Communicating For a Change

Just in the past few weeks I've had a lot of comments like "Your preaching some seems really focused of late . ." or "man, I don't know what it is but your last few sermons have been awesome." Well, I'm going to give you the secret -

I've changed the way I preach. I was trained do to expository preaching. Three points and all that stuff. (Not that I have thrown that out; we still need to have balance!).

Just read the fantastic book "Communicating for a Change" by Andy Stanley. He teaches that we should have one point. One point! He outlines a sermon with: Me-We-God-You-Me. Then, ask five questions: What do they need to know? (Information) Why do they need to know it? (Movitvation) What do they need to do? (Application) Why do they need to do it? Inspiration How can I help them remember? (Reiteration).

Since I've been using this model for my sermons, the reaction has been amazing. AND, it made creating the sermon more challenging, yet rewarding when I've seen the results!

Now, I won't use it exclusively, but it will be a major tool in the tool box. I still believe that we need balance in our preaching and teaching.

Check this book out! It will help you see preaching in a whole new way by a man that I believe has a real gift in communicating to the present culture.

Get Service a huge hit!

Just started reading "Our Iceberg is Melting" - with the sub title "Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions" by John Kotter. Looks interesting. Also, a friend of mine, Tamera Alexander, has had her second novel published by Bethany House. Go and pick up a copy of "Revealed".

Facing the Giants still hasn't come to Salt Lake. In just 100 theaters, it has made a little over 3 million dollars! We may have to wait until the DVD.

The Hogs rolled again against Ole Miss. We should go into Columbia, South Calorina 7-1 and beat the Gamecocks - then, host Tennessee at Fayetteville a strong 8-1. I love the wrinkles new offensive coordinator Guz Mulzhan has installed. GHG!

The clip I used Sunday from sermonspice, "Get Service" was a huge hit!! I used it to illustrate how Jesus viewed Zaccheaus (is that spelled right?).

I preach this Sunday for our church plant in Murray,Utah. Looking forward to that.

Dave, thanks for the website idea! Looks great.

TGIF

Way to go Cards! Although the Mets put up a good fight, my red birds flew away to the World's Series. I must confess, I love the idea of the Tigers being there as well. Should be a great series. Hope it goes down to a seventh game.

Hope you had a chance to check out sermonspice website. Great stuff. Just started reading "Just Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybels. I just love anything by Hybels. If you want to get challanged, go the the Willow Creek web site and order the DVD entitled "Leadership Test". He did the talk at one of their Leadership Summits a few years ago. He'll ask you some pretty tough questions that every leader needs to hear.

The Hogs are playing Ole Miss Saturday. Love the nickname they've given the Razorbacks backfield of Jones and McFadden, "Thunder and Lightening". GHG! (Go Hogs, Go!).

Hope your tribe has a great day Sunday! Let me know what God is doing in your midst.
BTW, anyone who wants my sermon notes and slides from our Starbucks Sunday, just give me your email address and I'll send it to you. Just go to www.southsidechurchutah.org , send me and email and I'll get it to you. Have your own Starbucks Sunday!

With God's Best, Randy

GREAT ministry resource

I've got a great worship resource for you! Since I was just put in charge of our new worship planning team (which, to be honest, I really asked for the job!). I am on the lookout for resources to help make our worship fresh. Contemporary. You know - up to date.

Well, found a tremendous resource yesterday. It's called Sermonspice. (just go to
www. sermonspice.com) Watch the video called "suppertime". We're going to use that very soon at Southside!

It seems that God gives me just want I need for a sermon at just the right time every week. Know what I mean? This week I was really struggling with how to make Zacchaeus fresh - a new slant; a new insight. Then, I found this web site through another pastor here in town, and there it was - a great little four minute video on how we see people. Man, I just love it when God does that!

Enjoy the resource. I hope it's helpful. If you know of some resources, please pass them on! It's nice to share.

Monday Morning rambling

Did anyone see the movie "One Night With The King" over the weekend? I'm thinking of going to see it - I would love to have a review. "Facing the Giants" hasn't come to Salt Lake yet. Can't wait to see it.

The Hogs are now ranked 13th! If we don't over look Ole Miss the Saturday, we'll be 7-1 heading into a game with Tennessee. Can anyone, and I don't care who, please beat USC?

Been reading "You Don't Have To Have A Title To Be A Leader" by Mark Sandborn. Great little book. Also reading "The Creative Leader" by Ed Young. (So far a disappointment but maybe it will get better). On my list to read: Uprising; Shaping of Things To Come; Just Walk Across the Room; Doing Church in Teams. What's on your list?

John Grisham's new book is out. Can't wait till I get my copy from the Salt Lake County Library. We have the best library system in the world. Love any Grisham novel.


Our worship planning team is meeting this Sunday to plan a "creative calendar" for the next six months. Looking forward to having our assemblies planned out a year in advance but we'll start with six months and see how that goes.

Questions: Can the Cards pull it out? Are the Raiders the worst team in the NFL? Can anyone beat USC? Will Peterson return for his senior season with OU? Can the Hogs win the SEC West? Does anyone care about professional soccer? Why is Friday Night Lights on Tuesday night? (The best new show on TV!)

A Third Place

If you like to read books on leadership, you've got to read "Pour Your Heart Into It" by Howard Schultz. It is the story of Starbucks as told by CEO of Starbucks. You will be inspired by Schultz's vision. A few weeks ago we had a "Starbucks Sunday" - I preached on "What the Church Can Learn From Starbucks" while serving 10 gall0ns of Starbucks in the foyer. We had the most visitors we've ever had for a invite your neighbor day! (Starbucks was wonderful to work with).

Schultz calls Starbucks is a "third place" - he says that we have work and home; we need a third place to be community (Schultz's own words). His definition of a third place: "a place where titles and status are checked at the door. A place where we just 'are'." Shouldn't the church be that third place? That was the theme of my sermon that day. Anyway, read the book. You will be inspired and fired up by Schultz's vision and boldness.

I'm in dire need of a good novel to read. Any suggestions?

N-N-Notes From Randy

Had a GREAT weekend!! Went to a Beth Moore Conference with my wife. That woman can preach, my goodness. Good to see 5,000 women (well, 4995 women and five men) gather in the E Center in Salt Lake for a Christian event. We took a group of 70 from Southside.

Then, went home to watch the Hogs destroy Auburn, 27-10. Great game. Probably saved Houston Nutt's job. Our freshman quarterback, Mitch Mustain, did an outstanding job of handing off to America's best backfield - Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Now we are ranked for the first time since 2003. GHG! (Go hogs, Go!).

Now, I realize that I forgot to explain why I've titled the blog "n-n-notes from Randy". I have a slight stutter. (okay, that might be generous). Back when I was a youth minister in El Paso, that's what I called my space in the church bulletin. I thought it was kinda clever. Good story -- there was a church in New Mexico that copied all our artwork from our bulletin in their bulletin. Every week. When I started calling my column "n-n-notes" -- sure 'nough. In their bulletin the next week, in their church announcements, was "n-n-notes" (they had cutt off the "Randy"). Bet they had some 'splaining to do!

And oh, the Cardinals laid the Padres to rest to go to the NLCS. Go Red Birds!

Thanks Greg for sending the preview to "Facing the Giants" movie. Can't wait until it comes to Salt Lake.

A New Look!

As you can tell, it's been a while since I've written a post! Went on a two week trip to Alaska in August. Wow! Alaska was amazing! The best vacation I've ever been on. Then, two weeks became a month, a month became two . . . and before you know it - it's October 5!

I thought I would give the blog a new look. Hope you like it.

So, where do I start? There is so much to catch up on, my goodness. The Razorbacks are 3-1. But we play Auburn on Saturday, so that will be the end of that. Won't win many games in the SEC with a freshman quarterback. BUT - when Mustain gets some experience, watch out! He will be a Heisman candidate before it's all over. We will just have to take some lumkps in the meantime.

A lot of new shows I like! Friday Night Lights and Standoff my be my two favorite new shows. Still like Prison Break, Amazing Race, Survivor, Home Makeover. You have any new favorites?

Haven't been to a theater in about a month. I really want to see Facing the Giants. Isn't showing in Salt Lake yet. Anyone seen it?

I did rent "Broken Trail" a few weeks ago. Loved it. In fact, watching that encouraged me to down my DVD of Lonesome Dove. I had forgotten how good that show was. Love Robert Devull in western!

Well, it's good to be back in the swing of blogging.

Great Meeting at the Ward

The meeting at the ward went extremely well! The room was packed. Chuck Mix did a great job of presenting our plans and answering their questions. The neighborhood seems excited that we're coming - we'll, I think they're excited that we're not a 7-11 or something akin to that, but we'll take the warm reception!

Today was my last day of radiation treatments! I'm glad to have that beyond me. It takes a month to see of the skin cancer is gone. I am very grateful to all the people who work at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. They go above and beyond the call of duty. I will keep them in my prayers.

Instead of asking God to bless you today, ask Him how you can be a blessing to Him today!

Death by Meeting?

Tonight is our "town meeting" at the ward (what the Mormon's call their church buildings) next to our new property. We will explain our plans for the building and for the campus. We will also explain all the easements the city is asking for, which total around $400,000. We are hoping to get some of these issues resloved - we can't afford the extra expense. This meeting is a big step forward in getting us to the point of breaking ground.

Reading "Death by Meeting" by Patrick Lencioni. Great book for all who dread "meetings". I offer this quote:
"Imagine hearing a surgeon saying to a nurse before surgery: 'If I didn't have to operate on people, I might actually like this job.' Or a symphony conductor preparing for a performance: 'If it weren't for these concerts, I would enjoy my work more.' Or even a professional baseball player: 'I'd love my job if I didn't have to play in these games.'
Ridiculous, right? But that's exaclty what we're doing when we lament our meetings.
think about it this way. For those of us who lead and manage organizations, meetings are pretty much what we do.
And yet most of us hate them. We complain about, try to avoid, and long for the end of meetings, even when we're running the darn things!
And so my question is this: If we hate meetings, can we be making good decisions and successfully leading our organizations? I don't think so. There is simply no substitute for a good meeting - a dynamic, passionate, and focused engagement - when it comes to extracting the collective wisdom of a team. The hard truth is, bad meeting almost always lead to bad decisions, which is the best recipe for mediocrity.
But there is hope. By taking a contrarian, nontraditional view of meetings, and following a few specific guidelines, we can transform what now is painful and tedious into something productive, compelling, and even energizing."
One thing I really love about our leaders here at Southside - we know how to have a great meeting. Great meetings are important! How are the meetings at your church or business?

Cell Phone vs. Bible

Our Carnival in the Park went great! Lots of people working together to make it happen! My wife sent this to me today and I thought I would pass it on to you:


Cell Phone vs. Bible
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it as we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
What if we upgraded it to get the latest version?
This is something to make you go, "Hmmm... where is my Bible?"
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill!

Well, only one night of VBS to go! About 150 people packed out little building last night learning about Jesus! Here, the pit crew is getting the kids registered for the Amazing Race! In the other picture, the auditorium becomes filled with children singing those VBS songs! During snack time you can have a "pit stop" for a great snow cone. Tomorrow is the Carnival in the Park. Should be a lot of fun!

My recommendation for the week: Call the Richland Hills Church of Christ in Ft.Worth,TX and order the DVD of Rick Atchley's "United Kingdom #3: Learning Division". It is one of THE best teachings on unity that I have ever heard. It will challenge you. It will insire you. And, it just might make you think. In fact, I bet if you ordered the whole series you couldn't go wrong!

Just started a new book on leadership entitled, "It's Your Ship". The book tells the story of Capt. D. Micheal Abrashoff and how he turned the USS Benfold into a model of naval efficiency. Came highly recommended by Bill Hybels. I'll let you know if its worth reading.

Well, gotta go. Time to get the gospel chariot rolling.

Had a fun day at church yesterday! For the sermon I got all the kids to come down and sit down on the floor with me and we talked to them about the importance of loving others from the movies "Cars". Oh, boy - you never know what children will say! (Old enought to remember "House Party" with Art Linkletter? Yeah). They enjoyed; the congregation enjoyed it; I enjoyed - and I think the Lord smiled as well. It was a good reminder that church is for the children, too! You should have seen their eyes light up with I put a picture of Lightning McQueen on the screen! That was priceless.
This week is Vacation Bible School. Our theme is "The Amazing Race". We don't use those pre-canned VBS kits. Oh, no! We write everything ourselves - which is half the value of doing it! A lot of good bonding time. Gets a lot of people involved.
We'll wrap up the week on Thursday night with Carnival in the Park. We went blow ups; grill hot dogs and hamburgers, have game booths, rock climbing, etc. (This year we hope to have a race care on display!). Usually about 400 folks show up! This year we're having it right next to where our new building will be located - so we're inviting the surrounding communities to come and join us. No telling how many we'll have this year! I'm hoping for 600!
Hopefully, I'll get some pictures tonight and post them on this blog to show you VBS Southside style!

Met A Hero of Mine!

Friday night I attended the Rocky Mountian Review. The RMR is a summer league sponsored by the NBA for teams to let their rookies get a taste of the transistion to pro ball and for some free agents to make a good impression and land a spot on a team.
Anyway, I went mainly to see Ronnie Brewer who was drafted in the first round by the Jazz. Brewer played his college ball at Arkansas. He is the son of Ron Brewer, one of the famed "triplets", who led Arkansas' rise to basketball power in 1974-1978. He is one of my sports heroes.
Well, at halftime of the game I walked into the hallway. (I was wearing a Razorback hat and shirt). I heard a voice say, "I like that shirt". I looked up - it was Ron Brewer! Holy Cow!
I said, "Hey, Ron. You d' man!" Then I said, "You remember that poster of you, Moncrief and Delph with the caption "chairman of the Board" on it? Got that down in my basement."
He smiled and said, "Me, too!"
"Should I be worried 'bout my Hogs next year?"
"Nope. Don't be worried. They'll be alright! Stan Heath is a great recruiter. They'll be just fine."
"It was great to talk with you. It's great to have you and Ronnie in Utah."
"Glad to be here." he said. Then I went back to my seat.
Boy, that was a great night. Oh, and Ronnie had a great game, too! The Jazz won by 20 points. For a old Hog fan, it was a night to remember.
Have you ever met one of your heroes?

A quote from Leonard Sweet's book "Out of the Question and Into the Mystery" I'd like to share with you:

"We know how to save the world. We just realize that we know what we know. The way to save the world is not through more rules to live by, but through right relationships to live for.
To save the world we need something more biblical than higher standards. We need higher relationships. We need less to be "true to our principles" and much more to be true to our relationships. To save the world we don't need the courage of our convictions. We need the courage of our relationships . . . especially the courage of a right relationship with the Creator, the creation, and our fellow creatures. Our problem with reaching the world is that we've made rules more important than relationship.
Western Christianity is largely belief based and church focused. The Jesus trimtab, in contrast, is relationship based and world focused. It is less invested in maintaining and growing an institution and more invested in Jesus' passion for saving the world.
We have yanked ourselves from the soil of relationship with God so we can do the work of tidying things up. We are now sanitized and correct, factual and precise, but tragically bereft of relationship. We are disconnected from our source so that we have become sterile. We may be doctrinally correct, but we have become spiritual cadavers."
Challenging words to be sure. Let us be about loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Half Way Through!

Well, I'm halfway through the radiation treatments. So, tomorrow I'm bringing the staff some Krispy Kreme's. They are a wonderful team of people who are dedicated to what they do. (They gave me a 7:30 a.m. appointment, which is thirty minutes before they open, just so I could go to Boise yesterday to take the preteens to camp! That's what I call going above and beyond the call of duty!)

Went to Boise, Idaho and back yesterday. Help take the pre-teens to camp. It makes for a long day (a 14 hour round trip). Ed Farr always makes the trip with me. We tap the day off with supper at Maddox! (It's the best resturant in the whole state, in my humble but accurate opinion). This year our wives drove up (about an hour and fifteen minute drive from Salt Lake) and joined us! It was a great way to wrap the trip!

VBS prep is in full swing! Lots going on this week. It always seems to come together some how.

Catching up: Loved "Pirates"! Someone complained that it didn't have an ending. HELLO! It's the midde of a trilogy for cryin' out loud! Still, I thought it was very funny with lots of action. Looking forward to part 3 next summer.

Several movies in the trailers looked pretty good. "Grid Iron" and "Invincible" caught my eye. Any other movie(s) that you are looking forward to seeing?

Really enjoying reading "The Five Disfunctions of a Team". Reads kinda like a novel. (Lencioni refers to it as fable).

Our Guest Services Ministry is really getting cranked up. Yesterday we revealed our "chair Bibles" - new Bibles placed in the backs of our chairs. Now when I preach on a text, I'll just say the page number so anyone who is not familiar with the Bible (which a lot of our first time guests are not) can simply turn to it and follow along. We also revealed our "Ask Me!" badges. Several people, who will be trained, will wear the badge on Sundays. They will answer questions which our guests may have. We always have greeters at the doors when people come in for assembly. Now, we will also have "exit" greeters for people leaving our assembly! I really like that.

The best thing that I'm exicted about is the fact that each of our guests will be followed up in some way 48 hours following our assemblies!

I need a good novel to read. Anyone have a summer read to recommend?

Weekend is Here!

Went to see the funniest movie that I've seen in a long time a few days ago! Go see "RV" with Robin Williams. In Salt Lake it is on at the dollar theater. Very, very funny movie with a great point to make about family! I haven't laughed that hard and that often in a movie for I can't remember when.

Looking forward to seeing "Dead Man's Chest" (Pirates, part 2) tonight. Got the tickets yesterday and the Clay Clan is all fired up.

Just saw the DVD of Jeff Walling's presentation at the North America Christian Convention. You gotta see it! Many are calling it an historical occasion in the relationship between churches of Christ and the indpendent Christian churches. Boy, I hope so! The DVD is very moving. Jerry Lewis (love that name!), from The Point Christian Church, brought it by for me to see. A few years ago he and I swapped churches for a day when he was at Southeast Christian here in Salt Lake. That was a lot of fun. Hope we do it again soon!

Well, I'm almost half way through my radiation treatments. May be the most expensive "tan" I'll ever get! So far, so good.

Hope you have a great weekend. Take a Sabbath day! Unplug. Unwind. It'll do you good.

Sweet!

Just starting a new book. If Leonard Sweet is as good as writer as he is speaker, I'm in for a real treat. The book is entitled, "Out Of The Question and Into The Mystery". On the jacket he writes:
Christianity isn't founded on a proposition. God sent Jesus to deliver a proposal: "Will you love me? Will you let me love you?"
In fact, Jesus not only got down on his knees to deliver this proposal. He was nailed to a cross to deliver it. Because of Jesus, we can reach for God himself, not simply for more precise statements about God.
Propositions inform us, but God's proposal of love in Jesus transforms us. God doesn't answer every question; God invites us into a mystery.

Sounds interesting, doesn't it? I'll keep you informed.

The Clay Clip Joint

Was giving my dog Saturn, a Jack Russell terrier, a haircut yesterday. I hate to pay someone forty bucks to clip him, so I bought some clippers at Costco thirteen years ago so I could do it myself. Up until now I figured that I have saved a lot of money. Yesterday I was trimming his face with the scissors when he suddenly turned his head - the scissors cut right into my left hand thumb (which I was using to hold him still). After bleeding for a few hours, I went to an instant care and got four stitches! Ouch! Not a grat way to start the fourth. Although yesterday was a pretty expensive clip, I figure that I'm still way ahead.

Got a question. Gas grill or the old fashion charcoal kind? Can you tell a difference in the taste? My wife says "no, you can't tell the difference," to which I say, "Bull butter! You can tell the difference!" I'm just too lazy to light the coals, wait for them to turn white hot and grill. (Not to mention the clean up.) I must confess, I prefer charcoal. Any comments?

Have a great fourth of July. And thank God for the freedoms we enjoy!