I Guess I Don't Fit

A recent Time magazine on "Amortality" (living agelessly, trying to avoid aging) centers on Las Vegas and says this:

That's the Vegas paradox: despite the mind-boggling range of architectural styles and eras represented, there's a remarkable uniformity to it all. The residents are similarly homogeneous. Perma-tanned and toned, many of them sport a uniface common to both genders and across the income range, from bellhops to casino owners. The uniface is defined by absences: its eyebrows have been plucked, threaded or waxed into submission; its fine little nose is free from bumps and bulges. Above all, it looks neither young nor old. It is ageless. It is amortal.

Really? The Vegas I live in?  ...  Weirdness.

Vault Announcements Coming Soon

In the next few weeks I think I'm going to be making two BIG announcements about Vault, our church planting / doing church for people who don't like church conference.

It never occurred to me that Vault would be the kind of thing that would have big announcements, so these big announcements are as surprising to me as they will be to you.

Registration for Vault has begun, and we are limiting it to about 120 people. (We have space for 300 but feel part of the "magic" of what we're doing is the small size.) I suspect that one of the announcements will create a ton of registrations, so you may want to register soon!

this weekend @ VERVE

This weekend we continue our new series Confessions of a Pastor and I'll be making another shocking, startling, tell-all confession.  Will it really be all that?  Well, you'll have to show up to find out.

We'll also be giving away FREE tickets to the Mike Rayburn show we're doing at the Venue on Friday, May 13.  We have a limited amount of tickets, and we're giving them away this Sunday morning and Monday evening.  You can have tickets for your family, and a few to give to your friends who don't attend a church, as an easy way to introduce them to Verve.

We also have started sign-ups for the new semester of Verve University. Three courses are being offered, but if you've never taken Verge - that's the one you need to take first!

Ready to Start 3: A Clear Strategy

Over a few weeks I thought I'd share what I consider to be the six critical things you need before you start your church. Here's one:


A few months ago my wife and I had to drive to an airport. We left our hotel, knowing exactly where we were going. One problem, we didn't know how to get there. I guess we assumed it would be easy, obvious, after all, an airport is kind of a major thing. But nope, we couldn't find it.

Last time I mentioned having a compelling vision - knowing exactly where you're going. But too many church planters lack a strategy - knowing how you'll get there. Maybe they assume it will be easy, obvious, after all, the vision is kind of a major thing. But most church planters can never quite make it happen. Why? No strategy. And you must have a clear strategy that answers questions like, "How will we get people to show up?" and "What will we do to make them want to come back and stay?" and "In what way will we help them to know God and His love?" and "How will we equip them to follow Jesus and serve the world for Him?" Without that clear strategy, you're going to get lost.


Want to learn more about church planting? Come to Vault, Verve's intensive, immersive seminar for church planters!

Stuck

To admit it may require an uncomfortable level of honesty.

The realization may only break into our thinking in a fleeting moment of clarity.

But under the surface, it’s always there.

Like a throbbing pain suffered so long we’re able to ignore the constant discomfort.

We’re stuck.

Our “stuckness” may take different forms 

– relational, financial, emotional, physically, spiritual – 

but let’s not delude ourselves by ignoring it, calling it something it’s not, 

or silly talk of “I’m okay, you’re okay.”

I’m not okay, and you’re not okay.

We’re stuck. 

The question is … how do we get unstuck?

If There's No Hell...

There's a lot of debate lately about whether or not there's a hell. It even scored the cover of Time magazine. Well, of course there's a hell. Jesus spoke of it often and there's hard core evidence that we can believe in Him and what He taught. And God is a gentleman and won't force Himself (for all eternity) on people who didn't want Him. (He doesn't send people to Hell, it's the fulfillment of the free will choice of people to be separated from God's presence.)

But that's not what has my attention. There are all kind of erroneous claims in the Time article, which is sad. (Like it says there are many contradictions in the Bible. Really? What would those be?) But that's also not what has my attention.

Here's what does:  In the article the author states that Christians fear the teaching that there is no Hell, because if there isn't, why would anyone follow Jesus? The quote, "If heaven, however defined, is everyone's ultimate destination in any event, then what's the incentive to confess Jesus as Lord in this life?" Seriously? Ummm, maybe that He actually is Lord, and people want to live their lives in accordance with reality and truth? And maybe that truly following Jesus saves us from living hell on earth, and allows us to experience the kind of fulfilling, adventurous life that only He can offer?

The only person who would write something like that, or worry about something like that, is someone who hasn't experienced life without Jesus and life with Jesus. Because I've done both. And there is a heaven, and there is a hell, but even if there wasn't, the only life I would want to live is one centered on Jesus.

VERVE Happs

We had a great Easter at Verve, totally fun.  Unfortunately I am unable to talk beyond a whisper today as a result. (Note to self: keep deep voiced loud impersonations to a minimum). Pray for my poor vocal chords.

Our attendance was up, but not astronomically, maybe by about 30%.  I know there are churches where attendance doubles on Easter, but I don't think that will ever be us.  Why?  Couple reasons: (1) Almost all of the people who go to Verve WANT to go to Verve. We don't have people who come because they have to, or are supposed to. So the number of infrequent attenders, or Easter/Christmas only people is very slim. (2) We don't appeal to people who have a compunction to go to church. (And there are also way less of those people in Vegas than probably anywhere else.) We're church for people who don't like church, and those people don't feel like they should go on Easter any more than any other day. In fact, we had one Verver who invited 70 (!) of her unchurched friends, and every single one of them said, "No thanks, I'm not interested in church." In most towns, and with most churches, you're going to get a bunch of yeses for Easter invites.

Fortunately, numbers aren't our big issue - Jesus is, and the service celebrated that Jesus came and gave us an exact picture of what God looks like, and that Jesus overcame death so we have hope.

The other big issue for us is changed lives - and I hope the service helped our people to take a step towards a transformed life, with the understanding that we can believe in God even in difficult times IF we have already decided what we believe about God, and we can do that because of Jesus. And, because of Jesus, even when we're stuck in Friday, even when hope seems lost, we never lose hope, because ... Sunday's comin'!

Vince Recommends...

Every so often I recommend something, you know, just to improve your life. Cause I'm, you know, awesome like that. My recommendation today ... Mumford & Sons.

I realize I'm not an early adopter here, they've now had two huge hits and performed on the Emmy's, but if you like the songs you've heard from them on the radio, check out the whole CD. For instance, you need to hear Roll Away Your Stone. Killer lyrics.

They are not my style of music, but what I look for more than anything else is passion, and they've got that - and second I look for killer lyrics, and they've got that too.

You're welcome.

Ready to Start 2: A Compelling Vision

Over a few weeks I thought I'd share what I consider to be the six critical things you need before you start your church. Here's one:

You are not ready to start a church until you have a clear vision that burns in you and compels others. I'm dead serious. If your vision is hazy, your team will get lazy. If your vision is dim, your results will be slim. If your vision is boring, your people will be snoring. (Etc. ad nauseum.)

You must have a vision that answers questions like, "Why is starting this church necessary?" and "Where are we going?" and "What will be distinctive about this church?" and "How will we know if we're effectively achieving the mission?" Without a compelling vision, you're not really a church planter and should not start a new church.

Want to learn more about church planting? Come to Vault, Verve's intensive, immersive seminar for church planters!

Sounds Guerrilla

“We are here on earth to do good to others.

What the others are here for, I don’t know.”

--W.H. Auden

Want to learn how to become a guerrilla lover? Join the guerrilla revolution? Then check out my book, Guerrilla Lovers.

this weekend @ VERVE

Ready to Start 1: Courageous People

Over a few weeks I thought I'd share what I consider to be the six critical things you need before you start your church. Here's one:

Church planting is a difficult and lonely endeavor. You will never feel so isolated, and a vital relationship with God is a must. But it's not enough. that sounds wrong but remember Adam had God, but God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Well, it's not good for a church planter to be alone. So you need the support of courageous people. Two types:

The support of an encouraging family. If your family isn't fully on-board, do not plant. The process of planting will be painful, and if they're not positive there will be problems. (How do you like those P's?!)

The support of an experienced coach. If you've never started a church before, you will face things you never have. And if you have started a church before, you will still face brand new challenges. And it is incredibly helpful to have a coach to walk through it with you. I've planted twice, once without a coach and once with, and with is way better. And I coach church planters, but still wanted a coach for me.

Want to learn more about church planting? Come to Vault, Verve's intensive, immersive seminar for church planters!

Change I Can Believe In!

Did you see that someone invented a bra, that converts into a pair of gas masks?! (Seriously!) This changes everything!! I want one. I mean, no, I don't wear a bra, but if it allows me to have a gas mask on hand for an emergency, I'll wear a bra!

And I want one for my wife, and one for my son, daughter, and dog, and I fully expect that our lives will never be the same...

VERVE Happs

I was gone this weekend on vacation so I can't report on it, but I love having an awesome staff so we don't miss a beat when I'm gone...

Last week we had 3 more people make decisions for Jesus and get baptized. Awesomeness!

Met with a guy last week who has an idea involving Verve that would be CRAZY if it worked out. I'm still not sure if it's a 'God thing' but I'm intrigued.

Last Tuesday I mentioned that it was a tough week in the journey of starting Verve. I'll fill you in on the details so you can pray for us...  Our church exists due to the generosity of churches and Christians around the country. We have people all over who are sending in like $20 or $30 or $100 a month. And we have some churches who have been able to give even more. And, at this point, we are absolutely dependent on all this money coming in. All of our salaries and a lot of what we do is paid for by this outside support. Well, last week I was informed by a church that had made a commitment to give us $50,000 over 5 years that they weren't going to fulfill their promise. They had given $9,000, but wouldn't give anymore. It's not because of us, it has to do with a change in leadership at the church. And, honestly, it sucks for us. So if you could please pray that God will do something to make up for that lost money, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Classic?

Okay, ESPN and I are kinda close, so I hate to bring this up. But ...

One morning I turned on my TV, and the channel ESPN Classic happened to be on. (For those who don't know: ESPN Classic is the channel where they show the greatest and most memorable sporting events of history.) And what happened to be on was ... bowling.

Bowling? There is classic bowling?!

But then I checked, and it turns out they were showing the 2004 Birmingham Open, and I was like, "Ohhh, sure. Who can forget the 2004 Birmingham Open?"

Jesus Is Too Tough For You

I think Jesus is actually too tough for most people. Too strong, too powerful, too convicting, too revolutionary. When He walked the earth, almost no one was willing to follow Him. And it wasn't because He was too weak, or effeminate, or mild. No, it was because people were intimidated by Him and His challenge and His high standards.

The great irony is that since He walked the earth, we've managed to emasculate Jesus, making Him into a warm, fuzzy and pretty boring character, and so men stay away from church. The same men who wouldn't have had the marbles to follow Jesus.

Anyway, I could go on, but if you doubt me about Jesus being a tough, intimidating, revolutionary leader, read Revelation 19 and especially these verses.

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. 

Sublimation 4: Deep Sublimation

Been sharing some thoughts on sublimation, which is basically replacing a negative with a positive. Yesterday we talked about replacing unhealthy actions with healthy one's.  Important.  But there's a type of sublimation that is far more critical.

All those selfish and self-destructive behaviors we do, why do we do them?  When you get to the heart of it, it's because we believe a lie.  I sabotage my relationships because I believe I'm not worthy of one. I overeat because I think food can make me happy.  I lie because I believe my worth is determined by what other people think of me, and so I need to impress them.  And as long as I continue to believe lies, I'll continue to engage in the same behaviors.

So I need to practice sublimation.  I need to replace the lies with truth.  Until I do, I'll stay stuck in the same behaviors.

So ... what do you keep doing even though you don't want to?  And what lie is that behavior based on?  And what's the truth that needs to replace that lie?

this weekend @ VERVE

This Sunday and Monday we are concluding our God Gives A Damn series. We've been learning together that God is real, really cares about us, and can make a real difference in our lives. We've talked about how God cares about us, our brains, our stress, and our influence.

So how will we end the series? God gives a damn about ... what?

Do you really think I'll tell you? C'mon, you've got to know me better than that. Come this Sunday morning or Monday evening and you'll find out, and it will surprise you, and it's gonna be good!

Sublimation 3: A Key To Life Change?

So you wanted to lose some weight this year and decided to stop eating sweets. It didn't work. You swore you'd stop yelling at your kids, but you continue to do so. You know you have to stop worrying all the time, but you can't seem to stop.

Why? One reason is probably because you didn't sublimate. The last few days we've seen that sublimating is to replace a negative behavior with a positive, and that the idea (though not the word) is taught in the Bible. And it's one of the keys to life change. Our problem is that we try to stop doing something, without starting doing something else to fill the void. We need to sublimate.

So ... you're gonna stop eating sweets? What are you going to eat to replace them? If you leave that gap unfilled, sweets will come back to fill it. You're going to stop yelling at your kids? Well, what are you going to do with the anger when it starts swelling up? You won't be able to just stuff it, so if you don't have a plan for it, you'll end up yelling at your kids again. You want to stop worrying? What are you going to do instead of worrying when your problems and fears come to mind?

Think about the changes you wanted to but didn't make, the resolutions you made but didn't keep. Is it possible that the problem was you didn't sublimate?

Verve London

My friend Craig Whitney is in London (life is tough for poor Craig) and just sent me this picture of a pub he saw there.

So ... who wants to pay to put a campus of Verve in the Verve pub in London?

Sublimation 2: Is This In The Bible?

Last time we established that sublimation is basically replacing an unacceptable behavior with an acceptable behavior. We saw that that Freud was into the idea, but is God?

In Matthew 12, Jesus talked about someone who has his "impure spirits" leave, but since he doesn't replace them with anything, they simply come back to him again. In Galatians 5, we get a list of "acts of the flesh" - behaviors (like hatred and jealousy) that come from our dark side, and we're told to leave them behind. Then we get a list of the "fruit of the Spirit" - behaviors (like loving and being gentle) that come from God, and we're told to instead live in them.  Similarly, in Colossians 3, we're told to "put to death" what belongs to our "earthly nature" with a list of behaviors (like rage and slander), and then we're instructed to "clothe ourselves" with a very different list of behaviors (like compassion and humility.)

And all of that sounds like ... sublimation. So Freud was into it. God seems to be into it. But are you? If not, I'd say it explains some of why you can't seem to change your life the way you want. Why? I'll explain next time.

Sublimation 1: I Want To Smear My Poop?!

I've been studying sublimation. (Doesn't my life sound fun?) The term sublimation comes from psychology and is considered a defense mechanism whereby a person turns unacceptable impulses into acceptable behaviors. It's kind of a replacement technique. So, for instance, a guy who feels rage coming on towards his family might go out and chop wood, to channel his energy in a better way.

Freud was a big proponent of sublimation. He considered it to be a sign of maturity, and something that allows people to function in society.  Of course he also believed that the reason people painted was because they were sublimating their desires to smear their poop. So maybe we shouldn't listen to him.

But actually I'm also a big proponent of sublimation. In fact, I think it may be what's necessary for you to change your life. Why? I'll tell you next time...

VERVE Happs

People often ask me, "What's the most difficult part of starting a new church?"
My answer?  ...  Everything.
This was one of those weeks.

But ... even still cool things happened this week,
and we had an awesome mission team in town helping us out,
and you can see all kinds of areas where we're headed in the right direction,
and - most of all, God is still God and is in control.

I'll share more of the difficulties of this week later, honestly I don't have the energy to write about it at the moment.

This upcoming weekend we're concluding our God Gives A Damn series and you don't want to miss it. I know Spring Break is starting, but if you're in town, be at Verve.

Vince Recommends...

You're probably familiar with the 100 Calorie Packs, such as the 100 calorie Twinkee Bites.

You also probably know that we're supposed to count calories, especially if you'd like to lose weight. Like a 5'9, 200 pound guy should be in the 1,500 calories a day range.

So here's a recommendation for those who struggle with math, or who don't want to write down the amount of calories of each item eaten in a day:  If you're that guy who needs to eat 1,500 calories a day, simply put 15 Twinkie Bite packs in a box. During the day, eat a pack whenever you feel like it. When your box is empty, you're done eating for the day.

You're welcome.

Feels Like The Second Time: Still Me

A year ago we launched Verve, which is the second new church I've started.  I thought it may be interesting for some of you if I shared a few of the things I've noticed about starting a church for the second time.  So here's the fifth (and last):

Last time I talked about the advantages that experience brings in planting a second church.  Because of hard lessons learned through experience, I came into starting this church with firm convictions of how I was going to do it different.  That this church would not have the same weaknesses.  That we would be strong in areas my first church plant wasn't.  And I worked hard to ensure that those convictions would translate into reality for our church.

There was one problem I hadn't considered:  I was still me.  And so, yes, I was able to do some things differently and use the experiences I had to tweak a few things this time around.  But, honestly, even more I have seen history repeating itself.  Why?  Because I led there, and I'm leading here, and I'm still me.

For instance:  My personality type is such that I can design good systems, but don't have the attention to detail to actually run good systems.  In my first church plant, we didn't establish good systems at first.  In fact, we didn't even really think about it.  This time around, I swore I wouldn't make the same mistake.  So I spent tons of time designing good systems.  The problem, we're not doing such a great job of actually running those systems.  Why?  Well, I suspect it's because I'm leading this thing, and I'm still me.


Check out Vault, Verve's conference on church planting.

Survey Results

We did our annual survey last week.  For those who are interested, here are some of the results:

Age:

• 26-30:  30%
• 31-35:  24%
• 36-40:  16%
• 21-25:  10%
  
• 10-17:    8%
• 41-45:    6%
• 46-50:    5%
• 51-55:    1%
• 18-20:    0%
• 56-up:    0%

Percent un- or de-churched before attending Verve:  67%


How hear about Verve?

• Top answer:  Friend/Family invited me:  45%

Marital Status:

• Married:  50%
• Single:    50%

Have kids?

• Yes:  52%
• No:   48%

% of people who work on the Strip:  34%

this weekend @ VERVE

I'm psyched for this weekend at Verve. Why? Because so many of us are living decent lives, maybe even good lives, but not influential lives. We haven't figured out how to have an impact our lives.

At Verve we say we're about three things: loving God, loving people, and turning the world upside down. This week we'll talk about the fact that God Gives A Damn ... About Your Influence, and see if maybe we really can become people who turn the world upside down.

We're gonna have fun, and your life might just get changed.

Signed Up Yet?

Have you signed up for Vault? We are limiting the number of people who can come to Vault to around 100, and people are signing up, so if you want to come, you may want to register soon.

Why should you sign up for Vault? Well, if you want to learn how to start or lead a church, in general, there may be better options. But if you want to learn how to start and lead a church that reaches people who are far from God and not into church, there may not be better options.

It's just different than other conferences. Partly because it's small so there are opportunities to network, meet and ask questions of the speakers, etc. But more because we are focusing in on how you reach the cynical and jaded and skeptical and help them to see that church is not what they thought, that Jesus is a treasure worth giving up everything for, and that following Him wholeheartedly is the only real way to live.

If that sounds good to you, see you in Vegas in October.

VivaLaMotherTeresa

In 1960, Mother Teresa was invited to speak at a national women's gathering. It would be her first venture outside the borders of Third World poverty. And the event was held in ... Las Vegas.

After all her years living in the slums of Calcutta, we can only imagine how uncomfortable Mother Teresa must have felt with the opulence of Las Vegas.

But I wonder if another sense, she felt right at home. Because in Calcutta she was used to abject physical poverty, and in Las Vegas she must have sensed a spiritual poverty. I'm not saying that people in Vegas are worse than anyone else; I'm saying they're empty. That's what drew many of them to Vegas, the hope that there might be something there to fill the emptiness.

And there is. And it's what we offer every week at Verve.

VERVE Happs: We've Been Robbed!

Someone stole most of our block party stuff out of our trailer.  We've been doing block parties for the last year to try and create a little community in neighborhoods around Vegas. We had one planned for this weekend. But we're having to cancel it because it would cost us probably $2,000 to replace the missing items (cotton candy machine, portable soundboard, bottles of syrup for snow cones, etc., etc.). Canceling this block party isn't the end of the world, but I don't know how we'll ever be able to do another without replacing those items, which sucks.

So if you are feeling generous and have some extra money and would like to help us replace that stuff, please let us know.  We'd be very grateful.

And while I'm asking for donations:  If anyone wants to pay for our staff to be able to do a little overnight strategic planning mini-retreat, that would be really cool.  It would be great for us, but we just can't afford it.  (And if anyone wants to buy me an iPad, that would be really cool too!)

That last request was meant to be a joke.  (Unless you're wanting to give $500 to buy me an iPad, then it's not meant to be joke!) But seriously, if anyone out there cares about what we're doing and has some extra money and wants to give towards the $2,000 for us to be able to do more block parties, or maybe $1,000 for us to do a retreat, we would be totally appreciative.

Other than being robbed (and the fact that people at Verve, and all over Vegas, keep losing their jobs and moving out-of-town) things are going really well. I'm excited about all the momentum we're seeing. New people all the time. Lives being changed. God is really good to us!

Our Motivation

At Verve we have a 2011 reading plan through the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament.  (You can find it at our www.vervecatalysts.org site.) A ton of Ververs are doing it. If you aren't, but want to join us, the year is still young - jump in!

So I've been thinking about the (weird) story we read this week in Acts 8 about Simon, who tried to pay for the Apostles to give him special abilities from God. The interesting thing in the story is that it seems like he wanted to do good things. He didn't have evil intentions, but he did have misplaced motives. And we learn in the story that our motivation is critical.

The easiest thing to do is just do. But we need to examine why we do what we do. We need to make sure our motives are right.

One of the ways I've found I struggle with this is that I often do what I do because it's the right thing to do. Is that the wrong motivation? Well, it's certainly not the best one. The right motivation is love. The Bible teaches us that if we do what we do, but do it without love, the do we did is doo-doo.

Think about the good things you're doing - what's your motivation? Is it love? Or is the good you do really doo-doo?

Feels Like The Second Time: Experience

A year ago we launched Verve, which is the second new church I've started.  I thought it may be interesting for some of you if I shared a few of the things I've noticed about starting a church for the second time.  So here's the fourth:

As I said last time, there is something to be said for youthful exuberance, but experience is nice.  The first time I planted a church I felt like I was walking in the dark.  This time ... well, I still feel like I'm walking in the dark.  But there are some things experience teaches you.  Last time I did almost no fund raising mostly because I didn't know how, we had one event to try and get people for our launch team, we advertised our grand opening in one main way, I had never led a staff.

This time all that changed.  I didn't get any smarter, I just had more experience.  And one cool thing about doing this again is that you get to redeem some of your mistakes from the first time by chalking them up as "experience" and not repeating them...

this weekend @ VERVE

The last two weeks we've talked about kind of big stuff, that God believes in us and that there's good reason to believe in Him. That is awesome, and important.

The problem is that a lot of life is kind of small stuff. Often the things that stress us out aren't matters of life and death, or eternity, but just everyday problems. So does God care about that?  Yup.

And can God do anything about that, can He help us with our stress?  Yup.

So how? You'll need to come on Sunday morning or Monday night to find out!