The Beauty of Teamwork

One project requiring 300 man hours to complete would take one individual nearly 17 days (18 hours/day) to complete. That same project can be completed by one team of 150 people in two hours. That is why I love teams. I'm super-thankful for the Discovery Launch Team and the Discovery Board. You make this journey a joy (and a lot easier).

On the blog, Indexed, you'll find lots of interesting drawings like the one on the right.

Starbucks revisits standards

I'm a Starbucks fan. After reading Joseph Michelli's The Starbucks Experience, I developed a great deal of respect for how the company tries to run its business. Starbucks' commitment to the environment, the coffee workers in the third world, and its corporate standards were inspiring. Today, Starbucks has reinvigorated my passion for them.

After noticing that the average customer was having a less enjoyable experience, Starbucks is taking a radical step. They are closing their stores nationwide for three hours tonight to re-train each of its 135,000 employees. Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schulz explains the rationale in a memo to employees. "We are passionate about our coffee. And we will revisit our standards of quality that are the foundation for the trust that our customers have in our coffee and in all of us."

What a great example for the church! What are we passionate about? How do we insure that the quality of the experience for our customers (the unchurched/dechurched) is equally inspiring? Thanks Starbucks for setting a great example in how to build trust with those who visit.

mydiscoverychurch.com

As soon as we could, we began working on securing website addresses for Discovery. We were quickly able to get: mydiscoverychurch.net & mydiscoverychurch.org. Today, we finally were able to secure mydiscoverychurch.com. In the coming days, we will begin website development. Keep checking back for more updates!

Crazy Experiment

Are you up for a crazy experiment? If so, check this out.

ht: Carlos Whittaker

Launch Team Meeting Coming Up

Love at First Sound

May you have a surprisingly romantic Valentines Day.

Changing How You View Love

Have you ever encountered a Bible verse and just moved through it without really thinking about it because you were so familiar with it. Then all of a sudden something grabs a hold of you and forces you to look at it with new eyes. Today that happened to me.

Matthew 5:43-48 took on a new image for me today. The great communication experts tell us that our brain locks concepts with images. That passage of Scripture has a new image in my brain. It looks like this now:

Not what you were expecting probably. But definitely life changing. May God cause you to love others in a completely scandalous way. May love be the natural overflow of your life. May those you encounter be changed by the gracious way in which you embrace them in love.

Want to know more about the art, check it out here.

Mandles

For those ladies looking for a last minute Valentines gift...

HT: ITA

The Purpose of a Launch Team (Part Two)

So I'm not as quick on the posts lately, but round two as promised...

2. It's Your Church Plant....GIVE.

The initial start-up of a new church plant can be expensive to say the least. No one person (besides Warren Buffett, Bill Gates or Mitt Romney) could afford to sustain the effort on their own. However as a launch team working together to make a difference in a community, we can. The needs are great, but as we work together we can see the dream become a reality.

If you are not currently giving to a church, consider making regular contributions to Discovery. Just drop a check in an envelope and mail it to: Discovery Church, PO Box 6018, Evansville, IN 47719-0018.

White Board Sessions

If I could pick one conference to attend in the coming year, it would be The White Board Sessions. Top ten reasons to attend:

1) A conference in the nation's capital (or right around it). Think of the great site-seeing opportunities (and the beautiful cherry blossoms).

2) The line-up. Any one of these individuals would be worth the price of admission, but together...wow!

3) It's only one day. No need to block out a week (unless you want to make it a vacation).

4) The topics. Each leader gets 30 minutes to lay it out for you on a topic that they are passionate about.

5) It's cheap. Register through the end of this month for only $99.

6) It has a blog. How cool is that?

7) They give away free stuff. I'm all about free stuff...especially when it includes Starbucks coffee.

8) Everyone (from everywhere) will be there. Twenty-four states and DC (Washington, not to be confused with Discovery Church) are represented. Give in to peer pressure on this one.

9) Wireless internet. So you could listen and blog at the same time.

10) Casual attire. No need to dress to impress.

Check it out. Register if you can. Don't miss out (unless you are going on an already scheduled vacation to beautiful South Carolina with your family and friends).

Great Video

Everyone needs a good laugh. Here's a link to a laugh for today. Hope you enjoy.

ht: Vince Antonucci