Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

A Church Planters' Typical Day? Nothing Typical!

The church planter wears all hats some days.  Today was one of those days.  I started the day early with Shaun Jourdan, our church treasurer.  After 10 months the church will be able to start providing some compensation for us, but as any business owner knows - there's lots of paperwork and details when putting together a payroll.  After 3 hours, we still had a few things to finish up so Shaun is coming back over after work tonight.  Here's a guy who gets up early to have breakfast and volunteers a couple of hours, then goes to work, THEN comes back to finish the servant's work for the church.  With dedicated servant leaders like Shaun, we will accomplish MUCH for God's kingdom!

After I finished with Shaun, I took Jessica, our Children's Ministry Leader to several stores to purchase items for the children's classroom at Mid-Ohio.  The room at Mid-Ohio is a very nice, but neutral conference style room and we want to jazz it up for children.  So we bought posters, banners, and floor coverings.  Then we stopped over to our local Blockbuster and asked for some cardboard boxes.  We plan to adhere cardboard backs to the posters so that we can reuse them each week at Mid-Ohio.  Jessica has studying to do, but she sacrificed almost 4 hours today so our test run Sunday on October 4th might go as smooth as possible!

In the middle of shopping with Jessica, I received a call from Rich, our marketing team leader, wondering if we had received a jpeg picture file yet from the billboard company.  We want to reuse the photo from the billboards in his company's Retrievers, strategically located in several area venues.  I called our advertising rep, who promised he would send it over this afternoon.  Rich also has a career to think about, but takes time out of his busy day for our new church. 

As I sit here and punch out this quick post, I recognize that I am so blessed to have such highly dedicated servants on the Church Requel team.  I also realize that no professor in seminary taught me what these days would be like.  Thanks everyone for pitching in today! 

Pot Luck Celebration at Church Requel Sunday Night!

This next Sunday evening will be the last time we enjoy an evening service at the Pierce home. This is a bittersweet moment in our young church’s life… sweet because we are so excited about moving into the next phase at Mid-Ohio, but bitter because we have so greatly enjoyed the intimacy of the "house church!"

To celebrate I’m asking our church family to come an hour early this Sunday night and bring some food with them. We plan to eat a meal together and share some precious fellowship time.  Instructions in case you are coming:

• If you are coming by yourself, bring one dish of any kind.
• If you are coming as a family, bring two dishes: one main dish and one side dish, either a salad or a dessert. Bring enough food to share with others!

After our meal, we will have a worship time together. I’d like to make this a little less formal too. So we won’t have a particular order of service to follow. What I’d like to do instead is to ask each person to think of something they’d like to share in the worship time: a word of encouragement, something special about our church so far, how Christ has blessed you, a reading from Scripture, a prayer, a song or hymn. No one will be embarrassed or asked to do anything.  I think this could be one of the most special times of worship we’ve ever experienced!

I will prepare a brief message, appropriately enough, about continuing "house church" in various locations after we begin our large gathering at Mid-Ohio. And we will share communion together.

We will still finish our meeting by 7:15, so moms and dads can get home to put their children to bed on time. Of course, people can still stay later and enjoy the fellowship time if they don’t have to worry about an early morning.

Let’s make the most of this transition in our church’s life. Come at 5PM this Sunday night and celebrate what Christ has done!

1st Draft of Church Requel Info Card

The excitement continues to build for our launch in October.  Last week I told you about the billboards that will be going up all over Richland County.  That is only one part of the advertising strategy. 

Part 2 of our marketing strategy is to give the people in our church the opportunity to talk to their friends and family about our new church.  We plan to print out cards that can be handed out with the most important information about the new time and place for Church Requel.

To the left is our first draft of the info card.  Kudos to Rich Workman, who really took the initiative with this project.  Multiple heads are better than one!  We quickly figured out that we forgot to include the church website address on the card.  We are including it in draft #2.  Anything else you see that we should include (or not include) in our info card?

So how many of these little gems do you think we can pass out over the next month?

Sermon: "God Will Give Me Justice"

We had a great time last night here at Church Requel.  This was our next to last evening at the Pierce home.  In two weeks, October 11th, we begin conducting our Sunday evening services at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.  So I think everyone last night was filled with the sense that something that has been very special to everyone is about to end.  For those who could not join us, or who want to see or hear it again, here is the message from last night.  We've been talking about the unique aspects of this requel church.  Last evening we talked about the Lectionary, a Bible reading schedule over a 3 year calendar.  This week's reading included the book of Esther where we learn about God's justice. Join me as we learn the 3 R's of Justice.

God Will Give Me Justice from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo and on YouTube.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

Church Requel Signs Billboard Agreement!

I'm pleased to announce that yesterday afternoon Church Requel signed an advertising agreement with Lamar to show ten billboards throughout Richland County beginning October 12th.  My compliments to Lamar Account Executive Joshua Palm, who was most helpful to me through the decision-making process.  (And I must quickly add my thanks to the many others who provided advice from other media sources.  We are most blessed to have high-caliber salespeople within the advertising business in Richland County!)

Why billboards?  My #1 objective was simply to get the news out that Church Requel is now meeting publicly.  I wanted people to know about us and, if they want more information, to know the web address where they can find out everything they want to know.  Placing 10 billboards in strategic locations around Richland County will get that word out.  Now we have to wait and see if the good folks of Richland County respond.

I have learned so much about billboard advertising these past two weeks.  And while I'll admit to still being a neophyte, here are some of the things I have learned.

• The message matters.  "Life Change Happens Here" is designed to get people to look at the billboard.  If we don't get them to glance our way, the rest of the info won't matter.
• Selecting billboard locations is not easy.  Long-time billboard advertisers have many of the best locations already locked up.  And we are entering political season, so there will be many other new advertisers as well.
• Billboard companies pick a location for their signs that are usually ideal for one direction.  They then add a second board and then two more on the back.  The other three are usually not as ideal as the first.
• Plan on doing some driving around.  Of the original 10 boards suggested, we took three.  I asked, and Josh provided, all the other boards that were available during our launch time frame.  I drove to each location and selected the other seven from this list.  I really appreciated the picture and maps provided by Lamar, but nothing is better than driving by.
• Size of billboard should match the road and location.  Our billboards are 10' 6" by 22' 9", which is ideal for roads around town (assuming they are relatively close and are not blocked by other things in front of them.)  But this is not a good size usually for highways, where the billboard has to be off the road a ways.  Lamar and others make larger boards for a larger price.  For our budget and objective, the standard "retro" size seemed best to me.

Readers of this blog who live in and around Mansfield, watch for these boards to show up.  If you see one let me know... and if you think about it, say a little prayer that the right people, who need a church home, will see it and respond to it!

Church Requel Tech Gear Delivered

Jonathan twittered Thursday afternoon: "Church Requel tech gear load #1 is here!"  And he posted this picture off of his phone camera.  I can't believe that this is finally happening!  We've been saving up for 9 months to be able to launch Church Requel this autumn.  A month ago we were still trying to find the place for Church Requel to meet.  Once we finalized the Mid-Ohio location, we then had to decide what equipment we could afford.  We invested mostly in sound equipment, speakers, a mixer, microphones, cords, and a piano keyboard.  Tech equipment and/or music equipment not making the cut included lighting and the electronic drum set.

I remember a day when I would have loved to be there to open up all the boxes.  After all, I love tech! But I'll be most thankful for Jonathan and his team to enjoy those honors.  These days, between advertising, a wedding this weekend, children's ministry planning, and sermon writing... I just don't have the luxury of time.  But I am immensely grateful to Jonathan, who volunteered valuable expertise and to DRM Productions, who allowed us to purchase the gear at cost.

Life of a Church Planter a Juggling Act

Starting a new church is a lot like a juggling act - the hardest part is keeping all the balls in the air!  Yesterday, in particular, was a day when I went from one project to another, starting early in the morning and ending sometime into the evening. 

Readers of this blog know that I like to do Bible study videos.  At the beginning of the year I was doing one every day, but as our public launch has neared I've cut the schedule to two or three a week.  As of yesterday I hadn't done any, so I decided to dedicate some time to wrapping up Matthew 7.  This was a significant milestone in that it concludes our study of the Sermon on the Mount.  Believe it or not, we began our study of this greatest sermon on February 15th with Bible Study #60.  More than seven months and 105 videos later, we have finished this section of Scripture!  Hooray! 

There also are a number of new videos we need for the ChurchRequel.org website, answering some basic questions about our church.  Last week we created a video about our new location at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.  Yesterday we added a video answering the question, "Why Requel?"  I took the video camera out to our local movie theater and recorded a three-minute video about what requel means (retelling the story in a new and fresh way.)  Since the word comes to us from the movie business (like sequel and prequel), I thought the theater backdrop and a little Star Wars theme music underneath would be a creative way of answering the question.  When I got back to my office I found out that my microphone wasn't set up correctly, so I had to drive back out to the location and redo (requel?) the shoot. [Important: what question do you think we should answer next? You can comment at the end of this article!]

I'm also juggling the advertising balls lately.  I'm working with several different advertisers to figure out the best way to get the word out to our community.  We will probably work mostly with billboards since that seems the best way to get the word out to just about everyone in Richland County.  But I'm also working with radio and TV stations as well as Internet marketers.  Even if we don't use all our options (can't afford everything), I'm establishing good business connections for later advertising.  And I'm keeping track of those people who have been incredibly helpful, as well as those few who won't even return a phone call!

In the midst of all this, I'm working on doing the regular jobs (the ones I really love) of a pastor.  I still have to get this week's sermon down on paper, meet with our worship leader, Nate Williams, to plan this weekend's service, make a few phone calls for childrens' ministry, and print sermon handouts for this weekend.  This afternoon I will attend the Pastors' Brown Bag Lunch, a monthly gathering of clergy in our area.  And I have the privilege of performing a wedding on Saturday, which means a rehearsal Friday night as well as the ceremony on Saturday - all about 90 minutes west of here. (So I'll have some drive time and get a chance to get caught up on some podcasts!)

I once had someone tell me that the job of a church planter was a young man's job.  I still don't completely agree with that statement, though now I can appreciate why people believe it to be true.  What might be more correct is to say that the job of a church planter is only for the high energy man or woman, regardless of age.  One cannot ever do just one job in this role.  The old adage of keeping your eye on the ball will not work in this job.  The successful church planter keeps his eyes on all the balls!

Why Requel?

Ever wonder how we came up with the name Church Requel? Join me for this short, 3-minute video where I answer the question of "Why Requel?"

Why Requel? from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

#164: Astonished Crowds

Don't you hate it when you have to suffer through a boring sermon? One thing we know about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It was anything but boring. The crowds were astonished! Join me as we study Matthew 7:28-29.

#164: Astonished Crowds from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo and on YouTube.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

Separatists, Conformists, or Transformists?

We continue our teaching series on the Requel kind of church we aspire to be. In this talk we examine our relationship with culture. We want to walk the fine line between being a Separatist church on the one hand and a Conformist church on the other. Our desire is to be Transformists, change agent like Jesus himself. As Christ prayed in John 17, we want to be in the world but not of the world.  I have made several resources available from this sermon:

• Download Transformists HANDOUT with Answers 
• Download Transformists HANDOUT without Answers
  
• Download my personal Transformists TEACHING NOTES

Separatists, Conformists or Transformists? from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

What Did I Expect?

I just finished reading The Fine Line: Re-envisioning the Gap between Christ and Culture by Kary Oberbrunner.  Near the end of the book Kary shares an online post by his friends Joe Boyd and Mark Palmer.  I found this encouraging as I'm in the middle of getting a new church in Mansfield, Ohio.  I have experienced most of this personally.  What did I expect?  (I suspect I'll come back to this post often.)

• Expect pain
• Expect to be misunderstood.
• Expect to be persecuted and expect it to come first from those who follow Jesus.
• Expect to be maligned, attacked, and ridiculed from all sides.
• Expect to grow tired and weary.
• Expect to want to give up.
• Expect to lose many old friends.  Expect to lose all of you friends where the "church" is the central reason for your friendship.  Only your deep and Christ-centered friendships will endure.
• Expect to be labeled (a freak, a hippie, a cult leader, a quitter, a fraud, an idealist, a  purist, a heretic, a divider, a communist, a jerk, an egomaniac, a devil worshiper.)
• Expect to weep ... deeper and stronger than you ever have.
• Expect to doubt your calling, your convictions, your path, your faith, and your life.
• Expect to be lonely.
• Expect to be seen as utterly unsuccessful.
• Expect to die... nothing will be left of you.  You will cease to exist.  The last things in you to dies will be your desire to be great for God and your desire to be happy.  And then, you will finally...
• Live. Expect life.  Expect meaning.  Expect to finally understand the prophets and apostles.  Expect to know Jesus and his life... for that is all you will have ... and that is all that you need.

Prayer for Humility, Love and Rest

Yesterday I shared a brief prayer at the end of my post and invited readers to share their prayers with me.  Late last night I received this prayer from a lay minister with a secular occupation.  Since he didn't write it as a comment on the blog, I'll keep his name anonymous.  But it is such a heartfelt prayer for humility, love and rest that I felt it must be shared.  I hope you, my reader, will enjoy it as much as me.  And like me, I hope you will take the time to pray it for yourself.  To the one who wrote me - thanks again for your uplifting email!

I pray for humility... a humility that makes me realize that I'm a tool in the hands of the finest workman this world can know... The Creator, my God, my Savior. No matter how inept I feel in any situation, please let Your power move me in a way that does Your work. Guide and direct me, move me forcefully if needed, to complete the job You have set in front of me. Grant me the vision, as You see fit, to view the masterpiece You are building. What a gift to be part of Your plan. But by Your Grace... I'm so undeserving of such hands to guide me. What a gift!

I pray for Love... allow love to fill me to overflowing. Author of Love, show me how you are capable of loving something as wretched as me, and open my heart to love others the same. Use this love You have placed in me to reach out to Your lost children and to bring glory to You.

I pray for those other tools in Your hands. Give them a true edge and let the work You give them result in such unmistakably fine craftsmanship that the only logical reaction will be to lift it to You in thanks. Let every breath they take give them energy and vision to Your will. Let every step take them just that much closer to Your goal. Peel away anything that distracts attention from the tasks You are placing in their lives and touch all those around Your faithful servants. Make everything that they do bring glory to You.

Father, I pray that You give peaceful rest to Your servants too. We see the example You gave us in the creation, but so often sin tells us that we can't stop... we can't rest... like Your plans in some way will fall apart if we step away for one moment. Father, DESTROY that sinful pride in us. As if there were anything that we could do to stop Your plans, how vain we allow our sin to make us. You created these bodies. You know every hair on our heads; You count each beat of our hearts; You know the limits of these bodies... teach us how to care for them in work and in rest.

#163: Solid Foundation

Being a Christ-follower is more than being a Christ-philosopher, or Christ-student, or Christ-hearer. It means putting into practice the teachings of Christ. Join me as we consider Matthew 7:24-27.

#163: Solid Foundation from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo and on YouTube.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

Starting Church Like An Amusement Park Ride

The work of starting a new church blends together a unique concoction of entrepreneurship and pastoring skills.  Church Requel is now less than one month away from its public launch on October 11th at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.  As a result, my day's schedule is as likely to include work with an advertising representative as it is to include a parishioner meeting.  Each day I'm working at balancing the Sunday worship, the budget, and my work time and private time.

I can't say that I'm doing a great job at balancing everything.  Often, I feel like I get one shot at getting this new church off the ground and I want to do it right.  In addition to the "now is the moment" feeling, there is also the thrill of the new and adventurous.  It's like a ride at the amusement park - short-lived, but all consuming (and just a tad bit dizzying!)

Yet, those very feelings are the ones that I am fighting the most.  Why?  Because I realize that this is a marathon and not a sprint.  This is a 20-year commitment I'm working on and not a 20-minute flash.  Not only that, but it's so easy to fall into the trap of thinking the success or failure is up to me.  Admittedly I must do everything I can to make this work, but if the church does do well, will it really be because of me?  Of course not.  I'm one of many people with the dream of a new church.  And ultimately this is Christ's church, empowered by His Spirit!

So how do I pray?  "Lord give me the desire to do this well.  Give me your strength and energy.  Grant me patience.  May many other people come to know you and your love for them because of Church Requel.  And help me to enjoy the ride!"

That's how this entrepreneur-pastor is praying.  How about you?  I'd love to hear your prayers for Church Requel!

Video: 6-Minute Tour of Church Requel's New Home

Hi everyone!  Today I uploaded a 6-minute video of Mid-Ohio Conference Center, our new home for Sunday evening services at 6PM beginning on October 11th.  Watch this video to get an idea of what our new digs will be like!

If you have any trouble watching this brief video here, you can watch it directly on YouTube or also on Vimeo.

#162: Known by Jesus

Given the choice to be known by Jesus or to be known by your work, which would you choose? Join me this morning as we study Matthew 7:21-23.

#162: Known By Jesus from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo and on YouTube.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

#161: Known By Their Fruit

We should have the right to examine our Christian leaders' lives to discover if their walk matches their talk. Join me as we study Matthew 7:15-20.

#161: Known By Their Fruit from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo and on YouTube.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

Sermon: "The Matthew 25 Fund"

Join me as I share our vision for the Matthew 25 Fund and for Church Requel as a giving church, a modeling church, and a partnering church.

Sermon: "The Matthew 25 Fund" from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

#160: The Narrow Gate

Does the Christian walk sometimes seem difficult? This should be no surprise since this is what Jesus said! Want to know more? Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel for our study of Matthew 7:13-14.

#160: The Narrow Gate from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

If you have any difficulty watching the video above, it is also available on Vimeo and on YouTube.  Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast.

Would you like to read my notes for today's Bible study? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.

Invested Today into The Nines

Today I invested my day into "The Nines," an online conference where 70 leaders spoke for 9 minutes each to an online audience of more than 5,000 participants from 40 different countries.  As I write this, my mind is way too full of so many great ideas.  I tried to post over on Twitter all day today as I heard good things.  Here is a summary of the things I picked up today:

• Signs of sneaky pride - forgetting that the gift is bigger than the person.  Am I growing impatient with people?  Am I unwilling to hear painful truth?
• Mark Beeson - "Some people will love me, but not love what I'm doing.  They won't join.  Some people will love what I'm doing, but not me so much.  They won't join.  Some people will love me and love what I'm doing, but won't like the folks already on the team.  They won't join.  For people to really connect with my church's mission, they have to really connect with me, with the mission and with the other people already on the team."
• Anne Jackson - "Does working in the church interfere with my communion with Christ?  I must learn to take care of myself in ministry."
• Scott Hodge - "Make sure I make time in my calendar to shut my mout, get quiet, and hear from God."
• Scott Hodge - "The moment I stop hearing God's voice is when I stop leading."  Am I hearing from God?  Am I willing to obey?
• Perry Noble - "This is not our church but God's church.  Leadership is as easy as listening to God.  Ask God: 'What do YOU want me to do here?'"
• Perry Noble - "We can't plan a movement of God, but we can prepare for it."
• Skye Jethani - "Abandon outcomes of ministry.  They belong to God.  My legitimacy comes from being a child of God!"
• Skye Jethani - "We look at success based on how many people are impacted by our ministry.  This puts a huge burden on pastors and is not Jesus' way."
• Scott Wilson - "Grow leadership capacity of those leaders under me." Scott gave his staff members a $500 budget bonus to read 35 books in a year.  But if these leaders didn't grow, they had to go.
• "Worry is temporary atheism."
• Amy Hanson: "Every 7 seconds an American turns 60.  Create innovative ministries to unleash baby boomers.  This is too momentous to ignore!"
• Dino Rizzo - "Know the people you serve.  Read their prayer requests.  What hurts them should hurt you."
• Nancy Beach said she had had many private, whispered conversations with those who have struggled with their senior leader.  Her challenge to us: "As people get closer to me, do they see Christ or not?"
• Reggie McNeal - Must think of the church as a "who" and not a "what."  Church doesn't have a mission.  The mission has a church!
• Len Sweet - How do we deal with a big head?  With a broken and a contrite heart.  We need both of the following: a humble confidence AND a confident humility.
• Len Sweet had a great story to remind him of dealing with a big head.  His office (his lair) is made up of a navy ship door, in which he must step up over the threshold but he also has to dip his head down.
• Greg Surratt:  Do you ever get discouraged from doing god's work?  Remember this: "There has never been a day when God said, 'I didn't see that coming!'"
• Rick Rusaw - Many churches have disengaged from their community and culture.  This can be seen in recent survey in which 66% of Americans said that "Churches have little or no value to them."
• Margaret Feinburg - What works for the vintner in Fresno won't work for vintner in Napa.  Both should b celebrated.  The work of a small church ministry should be just as celebrated as that of a large church ministry.
• Pete Wilson - We often measure church attendance and giving, but more important... Are we loving God and loving people more?  We should be measuring that!
• Walter August - "People will come to the pastor for counseling, but have they already prayed first?  Don't help people circumnavigate God's counsel!"
• Jon Tyson: Church is not about techniques, but about power of the cross of Christ.  Remember that as a pastor, I'm not just a leader... I'm a spiritual leader!
• Larry Osbourne: "Be careful when you idolize the Acts 2 church.  They didn't move out until Acts 8!  Beware of the holy huddle!"
• Neil Cole: "God is looking for servants who will lead.  Am I willing to make a name for Christ?  Jesus is not really all that interested in my branding!"
• Reggie Joiner to pastors: "Fight for your family, sons, daughters, and your spouse!  We are at a crossroads of broken homes within the church."
• Bill Easum: "Leadership is not about how many followers you have.  What are your followers actually doing?"
• Bill Easum: "Stop doing all the playing on your team!  Start being the scout.  Look for other leaders.  What do I need to stop doing?"
• Bill Easum: "Stop my to-do list and start my to-be list, a list of people who could be leaders of the future!"
• Geoff Surratt to pastors about their home life: "Declare a ministry free zone!"
• Jenni Catron: "We have shrunk Jesus to the size where He can save our soul, but not where he can change the world."
• Bob Pierce: "Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything!"
• Mark Batterson: "I'd rather have one God idea than 1,000 good ideas!"
• Rich Nathan: "Some churches focus on evangelism.  Others focus on social justice.  Why not BOTH?  Doesn't have to be a choice of either or."
• Sam Chand: "The difference between large ministries and small ministries is the pain threshold.  There is no growth without pain.  Great growth requires great pain!"
• Mark Deymaz: "God is not interested in churches healing the race problem in America.  He wants to use the race problem in America to heal our churches."
• Brian McClaren: "The gospel is no an evacuation plan.  It's a transformation plan."
• Brad Bell: "The greatest church you will ever pastor is the one you lead at home.  Don't give everything to the church and leave the scraps for the kids."
• John Ortberg: "Disciples are hand-crafted, not mass produced. Each one grows spiritually in a different way."