Just had to share with you the amazing “Let There Be Light” video of our recent Christmas service at North Point Community Church this season. Enjoy!
Archive - December, 2011
Goodbye 2011 … Hello 2012!
This past year (2011) MAG has seen tremendous growth in several areas! Grateful to our new clients, partners, prospects, & advocates ... AND our hard-working EAs, Bookkeepers, Virtual Groups Pastors, and the MAG Corp Team too. Grateful to the Lord for his inspiration and provision as well.
We (Shannon & Bryan) started MAG in late 2010 ... and had no clue ... how well MAG would do in 2011! Humbled by the results.
We are excited for a great 2012 and beyond!
Thanks to ALL our MAGsays.com readers, Tweeters & RT-ers, posters, fans, +1-ers, Facebookers & Like-ers, and LinkedIn-ers!
In 2011 ... in MAG's first year ... MAGsays.com ... had 28,740 unique visitors that created 61,077 separate page-views! All 50 states and an extra 127 countries visited our blog ... and read our blog in 76 different languages. 4,139 people jumped on MAGsays.com from their iPhones this year. OK ... enough stats. To the blog kings out there ... these stats may not seem like a lot ... BUT we're just getting started! THANKS to all of our fans who promote MAG!
Happy New Year!
Bryan & Shannon
Top 10 Posts of 2011 on MAGsays
Below are the Top 10 Posts of 2011 for MAGsays.com … ranked in terms of highest traffic in 2011.
Enjoy!
- 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Pastors
- Church Attendance Glass Ceilings
- Cheaper Than an Affair amazingly, this was a post in Dec 2010!
- The “Codes” of Elevation Church and ING Direct
- Growth Through Acquisition
- “No Show” Sunday
- Sexual Healing
- Churches – Thursday is the NEW Sunday
- Church Employee Benefits
- 5 Dumb Things Church Planters Might Do
What’s Your Plan C?
Church planters … I have an invaluable question for you.
About a year ago … I was reading Entrepreneur Magazine … and I came across an article on Venture Capital funding. The article essentially … was how to pick up VC funding in a bar. It was the “approach” to asking for VC money that attracted me to the article. Often times, in our nation, the epicenter of new business starts happen at the intersection of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Why does this matter to a church planter?
YOU are the spiritual entrepreneur … and church planting organizations or deep-pocket denominations are the venture capitalists. Perhaps you should start meeting in the bar. :^)
So … can you imagine what a VC might ask you? What if you bumped into someone who had the cash to fund your dream/vision? What would they ask you?
In the Entrepreneur Magazine article … the VC had one simple question. Essentially … the person in need of funding would go into significant detail on their idea. They tell everything until they were out of breath and the idea was fully out. The VC would listen intently … nodding. Then, finally, when the person in need of funding finally stop moving their mouth … the VC would ask this question ……….
“Wow, that’s a great idea. Sounds like you’ve got something there. What’s your Plan C?”
What?! Plan C! I just told you Plan A! What does C have to do with A?! Seriously.
The article went on to say that Plan C is what this VC was looking for. Everyone has a Plan A. Some have a Plan B. The people who get funded … have a Plan C.
Why is that? It’s because they thought critically … about the obvious & inevitable. Plan(s) will change, morph, die, get challenged, be altered, fizzle. It’s what you do when your initiative shifts on you … is the key … and it is paramount to have a willingness to go to Plan C. That’s what this VC was looking for. An agile mind who could think critically about changing opportunities to mitigate the risk & reward for this VC.
What about YOU? Are you hoping or dreaming to plant a church one day?
What’s your Plan C?
First Church of Megapolitan
Image Courtesy of USA Today
It's happening to a city near you.
It's being weaved and consolidated into a huge, vast, sprawling city. Welcome to the Megapolitan era! It is upon us.
I happen to live in the Piedmont Megapolitan. I see it happening right in front of my eyes. From Atlanta, GA up the I-85 corridor through Greenville, SC to Charlotte, NC ... there is a connectedness in many ways ... commerce, infrastructure highways, natural gas, drinking water, hospitals, oil, coalitions, signs, companies, churches, & etc. They are all becoming more interconnected ... because of their grouping in terms of geography.
Think I'm crazy? You should read this book ... Megapolitan America.
What is the ramification for churches in our nation because of this? While the term "Megapolitan" is a new one ... consolidation and leverage are not. Churches are doing more multi-sites, they are merging, they are bonding together ... the idea of grouping together for results is not a new one in church world.
Here are some other questions to ponder with me:
- How will the idea of a Megapolitan impact our churches?
- What opportunities exist for the Church ... if your geography perception is enlarged?
- How will the Church view connectedness going forward (people, communities, & other churches)?
- What happens when "church competition" collapses when a geographical area becomes one?
- How can the Church lead the way in addressing this opportunity?
- How will the Megapolitans idea impact church planting?
Why shouldn't the Church lead in this area? Why would we let the government or business lead this initiative? Churches have a REAL opportunity here.
One Word Cues – Chasing Down the Meaning
It has happened to all of us.
We get an eMail, or a text, or a voicemail ... and you hear or see one word that makes you stop cold. It can be any word. But when you see it or hear it ... you pause ... and ask WHY did they use that word?
In our busy lives ... especially in "Corporate America" we have a tendency to scan words ... versus read them for meaning. I am guilty of doing this as well. However, when we scan ... we potentially lose the ability to catch a word (or words) that people are signaling to you.
This happened to me the other day. I received a forwarded eMail from a person on my team ... asking me about a question ... that I was potentially connected to. As I scanned the eMail ... it looked like the original sender was just asking a question for clarification. So, I scanned the eMail ... and dug up the answer for my team. Later that same day ... I was asked another question from my team member ... before eMailing back to the original sender ... and it had to re-read the eMail. I'm glad I did.
What I discovered was ... one word that stood out. It was glaring. It jumped out of the eMail at me ... the moment I took the time to really read the meaning behind the original sender's request. I am not going to tell you the word. But, that word told me there was something that needed to be chased down ... and handled over the phone with the original sender. I thought more about that one word ... and asked myself WHY did they use that word. My guess to that answer prompted me to make a phone call in the morning.
The call was made ... and I clarified the request. I also had the chance to better understand their use of one word ... by hearing their response.
What about you? Here are some questions to ponder:
- Are you paying attention to the words being directed/communicated at you?
- Are you looking at the meaning behind the words?
- What are they NOT saying to you?
- Are you brave enough to chase down the meaning?
Be Rich!
This past weekend … our church celebrated the Be Rich initiative at our church … with the success of people giving! People at our church responded in a HUGE way. See this Celebration Video for Be Rich below.
Be Rich 2011 Celebration from North Point Media on Vimeo.
This got me thinking:
1) Do you try to start new ministries at your church … or … find effective ministries in your community that you can partner with?
2) Do people give re-actively, out of emotion to ministry requests … or … pro-actively with incremental giving (tithing)?
3) Do the people who attend your church feel “Rich“? Want an eye opener … look at this: Global Rich List
4) Are you a leader/pastor in your church … and you don’t consistently tithe? I know that is a crazy question … but, I know it happens too.
Do You Know Sin?
Do you know sin? Well, look no further. Watch the video below.
The creative people at Igniter Media developed this video … and it will make you think about sin in a new, different way. Thank God … for talented people … who expose the truth … through the gifts God has given them. Follow Igniter Media on Twitter or Facebook. They have some great solutions for your Church.
BTW – we are not getting paid a nickel … to showcase this company. Check them out.
You Are Here
Tis the season to be lost … in shopping malls … that is.
My wife & I … were doing some Christmas shopping recently … and walked past a man … mid 50s I would guess … balding, a bit frumpy … just standing at the mall map … arms down by his side … overwhelmed by the 9 foot the mall map towering over him. It looked like he was studying the small font to guide him to his next shopping destination. My guess … his thoughts at that moment equaled the exact opposite of sheer bliss.
Life seems to be like that sometimes too.
You Are Here. Now what?
We stand on a certain path … looking at a map … that we think will lead us in the direction (and ending) … we are hoping for. A successful career. A thriving marriage. A happy & healthy family. A content mind. Satisfying hobbies. The list goes on. However, what happens to the person … who one day realizes that the path they are on … and the “end” they have found … is not really what they wanted?
Can you relate?
In my own life … I have discovered WHY this happens. Meaning … the place you are hoping … is .. or is not … where you end up. The reason … each of your small decisions … you treat as an independent decision. Instead … you and I should create a personal filter for broader decision making. Said another way … look to your logical conclusion and ask yourself: “Is there where I want to end up? Yes or no?” Force your mind to go down the path of your choice. See your choices as connected dots that create a path on your map. Your personal decisions are simply not independent or trivial.
Practically speaking … most of us do not consider in advance how much effort, energy, and time we should give to our decisions … but, more importantly the “end” you are hoping or working towards.
Want more reading on this topic?
MAG Video Update – 12.06.2011
MAG Video Update from our COO, Shannon Miles – 12.06.2011
You can also follow Shannon on Twitter @shannonkmiles
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