Happy Halloween

A picture of my daughter and a few of her friends from her school Halloween parade:

Love This Post

My friend Michael is SO right in this post about people leaving church.

If you're a pastor, or a person who attends church who has ever left a church, or who might leave a church, you should check it out.

Vault Quotes

I mentioned last week that the response to the Vault church planters lab was overwhelming. Here's just a few quotes from the evaluation forms:

"I have been to several conferences and this is by far the best- from content to friendliness of the staff. Thanks!"

"Best conference content ever!"

"At the risk of sounding dramatic- they changed my life…I will never ever think the same way about so many things. Thank you,thank you, thank you."

"Unbelievable stories that really helped revive my vision that this is about individual lives being changed…one at a time."

"I very much appreciated the availability of Vince & Rob through out the conference for questions and getting to know them."

"Thank you so much for doing this! I needed to go to something like this to reinforce what God's doing in and through me. And the practical ideas are great!"

"Please please please have it again!"

this weekend @ VERVE

So what if I were to tell you that you have based your life on some lies, that you believe are true, and that it's those lies that have kept you stuck? And what if I were to tell you that Jesus was right when He said it's the truth that sets us free? And what if I were to tell you that until you replace your lies with the truth, you will remain stuck and never really live the life?

Well, that's exactly what I'm going to tell you this weekend at Verve. And we're going to get real practical on what this looks like for us individually and how we can find the remedy for our crappy lives.

If I were you, I wouldn't miss it.

A Guerrilla Lover Christmas

A week or two ago I had a pastor tell me he's probably going to do a series on Guerrilla Lovers for Christmas, and asked for ideas for the series and projects his church could do along with it. What a great idea! Maybe it's something some of you would want to consider. So here's my response:

Hey - it's really cool that you're thinking about making it a Guerrilla Lover Christmas, and I think it's a great idea!

So ... as far as doing a Guerrilla Lover series: You probably know that we made and give away for free a series we've made for it - check out www.guerrillalovers.com for 5 sermon manuscripts, some videos, graphics, etc. I think the series would work well at Christmas time. But if you want to tweak it to make it especially fit Christmas, it could be perfect! I would tweak it by adding these kinds of themes to the messages:

• Jesus came to ambush the world with love. That's what Christmas is all about. It's Jesus coming into "enemy territory" to ignite a guerrilla revolution. But it was a war of love. That's why God sent Him (Jn 3:16) and that's the way He lived.
• Unfortunately, Christmas may be the time when we least follow Jesus' example of being guerrilla lovers. If we're not careful, Christmas can be all about what we want and what we get, instead of being about loving and serving others. So let's make this a guerrilla Christmas! There are so many opportunities to love others, let's get strategic and do some serious ambushes!
  

As far as projects: Again, on the website there are all kinds of guerrilla assignments you can give your people. And there are obviously a ton of things you can do at Christmas time, which you could talk about as guerrilla activity. Providing meals or presents to needy families, sending packages to soldiers oversees, etc., etc. You could also do something where say at the service closest to Christmas (like Christmas Eve if you're doing one) you get like a ton of boxes of donuts, have people at the service buy a dozen (or a couple dozen) and on their way home drop them off at places where people are having to work (Emergency Rooms, Police Stations, Fire Houses, etc.). It could be your Guerrilla Christmas Attack of 2010!

Also: At the website you can get cases of books (I think 50 per case) at half price. Most churches who have done the series had their people read the book at the same time and it's worked really great.

The New Look

Welcome to my new looking blog. The old design was great, but thought an update would be fun. Love the new design, created by my friend Jason. There's some new features as well, hope you likey.

And it's going to be more than a new design. In the next week or two I'm gonna launch a new approach to what I'm writing about as well. I'll explain when I'm ready to get it going...

VERVE Happs

Another cool week at Verve.

- Our attendance keeps increasing, little by little. Our 11:35 service had been kinda low, but it's really picked up lately. This week Monday night was a bit weak - stinkin' Monday Night Football with the Cowboys vs. the Giants.

- I love the series we're doing: Unstuck: The Remedy For A Crappy Life. I honestly believe the principles we're learning can get a person from stuck to unstuck. If you've missed either of the two so far, you can listen to them here. We can get unstuck IF we actually apply the principles. If you'd like to dig in more into what we're learning, use the VerveCatalystsBlog.

- Robb is in Ecuador with Compassion International. Pray that he has an amazing experience, and that what he experiences helps Verve to grow and have a greater impact.

- Still receiving all kinds of amazing e-mails from people who attended Vault. We're thinking we're gonna do it again in 2011, maybe October 10 - 12.

Vince Recommends...

The book, The Pressure's Off, by Larry Crabb. It's a great and potentially life-changing book. The book is about wanting God and nothing less, realizing that not even God's blessings will do. Only Jesus and intimacy with Him will bring us the satisfaction and freedom we long for. Here's a quote:

We're never more deceived than when we think we're living for God but in fact are living for His blessings. When we persuade ourselves that our job is to pray properly, live morally, and love meaningfully, and that God's job is to reward us with whatever blessings we most want, we're deceived. We have a fleshly view of the Christian life. We live apart from grace.

You're welcome

Takin' a Bite of Vegas

Got four free tickets for Bite Of Vegas so the family is going today.

Gonna be a long but fun day. The lineup of bands includes: Switchfoot, Plain White T's, Ryan Star, K'Naan, Sara Bareilles and more.

Starts at noon and ends like ten hours later, so we'll see how long the kids can hang...

Introverted....

One of the things that surprises people the most about me is that I'm an introvert. Not kind of an introvert, I'm quite an introvert.

I've always been a little bitter about that, because it's tough being an introverted pastor. I've never really talked to anyone about that, or heard anyone talk about it. But recently I came across this blog post by a pastor who describes how his introversion hurts his ministry, and I don't know if I've ever read anything that I've related to more.

this weekend @ VERVE

Don't miss this weekend at Verve as we continue our new series: Unstuck: The Remedy For A Crappy Life.

One of the things that holds us back from moving into God's future for us is our past. Sometimes our previous successes act as an anchor. Often it's our failures and hurts that keep us tied to what's behind instead of moving to what's ahead.

So how do we break free from the past and live an unstuck life? Find out at Verve this Sunday (10:05 or 11:35) or Monday (7:05).

Vault-ed

Vault, the church planting conference we did for people who want to start churches for people who don't like church, is over, and honestly I'm kind of overwhelmed.

I'm overwhelmed that our team pulled it off. We are still a new church, with a relatively small staff, but our team and volunteers (led by Kandyss Peterson) did an amazing job.

I'm overwhelmed by how much it takes out of you. I'm an intense guy, so we planned an intense conference - starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. each day.

I'm (most) overwhelmed by the feedback we received. It was unbelievable. We literally had people begging us to do it again, people promising to bring back big teams of people, people saying it was easily the best conference they've been to. I'll give you some exact quotes when I get the evaluation forms back, but it was really crazy.

So thanks to all who helped put it on, and to everyone who attended - and we're gonna start praying about what it looks like to do this again!

Stories

Have you checked out the Verve Stories blog yet? It's a great place to hear about some of the things God is doing in people's lives at Verve. If you'd like to share your story, please do! Follow the instructions on the "Tell Us Your Story" page on the blog. And if you want to hear great stories, like the one below, go check it out!

VERVE Happs

We had a great weekend at Verve. I LOVE the new series we've started - Unstuck, The Remedy For A Crappy Life. Together we're going on a journey from stuck to unstuck, learning effective principles that can change our lives forever. If you missed it, come the next three weeks, it's not too late!

We also started our church planting lab, Vault on Monday. We've got about 70 people from all over the country in town, plus another 10 or so locals, who all want to learn how to start and lead a church for people who don't like church. It's been great so far, with still another day to go.

Are You Being Catalyzed?

If you are a Verver, you totally need to check out the www.vervecatalysts.org blog. Several times a week it will provide tools and insights to equip you to grow in your relationship with God. I'd encourage you to subscribe to it, so you don't miss any of the posts.

Check it out!

Ready to Vault

Vault, the church planting lab we're putting on for pastors who want to start churches for people who don't like church, starts today!

We're excited to connect with and equip pastors who have a similar vision to ours'.

If you're someone who prays, please pray that it goes great and is an invaluable experience for the people who have come to Vegas from around the country for this.

Danger

Did you see that the annual top 25 most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States list came out this month?

Two of the top 8 are in ... yup, Las Vegas.

You can see the list here.

NEW BLOG: www.vervecatalysts.org

My experience is that most people want to grow. They want to grow spiritually. They want to grow closer to God. They want to grow to become more like Jesus. It's just that many don't know how.

Some of those people go to church, hoping that it will cause them to grow. And it will help a little, but not much. Why? Because what we're to have with God is a relationship, and so someone else can't do that for you. (Right? Like you can't grow my marriage. Only my wife and I can grow our marriage.)

However, there are tools that can help you to grow in your relationship with God - and that's totally what our new blog, www.vervecatalysts.org, is all about. It will provide all kinds of resources to help you grow spiritually. And it launches NOW. So go check it out. In fact, you should subscribe to it so you don't miss any of the tools it will offer...

Stuck In A Crappy Life?

Somewhere down deep inside we all have times when we feel stuck. We feel like we keep going in circles, like we know where we want to go but have no idea how to get there, like there’s no way out of the problems we have (but aren’t willing to talk about). We may give the impression that everything is perfect and life is a party, but inside we feel stuck.

There is a way to get unstuck. It's real, and it's something you can do.

Learn more this weekend at Verve.

N ... O ... C

I'm getting excited about the National Outreach Convention in just a few weeks in San Diego. I've always wanted to go, but living on the East Coast made it difficult, but now that I'm a Left Coaster, I can get there and WILL be there.

They've got a killer lineup for the main and breakout sessions. Gotta say I'm probably most excited for the breakout on starting a Guerrilla Lover Revolution, cause I hear the guy leading it is really sexy.

If you can make it, you should, and the coolest is that they're currently giving $50 off the registration fee. Check it all out here.

VERVE Happs

Loved this weekend at Verve. We changed things up, with Robb speaking, Cherie leading worship, and me doing ... very little. We finished our I Want A Movie Life series with Inception. Did something different, and I thought pretty cool, with the opening. We played a way slowed down, kind of dreamy version of "Dream On" by Aerosmith, and showed the trailer from the movie, but we way slowed it down so the scenes had a dreamy kind of effect as well.

First service on Sunday we were so packed we actually had to add a row of chairs to accomodate people. Second service on Sunday we were so not-packed we should have taken down a row of chairs. Come on 11:35 Ververs, let's bring friends and fill the room up.

Speaking of that - we are starting our new Unstuck: The Remedy for a Crappy Life series this weekend, and we're making it a "get everyone to Verve" day. We're each gonna invite ten (10!) people. This series is gonna be so helpful for people, you really want your friends there!

Vince Recommends...

Did you know that there are about 260,709 people with my first name. It's the 252nd most popular first name in America.

And there are about 3,786 people with my last name. It's the 9,118th most common last name in our country.

Statistically, the estimate is that there are about 3 people with my first and last name combination in the United States.

How do I know this? Through www.howmanyofme.com. You can check out your name as well...

You're welcome.

Change Is A Comin'

I've had a blog for several years now - at first it wasn't my idea, I was asked to be a featured blogger for an organization, and then I just kept doing it.

Over those years I've changed the themes featured on the blog a few times and ... it's kinda sorta about to happen again. I've been thinking a lot about what's the best use of this blog, for me and for people who might write it, and I think I've landed on an answer - finally.

Actually, I'm really excited about the direction I'm moving. And it's going to happen very soon, so do whatever you need to do to prepare - maybe some jumping jacks or somethin'.

Ververs - Want To Volunteer?

Hey Ververs,

We are having a "church planters lab" - a mini-conference for about 65 pastors who want to start churches for people who don't like church - at the Venue. Monday, October 18 to Wednesday, October 20.

We could use some people to help with registration and hospitality kind of stuff. Probably the greatest times of need would be:

• Monday, October 18, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 19, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
• Tuesday, October 19, 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  
• Wednesday, October 20, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

If you can come in during any of those times to help out a little, would you please let Kandyss know: kandyss@vivalaverve.org.

Thanks, and vivalaverve!

this weekend @ VERVE

This weekend we conclude our I Want A Movie Life series with one of the blockbuster hits of the summer: Inception.

So here's the deal: I'm pretty confident no one has ever fallen asleep during a Verve service. But this week, if it happens, we are going into your dreams. And we are going to plant an idea in your dreams. What's the idea? I'm not telling.

Okay, fine, I'll tell you. The idea is to come to my house and wash my car every Saturday morning for a year. So go ahead, fall asleep, I'll love it! Or, take the more boring route and come, stay awake, experience an exciting service, and hear how Jesus can captivate our dreams.

Either way, I'm cool with it.

Pray Day

On Thursday mornings at 8:30 the Verve staff and interns get together to pray for Verve. It's a serious time, but fun. Simple, yet very significant. We're done by 9.

If you'd like to join us, you're invited. (Sorry, but no kids.) Be at the Venue by 8:30 any Thursday.

See ya there.

Stuff

Got to see a sneak preview of Secretariat last night - for free, sweet - it's a great family movie, if you're looking for a family movie. I love tenacity, and Penny Chenery was tenacious.

Getting to hang out today with Kevin Odor of Canyon Ridge Christian Church - who is one of the wisest people I know, and a little with Nelson Searcy - who is the guru of church systems. That is a good day!

But most important - the baseball playoffs begin today! Go Twins, and Rays, and Rangers - just keep the Yankees out of the Series. And go Reds, and Braves - just keep the Phillies and Giants out of the Series.

VERVE Happs

This week was a little on the intense side at Verve as we covered the movie Zombieland. We talked about death, and seeking life, and sin, and walking away from Jesus, and that Jesus really is the only answer for us.

The crazy thing was that this was the first week in about a month that we didn't do anything to serve or advertise to the community (no block parties, car washes, door hangers, etc.) and our attendance was up 25%. Thankfully, years ago God broke me of worrying about numbers and taught me to focus on being faithful to Him, and to "keep score" with the amazing stories He's producing in people's lives rather than the attendance. Because if my concern were the numbers, I'd be confused beyond belief!

Vince Recommends...

There are good books, and then there are books that it's insane not to read. There are books that are helpful, and then there are books that are life changing. What's So Amazing About Grace? fits into the latter category.

When I read it, I thought, "This is the book I would write if I could write the perfect book" and I was glad someone else had.

It's seriously amazing and will challenge your thinking and break your heart. If you don't read it, you're hurting yourself, and if you read it and don't like it, we just can't be friends.

So read it. And you're welcome.

Antonucci Stuff

Things have been crazy in our house the last three weekends, as we've had Mission Teams in town all three, and had block parties of community services days on all three Saturdays. So this weekend we took it a bit easier and had more family time.

We gave homemade chocolate chip cookies to our garbage man on Friday morning. Fun!

As the person perhaps least interested in Facebook in the world, my wife and I went to see The Social Network for our date on Friday. Good movie, and gave me added reason not to use Facebook.

I got us free tickets to see the opening of Secretariat on Tuesday night. Hope it's good...

The big news lately for me is that I've started sleeping with a college girl. Perhaps the better way to say that is that my wife has gone back to college, but it's more fun to be provocative. She's getting her Master's Degree in counseling. Gonna take the slow route and do it over like five or six years. But I'm excited for her, she's going to be an awesome counselor. And hopefully she'll be able to help me even more, 'cause we all know I'm a mess...

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Loved the insights in this post from Donald Miller.

What he's proposing is what we, at Verve, call being a grace wholesaler.

Would You Pray With Me?

Here are a few things I'm praying for with Verve, would you pray with me:

1. That God would provide a high level leader who is amazing at creating and running systems, and developing leaders.
2. That God would give our church a house. We have interns who don't get paid and need a free place to live (3 this year, 3 to 5 more next year) and mission teams coming through, and it would be great for that. In the future it could also be a safe temporary place of recovery for people seeking to change their lives.
3. A few new financial supporters. Unfortunately, starting a new church - especially a new church for people who don't like church, and especially in Las Vegas - isn't cheap.
   
4. That God would bring out a ton of people for the launch of our Unstuck series, beginning on October 17. I believe it's going to change people's lives, in areas where they've come to believe that change is no longer possible.