people in 2004 to top the list of fastest-growing churches. Joel Osteen’s church, Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas is the largest church in America with 32,500 attending each weekend.

Granger Community Church landed at number 62 on the list of fastest-growing churches with a gain of 729 people in the last year. We’re still a mini-megachurch because we haven’t cracked the list of the top 100 largest churches. That list includes all the churches averaging 6,000 or more each weekend.

And, yes, on page 81 of the new Outreach Magazine you’ll find an article adapted from Simply Strategic Stuff, my first book with Tim Stevens. The article is titled "11 Surefire Ways to Wake Up Your Church." I’ll let you decide whether or not you like the article, but the illustrations done by Dennis Jones are hilarious. Forget the top 100 list. It’s worth $5.95 for the new edition of Outreach just to see the picture of the pastor reading a copy of Seventeen.

The whole deal about figuring out God’s will has always been somewhat of a mystery for me. That’s why I was intrigued by Kyle Lake’s new book Understanding God’s Will: How to Hack the Equation without Formulas. You may not know Kyle yet, but you know the guy that leads worship at his church. Kyle is the pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas–home of the David Crowder Band. How fun would that be?

Here are some of my favorite lines from the book:

• "The God of the Scriptures seems more interested in relationship than performance."
• "The central question in life is not, ‘Have you discerned God’s will for your life–vocation, college, spouse, location?’ but, ‘Are you becoming a learner of Christ as you navigate life, career, family, dating/marriage, and relationships?’"
• "Herein lies a major misconception about God’s will–namely that God’s will is the path of least resistance…our mistake is to confuse an open door for an easy door."
• "Though we have intentionally chosen to follow God, that doesn’t mean our lives are exempt from disappointment, illness, conflict, and even unexpected tragedy. God’s will is not the path of least resistance!"
• "God’s primary will does not revolve around what you do, but who you are and who you are becoming."
• "No matter how each of us employs the king’s specific will for our lives, if we can’t connect it with the good of the kingdom, then we’ll most likely not experience the full meaning for which our lives were intended."

If you were hoping to find God’s will here, I’m sorry–there are no magic formulas. My offer at 1-800-ASK-TONY still stands, though. As always, I’d be glad to tell you what to do or where to go.

You’ll find my latest article in the July/August issue of Rev Magazine. Unfortunately, the online edition only includes a few stories from the actual magazine. You can either email Rev and encourage them to include more content on their website, or you can sneak over to your local Christian bookstore and pick up a copy.

The article is called “The Staff Should Serve the Servants.” Here’s a quick hit to whet your appetite. At Granger this leaders-as-servant model includes the following roles:

• Reminding people constantly that the volunteers do the ministry and the staff supports the volunteers,
• Resourcing the volunteers with appropriate tools like facility space, equipment, leadership support, money, etc.,
• Completing administrative tasks where needed so volunteers can focus on doing the ministry, and
• Being the champion of the church’s mission, vision and values so volunteers remain focused on the right ministry direction.

Sorry, you’ll have to read the rest in Rev.