Lion Chasers Manifesto

Yesterday I was sharing with someone that I wanted to frame the Lion Chasers manifesto and hang it in my office. Sad to say they didn't know what I was talking about so I started to explain the book and the idea behind the Lion Chasers Manifesto. I didn't do it justice and I'm pretty sure I hacked it up so here's how author/Pastor Mark Batterson wrote it.

Just a little side note if you read this and feel nothing...somethings wrong with you! I hope and pray that as you read this that something in you will reignite. Get off your blessed assurance, stop delaying what God wants to do in your life...run hard...dream out loud...and live life to the fullest.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

Jacking me up!

Just read a post on Perry Nobles blog and he asked a question that has jacked me up good...here it is...

“What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?”

DAGer's meditate on that and let me know what ya'll think!

Great Post Spotlight

Just read the new post by Perry Noble and all I got to say is that it jacked up my morning. Here's a little peek at the post...

"MAYBE that’s one of the problems in church world today—there aren’t enough leaders who will FIGHT for what they believe in. The early church leaders were willing to sacrifice their lives…unfortunately many leaders today won’t even sacrifice a paper cut!" - Perry Noble

To read the rest of the post go here and tell me what ya'll think.

I'm headed to Phoenix Arizona!!!

At 10:00am my friend Chris Lewis and I are flying out to Phoenix Arizona to attend Tommy Barnett's 32 Pastors School. Honestly I am writing this post at 2:57am I am so jacked up about this conference that I can't sleep. I have always wanted to go to this conference and now I am finally going.

I got to saying thank you to my friends Pastor Chris Lewis and Pastor Troy Shaw of Osasis Church in Loganville Georgia. Because of these guys I got a ticket to attend the conference. But I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to my amazing...gorgeous...and thoughtful wife. She gave me this trip for my 31st birthday. I love you so much honey. Thank you for helping me become a better Husband, Father, and Pastor. You rock my world!!!

DAGer's please pray for traveling mercies as we fly out later this morning. Also get ready because I'm coming back with a LIMP IN MY WALK. If you weren't at church yesterday ask somebody who was they will explain the LIMPING thing to you. I know this statement is over used but THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!

If you love your Senior Pastor...

If you love your Senior Pastor you have got to read this post. Pastor Perry just wrote a great post that I totally agree with and hope everyone at DAG reads it. It's entitled, Seven Things Senior Pastors Want Their Staff To Know–Part One check it out here.

GUEST BLOGGER: CASEY GRAHAM

Hey everyone you are about to experience something new on my blog...a guest blogger. Casey Graham, President of ReThink Money, is a new friend that I met several weeks ago. I was in the middle of a finance series when I get this message from a guy that I have never met. He saw a comment that I left on a blog and wanted to get to know me and hear what God was doing in Dahlonega. So I called him back and introduce myself and we started talking about what God was doing in our lives. Somewhere in our conversation I told him I was in the middle of a finance series and then he started to share with me what he does through ReThink Money.

I don't believe in accidents or luck I believe in divine appointments. Casey didn't know this but I had been praying about how I can help our church with their personal finances. Sure I was teaching about money but I wanted to give them more...I wanted to help them take what they heard on Sunday and apply it to their lives the rest of the week. Honestly, I didn't know how to do this but that's were Casey came into the picture.

The Lord sent Casey and ReThink Money at the right time. Casey is the real deal. He wants to help your people become more like Jesus Christ by taking control of their financial futures and having hope for the future. That's exactly what happen at Dahlonega Assembly of God last Saturday. I personally recommend Casey and the team at ReThink Money. The ReThink Money LIVE seminar was fun, simple, and most of all it gave a new sense of HOPE for the future.

Please...please...please...ya'll got me begging and I never beg but this is too important. Don't let your pride, fears, or insecurities as a leader stop you from inviting Casey and ReThink Money to your church. I promise you it will be one of the best decisions you make as a leader.

Okay bloggers it's my honor to introduce to you my new friend Casey Graham. I hope you enjoy his post.

At ReThink Money, we pride ourselves in helping the AVERAGE person with finances. I think we make finances way to complicated sometimes. At ReThink Money we actually frustrate really financially savvy people because they want to teach everybody everything about finances! I have learned that in teaching finances their are four major subjects we have to tackle. In this post I would love to share with you the three subjects and their benefits.

1. Spending

I can't believe I go around the country teaching people to spend less than they make. It seems so simple but it really is so hard. Spending is a spiritual decision. Each time we make a purchase we have made a choice to take God's money and use it for something that will benefit our kingdom or His. At ReThink Money we teach people how to spend less than they make and to leverage their spending for Kingdom impact.

My in-laws went to buy a lake house. As they were in the middle of signing the contract at the real estate agents office they wanted to stop and pray and use this time to ask God to bless the lake house for Kingdom good. As I sat their I was thinking, "This prayer is just to justify this purchase!" I really thought it was a weird and shallow prayer.

A few weeks later one of my best friends and pastor's that I served with was diagnosed with cancer. He lived ten weeks after his diagnosis. Guess where his family stayed during their last few weeks with my friend? THE LAKE HOUSE! They leveraged their kingdom for God's Kingdom. That is very important to teach your people. It isn't bad to own a lot of stuff. It is only bad when we don't see what we own in light of eternity.

Question 1: How are you teaching your church to leverage their purchasing power for God's Kingdom?

Application: You could definitely teach a message series around this idea.

2. Debt

I believe getting out of debt is a great place to start and terrible place to stop! I am starting to see a debt free mentality in some of the churches I work with. HOWEVER, I think this is only the first step in the equation. The reason we become debt free is so we can free up more money to give! Being debt free just to build our kingdom is very empty.

Question 2: How are you helping your church decrease debt in their lives so they can increase generosity? What is your plan for that?

Application: Let ReThink Money teach your people how to become debt free! Email me at cgraham@rethinkmoney.org

3. Generosity

I am not hearing a lot of preachers teach on this subject unless they need money for a specific project. I am NOT AGAINST asking for money for your church for a specific project at all! I am only against it if that is the only time you talk on generosity. I believe that generosity is a lifestyle more than a one time act or commitment. I would like to place a challenge out to all pastors reading this blog. I dare you to challenge your church to be more generous this fall. It is absolutely essential we do this. Why? PEOPLE'S SPIRITUAL LIVES DEPEND ON IT! If you want to know what will stretch people to believe in Jesus, ask them to give their possessions away.

Generosity HAS TO BE TAUGHT on at a higher level.

Question 3: How are you specifically helping people become more generous in God's Kingdom? How is your church becoming more generous in giving more to the poor and needy?

I think you could do a message series on these three subjects and it would be a home run. Remember finances need to stay simple. Let us help you navigate this process! Email me at cgraham@rethinkmoney.org

Preach IT Pastor Perry!

Hey DAGer's some of you may remember Pastor Perry from NewSpring Church in Anderson SC. We watched him a couple of Sundays ago during our ONE PRAYER series. I was reading his blog recently and came across a series of post entitled "Pastors/Church Planters BEWARE that totally echos how I feel regarding SEVEN types of persons that try to neuter a church. I will be reposting his post because I believe we could ALL learn from Pastor Perry's and NewSpring's experience.

I was thinking the other day about what I would types of people I would warn a pastor/church planter about–there are seven, here are the first few…

#1 - The “I’m Going To Leave If” Person
Pastors, you are going to have people threaten to leave your church–period. And 999 times out of 1,000 the best thing you can do is let them go. I remember once in the early years being on the telephone for over an hour, begging a young lady in our church not to leave. Why was she wanting to leave? A group of singles had gotten together and forgotten to call her. You are going to have people who don’t like the music, your wife, you talking about your kids, the way you dress, the kind of car you drive, the version of the Bible you use, your hairstyle, your zodiac sign, your staff, and your belief on the end times. You can’t please everyone…and, to be honest, that BOTHERS me! But, reality is, according to Hebrews 13:17 you and I will stand before God one day and be held accountable for how we led the church…and I would much rather a disgruntled person walk out that God’s presence go instead! Don’t ever be held captive by a person who keeps threatening to leave.

#2 - The “Let Me Tell You How Much Money I Have” Person.
Pastors, you’ve GOT to make a choice early - are you going to be motivated by money (thus becoming a prostitute, not a prophet) OR are you going to resign to the fact that Jesus purchased you, thus making you not for sale? I remember early on a guy calling my assistant and demanding that I come to his house for dinner. (Something I just don’t do…explanation later!) He told her where he worked, where he lived (a NICE neighborhood), the kind of car he drove and also told her he wanted to get financially involved in the church…all I had to do was some to his house for dinner. I didn’t go. I don’t play that game. When people begin to dangle money in front of you…it is ALWAYS attached to an agenda.

We have some incredibly generous people at NewSpring Church who give faithfully every single week. In our two campaigns that we’ve done we had a giver once give $1.4 million and another one gave $1 million…and neither of them ever asked me for one second of my time. They gave with a pure heart and with pure motives.

When people threaten to stop giving then that is an issue they will have to work out with God. Don’t let a person who has a lot of $$$ keep you from doing what God has called you to do.
When a person begins telling you how much money they have…trust me, they ultimately desire to either buy you or control you. Don’t let it happen. Tell them you are excited they have money, ask them to give generously, challenge them to be faithful in their giving…but don’t EVER begin to let them dangle money in front of you, thus becoming your source of motivation.

All I got to say is PREACH IT PASTOR PERRY!!!

thank you catalyst!

I just got done listening to the Catalyst podcast interview with Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble, Mark Batterson, and Steven Furtick. What a great interview! I have always wondered what it would be like talking to one of these men of God on the phone and getting excited about ministry. It was inspiring hearing how ONE PRAYER is changing these guys and their churches.

The part of the interview that really encouraged me was the transparency of each of the guys. For instance, Perry shared how he struggles with connecting with other Pastors in Anderson. How could this encourage me...it reminded me that BIGGER is not always BETTER. Big churches have the same struggles as small churches but just on a bigger scale. Also his transparency allows me to know how to pray for him and NewSpring.

Perry I pray that God gives you favor and wisdom to find ways to connect with every Pastor in Anderson so that thousands more could be added to God's Kingdom.

I could blog about this interview forever but according to Mark's blog tip #3 I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Thank you Catalyst and Craig, Mark, Perry, and Steven for getting a peak into the hearts and minds behind ONE PRAYER and for investing into me and countless others.

If you would like to listen to the interview here's the link.

10 Pastors that I would love to meet @ Chili's

In February I blogged about how I was inspired by Jay Hardwick's blog about 5 Pastors that he would love to meet at Starbucks. But as you can tell by the huge logo I prefer Chili's! Like I said before there is nothing like an order of chips and salsa or an order of southwestern egg rolls or my personal favorite a Chicken Ranch Sandwich with a HUGE cup of sweet tea.

1. Shawn Lovejoy


2. Bil Cornelius


3. Chris Elrod


4. Rod Ketterling


5. Scott Hodge


6. Tadd Grandstaff


7. Vince Antonucci


8. Jay Hardwick


9. Ross Wiseman


10. Mike Lukaszewski

So if any of you guys are ever in Cumming Georgia or the Atlanta area lunch or dinner is on me. It would be an honor to meet ya'll and learn from fellow ministers in the trenches everyday.

The 7 foundations of Jesus' Leadership

I just got this email from pastors.com and read this article from this guy ya'll might know Pastor Rick Warren. All I got to say is WOW! I found it totally helpful. Ya'll got to read...ENJOY!

The seven foundations of Jesus’ leadership by Rick Warren
There are no perfect leaders. I’m not a perfect leader. Neither are you. But Jesus is. There’s no better teacher on leadership than Jesus. What made him such as effective leader? Lots of reasons. In this article I’ll give you seven of them.

1. Identification: I must know who I am.
   To be a leader you’ve got to know who you are. All great leaders know their strengths and their weaknesses. We’re a bundle of both. Leadership is not ignoring one in favor of the other. It’s being honest about them. Good leaders don’t try to be something they are not. They are self-aware.
   Jesus had no doubt about his identity. He said:
   I am the light of the world.
   I am the Son of God.
   I am the way.
   I am the truth.
   I am the life.
   I am the bread of life.
   Jesus defines himself 18 times by saying, “I am…” He didn’t let other people define him. He defined himself. If you’re going to be a leader, you must know who you are.
2. Clarification: Know what you want to accomplish.
   You must clarify what God has called you to do with your life. The direction of your life is your choice. If you don’t like the direction your life is headed right now, change it. Nobody’s holding a gun to your head. Nobody’s making you a victim. Nobody’s forcing you to serve in the manner you’re serving.
   Jesus knew exactly what God had called him to do. He was a straightforward leader who established clear-cut goals. In John 8 Jesus says, “I know where I came from and I know where I’m going.” Jesus had a clear purpose. He knew not only who he was, but what was he trying to do with his life. He truly was a purpose-driven leader.
   God has a purpose for your life and ministry. If you don’t fulfill it, you have wasted your life. You were put on earth to live for the purpose God created you for. A leader knows that purpose and pursues it with passion.
3. Motivation: Know who you’re trying to please.
   You need to settle the issue of motivation. You can’t please everybody. Just about the time you get one person happy, you’ll tick someone else off.
   Jesus lived for an audience of One. His whole purpose was to please his heavenly Father. Jesus says this in John 5, “I only try to please the One who sent Me.” Jesus wasn’t trying to win a popularity content; he just wanted to please God.
   That’s a lesson we have to learn as leaders. You’ve got to learn not to care about the opinions of others. You’ve got to focus on God’s opinion of what you’re doing. Don’t pay attention to those who cheer you or jeer you. Either one will sidetrack you.
4. Collaboration: Work with a small group.
   You never lead by yourself. You always do it in context of a team. All great leaders are great team builders. In fact, if you don’t have a team, you’re not a leader. You’re a loner. The test of leadership is whether anyone is following you.
   Jesus modeled this kind of ministry. He never did ministry alone. Mark 3:14 says, “He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” Jesus enlisted other people to serve the cause with him.
   If God gives you a vision for your ministry, he’s going to bring other people with the same idea together with you. If nobody agrees on your idea, guess what? It’s not from God.
5. Concentration: Focus on what’s important.
   Leaders must focus on what’s important. Life is filled with things that will distract you from what’s important. Sometimes we can be distracted by good things as well. If Satan can’t mess up your life by getting you to do wrong things, he’ll mess up your life by giving you too many good things to do.
   Jesus was a master of concentration. He focused his life like a laser. He refused to be distracted. Luke 9:51 says, “As the time drew near for his return to heaven, he moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will.” He headed toward Jerusalem to die on the cross for us. He did it with an iron will. He would not let anything distract him from what was important.
   Your ministry has incredible potential. But that ministry potential won’t be realized until you decide what’s really important. Settle on what’s most important, and God will use your life like you could never imagine.
6. Meditation: Listen to God.
   Make listening to God a habit of your life. Jesus did. Prayer was a regular part of his life. The Bible tells us in Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” If Jesus needed to get alone and listen to God, don’t you think that you need to? You need quiet times to reflect, renew, and recharge. You need time to just get alone, be quiet, and listen to God.
7. Relaxation: Take time to recharge.
   Leadership is draining. It’s hard work. We all need time to just relax. Jesus encouraged his very busy disciples to take some time for relaxation. Mark 6:31 says, “Crowds of people were coming and going so that they did not even have time to eat. He [Jesus] said to them [the disciples], ‘Come away by yourselves, and we’ll go to a lonely place to get some rest.’”
   

Jesus realized the disciples had been busy serving, and they were tired. They needed a break. So he told them to get away and rest. Rest is so important that God put it in the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment says this: every seventh day you take a day off. Pastor, this applies to you as well. You need a day away from the church.

Years ago I learned a key to lasting in leadership: divert daily, withdraw weekly, and abandon annually.
Divert daily-means doing something fun every day. Get a hobby. Do something that relaxes you.
Withdraw weekly-means you take a day off every week for relaxation and restoration.
Abandon annually-means you get away and forget everything for some time each year.

Your leadership is a key ingredient to helping your church become what God has called it to be. In fact, the Bible says this in Proverbs 11:14, “Without wise leadership a nation is in trouble.” That’s true of every single area of life. Without wise leadership, your church is in trouble. Learn about leadership from Jesus. We have no better guide.

WHO WE ARE NOT...

Earlier this afternoon I had lunch with my mentor and former Senior Pastor. We ate at this amazing BBQ joint called Dreamland BBQ. If you are ever in Atlanta you got to check it out! I had this amazing salad. It was a salad covered in chopped pork and saturated in ranch dressing and BBQ sauce...this is how salads should be eaten. Anyway it was great seeing my former Senior Pastor. I got to brag on him for a minute. Several years ago this guy took a huge risk when he asked me to be his Youth Pastor. I had very little ministry experience, in fact I was doing children's ministry at the time when he asked me to work with him. But according to him the Holy Spirit told him to ask me to work with him and the rest is history.

I have many friends in ministry whose first experience in ministry was a horrible one due to the Senior Pastor they worked with but I was truly blessed that God paired me with a man that loved Jesus and saw my potential when I couldn't see it. Sure we had some crazy and difficult moments but we supported each other in public and private. We made it through each crazy moment because we were a TEAM. So it was so great to sit down and talk about the past and dream about the future.

One thing that my Pastor/Mentor said ,regarding vision, that I thought was profound was that as Pastors we are great at writing down who we are and what we are about but we are horrible at writing down WHO WE ARE NOT and WHAT WE ARE NOT ABOUT. He encouraged me to write down these two important statements and put them in a place that will be constantly visible. He told me that there will be moments where people and stuff will try to re-direct the vision of the church which in turn will distract me from my mission and purpose. But if I have written down who we are & what we are about and who we are not & what we are not about I will be able to compare those distracting moments to the vision and stay focused. It's important to know who we are but it also important to know who we are not so we don't waste time, resources, and frustrate our people.

As I start this new journey as a Senior Pastor I thank God for my Pastor/Mentor. Honestly I didn't know what to expect from this lunch meeting today other than having a good meal and a great time but as I was thinking about it last night I read this post that Perry Noble wrote about how to be ready to meet with a mentor that helped me get the best out of my lunch meeting today. Thanks Perry for the post it was a huge help. I also want to thank my Pastor/Mentor Sam for meeting me for lunch and for continually investing into my life. Pastor Sam I am becoming a better Pastor because of your influence. Thanks for everything!

10 Pastors that I would love to meet @ Chili's

I was inspired by Jay Hardwick's blog about Five Pastors that he would love to meet at Starbucks. But instead of Starbucks I would meet them at Chili's over chips and salsa and an order of southwestern egg rolls and of course a HUGE cup of Georgia sweet tea. I love Starbucks but there's something about sitting at Chili's and having a great conversation over a great meal!

1. Craig Groeschel


2. Steven Furtick


3. Jentezen Franklin


4. Rick Warren


5. Perry Noble


6. Erwin McManus


7. Mark Batterson


8. Mark Driscoll


9. Gary Lamb


10. Dave Ferguson