Fridays are for Friends & Family 09.18.09

This has been one of the most intense weeks of training I’ve ever experienced! CRM has kept us busy all week learning how to assist others in achieving their God-given potential through the skills of coaching. There have been countless ways they have helped us learn this craft: through practice, presentation and activity, to name a few. In the midst of the week, they showed us this video…and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. It’s such a great example of what a coach needs to be. The setting? Portland (coach Maurice Cheeks) and Dallas (coach Don Nelson) are in the NBA playoffs in 2003. Before the game, 13 year-old Natalie Gilbert is preparing to sing the National Anthem…she actually won a contest to earn the right to sing at this event. With that in mind, watch the video and see the difference a “coach” can make.

What do you think is the worst thing you can do “to” a church planter? Paul Watson, who is one of the leaders of the CityTeam crew actively pursuing church planting movements in North America, has an idea about that. This week I came across his interesting post that I think those of us who are involved in the ministry of church planting might need to ponder. You can check it out here.

On the other side of the church equation from church plants is mega-churches. Yesterday, USA Today newspaper posted an article on the largest churches in America, drawn from the research of Outreach magazine and LifeWay. They noted that these super-sized churches are “evangelical, contemporary.” Check out that article and the largest churches in our country here.

In my “tribe” some of our best ministry has been through the impact of the International Mission Board. This agency has been led by Dr. Jerry Rankin for the past 17 years. The Baptist Standard, a denominational newspaper in Texas, reported yesterday that Rankin has announced his retirement. You can read about that here.

Finally this week, if you’re into the social media market, that this is for you! Mashable, which bills itself as the social media guide, has posted a guidebook to Twitter, the micro-blog tool that is quite the rage these days. You can get to that guidebook here. Whether you’re starting out or an old pro who tweets regularly, send me a DM sometime; I can be found at bcmddavid.

Fridays are for Friends & Family 07.24.09

Time for Friday’s Friends and Family edition once again! This week we start on a sad note, reporting that Gidget, the 15 year old chihuahua who became a star in the Taco Bell commercials at the turn of the century has died.  People magazine this week posted this pictorial montage of famous television animals, which have impacted our lives and invaded our memory. Below, I’ve posted the first of many commercials the dog did for the Mexican food chain in 1997. Yo quiero Gidget! R.I.P.

Tim Tebow is once again in the news, this week on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. The article, You Gotta Love Tim Tebow (Man of Many Missions) deals with much more than football. In fact, the majority of the story is about his ministry to prison inmates and in the Philippines as a part of his father’s evangelistic association. It’s a great article about his passion for God and his desire to see others coming into a relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. While I’ve been an avid Alabama Crimson Tide fan from my earliest days, I can’t help but admire this guy and his commitment to the Savior. Kudos, Tim!

On the family front, daughter Rebekah has been accepted into the advanced Strings Orchestra with the Annapolis Youth Symphony Orchestra after one year in the Preparatory Strings. Way to go, Rebekah! You’re making exceptional progress and it shows. Your hard work and perseverance have paid off. We are so very proud of you and your achievement.

Twitter Picture of the Week

This picture that came across my newsfeed recently, purported to be from the sale of surplus merchandise at one of the religious cable networks. It’s another one of those pictures that make you want to go…huh? Podcast of the Week

Lauren Rodriguez chats with me on this podcast about the importance and value of social media (blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Lauren is our webmaster and communications expert at the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, so everything she’s says is worth hearing and applying. If you’re not involved in all of these things as a church leader, you’re missing tremendous opportunities to connect with and impact the people and prospects at your church. Listen to or download it here.

Church Planting Website of the Week

Chuck Cruise is church planter/founding pastor of Hanover Fellowship Church in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Chuck came out of Northwest Baptist Church in Reisterstown, Maryland and after completing seminary at Southern in Louisville, returned home to coordinate this church plant with Northwest as its parent church. By all counts, he’s done an incredible job. Check out his website to see what happening there.

Have a great weekend, everybody!