Stop, But Start...

The other day I shared a reason I think New Years Resolutions don't work, here's another...

Every year we pick things we don't want to do anymore and commit to stopping. The problem is that we don't replace the habit we're stopping with a new habit. We need to stop doing what we're doing, but we need to start doing something else. If we don't, the old habit will come back.

So you want to stop eating unhealthy desserts? Decide what kind of desserts you are going to eat.  There are some people you want to stop hanging out with?  Well, who are you going to be with instead?

You cant just stop, you also have to start.

To learn more about leaving behind the mundane and really living the life, check out my book, I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.

Questions For Church Planters

Will Mancini is one of my favorite people and thinkers in the church world.

Love this post he had this week on church planting.  Great questions for those starting churches...

this weekend @ VERVE

Yeah, the holidays are crazy, and you've got a lot going on. Maybe you've been out-of-town, or have people in-town. But don't miss Verve this weekend!

We are concluding our series Christianity For Cavemen and we're gonna talk about The Church: So Simple a Caveman Could Join It and I can just about guarantee you will never think of church the same after this weekend.  It's gonna be a great way to end the year together!

And ... make 2011 the year you grow closer to God and more like Jesus by reading the Bible everyday.  We've created a 2011 Bible Reading Plan (available at www.vervecatalysts.org) that will give you a chapter to read each day, taking you through all the New Testament and a little of the Old.  It will change your life!

Count The Reward

2010 is about to end and maybe you're thinking about New Year's Resolutions. The problem with them is that they don't work.  (Right?)

I've become kind of obsessed with HOW lives change. How do we stop living our same old stuck lives, and start truly living the life? How do we see real, permanent change happen?

Well, there's more to it than this, but I think one step is that we need to count the reward. The problem is that there's a payoff for whatever it is we're currently doing (but no longer want to do). Overeating, smoking, sleeping around, not exercising, workaholism - whatever it is - it does something for us, that's why we do it, and that's why we can't seem to change.

So we need to count the reward. We need to develop a real strong clear vision of how our lives would be better if we make the change. In fact, I think you should write it out. Draw a picture of it. Write a song about it. Get absolutely vivid on what your new and improved life is going to look like. It's one of the things that will help you stick to the habit you're trying to establish (or break) that will get you where you want to go.

To learn more about leaving behind the mundane and really living the life, check out my book, I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.

VERVE Happs

I loved this last week of Verve.  Loved it...

• We collected over 100 gifts to give to a class of underprivileged kids who probably would have had none without us.  Way to go Ververs!
• Christmas Eve was a blast.  It was so packed we had to quickly add about 40 chairs for the 5:35 service, and it was still hard to find an empty one.  Robb's twist on Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song was hysterical.  I got all kinds of great feedback on the message and the entire service.
• Sunday morning our attendance was light (which is normal for churches the weekend after Christmas) but ... Tommy Altman gave one of the best messages I've ever heard.  Seriously.  The things people have said to me about it are amazing.  Tommy is great, and we're so lucky to have him and Krystal at Verve.
• Lots of new people are coming, and coming back.  I think 2011 is going to be a huge year for Verve!

Vince Recommends...

This week I'd like to recommend that you ... give some stuff away.

Two days ago you got some new stuff, right?  Maybe new clothes, stuff for your kitchen, a better iPod, something.  And so now you've got the old stuff which isn't your best stuff anymore.  Well, there are a lot of people who would think your old stuff is way better than their best stuff.  So why don't you give them your old stuff?  (Or, even better, give them some new stuff.)

If you know someone who needs some stuff, perfect!  If not, do a little research and I'm sure you'll find places in your town who take people's extra stuff and give it to people who need stuff.

Why would you do this?  Well, because you love your neighbor as yourself.  And because you want to be a guerrilla lover.

Reproduction

Excited for this weekend at Verve because our Church Planting Resident, Tommy, is teaching. He's gonna share some amazing personal stories, and he'll do an awesome job, and people will grow because of it. And that's all great, but that's only part of why it's great.

In the Bible the church is called the "body of Christ." Part of what that means is that the church is a living organism, and living organisms are designed to reproduce. Churches reproduce. And if they can't, something is wrong. And if (for some reason) a church has gotten past the point where they're able to reproduce, well, it's probably time for that church to think about dying.

I'm psyched that we were able to start Verve with someone on staff who will be leaving to start a new church out of Verve. And I pray it happens over and over and over and over again.

Want to learn about church planting, especially how to start a church for people who don't like church? Come to our next Vault Church Planting Lab!

Merry Christmas

Tonight, Tonight

If you live in Las Vegas, don't miss Verve's first ever Christmas Eve!  And bring your friends and family.

We're gonna make it a very Verve-y Christmas!

Also, remember that we're doing a special offering tonight,
and all that we take in will go towards helping hurting people in 2011,
so if you can give a little above your normal giving, that would be awesome.

this (SPECIAL) weekend @ VERVE

The Venue is gonna be hopping this weekend!

On Friday night we are getting together our first ever Christmas Eve services!  Our theme is I Like The Baby Jesus and it will be a mixture of Christmas-y-ness and Verve-y-ness.  Yes, it's going to be a very Vervy Christmas!  (Also, remember that we are doing a special offering on Christmas Eve, every penny of which will go into a "benevolence fund" to help hurting people in 2011.)

On Sunday morning and Monday evening we're having our regular Verve services, and we'll be continuing our Christianity For Cavemen series.

There are some churches that cancel services for the weekend after Christmas because they had church on Christmas Eve.  And there are lots of Christians who wouldn't go on the 26th because they already crossed church off the to-do list for the week on Christmas Eve.  But we don't do church services or attend church because we have to, we do it because we get to.  We love getting together, look forward to getting to sing to God, and are passionate to learn more about life with Him.  And so ... see ya on Christmas Eve AND on Sunday the 26th or Monday the 27th!!

The Makings Of A Church Planter (5)

Been sharing critical characteristics of a church planter, and they are not necessarily in order of importance. They're all musts. This one is a definite must:  You must be passionate about helping people who are far from God get close to God. And I'll add: It sure wouldn't hurt if you had some idea of how to actually do that.

Seems obvious, but it's obviously not. Most new churches do not reach people who are far from God. They set up shop as the newest/coolest/bestest church in town which sounds great IF you like church. And that's exactly what happens - people who like church (and already go to one) come to see if this church really is newer and cooler and better than theirs. If the church isn't, people won't stay and the church will die soon. If the church is, people will stay and the church will grow.

But that's not the kind of growth God is looking for. God loves people and His mission is to have people who have walked away from Him come home to Him. That's supposed to be the mission of the church. And if that's not your mission, please don't start a new church because honestly the world doesn't need it.

Want to learn about church planting, especially how to start a church for people who don't like church? Come to our next Vault Church Planting Lab!

VERVE Happs

This week we continued our Christianity for Cavemen series with The Gospel, So Easy A Caveman Could Understand It.  The gospel is the core of Christianity, and the heart of Christmas.  It may not seem as practical as some of the things we cover at Verve, but it's more important than anything else we could ever talk about.  If you missed the message, you can listen to it here.  And if you want to dig in deeper with our messages, there is more available every week at www.vervecatalysts.org.

Very cool this week that one of Verve's teenagers, Laney Overholt, led us to find kids that wouldn't be getting gifts for Christmas and get them some.  Then one of the teachers in our church, Sarah Rodriguez, told us that basically all the kids in her class come from families in need.  So we put together a present drive, got a ton, and will be giving them to the kids today.  If you'd like to participate in that, be at our building today at 1:30.

Excited for our first ever Christmas Eve services - if you're in town, don't miss it.  We are going to laugh together, sing some carols together, and hear about the true meaning of Christmas.

Also, remember that we're doing a special offering.  If you can give something over and above what you normally give (because we depend on that to get by), it would be great, and everything we collect will be put into a "benevolence" fund that will be used to help hurting people in 2011.

Vince Recommends...

About once a week I give you life changing recommendations, just cause I'm nice that way.  So today's is especially for Las Vegas locals, or people coming to Vegas.  And let's say you want to go out to eat, and you're craving Italian.  Where to go?  Here's my recommendations:

For pizza:

1. Grimaldi's.  Kind of higher end pizza, really good, a bit quieter nicer place for pizza.
2. Joe's Pizza.  New York style, you can get it by the slice, more kid friendly.

Not for pizza:

1. Battista's.  Been around for over 30 years. Pictures of famous people who have eaten there cover the walls. Loud and busy and fun.
2. Bootlegger.  Been around for over 50 years. Pictures of famous people who have eaten there cover the walls. Quiet and nice and classy.

You're welcome.

A MUST Watch

This is absolutely fascinating information, presented in an amazing way:

Antonucci Stuff

My wife scored us a free room at the Palazzo  

AND two free tickets to see The Phantom Of The Opera there 

AND two half-price tickets.  

So our family is going out for a FUN night tonight.

this weekend @ VERVE

Ask a serious Christian what's at the heart of Christianity and the answer you're likely to get is: The gospel.  So it's like, "No offense, but what the crap is the gospel?"  It's one of those words that get thrown around in churches, but what exactly does it mean?  It's a pretty foreign word to us, and seems kind of intimidating and complex.

This week we're continuing our brand new series, Christianity For Cavemen and we'll be talking about, The Gospel: So Simple a Caveman Could Understand It

If you want to understand the heart of Christianity, the heart of God, and the heart of Christmas, don't miss this Sunday morning or Monday evening at Verve.

Which Is Your Life More Like?

The theme song for Sarah Palin's Alaska is by Third Day, a Christian band.

The song used to promote The Biggest Loser is by Needtobreathe, also a Christian band, whose songs have also been featured in Grey's Anatomy, The Hills, Cougar Town and more.

Sarah Palin is a self-professed Christian, and I assume most of her followers and TV show watchers would consider themselves Christians.  The Biggest Loser, Grey's Anatomy, etc. are just main stream shows watched by the multitudes.

There's nothing wrong with what Third Day's doing - if I was them and got the call from Sarah Palin I'd say, "Yup, use our song!"  But how cool is what Needtobreathe is doing?  To become a part of and speak into the bigger culture.  To have people exposed to your songs, and hopefully buy your CD's, and hear lyrics like, "Let the songs I sing bring joy to you, Let the words I say confess my love, Let the notes I choose be your favorite tune, Father let my heart be after you" and "Yahweh, Yahweh...  Great is your glory when you go before me. Oh, we sing...  Holy, Holy... Your ways are lovely. So high above me. Yahweh" and "Even when the rain falls. Even when the flood starts rising. Even when the storm comes. I am washed by the water."

Now the truth is that it's much trickier to do what Needtobreathe is doing than Third Day, but the potential for impact? And it leads to a question for me, and you...  Is the way you're living your life, or the way your church is doing church, more like what Needtobreathe is doing, or what Third Day is doing? 

VERVE Happs

This weekend was filled with various Verve ministry teams having Christmas parties.  When you think about why to serve at church, there are lots of reasons: God commands it, it allows us to make a difference with our lives, it helps us to grow spiritually, it changes the lives of others, etc.  But another is that it's probably the best way to make friends.  People get connected when they serve together, and it's cool for those people to get together, get appreciated for serving, and get to celebrate Christmas together.

Looks like we're going to have another baptism at my house this week, as we had another person give their life to Christ on Sunday!

We started our new series, Christianity For Cavemen with an important topic: The Bible, So Easy a Caveman Could Read It.  Fun day, thought it was a bit disturbing that we had cavemen outside protesting and causing all kinds of shenanigans...

Vince Recommends...

Once every week or so I recommend things that can change your life, like Oreo Cakesters, and today's is ... Philip Yancey's new book, What Good Is God: In Search Of A Faith That Matters.

Yancey is the one author that you should buy any and every book he puts out. Seriously, he's that good. No matter what he writes about, even when the topic seems boring to me, the book is amazing and life altering.

In this book he goes on a global pilgrimage to determine if his faith holds up under "the refiner's fire of oppression, violence, and plague." Just trust me, buy this book, and every other book he's written or writes in the future. You're welcome.

The New Caveman Version?

I'm excited for today. Why? Because I get to talk about the Bible. Every Sunday (and Monday) I get to teach people out of the Bible, which is an amazing honor. But tomorrow I am teaching people (out of the Bible) about the Bible.

Why is that a big deal? Because the Bible is absolutely life changing. I say that with total conviction because the Bible has absolutely changed my life. I tried to disprove it, but couldn't. It led me to Jesus. And it has brought me and kept me close to God.

If you want to leave crappy life behind and live the life you've dreamed about living, trust me, the Bible needs to be a big part of that. If you live in Vegas, come to Verve tomorrow and hopefully I will help you understand why.

To learn more about leaving behind the mundane and really living the life, check out my book, I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.

I Prove Evolution

I realize that some strict creationists aren't going to like this but ... I have been doing some scientific research and I can now prove evolution. It's true. And I am about to do it. So, ready?

During the Neolithic Age, perhaps sometime around 9,000 B.C., people started eating slices of bread with meat or vegetables between them. Sometime later, probably in the 18th Century, this food item became known as a "sandwich."

Then, in 2003 McDonald's created the "McGriddle" - a sandwich using two pancakes as the bread of the sandwich.

Finally, in April of 2010, Kentucky Fried Chicken released the "Double Down" - a sandwich using two chicken breasts as the bread of the sandwich.

And, the debate is over. Evolution it is.

The Makings Of A Church Planter (4)

I've been sharing some thoughts on a few of the critical characteristics of an effective church planter. Here's a fourth: You must have serious relational intelligence and amazing relational dexterity. 

As a church planter you'll have to:

1. Move into, understand, and start to network in a new town.
2. Get people to buy into and own your vision.
3. Help people find their place on the team.
4. Equip people for ministry.
5. Lead a staff.
6. Work the lobby after services.
7. Counsel with hurting people.
8. Say no to people who want to hijack your vision.
9. Deal with lots of conflict.
10. Maintain unity.

And lots more, and all of that requires that you have serious relational intelligence and amazing relational dexterity.

By the way, of the characteristics necessary for a church planter, this is my weakest.

Want to learn about church planting, especially how to start a church for people who don't like church? Come to our next Vault Church Planting Lab!

An Amazing Opportunity

Looking to have your life changed in 2011?

Here's your chance because Verve is looking for interns.  We had two in 2010, and they would tell you it was an incredible experience that grew them spiritually and prepared them for future impact for God.

We are especially looking for people interested in Children's or Youth Ministry, or in Creative/Tech Arts.

The pay is zero, but the experience is absolutely priceless.  If you're interested, let me know at vince@vivalaverve.org.

this weekend @ VERVE

Do you like the Geico commercials?  Yeah, "Which one's?"  Why is it that Geico has like four or five different sets of "mascot's" / "spokespeople"?  I'm talking about the cavemen.  The idea is that getting insurance may seem complex and intimidating, but with Geico it's so simple even a caveman could do it.

I think a lot of people stay away from church, or shy away from reading the Bible, or don't make the decision to follow Jesus, because it seems complex and intimidating.  But maybe it's not supposed to be that way.  Maybe God is a God who loves us and wants to be approachable.

This weekend we're starting a new series at Verve:  Christianity For Cavemen.  And we're starting with The Bible: So Simple A Caveman Could Read It.  The Bible has the power to change your life.  Come this week and learn how it can do so.

Here's a little commercial for our new series:

Motivations

So many people get stuck. And we don't want to, but we stay stuck. I wonder why... Do you think it might be that our motivation for getting unstuck is wrong. Why do I want my marriage to get better? So I'll be happier. Why do I want to get out of debt? So I won't have that financial stress. Why do I want to lose weight? So I'll look better. Why do I want to end my addiction? So I'll stop feeling the guilt.

Notice the theme? It's all about me. The Bible tells us in James 4:3 that sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers because our motivations are selfish.

What's the right motivation? I want my marriage to get better so people will see what a husband and wife look like who really put God first. I want to get out of debt so people will see what God does when a person submits his finances to Him. I want to lose weight so I can have more energy to serve God. I want to end my addiction so people can marvel at what God can do in a person's life.

God needs to be not only the power that gets me unstuck, but also my reason for wanting to, and the one who receives the glory for it in the end.

VERVE Happs

This week we finished our series on what God has to say about our jobs in the Bible called The Office.  If you missed any of the messages, you can listen to them here.

Some of you know that for a year I was doing stand-up comedy here in Vegas.  At first in open-mic nights, and then in a real/professional show.  Well ... this was the first week I used some material I developed for my stand-up act in my sermon.

I think half our church, including half our staff (and my wife) either had the flu this weekend or ran in the Rock n Roll Half Marathon.  (My wife was out with the flu, not the marathon.)

Excited for the new series we're starting, Christianity For Cavemen.  The basic idea is that perhaps we make some of Christianity more complicated than we need to.  Perhaps God loves us and wants to make it more accessible and usable than we realize.

Looking for a way to serve this Saturday (December 11)?  One of our Ververs, Travis, is leading some people in throwing a Block Party for an under-resourced neighborhood (around D Street) and giving out socks. If you'd like to help out, you can let him know via e-mail.

Top Ten

Want to help write a top ten list?  This is your special chance to help shape a Verve service, and not just any service, the Christmas Eve service!  So we're going to do: The Top Ten Signs You're Having A Bad Holiday Season.  Send your best ideas to vince@vivalaverve.org.  To get you started, here's a couple we're considering:

• All of the Christmas cards you receive are address to "Resident"
• When your boss came over for Thanksgiving, he was crushed under and avalanche of stolen office supplies. 

Meet "Lucky"?

I read a story from Sydney, Austrailia where a 3-year-old-male koala was struck by a car and carried for seven miles with his head and arm wedged through the vehicles front grill. Amazingly, the koala wasn't seriously hurt. Because of that, the Austrailian Wildlife Hospital dubbed him, "Lucky." The hospital manager said, "He was very flat and unresponsive for a couple of hours, but after a bit of TLC and some feed and some fluids .. he was up and eating and going really well."

Sounds like a happy story, right? Not so fast! The hospital manger explained why the koala was out on the road: "Koalas are more likely to be on the move over the next few weeks coinciding with the onset of the koala-breeding season."

Dude, it's one thing to be hit by a car, but on your way to a booty call?!? That's just cruel! And then to be driven seven miles away from said booty call... I don't know what they should call this koala, but it sure ain't "Lucky."

Seven Dollars?

Most churches calculate their offerings "per person." Take the amount of the offering and divide it by the total number of people in attendance. Established churches typically see about $20 to $30 per person. A new church will get a little less. Generally the people aren't quite as committed to God or to the church. So new churches often take in about $10 per person.

Earlier this year we had an offering of $7. That's not a typo. It was one of our two Sunday morning services. The attendance was about 118. That means our "per person" was six cents. Again, not a typo.

A few weeks later someone gave a recipe for sangria in our offering. I'm no expert on alcoholic beverages, but I'm guessing it might cost about $7 to buy the ingredients to make sangria.

Finally, it's all starting to make sense.

Writing

If you're into writing like I am, you may want to subscribe to my agent's new writing blog: www.dcjacobson.com/booktalk.

Also, here's some great books on writing:

• Bird By Bird, Anne Lamont
• On Writing Well, William Zinsser
• The Writing Life, Annie Dillard
• Elements Of Style, Strunk & White

Will The Losers Please Stand Up

Let's ignore Jesus for a second. (By the way, not typically good advice.) Is there anyone in the Bible you couldn't prove is a loser in like ten seconds. You might argue Joseph or Daniel, maybe Hannah or Ruth? Out of the thousands of people, there are a handful who aren't such losers it immediately jumps out at you.

So let's go modern day. Think about pastors, people in churches - is there anyone you could prove is a loser, at all? Maybe a handful. But most everyone appears to be just about perfect.

So is it that the human race has so dramatically improved? Or is it that we're liars and pretend we're alright so everyone is impressed with us, while we stay sick inside, unable to get help because we won't be honest?

this weekend @ VERVE

The crazy thing about our jobs is how much time we spend at them. We're at work more than anyplace else! And so if we're going to live out a life of loving God and loving people, we better know how to do it at work.

A problem is that there are all kinds of temptations at work. Temptations that would lead us to not love God, not love people, not live the kind of life we want to live.

What are those temptations, and how do we guard against them?

You'll have to come this Sunday morning or Monday night to Verve to find out!

The Makings Of A Church Planter (3)

After starting two churches from scratch, I'm often asked what kind of person makes for a successful church planter. I've two posts on critical characteristics so far, here's a third:  The ability to see and sell the future.

In most of life, including leading an existing church, there's a lot about the present that gets people excited and keeps them motivated. When you're starting a new church, you don't have the luxury of today. All you have is tomorrow. So if you can't see it, and you can't sell it to others, you have no excitement and no motivation.

Can you see the future? Vividly? Can you sell it? Persuasively? If not, don't quit your day job.

Want to learn about church planting, especially how to start a church for people who don't like church? Come to our next Vault Church Planting Lab!