VERVE Happs

This was easily one of my favorite weekends at Verve. Our services on Sunday morning and Monday night were great, but that's not why. We had week three of our current semester of Verve University, and it was great, but that's not why. Here's why:

We had a group come in from Mountain Life Church in Park City, Utah, who were interested in learning more about what's happening at Verve and to pray for us. First, it was awesome to have a group like that, very encouraging.

But here's the coolest part:  We spend 3 1/2 hours on Saturday, and another 2 1/2 on Sunday having all of our staff members share their stories and what they love at Verve. We also had several people who have started a relationship with God at Verve and have experienced dramatic life change share their stories. That's what I loved. I get to work with amazing people. They've all sacrificed a lot to be here. We all have to raise financial support for our salaries or are working other jobs to make ends meet. And I am so proud of them. I loved sitting for hours listening to each of them share their hearts and tell of all the amazing things God has allowed them to be a part of because of Verve. You'd have to be here to understand, and honestly, if you knew what it's like to get to do what we do and experience what we experience, you'd be jealous.

Vince Recommends...

So occasionally I recommend things to better your lives. (Oddly, you don't send me money for this. What's up with that?) This time I recommend what may be the funniest thing I've ever come across: Conan O'Brien's commencement speech at Harvard in 2000. If you want to read it, you can do so here.

If you'd rather watch it, here you go:



You're welcome.

Last Memorial Day Weekend

Last year on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend we had our second Verve baptism service. My friend Warren gave his life to Christ that day. Check out his story:

Living In The Tension: Christians vs. Non-Christians

When you do church for people who don't like church, joining Jesus on His mission of helping people who are far from God get close to Him, there are all kinds of tensions you live in and have to embrace.

One of those tensions is between Christians and non-Christians, and that sucks. Now I don't mean that there are tensions between the Christians and the non-Christians in the church. I mean that what each of those groups need is not always the same. And what each of those groups wants is rarely the same. Christians may want verse-by-verse teaching, non-Christians want you to give them answers for what they're struggling with. Christians might desire long times of heart-felt worship, non-Christians could think that gets a little weird. Often Christians want you to serve them, while non-Christians want to serve the community.

So what do you do? The easiest decision is to "side with" the Christians, or with the non-Christians. (99.99% of churches will give Christians what they want.) The right decision is to live in the tension. It's complicated, but you pray hard and talk a lot trying to figure out how to side with God, and to do what it takes to teach Christians AND reach non-Christians. 

But, when you just absolutely can't figure it out and you have to choose one: Go with the non-Christians. Why? Because 99.9% of churches are doing the opposite, and someone has to do it. And, more importantly, because if Christians don't like what you're doing, they'll leave and go to a different church.  But if non-Christians don't like what you're doing, they'll leave and possibly never go to church again.

this weekend @ VERVE

We're continuing our new Games People Play series with a game many of us played as kids, "Red Light, Green Light."

If you struggle with procrastination, you need to be there. If you seem to have lost your motivation for your job, you need to be there. If you're out-of-shape physically and can't seem to start exercising or keep your diet, you need to be there. If your family isn't what it used to be, you need to be there. If you're passion for God is lacking, you need to be there.

So ... I guess you need to be there? I know, I know, it's Memorial Day Weekend, but be there anyway.

Discover Your Calling (3)

One of the saddest things I encounter is a person without a life passion. 

And one of the most exciting things I get to do is help people 

discover their calling from God and start to live it out.

Thought I'd do a few posts on how to discover your calling...

Last time I asked what makes you angry, this time I'm wondering what makes you happy. Not happy like grapes without seeds in 'em, or when Easter is getting close and Cadbury eggs go on sale. I'm talking about stuff you do and it makes you feel alive, and you'd keep doing it if you could.

Frederick Buechner said that your calling is "the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need." When we thought about what makes you angry we were identifying one of the world's deep needs. But this what makes you happy question can reveal your deep gladness. So what makes you happy? Teaching kids? Sharing your faith with people who are far from God? Fixing cars? Writing? Photography? Meeting new people?

Your answer may be one of the puzzle pieces that come together to show you your calling.

Build The Runway

In Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh tells the amazing story of the startup and phenomenal growth of Zappos.  In the early years, people wanted to grow quickly and add on new things, they wanted to hire and expand the staff. But Hsieh kept saying no. He told his company that first they had to build the runway and then they could take off. And for years they kept things streamlined and simple and solely focused on their core competencies, building a strong foundation.

The same has to be true with new churches. The problem is that churches are planted by entrepreneurial types who have all kinds of dreams, and desires to expand and to launch new ministries and campuses. But first you have to build the runway.

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

VERVE Happs

This week we started a new series, Games People Play, in which we're talking about games we play, but may not realize we're playing. We started with Family Feud and talked about how unresolved family secrets lead to more unresolved family secrets. It was deeply personal and maybe painful, but hopefully the first step towards freedom for a lot of people.

SO WE NEED YOUR HELP. There's an 18 year-old-girl we met through the Cupcake Girls Ministry (our ministry to Strip Clubs). On Sunday night this girl overdosed on heroin, and was pronounced dead for a moment before being revived. She then contacted Joy, who leads the Cupcake Girls. Joy and Krystal Altman went over to the hospital late on Sunday, and led the girl to Christ! On Monday night she came to Verve. Amazing! So ... she wants to go to rehab, and we have secured a spot for her, but it's going to cost $500. Would you be willing to make a donation towards her going to rehab? If so, you can give online by clicking here. If you do, would you please email me (vince@vivalaverve.org) and let me know so I can make sure your donation goes to that? Thank you so much!!

Living In The Tension: Truth vs. Love

When you do church for people who don't like church, joining Jesus on His mission of helping people who are far from God get close to Him, there are all kinds of tensions you live in and have to embrace.

One is truth versus love. It's really not versus, but it can feel that way. Truth and love are two key essentials for every person. We all need truth; it's what sets us free. And we all need love; it's what changes us. But there are problems.

One is that some people find it easier to give truth (take me for example), and others prefer to give love (you should meet my wife). But people need both.

Another problem is that in some situations it's easy to give truth (perhaps when a person's sin seems especially insidious), and in others it feels more natural to give love (like when you feel really bad for the person). But people need both.

One of of my most common prayers when I'm talking to people is:  God, what is the truth this person needs to hear? And what is the most loving way I can say it? I literally pray it over and over. I want to give the person the absolute truth, and I want to give the person absolute love. Doing both, at the same time? There's a tension there, but it's one we have to live in.

Today Is My Day

It was twenty-one years ago today that I was baptized. I had been investigating the Bible for awhile, actually devouring it - hours and hours and hours a day, trying to determine if it was true, and what it meant for my life. Finally I had come to the conclusion that not only was it true, but Jesus was so absolutely amazing the rest of my life had to be all about Him. If it was about anything else, it would be a waste.

I happened to fly down to Florida on May 21st to see my father who had just gotten out of prison. I told him of my decision. He didn't care, but did connect me with the pastor who led Bible studies at his jail. That man, Bob Hargrave, and I spent hours that day talking, and me asking and him answering questions. Finally he asked me a question, "Do you want to give your life to God? Do you want to follow Jesus? Do you want to make this official by being baptized?" I gave him the best theological answer I knew, "Duh."

The next morning he baptized me at his little church in Crystal River. I came out of the baptistry, went by myself into the changing room, and sat there stunned and overwhelmed.

And I had no idea what God had in store for me: becoming a pastor, starting two churches, adopting an unreached people group, writing books, speaking all over the world, getting to go to Israel. I wouldn't have believed you that day if you told me all that would happen. But in another sense, I wouldn't have cared, and I still don't. I'm grateful for all those opportunities, but all I wanted that day was Jesus. And it hasn't changed since.

And if you really know Jesus, you understand. And if you don't really know Jesus, I pray someday you do. Because you'll know how amazing He is, and that living for anything else is a waste.

Discover Your Calling (2)

One of the saddest things I encounter is a person without a life passion. 

And one of the most exciting things I get to do is help people 

discover their calling from God and start to live it out.

Thought I'd do a few posts on how to discover your calling...

What makes you angry? I'm not talking about traffic, or grapes you didn't realize had seeds in them. I mean the thing in this world that just turns your stomach and you just can't tolerate. That anger may be from God and the key to you finding your life passion. Think about Moses who saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite slave, and killed the Egyptian. Is it surprising that his calling from God becomes freeing the Israelites from the Egyptians?

So what makes you angry? That some people can't find freedom from their addictions? The plight of the homeless? That there are people who are far from God and have been turned off by the church? That some children will grow up without fathers? Sexual slavery? Marriages ending in divorce?

Could that anger be from God? Perhaps He wants you to do something about it. Maybe that's your calling... 

this weekend @ VERVE

This weekend we begin a brand new series, Games People Play. We're gonna look at some games we used to play  still play today, even if we think we left them behind. The first week we're gonna get all Jerry Springer up in Verve, with Family Feud. If you have some family secrets in your past, if you experience family dysfunction today, don't miss Sunday morning or Monday evening.

Saturday our Student Ministry is having their end of the school year Pool Party!

And Sunday night our new semester of Verve University continues.

If you missed last weekend at Verve, we ended the message with a video people are still talking about, here it is (with a quick intro to give you the setup)...

 

Discover Your Calling (1)

One of the saddest things I encounter is a person without a life passion. 

And one of the most exciting things I get to do is help people 

discover their calling from God and start to live it out.

Thought I'd do a few posts on how to discover your calling...

Here's a fun one. Michael Hyatt does an exercise with people where he tells them that to help find your life passion, name your three favorite movies. Then examine those three movies to determine the common thread. The thread may very well show you your passion in life.  Hyatt's favorites are Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The thread? He says, "Outcasts who overcome their past to absolutely change the world."

My three favorites?  Probably Hoosiers, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous. The common thread? I'll figure that out. But what are yours? And what does it tell you about you?!

Feel The Pain

Perhaps the most powerful force keeping us stuck is our capacity for self-deception. We live in denial, ignoring our pain. We wear a mask with a smile on it, following the “I’m fine, how are you” script we were taught from childhood. We lower the standards of what real life should look like so we can scrape over the bar.

The problem is if we never feel the pain, we’ll never address the pain. We need to confess the areas in which we’re stuck, and identify the consequences. In what ways are we hurting ourselves and the people we love?

When we feel the pain we’ll be motivated to take the steps that lead to unstuck.

VERVE Happs

We had an amazing night on Friday, where we put on a free show featuring Mike Rayburn and Jeff Civillico. We decided to do it because we care and wanted to serve people by giving them a fun night out ... for free. And it was made possible because of the generosity of Mike and Jeff.  It was PACKED and people loved the show. I'd say the audience was about half Ververs and half not...

On Saturday we hosted the TED Talks at our building. I think TED is about the most prestigious convention for thinkers in America, so kinda cool. And our mayor, Oscar Goodman, was there on our stage. (See picture at right)

On Sunday and Monday we completed our Confessions of a Pastor series. This series was not original with us. In fact, it's a series a bunch of churches have done. Each pastor has made it his own, but I'm grateful for the ideas I got (stole?!?) from guys like Craig Groeschel, Steven Furtick, and Scott Hodge, who did the series before me. We did it because it's a great fit for us at Verve. We want to have an authentic community where everyone, including the pastor, is real. And we want to teach people that confession is the path to healing.

We ended the series with a very cool video that developed the idea that when we confess, God forgives our sins through Jesus. We had handed out "confession" cards for two weeks that people had written their sins on. The last day of the series, we talked about how God forgives our sins, but the temptations won't leave immediately, that's more of a "little by little" kind of thing.

After service on Monday night we had a baptism ... awesome!

Vince Recommends...

I'm not a big blog reader.  I tend to hear about a blog, add it to my Google Reader, check it out for a couple weeks, get kinda bored, decide it's not worth my precious time to spend on it, delete it from my Google Reader, and say something to myself like, "Don't be sad Vince, you knew it wouldn't last.  Now didn't you see some plums in the kitchen?  Let's go get a snack..."

One of the few blogs I've stuck with and really get a lot out of is Michael Hyatt's.

I've never met the guy, this is not a paid endorsement, it's just a blog that actually helps my life a bit.

God Gives A Damn ... The Results

So last month we put up two billboards (and had a mobile billboard) all proclaiming:  God Gives A Damn, with a website to learn more.  We realized it was risky.  In fact, all kinds of people warned us that yes, we may get a bunch of people to show up at our church through it, but would it worth the massive controversy it would create and media attention it would bring us?  We prayed and decided it was.

So let me tell you the results  ...  Nothing.  Yes, nothing.  We got zero phone calls, zero emails, zero letters.  We got zero concerns, zero complaints, and zero questions.  And the amount of people who showed up at our church through this advertising campaign?  Zero.

So what does that say?  I'm not totally sure, but it definitely highlights how different Vegas is.  Every pastor I know has said, "I'd get crucified in my town if I did that!" but in Vegas, no one even notices.  It also leads me to think we're going to have to grow slowly.  A lot of churches throw up a controversial billboard and grow by hundreds that weekend.  Not going to happen for us.  We need our people inviting our friends, and we'll grow one person at a time...

Why Go To Vault?

We're doing our Church Planting Lab called Vault again in October.  And you might be wondering why you should go to that versus the other options...

Answer?  Because it's an immersive seminar.  We're not putting on the typical conference with all kinds of advertising and big name speakers and a flashy light show.  We're providing an immersive seminar for you.

What do I mean?  I mean if you want to be a church for people who don't like church, a church that knows how to connect with people who are far from God and help them to find God, we will take you into the vault.  We will show you what we do.  You will experience what we do.  You will meet atheists and church haters who have had their minds and lives changed at Verve.  You will hear their stories.  You will get to ask questions of the speakers.  And we will vault you out with principles that you can apply in your setting, in the way that fits for you who you are.

And not only that, but John Burke (author of No Perfect People Allowed) will be there to teach sessions showing you how they do all that at Gateway, a church of thousands in Austin, Texas, who reach people who have no interest in or have rejected church.

To do all that, we have to keep the numbers intentionally small.  We will not allow more than 125 people to come.  Registration is open, people are starting to sign-up.  If you're not one of the first 125, we'll have to say no.  So register soon.

this weekend @ VERVE

On Friday night we are hosting a Mike Rayburn show. Mike has headlined eight times at Carnegie Freakin' Hall, so having him do a show for us ... kind of a big deal.  Hope you'll be there.  (If you didn't get tix but want to come, we may be able to sneak you in just before the show starts if there's still room. Show up at like 7:25 and we'll see if there are still some seats available.)

On Sunday morning and Monday evening we're concluding our Confessions of a Pastor series. This week's confession? I commit the same sins over and over again. Do not miss it.

Sunday night the new semester of Verve University begins. If you've never taken our Verge or Verse courses, you seriously need to register and take one. I am not exaggerating when I say that it will change your life.

Ready to Start 6: A Convenient Location

I've been sharing six critical things you need before you start your church. Here's the last one:

So you have courageous people on your side, a compelling vision, a clear strategy, a committed team, and a considerable amount of cash - you're ready to launch your church. All you need now is ... a convenient location. A facility to hold your services in that is easy to give directions to, convenient to get to, with good visibility, and which is comfortable to be in.

Size matters too. You want a space big enough to fit your people and children's ministry in, but not so big it feels empty with the amount of people you have.

Personally, I prefer a new church renting temporary space and then growing into permanent space later. And I prefer movie theaters over schools - people like going to the theater, no one enjoys going to school.


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

VERVE Happs

Mother's Day is a week where church attendance is up in churches all over America ... except never mine.  I've been leading churches for about 13 years now, and I think I've got a perfect 13 for 13 record of Mother's Day being a low attendance day. Why does our attendance go down while all the other churches go up? I'm not sure, but I think it may be that we're kind of not an acceptable place to bring your mom. Maybe?

Other than not having our normal amount of people, it was a good weekend. Our message was on "Cheating By Design" - choosing to truly live by our highest priorities. Opened with a little bit of country, "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. We're definitely gonna do country again ... sometime this century.

If you're gonna pray today for Verve, pray for wisdom. We have so many opportunities coming our way - weird (but cool) stuff that you probably wouldn't believe even if I told you. And we want to say no to the good ideas, and yes only to the God ideas, so pray we have the discernment to know.

Vivalaverve!

Vince Recommends...

First, I'm a big proponent of family vacations.  I'm one of the cheaper people you're likely to meet, but I think family vacations are so important and formative and memory creative, it's worth the money to me.  So we have a "Family Vacation" envelope we deposit money from our paychecks in every month, and put a little extra in when we have the chance.

Second, I'm a pretty big proponent of cruises.  They're not cheap, but what you're getting for your dollar can't be beat.  We just went on an 8-day cruise to Mexico - for only $400 per person.  (There are all kinds of ways to get discounts on cruises, including a bunch of websites.)  For that price we got ... (1) a room for our whole family to stay in for 7 nights, (2) around-the-clock all-we-could-eat food - including pretty high-end dinners (I ate lobster, escargo, you name it), (3) at least one show a day - and on most days two (including improv shows by Second City, Cirque type shows, etc., etc.), and (4) transportation to Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.  I tried to estimate how much we'd pay for all that and I'm guessing around $4,000, but we got it all for $1,600.

Now there are a TON of ways the cruise will try to gouge you: Drinks, the Spa, Bingo, gifts, etc. ad nauseum. But just say no. Don't let them take advantage of you; instead you take advantage of them.

You're welcome.

Yes, And...

Last month when we were on vacation we took a little improv workshop.  I also read Tina Fey's new book, some of which is focused on the art of improv.  Both the workshop and the book taught the principle of "Yes, and..."

The idea is that in improv, you can't deny your fellow actor.  You need to accept what they gave you, and then add to it.  So if the other actor says, "Then an water buffalo walked in, carrying a water pistol," you don't say, "No, it was actually a kangeroo."  You say, "Yes, it was a water buffalo carrying a water pistol, and he started shooting it at everyone in the room."

It's a pretty good principle for life.  I know I'm often too quick to say no, to not see the validity of the ideas of others, to deny them or give a "Yes, but..."  But I would be way more empowering, show people my faith in them, and maybe see some amazing things happen if I had more of a "Yes and" mentality.

this weekend @ VERVE

This week we continue our Confessions of a Pastor series and I'll be confessing that "Sometimes I Cheat On My Wife." If you want to hear the dirty truth come out, you'll have to be there on Sunday morning or Monday evening.

We also have some more FREE tickets to give away for the Mike Rayburn concert/comedy show we're hosting on Friday, May 13. So if you missed last weekend, or want to give a few to friends who you don't think go to any church, come this week and pick 'em up at the Velcro Bar.

And this weekend we continue sign-ups for Verve University. If you've never gone through our Verge course, you need to. If you have, you need to do Verse. And if you've done both, we have a cool new class called Not A Fan. You can register for any of those right now online.

Lies And Truth

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The ancestor of every action is thought.”

We do what we do because we think what we think. We believe lies, and those lies affect our lives as if they were true. We believe lies like, “I’m not important unless I’m successful,” and “No one could ever love me,” and “When I feel sad, food is what can make me feel better,” and “God only listens to my prayers when I haven’t sinned too much.”

To find freedom, we need to expose and demolish those lies.

And we need to replace them with truth.

Ready to Start 5: A Considerable Amount of Cash

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:

Can you start a healthy church without funding?  Yes. There are stories of people who had no money and started a Bible study in their living room and it kept growing. You can do it, it's just not very likely.

What does cash do? It allows you to have staff, to pay rent on a facility, to do advertising, to buy decent sound equipment, to have stuff for the kids.

You need a considerable amount of cash, and to have that you need to do fundraising.  And if you want to learn how to do that, you should come to Vault, Verve's intensive, immersive seminar for church planters.

Vault Announcement

Vault is the conference our church puts on to teach church planting and how to do church for people who don't like church.  We're doing it again October 10-12, and I have a big announcement:

John Burke is going to be doing three sessions at Vault!  John is the church planter and lead pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas - which is probably the best church in the country at reaching people who are truly far from God and don't like church.  John is also the author of No Perfect People Allowed, which may be the best book available about reaching people who are truly far from God and don't like church.  Which means that John is the perfect person to speak at Vault.

John's sessions are going to be:  "Creating a Come As You Are Culture,""Questions Leaders Ask," and "Speaking to Address Resistance." 

This rocks, I am psyched, and you need to register now!  We're limiting attendance to 120, already have people registered, and I think it's going to fill up quick.  Don't miss out on this amazing and unique experience.

VERVE Happs

This week we continued our Confessions of a Pastor series with, "I Don't Like A Lot of Christians."

There will always be people who say churches like Verve just try to make Christianity seem fun and easy and don't talk about sin ... ummmm ... I'm pretty sure I said "sin" about 40 times in my message this week.

I pray that Verve is always a place where, because we're getting closer to God, we get close to people who are far from God. People who don't have Jesus need to see Jesus in us.

Several people told me they thought the "slow jam" confessions Jimmy made (against his will) was the funniest thing we've ever done at Verve.

Very excited for the Mike Rayburn concert/comedy show we're doing on May 13.  Looks like we have a few tickets left to give out.  If you missed this weekend, or have some friends (who don't go to any church) who you want to invite, stop by the Velcro Bar to pick some up.

Verve U starts in two weeks!  Three great courses being offered!  Registration has started!

Vince Recommends...

If you're looking for some fun, interesting reading for the summer, check out Bossypants.  Tina Fey tells her life story, including a lot of behind-the-scenes at Saturday Night Live info.

Warning:  This isn't something to read with your kids.  In fact, Tina's creativity with the F-word is impressive.

A lot of the book is laugh-out-loud funny, she has some interesting things to say if you're into women's rights kinda stuff, and it's fascinating if you're into improv, Saturday Night Live, or watch 30 Rock.

You're welcome.

Ready to Start 4: A Committed Team

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:

8 of 10 new churches die within three years. Of the churches that survive, 96% will never grow beyond 200 people.  Why? Lots of reasons, but one is that most start without a committed team. Studies have shown that 40 is the minimum number of contributing (serving, inviting, giving) adults you need to get off to a healthy start.

It you have that committed team, it gives you a foundation of people who can invite their friends, greet people, run sound, play the music, watch kids, etc., etc.  It also helps gives you critical mass - an amount of people where it's not weird when people show up because it feels like no one is there.

If you don't have a committed team - I'm saying 40 adults or more - you're not ready to start.

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