this weekend @ VERVE

So last week we did The Blind Side in our I Want A Movie Life series. And probably before you even arrived you could kind of guess the spiritual application we might find in that movie.

But ... this week we're doing Zombieland. Aha, gotcha! Not so simple, is it? What will we talk about for Zombieland? Will it make sense? Could it change your life?

I guess you'll have to come Sunday morning or Monday evening to find out!

New Blog: Verve Stories

Verve has a new blog launching today: Verve Stories, at www.vervestories.org. It's a place for the people of Verve to share the stories of how God is impacting their lives, and how God is using their lives to impact the world. Check it out!

Want to share your story? Click on the page at the blog to find out how. We'd love to hear it!

Guerrilla Lovers

It was fun getting to share the whole guerrilla lover concept this week with our new church.

The idea is that the most effective way for Christ-followers to turn the world upside down is through ambushing our communities with God's outrageous love.

It's been amazing to hear all the cool stories from people who have read the guerrilla lovers book I wrote, and maybe even more from all the churches who have done the guerrilla lovers series.

If you want to get a case of the books for your church, friends, whatever, you can get them at around half price by clicking here.

VERVE Happs

We continue our Movies series with The Blind Side, talking about what it means and how to become a guerrilla lover. At Verve we want to be God Stalkers, Grace Wholesalers, and Guerrilla Lovers... And this week all Ververs have an assignment: We're making cookies for our garbage man! Don't forget. Can't wait to hear the stories...

This weekend we had three groups of pastors in (one from Buffalo, NY, one from Kansas City and one from Phoenix). It was fun hanging out with them, and sharing some of the things we've learned in starting Verve.

We also had those two groups help us throw a Block Party for us. We've done eight or nine of these now, and it's always cool to give neighbors a chance to meet each others and have a fun day.

I've got to admit it: Starting this church has been probably the most difficult challenge of my life. It is always hard to plant a church - trying to start something from scratch, trying to create momentum where none exists - but doing it where we are and under our circumstances, dang. Really difficult. So please keep praying for us. Thanks.

Vince Recommends...

If you're a fan of yogurt (which I'm really not) try Greek yogurt.

It tastes the same except the consistency. Basically it's the same as regular yogurt, except that it's strained extra which takes out the whey, and leaves it thicker and creamier.

I eat Greek yogurt almost every morning for breakfast. "But Vince, you said earlier that you're not a fan." "Yes, that is true, but it is pretty close to the perfect food - with twice the protein of regular yogurt and no fat. And we all know how health conscious I am." (Insert laugh track here.)

And ... you're welcome.

The Amazing Race

The girl who cuts my hair, and my wife's hair, is a contestant on this season's The Amazing Race, which starts tonight. Vicki is a cool girl who has come to Verve once and plans on coming back. She and her boyfriend are a team. You'll know who she is by her long hair, plenty of tatoos and, according to her, cursing.

Root for Vicki!

Shakespeare In The Park

One of our very own Ververs, Paul Maluck, has a big role in a Shakespeare in the park production of Macbeth in Henderson. Go out and support Paul! I'm going!!

A Little Help?

If you're in Vegas ...

We've got a bunch of little projects we're doing on our building today (will involve painting, hammering, etc.) from around 2:30 to 6:30. If you can come down for an hour or more to help us, that would be super-fantastic.

See ya there!

Top 100

There's a magazine that just came out with their annual "The Top 100 Largest Churches In America" edition. I don't know how I feel about that, but regardless, here's what I propose and what would interest me: "The Top 100 Churches With Amazing Stories."

Like have every church in America submit stories of people who were radically anti-church, anti-Christianity, anti-God, and are now radically following Jesus.

I mean, getting a huge group of people to show up for something isn't that hard. But getting people who don't like church to show up for church, that's difficult. And getting people who are opposed to Christianity to put their faith in and follow Jesus, that's a challenge.

And, really, isn't that the mission of the church?

And, by the way, if huge attendance numbers isn't necessarily your goal, but amazing stories of radical life change is, you may want to come to Vault.

this weekend @ VERVE

We are continuing our I Want A Movie Life series with The Blind Side.

If you've been coming to Verve and have heard us mention the idea of us being "guerrilla lovers" but have never really understood what that means, this is your weekend. We'll explore the concept and, more importantly, get some specific, practical advice on how we can become guerrilla lovers.

Don't miss it!

Interviewed for Innovative

I was interviewed last week for The Innovative Church Podcast. Got to share a little of my story, some of the how we do what we do at Verve, and some of the why we do how we do what we do at Verve, and one of my favorite stories so far from here at Verve, and how one of my favorite TV shows influences what we do at Verve.

If you'd like to listen, you can click here.

Verve Stories...

Hey Verve-rs,

In the very near future we are launching a new blog called "Verve Stories." It's going to be a place where people being impacted by God at Verve can share their stories. It could be a story of how you started a relationship with God at Verve, or how a Verve U. course changed your life, or how serving at Verve has allowed you to impact the world.

It will be cool for fellow-Ververs to hear what God is doing in other people in our church. But also, and maybe even cooler, it will be great for people who are considering coming to Verve to see what God is doing, and maybe increase their desire to check us out.

So ... got a story? Want to share it? If so, keep it brief, and send it to kandyss@vivalaverve.org.

Thanks!

vince

VERVE Happs

This week we continued our I Want A Movie Life series with Up In The Air, talking about how God's design and desire for our lives is for us to live relationally connected lives. When we don't it is, according to God, "not good" and we're missing out on part of the reason for which we're made.

Even cooler this past week was having a mission team in from The Journey Church in Muskegon, Michigan. For six of the eight people, it was their second time here this year to help us. That is crazy, humbling, and inspiring.

But the coolest thing this week was Serve Vegas. We had a bunch of people go out on Saturday to serve. Most served the people and organizations who are serving Las Vegas, as we had about six local community service organizations we partnered with. On Saturday night we threw a party in honor of the people who spend their lives serving Vegas. It was a great day.

Can You Help?

Hey Ververs,

Couple things we could use your help with this week:

(1) We have two mission teams coming in this weekend, and we're having them throw a block party on Saturday. If you've got an hour or so this week to put some block party fliers on doors in the area of Nevada Trails Park (Rainbow & Warm Springs), it would be awesome. Let Kandyss know (kandyss@vivalalverve.org) and she'll get you some fliers.

(2) We have a few projects we're doing at our building (some hammering, some painting) on Saturday afternoon from 2:30 to 6:30, and on Sunday from 2:00 to 5:30. If you can come out please let Jacob know (jacob@vivalaverve.org).

Thanks!!

Vince Recommends...

I've been giving you a life-changing recommendation every Monday for awhile now, and I am not nearly done. I have so much to offer you... So here's this week's recommendation:

Put your soda in the freezer ... but not for too long.

I like drinks cold. Really cold. But ice sucks. Ice waters down drinks and if you like that, you've got problems. Solution? Put your can in the freezer for 10 or 20 minutes before you drink it. Problem? Forgetting your can is in the freezer and having the can explode. Number of times this has happened to me? Too many to count.

You're welcome.

VAULT

Vault is only one month away. It's a big roundtable, mini-conference kind of thing we're doing for church planters who want to start churches for people who don't like church.

I think it's going to be an incredibly practical and very unique training experience for church planters - who don't want to start the same churches everyone else is starting, and which aren't very effective in reaching people who are far from God.

Interested? Well then, click here for more info, and sign-up soon!

How To Start A Movement

Here's a fun video for ya...

Stressed City

My friend Craig Whitney of E.L.I. sent me this article which reveals the most stressful city in the United States is ... Las Vegas!

I think it may just be because I live here now. Before I moved here, Vegas was probably seventh...

this weekend @ VERVE

On Saturday we are having our first ever Serve Vegas day. It's a day for us to serve, and hopefully to catalyze us towards a lifestyle of serving. For this one we're focusing most of our projects on serving people who serve Las Vegas. We're coming alongside of people who serve to make their lives and their programs a little easier and more effective.

On Sunday and Monday we continue our brand new series I Want A Movie Life in which we'll be talking about the movie Up In The Air. Don't miss it!

The Countdown...

The Final Countdown is on for Vault, the roundtable-ish, bootcamp-ish, lab for doing for church planters who want to start churches for people who don't like church.

We have been hammering out the final details on our end, and I'm getting pretty excited. For sure people will be getting teaching, and a few experiences, that they would never get at a conference.

We've intentionally not done the kinds of things that could have blown it up to a ton of people, because we want this to be different - more personal attention, more conversations, and somethings that would just never work with hundreds of people. Originally we were thinking around 30 people, but it's looking like it's going to be double that, which will still work with everything we have planned.

If you're a church planter, and want to start a church that reaches out to people who are truly far from God ... sign up. And you are running out of time, so sign up now.

VERVE Happs

Big weekend for Verve...

We had a Mission Team in from Palm Valley Church in Phoenix. I love their church. This is the fourth time they've sent a group, and every one has been so incredibly servant-hearted.

We had the Mission Team throw a Block Party for a neighborhood. We had a few Ververs serve with them. It was a great day. Too crazy to count, but about 200 people came out for free food, bounce house-ing, corn hole, music, and more. Very cool to get to serve our community in a really fun way.

We did some advertising this week (doorhangers, radio ads, ad in the Las Vegas Weekly) and saw our attendance drop a little. Yes, drop. Not sure why - maybe the start of football season? It's hard enough when all your advertising says, "Church For People Who Don't Like Church!" - so we're inviting people to come who know they don't want to come. But throw in the fact that those people, who don't like church, have to miss football to come check us out. A tough sell for sure!

But ... we had great services, and God is doing great things at Verve!

Blogger Designer?

We are looking to create two new blogs for Verve, using blogger. Relatively simple blogs, but they need to look good and jive with the vibe we've created for all other things Verve.

If you have such skills, and feel led to help our new church by using them to create a blog (or two) for us, could you let me know? You can e-mail me at vince@vivalaverve.org, and it would be great if you put in a link to a blog that you've designed, or some other design work you've done.

Thanks so much!

Vince Recommends...

This week I am recommending you watch this video. I do NOT agree with anything he says, and (if this is real) it is disturbing that he believes this stuff, but it is also hysterical. Enjoy, and you're welcome.

It's Jen's Fault

So the other day my wife, Jen, was in the bank, standing in line next to a guy. Another dude said, "Do you know who you're standing next to?" She said, "No." He said, "That's Floyd Mayweather!" (Floyd Mayweather is an undefeated boxing champion, considered for the last five years to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He's also been a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.)

Jen looked over, and Floyd was staring at her, seeming very annoyed that she didn't know him. As she was leaving the bank she called me and said, "I just made Floyd Mayweather mad." (Which is not what you expect to hear your wife say.) (She also told me how small Mayweather is in person and that she's convinced she could take him.)

So ... Floyd went home and ... beat up his girlfriend, for which he was arrested and spent the night in jail. Was all of that induced by Jen? Was it my wife's fault? Well, I don't know for sure, but what I've learned in 16 years with her is that most things are...

Multi-Site Churches: My 2 Cents

Starting multiple campuses of a church has become wildly popular the last few years. My personal experience, along with witnessing a bunch of churches that have tried it and failed, is that most churches should not do it. There's been some research on this showing that churches that are under (I think) 1,500 people don't do well with multi-sites, while churches with more than 1,500 do.

A lot of people say you shouldn't start a second campus unless your original campus is bursting with people. (And so basically you're starting the second campus to open up more seats for more people.) I disagree. I say you shouldn't start a second campus unless your original campus is bursting with volunteers. If you have too many volunteers, and layers of leadership, and multiplying teams, then you're the kind of church that can pull off another campus.

Just my 2 Cents, but then again, I'm always right...

Dear Steve

Mr. Jobs,

Forever I was not a user of your Apple products, though I often heard how superior they were. In October of 2008 I switched to an iPhone and bought a Mac Book, sure they would change my life.

My iPhone died in only a little more than a year. I had to purchase a new one. My new iPhone has e-mails in the inbox from "No Sender" with "No Content" and sent on the date 12/30/69. Sometimes dozens of these. I took it in to get fixed and was told there's nothing that can be done, it's just a glitch.

My laptop started having serious problems, and had to have the entire screen replaced. Again, the computer was barely more than a year old.

What in the name of Bill Gates is going on?!?

So, I implore you Steve, please make products as good as your fanatical followers say they are.

Your (not yet loyal) customer,

vince antonucci

NFL Predictions: To The Super Bowl

AFC Championship
- Jets 17
- Ravens 13

NFC Championship
- Packers 27
- Saints 24

Super Bowl
- Jets 23
- Packers 20

this weekend @ VERVE

Big, big weekend at Verve! We are doing a big Fall launch this Sunday and Monday. If you've never been to Verve, it's a great weekend to check us out. If it's been awhile since you've been to Verve, it's a great weekend to come back. And if you're a regular, bring some friends!

We are starting a brand new series called I Want A Movie Life. It's a series we did in the Spring, but we're gonna have all new movies that we'll be looking at through a spiritual lens - movies like Inception, Despicable Me, The Blind Side, and Up In The Air.

This weekend will both rock and roll ... don't miss it.

NFL Predictions: AFC

Sharing my sure thing NFL predictions. NFC yesterday, AFC today, and Super Bowl tomorrow for the opening of the season...

AFC North
1. Ravens 12-4
2. Bengals 9-7
3. Steelers 9-7
4. Browns 5-11

AFC East
1. Jets 11-5
2. Patriots 10-6
3. Dolphins 9-7
4. Bills 5-11

AFC West
1. Chargers 10-6
2. Chiefs 8-8
3. Broncos 8-8
4. Raiders 6-10

AFC South
1. Colts 11-5
2. Texans 9-7
3. Titans 8-8
4. Jaguars 7-9

NFL Predictions: NFC

The NFL season starts on Thursday! Thought I'd share my amazing predictions for you. NFC today. AFC tomorrow. Super Bowl on Thursday. Count on this people:

NFC North
1. Packers 10-6
2. Vikings 9-7
3. Bears 8-8
4. Lions 3-13

NFC East
1. Eagles 9-7
2. Cowboys 9-7
3. Giants 9-7
4. Redskins 8-8

NFC West
1. 49ers 9-7
2. Seahawks 8-8
3. Cardinals 7-9
4. Rams 5-11

Get Registered!

We're only a little more than a month away from the event we're doing for church planters called Vault. I think it's going to really help church planters, and so I'm psyched.

People are registering: One church planting organization is using it as part of their church planters bootcamp. Several leaders from the church planting world are coming.

But have you registered? We'd love to have you here in Vegas for it, but need you to register soon! We're planning some cool things for the mornings before the conference begins, and for night time after if officially closes for the day, but the options depend on number of people... So if you're gonna come, let us know soon!

Vince Recommends...

... family traditions.

When I talk to people about their childhood, the thing I've noticed is that what people speak most fondly of are their family traditions. It can be almost anything with some meaning that was done repeatedly.

And so we've tried to tie traditions to a lot of things. One is that years ago we decided to do fondue every holiday. Sometimes it's meat fondue, sometimes it's chocolate fondue, doesn't matter. We had some reasons for doing it, but still we thought it was a bit goofy. And yet it has totally worked. Our kids look forward to it, talk about it, love it, and I have no doubt that it will be one of their fond memories of childhood when they're adults.

So ... if you've got a family, start some family traditions.

You're welcome.

No, You're The Dip

I know I'm behind the curve on this one, but this month I finally read The Dip by Seth Godin. It's a (very) little book that teaches you what to quit and when to quit.

The idea is that you have to quit the right things, so you can focus on and become great at what you're truly supposed to be focused on and great at. But you also need to not quit the thing you're not supposed to quit, though you'll be tempted to as you enter into "the dip" that is a part of the journey of anything you commit yourself to in life.

Pretty good stuff.

Zappos

Our staff went over to Zappos headquarters on Tuesday for their (free!) tour. It's totally worth it. (Well, for free I guess it could suck and it would be worth it, but it's really worth it...).

It would be hard to describe without you having been there. The culture is crazy. It's pretty much like walking through a frat house, except that it's a company that makes about 5 million dollars a day.

They know their culture, and it permeates everything they do.

They're also great to their employees, like ridiculously killer benefits, a free ice cream sundae station open all the time, a free bookstore of business books for employees, and more.

My favorite thing was that they seemed humbled about it all. Humility is one of their core values, and they never gave a vibe that their unique way of doing business, and all the money they're making, makes them better than everyone else.

this weekend @ VERVE

Can you picture something having a purpose, but never living out that purpose? Like a TV that's never watched. A car never driven. An accordion never played. (Okay, maybe that's a good thing.)

But what if your life had a purpose, and you never lived out that purpose? That wouldn't be a good thing. In fact, it would be pretty tragic. Is it possible that's not a hypothetical scenario, but actually your reality? Maybe you've been setting for the facade of a life purpose, but have missed out on the real thing?

Find out this week at Verve, as we conclude our series Facade.

A Disturbing Statistic

Here's a stat to choke down: There have been thousands of new churches started in the last 20 years, and a decent amount are growing rapidly. And yet ... the number of people going to church in America has decreased by about 8 million in that time.

Riddle me this: How can that be?
Answer: New churches tend (almost exclusively) to reach people who are already Christians, who already attend a church, but switch because the new church seems better.

If you're going to start a church and are content with that, I think the world would probably be better off without the church you're gonna start, but do whatever you want.

If you're going to start a church and are not content with that, you should totally come to Vault.