My favorite Cinderella team of this year’s NCAA tourney, George Mason, upset Connecticut today. Congratulations to Jim Larranaga and the Patriots. I can’t wait to watch the Final Four next weekend. Wouldn’t it be fun if the George Mason team pulled off a couple more upsets? Go Patriots!
George Mason Upsets Connecticut
2 CommentsMom’s Watching
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My mom called earlier. Apparently she found my blog. It was a secret for almost an entire year, but now the cat’s out of the bag. I guess my brother and sister (who also just found it recently) clued her in. Mom said she’s spreading the word to all her friends back home in Piqua. Of course, we have to remember that it doesn’t take a whole lot to stir conversation in Piqua, Ohio.
I’m not sure what Mom has read at this point. Little does she know that she’s been mentioned several times in the last 12 months on this site. In fact, I thought it would be helpful to provide links to all the posts where Mom was part of my simply strategic insights:
- Mom was "my producer."
- Mom may smell like me.
- I’m part of the group of bloggers that has a mom.
- I have an aversion to Mother’s Day.
It was one thing when I found out "my pastor" was reading my blog. Now that I found out my mom is reading my blog, I have an entirely new filter to consider. Hope she doesn’t read my Leviticus notes.
I love you Momma-Jo! Thanks for encouraging me to lead and create and embrace life passionately. Oh, and thanks for feeding me lasagna.
New Beginnings
No CommentsWe teach Class 101 every six weeks or so. It’s kind of like a membership class to help people discover the "why" behind the ministry of Granger Community Church. The fun part is that Mark spends the first hour of that class sharing how people can enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Yesterday, 31 people accepted Christ during the class. It’s pretty cool to be a part of something that helping to transform so many people’s lives.
Dirty Little Secrets
No CommentsThe PureSex series wrapped up this weekend. I’ll be posting the final numbers in the box score sometime tomorrow. In the mean time, you may be interested in seeing some of the music and the videos used during the series. If so, go to GCCwired.com and click on the "media player" at the top of the page. You’ll find clips from the series under the music, drama and teaching categories. My favorites are "Dirty Little Secret" under the music category (watch for glimpses of the background video) and the two medias under the drama category.
I can’t wait to see what our fans–Ingrid, Jim, Ian and friends–have to say about the "ViewMaster" video. Our team creatively pulled thoughts from Shaunti Feldhahn’s book, For Women Only, to illustrate the unique differences between how men and women think. It was used during the message, "Straight Talk for Men & Women." The video is hilarious, and it was a powerful illustration for the teaching in that discussion with Shaunti.
(By the way, I really love the added visibility some of our vocal opponents are giving to our ministry through the blog world. They think they’re trying to fix us. In reality, they’re helping to fuel the buzz and that’s introducing Granger to an entirely new group of church leaders. So, in case you’re wondering, I hope they keep trying to fix us through their blogs. Every time they write about how they think we’re doing church wrong, we gain new fans. Love that!)
By the way, Tim and I are redesigning our Simply Strategic Growth workshop to include an entirely new section that will unpack our thinking and strategy behind the PureSex series. If you’re interested in learning more, you can join us on April 21 for the next workshop here on the Granger campus. Consider attending the workshop on Friday, and then hanging around for one of our Saturday evening services. It’s going to be a fun workshop, and I’d love to share that experience with you and your ministry team.
No Show Today. I’m Sorry.
2 CommentsWe couldn’t swing a podcasting session this past week because of our roadtrip, so there’s no new episode of the Simply Strategic Show. Here’s the problem–I know this news is going to generate emotional reactions for hundreds of Simply Strategic Show fans all over the world including the two or three pastors left in Iowa. The difficulty with that situation is that I don’t do counseling. I’m the pastor of spreadsheets. I don’t know how to help you process your pain and sorrow. If you want, though, I can give you Tim’s email address or cell phone number and I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help you deal with your emotions. He likes that sort of stuff.
That’s Quotable [John Baldoni]
1 Comment"People don’t engage on strategy. They engage on the personal. You have to win their hearts and minds… I always ask people to recall a memorable speech. Dollars to doughnuts what they remember most is a story–not a fact or a chart."
John Baldoni, author of How Great Leaders Get Great Results as quoted on FastCompany.com
Idol Thoughts
13 CommentsMy family is hooked on American Idol this year. Yes, we’re 5 (Brooke doesn’t care yet) of the 30 million viewers who have made Idol the top television show in America. In case you’re wondering, here’s who the Morgan family thinks will be the three finalists in this year’s contest:
- Chris Daughtry (I think Emily is smitten with him.)
- Katharine McPhee (She has an attractive…voice.)
- Taylor Hicks (He’ can’t dance, but he has personality.)
What do you think? Do the Morgans have it right?
Bible Journey > Numbers
2 CommentsLast week I finished up Numbers in my journey through the Bible. Here are my thoughts and highlights:
- Looks like counting people is important when you’re living together in community with others. It seems that "numbers" are actually important to God.
- God frequently said, "I am God." When he says that, I’m thinking that’s more for my benefit than his benefit.
- The Kohathites were responsible for caring for the most holy things. The Gershonites were responsible for carrying heavy loads. The Merarites were responsible for carrying the frames of The Dwelling. Apparently God believes there’s value to organization and structure even within ministry.
- The Nazirite vow included a time of consecration where long hair was a continuing sign of holy separation to God. I think it’s pretty clear: God loves mullets.
- One offering included a silver plate, a bowl filled with flour, a gold vessel with incense, a bull, 2 oxen, 6 rams, 6 goats and 6 lambs. I wonder how our count team and accounting department would handle that?
- At one point, Moses said, "Give me some time; I’ll find out what God says in your circumstances." That’s a great reminder that sometimes we need to step back, wait and see what God says before we act.
- God gets angry when we grumble and whine about our circumstances.
- Moses sent 12 guys to scout out Canaan–the land God had promised them. Only two of those men thought it was the right thing to move into that land. Here’s a case where the "vote" didn’t reflect God’s will.
- God made a donkey talk. As far as I know, this is the only instance of a talking donkey in the Bible. That makes me think once you’ve heard one ass speak, you’ve heard them all.
- When the people gathered for worship, God asked that they not do any regular work that day.
- At times, God specifically identified people who should be in charge and hand out assignments. God calls some to be leaders.
Box Score for Weekend of March 18/19
6 CommentsHere’s the "box score" for this past weekend at Granger Community Church.
Music: "Dirty Little Secret" by All-American Rejects; "He Will Carry Me" by Mark Shultz
Message: "What Happens in Vegas WON’T Stay in Vegas" — Mark Beeson, Senior Pastor, talked about James 1:13-16 and the "three hats" of Satan–the tempter, the promoter and the accuser. Mark concluded the message by talking about the new start we can have through Jesus Christ. By accepting Jesus, we can experience forgiveness from our sins (Isaiah 1:18).
Service Highlights: The arts team used the song "Dirty Little Secrets" to set up the message–which, of course, addressed the fact that sexual sins are rarely secret. The creative team put together a phenomenal video to accompany that song. I’m really amazed at how the video system impacts the various elements of the service. It’s been an incredible addition to our services.
Stats: 6,573 total attendance (5,070 adults + 1,503 kids); 30.2% increase from the same weekend last year
Percentage of weekend attendance by service:
- Sat 5:30 pm = 28%
- Sun 10:15 am = 24%
- Sun 11:45 am = 18%
- Sat 7:30 pm = 17%
- Sun 8:45 am = 12%
Final Notes: In case you’re wondering, no one expected this many people to be still hanging around by this point in the series. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks as we move into the Easter holiday.
NCAA Basketball Tourney Picks
3 CommentsIn case you’re wondering, I’ve done a lousy job this year of picking games for the NCAA basketball tournament. Next to watching the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National, this is probably my favorite sporting event of the year. Unfortunately, my prognostication skills have become a little rusty. I only picked 21 of the first 32 games correctly, and now I only have 8 of the final 16 teams left. All my "final four" picks–Duke, Gonzaga, Connecticut and Boston College–are still around.
To be honest, though, I always love rooting for the underdog. And, this year, my favorite is George Mason. Their coach, Jim Larranaga, was the head coach at Bowling Green State University the four years I was there. One of the fun things about Jim’s coaching style is his whistling skills. He’s the best whistler I’ve ever heard. He does that to get his team’s attention so that he can tell them what to do next on the court. Listen closely as you’re watching George Mason’s game next Friday against Wichita State in the regional semi-finals. You’ll hear Larranaga whistling on the sidelines.
