A New Year's Challenge for Your Leadership Growth. I dare you to...

Hey leaders, I got one for ya. I challenge every leader reading this right now to take this personal growth challenge in 2011. I call it a "Thinker Saturation."

Here's what it is:

When you find an author, leader or communicator that you admire in some area (finance, leadership, marketing, team-building, etc.) make a decision to "saturate" yourself in how they think for 3 months.
For an entire quarter of your year, dunk yourself in everything that leader writes, says, blogs, records, or tweets.

This information is so easily available on the internet and costs next to nothing to acquire.

Over time, you'll start to pick up on themes in how they think, how they make decisions, etc. You'll also pick up themes of how you listen to them.

A Real-Time Illustration:

I did this recently with Author and Thought-Leader, Seth Godin. (SethGodin.com) For several years now, I've really admired the thoughts & writings of Seth Godin. Seth is what I consider to be the premiere mind in the marketing world today. Brilliant.

So, for 3 months, I decided to saturate myself in how Seth thinks. I did a google search for "Free Seth Godin Audio" and then spent an hour downloading every podcast and interview I could find, putting them in a file on my iTunes that sync's to my iPod.

Then, for the next 90 days, whenever I would work out, or was in the car, I listened to those audios. I'll end up listening to each one 2 or 3 times. Sure, it is redundant, but repetition is a phenomenal teacher.

In addition to listening to Seth, I subscribed to his blog and read or re-read several of his key books. After 90 days, here's what I learned:

1.  How Seth processes information for decision making.

2.  How Seth sees ideas everywhere.

3.  Seth Godin is Courageous. The main reason I love Seth Godin is because he is courageous. He breaks all the rules & succeeds at it very well! I need more influencers in my life who do that!

Now It's Your Turn:

So, here's the challenge... pick 4 thought-leaders and saturate yourself in each one for 90 days next year. I'll even give you the homework for the first one (if you want to use Seth Godin) click here. That's all the audios I downloaded in an hour.

Imagine what your personal leadership growth could look like a year from today if you saturated yourself in 4 premiere thought leaders this year.

I dare you to take the challenge. It could be the most valuable decision you make this year.

Yes, I Practice My Messages on Thursdays. Here's why...

After a little comment I made in a Twitter Post last week, I have had many of you ask me about more detail on what a "Practice" looks like for me in preparation for Sunday. To read an article I wrote on what I call "The Monster of Sunday" click here. But to supplement that...

Here are a few high points:

1.  I Practice on Thursday Mornings  By nature, I'm a morning person so I try to practice my messages in the mornings. And I practice on Thursdays because Fridays are my day off. So, I want to head into my day off feeling like I have a handle on my message for Sunday. As a rule, do what makes you feel strong when you feel the strongest as you head for your weekend.

2.  Practicing is horribly awkward. People will often ask me, "Doesn't feel weird to just preach to yourself?" And the answer is a resounding, "YES!" But just because something is uncomfortable doesn't mean it's not good for you. (Like exercise...) I had to work hard to get over myself so I could take advantage of all the benefits that practicing my message affords.

3.  It's two of the most uninspiring hours of my week.  There's seldom a practice that I don't feel uninspired. Nothing within me wants to expend the kind of emotional energy it takes to practice my message the way I need to in order to be prepared for the weekend. But I do it. Because it's right and I'm always glad I did on Sundays.

4.  I inevitably think of 1,000 other things I "should" be doing. Practicing my message on Thursday mornings isn't a result of everything else on my to-do list being scratched off. Quite the contrary, there's always a list of things that I need to be doing. But in the midst of all the things I could be doing, I'm the only one who can be prepared for Sunday's talk. That's the most important thing only I can do.

5.  I subscribe to the "sweat in preparation or bleed in battle" theory. I can't tell you how many times I wish I had a do-over. Because I know that what I put out there could have been so much better if I would have sweat a little more in practice. While traveling one weekend recently, Sarah called to see how my message had went that morning at church. Hearing her question, I paused and then responded, "I got out of it, what I put into it." Sweat in preparation or bleed in battle. The choice is ours.

6.  When I practice, I hear and see things that I never would otherwise. One of the biggest reasons I practice is to hear myself say things out loud. I can write something in my notes and think it sounds good, but then when I say it out loud in the context of everything else I'm trying to say, I realize it doesn't fit. I wish it weren't true, but there are just some things you'll never catch until you say them out loud.

7.  I practice alone. Some of my friends practice in front of an audience. I don't do that. I'm not opposed to it. I will use others in the writing process, but then when it comes to week of practice, I feel like I need to just be left alone to do my thing. Kind of an "artist and his canvas" thing, I guess. There's no right or wrong to it. In fact, I use several voices to tweak my message between services on Sundays. But for the next reason I'm about to share, I need Thursday's to be me alone.

8.  I'm locking my notes into my memory and memorizing the PPT. I must confess that I have a photographic memory which I have come to realize is a huge plus when it comes to speaking publicly as much as I do. (150-200 times/year) But it doesn't come easy. I have to actively and aggressively engage my notes in order to "lock them in." That's what Thursday's are for me. A necessity to lock in the notes to memory. Many Thursdays, I am as emotionally spent after I practice as I am on Sundays. It's hard work that on the surface doesn't look very productive.

9. I never regret it. I can't ever think of a time where I've gotten to the end of a Sunday and thought, "You know, I wish I hadn't practiced this week..." By far, it's one of the hardest things I have to work myself up to do, but I am never sorry I did it. Just the opposite, I can't tell you how many times I've blown off a Thursday practice and gotten to Sunday and been disappointed.

There you have it. A few points of clarity for my weekly discipline of practicing my messages. Feel free to comment. I would love to hear what has worked for you. Weigh in on your thoughts, experiences, and helpful tips!

Matt

Thanks #HamptonInn for EXCELLENT Customer Service! How I was surprised by a "Remarkable" Experience that made my Christmas!

Last week, I flew to Indianapolis for a quick 2 day trip to be with my nephew, Joey, who is going through Radiation for a battle with cancer. He's 7 years old. (To read Joey's story, click here)

Anyway, I opted to stay the 3 nights at the Hampton Inn in Greenfield, IN. And as a bonus, I had enough points for all 3 nights to be free. So, I enjoyed my free breakfasts, warm cookies and free coffee available throughout my stay. I even ran on the treadmill one morning... Nice. All of those features are par for the course for a hotel like a Hampton Inn.

However, on my 2nd night, when I arrived back at my room after being with my nephew and my family all day, I found a green lollipop, a green Ande's mint, and this card on my bed.

 

In case you can't read it, the card says in hand-written ink: "Dear Guest: Merry Christmas -n- Happy New Year! Be safe in your travels. May you follow your heart always! May the spirit of the season soar in your heart forever! God Bless, Wanda."

Now, I don't know if Wanda had "official jurisdiction" to do what she did, but I'm telling you, it made my week! Wanda had no idea who I was or what I was going through or why I was even staying in her hotel, but she took it upon herself to make sure that I was touched in a personal way! 

I'd be willing to bet that nobody at "headquarters" made her do that. And, I'd also be willing to bet that Wanda paid for all that out of her own pocket. AND, I bet Wanda doesn't make too much more than minimum wage.

So for her to do what she did, was a big sacrifice and a HUGE deal to me!!!

 

So thanks, Wanda, in Greenfield, IN. Thanks for brightening my day. Thanks for being remarkable. Thanks for taking extra special care of your guests. Thanks for understanding that every once in a while an uncle of a sick little 7 year old nephew is going to be staying in Room 405 and that uncle is going to need something to brighten up his emergency trip to Indiana.

Thanks Wanda for making Christmas a little brighter for me this year.

You made my day and my Christmas.

 

Matt Keller

1st Monday Prayer & Fasting Ideas to Pray For

Today is 1st Monday Prayer & Fasting at Next Level Church. Wherever you are, you can participate. All you do is pray, instead of eat! It's the simple. Turn the desire for food to God today. For more detail go to http://www.NextLevelChurch.com/fasting

Here are a few things to pray through today:

1.  The Construction of our 1st Permanent Facility. We need to pray that the crews will be able to stay on their timetables without a hitch. Pray for safety from injury and that they will sense and feel something different while the workers are on the job site.

2.  Our Year End Facility Offering. Next Sunday, December 12th, we are receiving our Year End Facility Offering. Pray that every person who calls NLC their home will turn down the noise of the world & turn up the voice of God this week. Let's believe that as each of us listen and obey, the need will be met!!!

3.  Our Christmas Series launching This Sunday, December 12th called "Do You Hear?" Christmas is such a busy time of year, let's pray for people to be able to be still and hear the voice of God this Christmas. Pray that the people of NLC will not miss the One who is Christmas, because of all the chaos of Christmas.

4.  The January Semester of Connection Groups is just around the corner and dozens of people are stepping up and leading! Let's pray that hundreds of people will take the next step of connection and relationship in the new year.

5.  Our Pastors & Church Planters Nationwide. We are blessed to have the privilege of training dozens of pastors and churches across the country on how to do ministry more effectively. Specifically pray for:

• Dan & Stephanie Stauffer - Roxbury, NJ. - Pastor Mike Ash was just with them & they are taking ground in hard soil.

• Darian & Tyra Rains - Pryor, OK - Sarah & I had the privilege of being with them in late October and God has positioned them to impact Northeast Oklahoma in a big way.

• Paul & Andi Andrew - New York City, NY - They are scheduled to launch in 7 weeks! Let's pray for favor in the Big Apple!

6.  Pray for our Missionaries as well.  God has privileged us to be in partnership with missionaries making a difference around the world. Specifically:

• Christ for India - training pastors & planting churches in India

• Mark Pyles - Planting churches in the Dominican Republic

• Kelly & Kathy Johnson - Training pastors like crazy in Kenya

On a personal note: Pray for me as I am in Indiana visiting my nephew who has been fighting cancer for the last couple of weeks. Thanks to so many of you who have been faithfully lifting up my family in prayer. Pray for strength for my family during this difficult time.  http://bit.ly/JoeyKeller for all the details.

Thanks everyone for praying today,

Pastor Matt Keller

Leadership Development Thought #5

Here is the final thought for preparation for this weekend's message at Next Level Church.

Thought #5:

The Best Teacher is NOT Experience alone, it's Examined Experience.

     At Next Level Church, we believe in Real-Time, On-the-field development of leaders. However, just giving leaders experiences to test and try their leadership is not enough. We're constantly coming behind leadership opportunities and dissecting them with our leaders. It's not enough to just go through something. The key is to maximize learning from whatever it is you just went through.

     If we can get maximum learning from any given experience, before, during and after, that's what we're looking for. We believe that's how leaders are developed effectively. We try and set leaders up before they lead, we walk with them while they're leading, and we debrief on the back end to get the most out of what they experienced.

     Examining experience yields the most value when it comes to leadership development.

I Can't wait for this weekend at NLC! We're talking leadership baby...

In preparation for the final installment of our "Get Out" Series, where I'm going to be sharing something I've never shared about leadership at NLC before, I'm giving one thought each day about how I think about Leadership Development.

Thought #4:

I believe Leaders Grow Through Responsibility.

     I believe Young Leaders, (but leaders in general too) are longing for a chance for someone to pass them the ball. They want to be trusted with a piece of the vision. At Next Level Church, we believe in On-the-field training and coaching in leadership. Now, I'm not saying that you just blindly give away the vision of your organization to a leader that is untested or unproven, but I do think there are areas all over the organizations we lead that can and should be entrusted to up and coming leaders.

     Responsibility increases buy-in and ownership. It also creates real-time scenarios for leaders to seek counsel and wisdom, and hone their leadership skills in real time. One can only read so many books or learn so many theories before they actually need to be put in a game-time situation and forced to lead.

     Leadership development through Responsibility is huge for me.

I'm Saying Something this Weekend, I've never said before... Read More here...

This weekend, we're talking Leadership at Next Level Church. In preparation, I'm sharing one thought each day about how I think about Leadership Development.

Here's Thought #3:

Teaching People how I think about Leadership and our Organization is how I grow Leaders.

     When I can get another leader to see what I see in terms of our organization, then I multiply my leadership and effectiveness. However, here's what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that I think everybody needs to think like I think about everything because the way I think is the best or the only way to think about the vision of our church.

     Whenever we teach leadership and vision to other churches or organizations around the country, we always say it this way: "It's not that I think about the vision best, it's just that I think about the vision and see it first." Biblically we believe in an "anointing flows down" philosophy. In other words, God puts the picture that an organization is called to paint on the canvas of their community in the heart and mind of one person first, and then it's his/her job to get everyone else in the organization to see that same picture.

     As a result, when everyone is seeing & painting the same picture, the organization reaches maximum effectiveness. Therefore it's my job to constantly be helping other leaders around me see what I see, so they can paint the picture we're called to paint. I don't see it best, I just see it first.

We're moving the Updates for Joey Keller to his Own Page!

Hey everybody,

Now that Joey is a bit more stable and we are actually able to get a handle on a more predictable and sustainable way to keep everyone updated, here's what we've done.

Thanks to Riley Hospital, we have created an Individualized website just for Joey. It's a great site where so many of us can interact on a regular basis. I (Matt, Joey's Uncle) will still be moderating it and writing the updates for the time being, but this will give us the ability to interact and keep up with Joey's progress more thoroughly. You can even subscribe through e-mail or text.

All of the original posts have been uploaded there in an effort to keep a complete timeline and history from the beginning of Joey's Journey.

You'll still be able to comment, etc. on the updates and eventually this will give Nick and Elizabeth a place to update personally if they choose to in the future. As I mentioned before, for the foreseeable future, I'll still be driving the updates each day.

The web address for Joey's updates is:

http://www.CaringBridge.org/visit/JoeyKeller


Please spread the word to everyone who has been faithfully tracking and praying over this situation from the beginning.

I will have the link to Joey's page on my blog as well, just in case people show up there in the meantime.

Thanks everyone,

Matt Keller

My 2nd Thought on Developing Leaders

This coming weekend at NLC, I'm sharing some thoughts on leadership that I've never shared with our church before. In preparation for that, each day this week I'm sharing a quick thought on what I believe about leadership development.

Here's Thought #2:

I Strongly believe that one of my Highest Priorities for our Organization is to grow the Leaders on our Team.

     There are alot of things that I could be doing everyday within our organization. But I learned a long time ago, that there are only a precious few things that I can do that will add the greatest amount of value to our organization. And one of those few things is: Growing Leaders. More than e-mail, or busy work, or so many of the daily & urgent things that fight for my attention, here's what I've learned: When I spend time developing a leader, I'm multiplying the effectiveness of our organization.

     I make it my aim to help every leader in our organization reach their full potential for who God has created them to be. If I can do that then I believe 2 things happen:

1.  Our Organization will become the best that it can be.

2.  That Leader will become the best that they can be.

As I see it, it's a Win/Win! The Organization I'm called to lead wins, and the leaders within it win!

8:30 Post-Surgery Update for Joey Keller - Monday, Nov. 29th, 2010

Hello everyone,

I just got off the phone with my mom (Jo) and she was excited to give me the evening update. Joey ended up going into surgery at 4:30 pm today and came out around 6:30. The surgery went well and the Doctors seem to be pleased. They have already done another Cat Scan tonight to check on the shunt and make sure everything is looking okay.

They hope to remove the catheter tomorrow, which would be a good thing. The plan is to continue Radiation on the spine as soon as possible in order to keep attacking the tumors on his spine as aggressively as possible.

At this point, they will not be starting Chemotherapy for a few weeks in order for his body to heal from the head wounds from the 2 surgeries. At this point Joey as 3 incisions that we need to believe to heal quickly; 2 on his head and 1 on his abdomen from today.

When the Doctors came in this evening they said that it looked like the surgeries both went very well and they were pleased with the way things looked during the surgery today. After one of the doctors thoroughly examined Joey tonight, I guess he turned to Nick and Elizabeth and said, "He looks really good!" This is great news everybody! We believe in the power of prayer! It's working! Let's keep praying!

The Goal for Tomorrow is to get him out of bed and moving to keep his muscles from atrophying and to get him to eat as many calories as he possibly can. We need to pray that Joey's appetite will come back and that he will regain his strength in his muscles.

Nick and Elizabeth stayed last night with Joey in the room which was a good thing for the 3 of them as a family unti to be together, especially before his surgery today.

Nick and Elizabeth continue to be so thankful for the tremendous outpouring of love from all of you through your comments, prayers and encouragements. They can definitely feel it.

We'll continue to keep all of you posted as to Joey's progress tomorrow.

Thank you for caring and carrying this with us,

Matt Keller

Noon Update for Joey Keller - Monday, Nov. 29th, 2010

Just talked to dad (Harold) and he said that Joey is going to be having surgery today at 2 pm to install the shunt from his brain to his stomach. This shunt will relieve the pressure that continues to be building up on Joey's brain and causing him so much discomfort.

The surgery is scheduled for 2 pm and should take a couple of hours.

Please be in prayer that God will give them precision and success as they place this tube in his body.

Thanks everybody,

Matt (Joey's Uncle)

How I Think about Leadership Development - Part 1

This coming Sunday, December 5th, we finish up our "Get Out" Series and I'm going to be sharing some thoughts on leadership that I've never shared with our church before. The truth is, I love teaching leadership, because I believe the strength of any organization, and particularly, the strength of the local church rests upon leadership.

Therefore, in preparation for this weekend, I want to publish 5 thoughts on How I think about Leadership Development at Next Level Church.

Here is the 1st One:

Thought #1: 

I have a Responsibility to Assemble and Build the Best Team I possibly can for this Organization.

     The potential and future of our church rests upon the shoulders of the leaders we assemble. There's not a day that goes by, that I'm not keenly aware of that fact. That's why I spend so much of my time learning and growing my own leadership, and stretching and growing the leaders within our organization.

 

Evening Update for Joey Keller - Sunday Night - 6:30 pm - Nov. 28th, 2010

Hello everybody,

Just talked to my dad (Harold) about the latest on Joey.  Joey was eating more today and was generally more hungry than he's been which is a very good thing. Dad said that his color is better and he just seemed a bit more sharp. All good things.

They are still concerned about his legs and atrophy setting in. This is a matter of prayer for us.

The other big prayer concern is centered around the drainage of his brain fluid. Right now they have a shunt in which has been draining the fluid. The long term goal is that the body can absorb this fluid on it's own, which as I understand it, it is not doing or not doing well. The lack of draining is creating the pressure that is giving Joey the headaches and causing him the most pain.

Tomorrow Joey will undergo a Cat Scan for the doctors to make a final decision about the drainage issue. After the Cat Scan, they may need to take Joey into surgery at 2 pm to install a permanent shunt that will drain the excess fluid into his stomach. This could be a long-term answer for the pressure. This surgery would be a 2 hour surgery.  We need to pray for wisdom for the Doctors tomorrow morning as they read the results. Pray for peace and wisdom for Nick, Elizabeth and Joey concerning the decision that is best for Joey.

The final big update & announcement is that  

Joey is NOT going to be able to see ANY VISITORS for the next few days. Everyone who is local and desiring to visit needs to forgo visiting until further notice. 

Please understand that this is nothing personal. Thank you for helping us with this request for the next few days. We will let you know when visitors will be invited again as soon as we know.

Tomorrow is a huge day and we need to pray over this brain fluid issue. Thank you for standing with our family.

Pray for Nick and Elizabeth and strength and peace.

Thank you, all of you,

Matt Keller

10 PM Update for Joey Keller - Saturday Night, November 27th, 2010

I spoke with Nick for about 25 minutes tonight. He and Elizabeth are really tired, but all in all, are managing the intensity of their new reality. They are staying again tonight at the Ronald McDonald House. Dad (Harold) is staying with Joey in the room.

Joey ate alot today, relatively speaking. The hospital is pushing hard a heavy protein diet in preparation for Chemotherapy in the future.

Nick wanted to communicate that we need to keep praying for the pain in Joey's head area. That's really where he's feeling it the most.

Joey did his first round of Physical Therapy today, which he didn't want to do. It wasn't too awfully painful as Nick told it, but it was just cumbersome and overwhelming for a 7 year old who just had major surgery and has had daily doses of radiation for the last 5 days.

A bit of Very Good News today: Joey was able to stand on his right leg which the doctor later said was a very positive thing based on his condition when he entered the hospital a few days ago. Nick has to do physical therapy exercises with Joey during their time together each day, just to keep exercising and working out the muscles in his legs especially, but throughout his body as well.

When Joey is awake, Nick said he is wanting to play legos in a big way. In fact, one of Joey's friends brought him a new lego set today, which got Joey extremely excited.

As we head into Sunday, let's continue to pray for Nick and Elizabeth and strength for their weariness. Continue to pray for Joey's legs and organs. Pray for the tumors on his spine to shrink. And let's continue to pray that the brain fluid drains off the brain like it is supposed to.

Thanks everybody for covering Joey and the family in prayer. You have no idea how encouraging it is to Nick and Elizabeth to know that so many hundreds of you are standing with them in prayer and support.

God bless you,

Matt Keller

Noon Update for Joey Keller - Saturday, November 27th, 2010

I heard from dad (Harold) about the update for Joey. He (Harold) stayed in the room last night with Joey and they came in and ran tests at Midnight and 5 am.

Joey was complaining about pain in his legs, so they removed the IV's that were in his legs. So now he only has 1 IV in his arm for Medications and Emergencies which is a good sign.

All Liquids and Nourishment are happening orally now, which is a good sign.

They removed the bandages and head band today. Joey still has the drainage tube in, and they are concerned about the spinal fluid not draining right and not enough. This is a matter of prayer now.

Also, his right leg is still swollen and they are wanting him to keep moving it and exercising it. This is the leg that was giving Joey trouble when they arrived at the hospital last Sunday night. So this too is a matter of prayer.

They are not doing any radiation today or tomorrow to give Joey a break until Monday.

They are wanting Joey to eat as many calories as he possibly can with food, milkshakes and other high calorie items in an effort to add as much as they can before Chemotherapy.

Nick and Elizabeth are really tired right now. We need to pray for supernatural strength for them right now. They are obviously exhausted and need our prayer.

So to recap, we need to pray for 3 things:

1.  For Joey's legs.

2.  For the drainage issue in the brain fluid.

3.  For Nick and Elizabeth for supernatural strength.

Thanks everyone for praying,

Matt

7:30 pm Update for Joey Keller - Friday, Nov. 26th, 2010

Good news! Joey is out of the ICU which is absolutely huge! They have moved him to the heart center, not the cancer center at this point, because of the Neurological Aspects of his surgery. This will give them the ability to monitor closely all aspects of his case Neurologically.

They are in a private room now that dad (Harold) describes as "Huge." So everyone can be in the room at once. There is a private bed for whomever stays with Joey at night, & it even has a private shower. Dad couldn't say enough about how magnificent and first class everything at Riley Hospital has been! Kudo's to Riley!!!

Today was a slower day with the holiday weekend, other than his daily radiation treatment which he will have again tomorrow morning.

Dad and Nick were able to go out to Nick's house to shower and disconnect for a few minutes, as I understand it, this afternoon.

They are expecting to hear more from the Doctors when they come in tomorrow morning.

Until then, many thanks for praying and believing with us for healing of this cancer.

God bless all of you tonight,

Matt Keller

Noon Update on Joey Keller - Friday, November 26th, 2010

Hey all,

Just got off the phone with dad (Harold) and he said Joey had a great night's sleep, only waking up when they came in to give him his medications at 2 am. Joey didn't need any pain medication all night until 7 am this morning.

It appears that the hospital is wanting Joey to start settling into a routine and begin Physical Therapy on his legs, and other body parts, just to keep things from atrophying.

When the doctor came in this morning and asked Joey about where the pain was, the only place he said was on the back on his head, which is a very good sign. He still has a bit of double vision, but they said it's much better than yesterday and are confident his vision will come back completely soon.

Joey had another round of Radiation this morning at 10 am. They are attacking these tumors on his spine aggressively. We need to continue to pray that they shrink.

Joey's strength is returning. He was able to hold his own glass while drinking his juice this morning. They are also allowing him to move to a full menu for eating today, suplemented by a special boost drink in between meals to further nourish his body.

Finally, they have said that it's time to start stimulating him again, to get his brain working. He's even allowed to watch TV now!

Some of Joey's friends from his homeschool group are coming up to see him now which is good for his spirit and for the stimulation.

As for Nick and Elizabeth, they stayed again at the Ronald McDonald House last night and are able to rest well there. Dad (Harold) stayed in Joey's room.

All in all, it's good to hear all of them settling into a routine. This is amazing forward progress. Thanks to all for your continued prayer and support of Nick and Elizabeth during this time.

God bless you all,

Matt Keller (Nick's brother & Joey's Uncle!!!)

9:30 PM Update for Joey Keller - Thanksgiving Night, Nov. 25th, 2010

Hey everyone,

I just got off the phone with Nick. You can definitely feel their spirits lifting. They certainly are aware that this is a long battle, and obviously are not out of the woods by a long shot, but all in all they are positive. Nick uploaded a few pictures, but is extremely limited in his ability to get and be online. He definitely wanted to communicate that the best way to stay in contact and updated is through this blog for now. I'm monitoring his Facebook for him at this point still, but the messages, comments, etc. are getting to them. He was blown away by all of your support, love and especially prayer.

We definitely know that it's prayer that is the big key now.

Joey's One & Only smile after coming out of surgery.

A few positives from today:

• Joey ate Lucky Charms twice and kept most of it down.
  

• A Breathing Therapist came in and gave Joey Applesauce to watch his swallowing and things are looking good.

• The Breathing Therapist also did some tests to monitor for Pneumonia, which at this point looks clear.

• At this point in the game, the radiation doesn't seem to be having any huge side effects that would bother him right now.

• All in all, today was a slower day and some people from church came by with Turkey and Pie which all the family indicated lifted everyone's spirits. Thanks!

Nick said Joey sleeps a lot right now.

A few continuing concerns:

• The biggest concern right now is his spinal cord. We have to believe for these tumors on his spine to shrink big time. They can effect things like bladder control as well as other organs in the body. 

This is why they are doing Radiation every single day, which is abnormal as we understand it, especially after such an intense surgery. But they feel that time is of the essence in terms of attacking these tumors on the spine! We must pray that these tumors continue to shrink! Let's win this one in prayer as well as with Radiation!!!

• His eyes aren't tracking too well which is frustrating him alot right now, but the medical professionals are saying this is normal and don't seem to be too concerned at this point. 

Nick and Elizabeth are spending time reading to him and asking him to imagine a lot. Unfortunately, they have to take great care to make sure that he doesn't get too excited because of the release of brain fluid to the rest of his body which apparently isn't a good thing at this point.

• As for other details concerning treatment, everything continues to remain day to day. 

Nick feeding Joey Lucky Charms which is a good sign

Once again, thanks for all of your kind words, comments, prayers, etc. They are so life-giving and powerful during this difficult season for our family. We hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. Thanks for taking time out of your world to get an update from ours.


Much love from the Kellers

Noon Update on Joey Keller - Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day

I spoke with dad (Harold) a few minutes ago and he stayed with Joey last night in his room so Nick and Elizabeth could get a good night's sleep. They stayed at the Ronald McDonald House again and did indeed get a much needed good night's sleep. Dad made mention that the facilities at Riley Hospital are absolutely fantastic, by the way!!!

He said Joey had a good night and is still sleeping alot which is to be expected but when he is awake, he is alert and answering questions and talking a little bit, which is a good thing. He is doing well with moving his legs and making a fist, etc. When asked why he thinks he's in here, Joey said, "I'm here to get rid of the bad stuff in my body."

He had another radiation treatment this morning to continue to aggressively fight the m&m sized cancer spots on his spinal cord. This is huge because this is the cancer that can mess with other organs throughout his body.

They took a fluid sample from his brain today to test it. It is this fluid that passes the cancer down his spinal cord, so we need to pray that this fluid comes back clean.

Joey has been drinking fluids such as apple juice, etc. and when the nurse asked what flavor of juice he wanted Joey responded, "Surprise me." That's Joey isn't it!?! :) Dad actually called back to tell me that Joey just started to eat some Lucky Charms which is good news. We need to pray that they stay down.

They have not received any of the results from the MRI scan yesterday and dad thought they will likely start Chemo next week if his strength returns. At this point, the guess is that he will be moved from ICU to the Cancer Ward on Saturday or Sunday.

_____

Many of you have been asking about Thanksgiving arrangements. Nick and Elizabeth are welcome to have Thanksgiving dinner at 2 pm at the Ronald McDonald House. Dad said the cafeteria is serving Turkey all day and there is also a church in Indy that is bringing in Turkey dinner today as well.

All in all, it sounds like they are in good enough spirits and are beginning to settle into a new reality of the marathon that fighting this cancer is going to be.

We must keep praying that these tumors on Joey's spine will keep shrinking. That is huge right now.

Thanks everyone for praying and checking in.

We will begin trying to post twice a day. Once near the noon hour and once in the evening each day. Emphasis on try. But thanks for continuing to carry the burden with our family and lift them up in prayer. Your comments and messages are huge!

Matt Keller (Joey's Uncle)

Update on My Nephew, Joey (8 pm, Wed, Nov. 24, 2010)

After speaking with my Dad, here is the most recent update:

Joey's body is stable from the surgery on the brain tumor.  His eyes are re-adjusting and tracking today, which is a good sign.  He is still in the ICU and is receiving his nutrients through an IV and his pain is being managed.  His legs are moving and it seems that his senses are functioning.

He had another MRI this afternoon, to see how the remaining parts of the tumor in his brain are doing and what the spinal cord looks like.

The largest concern continues to be the small tumors that are on the spinal cord.  These tumors are in-operable, so they are treating them with radiation right now.  He has had a radiation treatment every day since he was diagnosed (3 days straight).  These tumors are the size of M & M's and are putting pressure on his spine and are affecting bodily functions (his bowels in particular).


This needs to be our biggest prayer:  That the tumors on his spine would shrink and respond to the radiation quickly.

Joey will start chemotherapy when his body is strong enough to sustain the intensity of chemo.  The doctor said that this kind of aggressive cancer has shown to respond well to chemotherapy.  After a few more days in the ICU, he will be moved to the cancer ward to continue to fight this fight.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  There is a local church in Indianapolis who is bringing Thanksgiving dinners to the families who are in the hospital.  I am thankful to God for his people who will be encouraging my family tomorrow, even though we cannot be there.

Thank you for praying. 

Yahoo Group set up for Joey Keller for support, meals, etc.

A friend of Nick and Elizabeth has set up a Yahoo Group so many of you in the Indy area can set up meals, offer assistance for the family etc.

If you want to join go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FORJOEY/

Thanks Heather Leary for doing this.

Matt Keller

10 PM Update for Joey Keller

Hey everyone,

I just talked to dad (Harold) and they were in the car headed back to Nick and Elizabeth's house for the night. He said Nick and Elizabeth are staying at the Ronald McDonald house tonight and will alternate one with Joey in the room and one at the Ronald McDonald House.

The surgeon came in at 9:30 pm tonight and said that Joey is doing well. He was resting well and sleeping which is good. He has 2 IV's and a Drainage Tube which is normal.

Tomorrow another MRI or Cat Scan is scheduled and Joey will probably have another round of Radiation. They will begin to get the plan for how they will proceed in the future tomorrow.

Clearly this is a long road ahead, but today was a big step! Thanks to all who have been praying. Literally hundreds and hundreds of you from across the US and around the world have commented on Facebook, Twitter, Here on the blog or other places as well. I know Nick and Elizabeth appreciate your support more than you'll know.

Continue to pray for them, this is the beginning of a long journey, but we know God is holding them in His hand.

Some of you have asked where to send notes or cards. Here's their home address:

Nick, Elizabeth and Joey Keller 
5821 W. Boulder Creek Drive
New Palestine, IN  46163


My wife, Sarah, found a website on medulloblastoma. It will give you a bit more perspective on what Joey's fighting.

http://tiny.cc/7lf1j

We will update as we learn more tomorrow.

Thanks all for your love and care,

The Keller Family

5 PM Update on Joey Keller

I just got a message from Nick updating us on Joey.

After a long day of surgery, Nick said Joey made it through very well. They got 98% of the tumor on the brain. The Doctor felt really good about it, Nick said.

Joey's tumor is called a "Medulloblastoma" which is a rapidly growing form of cancer, but that type of cancer also responds very well to Chemotherapy so that too is a good sign.

Nick said that when Joey woke up, the nurses told him that he was alert and wanting to talk and even asked, "Is it over?" Which again, we're taking as a good sign.

All in all, Nick and Elizabeth are feeling good about it and in Nick's words, "I think we've got a statistical fighting chance on this one."

They are anxious to see Joey and be with him obviously and will report later tonight.

Thanks you all for praying. Let's keep praying for recovery and for the radiation treatments to keep working on the spinal cord.

Thanks,

Matt Keller

3:30 pm Update on Joey Keller's Surgery

As many of you have been tracking throughout the last 36 hours, my 7 year old Nephew, Joey, in Indianapolis has been in surgery most of the day to remove a brain tumor on the base of his brain.

I just spoke with my dad (Harold) and he said that they are still closing up in the surgery and that, "They got most of it." And that the remainder will be treated with Radiation and Chemo.  They never did have to do any blood transfusions which again, I think is good news.

I don't have a ton more to share. I know alot of friends from Nick and Elizabeth's church have been up most of the day which is helping, as well as mom and dad & Greg and Roberta Phillips (Elizabeth's parents).

Let's pray for a safe completion to the surgery. I'll update you when I have more information.

Thanks for praying,

Matt Keller

11:30 am Update for Joey Keller

Hey everyone,

I just got off the phone with my dad (Harold) and the latest on Joey is:

- The surgery is going well.

- They have removed the "specimen" or the mass and already sent it off to be analyzed to determine the type of cancer it is.

- There have no blood transfusions which is a good thing.

- All his vital signs are strong.

- & they are ahead of schedule.

All in all, dad seemed positive that this was a good report. The surgery probably has another couple of hours to go, so keep praying everybody.

I also talked personally to Nick a couple of hours ago and he just wanted me to communicate to all of you how much he can feel your support and appreciates your prayers for Joey and he and Elizabeth.

Keep praying,

Matt Keller (Joey's Uncle)

Update on My Nephew, Joey (6 am, Tue, Nov. 23rd, 2010)

Here is the latest on my nephew Joey, as I understand it. The facts are as right as I know them to be at this moment. I'll keep updating throughout the day. Thanks for praying for him everybody.

For the last month or so, my 7 year old nephew, Joey, who lives in Indianapolis, has been having severe headaches & back aches, which has led to throwing up, weight loss, etc. Even after several trips to the Emergency Room, his condition continued to go down hill.

On Sunday night, November 21st, he took a turn for the worst and was taken to the ER yet again. After running a CAT Scan or MRI on his brain, they discovered that he has a tumor on his brain about 4 centimeters in diameter. They immediately took him to Riley Children's Hospital in downtown Indy where he could be treated.

Monday morning, after more complete testing, they discovered that in addition to the tumor, there were pieces speckled down his spine, so as I understand it, they began radiation last night because the pieces on the spine are inoperable.

The surgery for the brain tumor is scheduled for this morning, Tuesday, November 23rd, at 7:30 am Eastern Time. Please pray for God's healing & precision for the surgeons. Pray the tumor is contained and can be removed efficiently.

Pray for my brother, Nick & his wife Elizabeth during this time as well. They are surrounded by my parents, Elizabeth's parents and friends from their church in Indianapolis.

Again, these are the details as I have them, please have everyone you can be praying for this situation.

Feel free to forward this to anyone who will pray...

Thank you,

Matt Keller

I can't believe I get to do this!

Sunday, October 24th, was baptism Sunday at Next Level Church! Twice a year, we spend the last 25 minutes at the end of each of our weekend services baptizing anyone who has put their faith in Christ. It is seriously one of the most moving and exhilarating moments of my year.

We set up a 12 foot, 1400 gallon swimming pool outside of our auditorium and then run a live camera feed inside to the projectors in the auditorium. We have 2 of our pastors in the pool baptizing people and a live host who is moderating outside and interviewing different people as they come through!

Our worship pastor and I are on stage engaging the screens and leading the environment inside while everyone in the auditorium is watching the baptisms happening live on the screens. The time is a mixture of singing, praying, celebrating and hearing the stories of life-change.

We provide everything people need to be baptized including: shorts, t-shirts, underwear, towels, makeup remover, even sports bras and hairdryers.

People can sign up prior to the day or we give people the ability to get up at the end of the message and be baptized "spontaneously!" Today we had 19 sign up before and 51 respond in the moment!!! It is always incredible to see people climb out of their seats and go change and get in line! Just Awesome!!!

In the Previous two times we've done this, we baptized 43 & 46 but today was over the top with 70!!! To watch fathers and mothers baptizing their kids and each other is just unreal!!!

This is truly the Super Bowl for Next Level Church! 

This is why we set up & tear down church for 1000 people every week! So people can have a chance to be changed by the love of Jesus Christ! This is why we pray and sacrifice and give and do everything we do all year long.

So I just want to say thank you to you, Next Level Church, today is for you. Lives were changed for eternity because of you! This victory of 70 baptisms is all for you! You guys are changing eternities! Way to go NLC, I'm so proud to be a part of a movement like this!

I love being your pastor,

Matt Keller

To watch the baptisms, click here. To see some pictures from the baptisms, go to www.FaceBook.com/NLCFortMyers

www.NextLevelChurch.com/video

Make It Amazing Book Released!!!

6 years ago, my friend (& our Executive Pastor) Scott Drummond challenged my wife & I with some amazing principles for our marriage. It was a risky move on his part, but it was one of a few things that happened that gave Sarah & I permission to believe God for more in our marriage. Now, 6 years later, Sarah & I have something that we believe few marriages ever experience.

For the next few years, I encouraged Scott to write the principles down, because I believed he was saying things that I had never heard any other Christian leader say about marriage. Well... after a few years, he finally did!!!

And here it is! The premiere of Scott's book: Make It Amazing!

Buy the Book:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Make-Amazing-Discover-marriage-exists/dp/0982925204/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&qid=1289838628&sr=8-26

The Book Blog:

 

http://scottdrummond1.wordpress.com

e-book:

  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/25380

I highly recommend that every married couple get this book. In fact, here are a few suggestions that I think every pastor and church should consider doing:

• Launching several small groups on marriage using this book as the curriculum.
• Launching a 4 part series on marriage next year using the concepts of this book as the content
• Bringing in Scott (better yet, Scott & his wife Kirsten) for a Marriage weekend and have them stay as a guest speaker for Sunday as well!
• Give a copy of this book to every Pre-Marital Couple that goes through your church

I know Scott will work with you in terms of bulk purchase discounts etc.

This book is a Must-Read for every married couple! Period.

Access Granted Weekend was Amazing!

One of my favorite weekends of the year is our Access Granted weekend. Existing pastors and their wives come in for 48 hours to learn, stretch, relax and grow at Next Level Church. This weekend we hosted 7 couples from across the US. 2 pastors from Oklahoma, 2 pastors from Jacksonville, FL, Lebanon, IN, McKinney, TX, & Lexington, KY.

Here's Sarah & I with the Frasiers, from Indiana, & the Rains from Oklahoma!

The entire weekend was designed around moving the respective churches from Surviving to Thriving! We talked alot about team development, strategic organizational planning & structural changes that have to be made in order for their churches to get to the next level.

In addition to working, we wanted to spoil them & bless them, because we understand how hard and thankless the adventure of church planting can be. We were able to watch the sunset from downtown Fort Myers & even enjoyed a little candlelight dancing under the stars during dessert!

All of the pastors were able to see a Sunday morning at Next Level Church from start to finish. One of the highlights is getting to see our set-up crews do what I believe they do best in the world, which is mobile church!

One of the great joys of the weekend for me is introducing the pastors from the stage at NLC in both of our services. I love letting our church people see the impact that we're making not just here in Southwest Florida, but in so many other cities as well! It never fails that people in our church know friends or family members in their cities that they want to recommend to them! (We're committed to doing anything we can to help grow their churches!!!)

The weekend concluded Sunday night with our "Italian Themed" Dinner experience, a lively Q & A about the culture they experienced earlier in the day at NLC, & then some closing thoughts from my heart to them.

At NLC, we love hosting & pouring into pastors & their wives! I am so proud of the dozens of people it took to make this weekend happen. I believe these churches will never be the same!

Thanks, NLC for being a church that's committed to not just doing our thing, but investing in other churches across the country as well!

I love getting to do what I do,

Matt

6 Tools I Use to Remember Names

There's no magic pill that we can take to remember everyone's name, but there are a few tactics I've learned over the years that help me to remember people's names. Here ya go...

1.  See Them.

     I am a visual learner, so seeing a name helps me remember it more often. For years we had nametags at Next Level Church and the reason why, was because it helped me (and others) remember people's names. Now, I try to picture people's names in my mind. If you can see it, it will help you remember it.
     From time to time, I'll even write their name down on a napkin or a sheet of paper. For example, if I'm teaching in a team setting with 8 to 12 leaders at a table, I'll ask the pastor to introduce each person and what they do on the team, then I'll jot their name down, because it helps me remember it. And as we talked about on Friday, repeating someone's name later in the meeting or conversation adds "wow factor."

2.  Say Them.

     When someone is introduced to me, I try to say their name in conversation back to them as quickly as I can. Example: "Matt, this is Jim." I'll immediately repeat it. "Jim? It's great to meet you Jim." Then if I can, and it's not awkward or weird, I'll try and use their name in the next 30 seconds to 1 minute of conversation. "...you know, I've found the same thing, Jim..." And when leaving their presence I'll say their name one more time. "It was great to meet you Jim..."
     Saying a name helps lock it into your short term memory.

3.  Repeat Them.

     This is similar to #2, Say Them, except it puts the person's name in a future context. Staying with the example from above, if I walked away from Jim. I would try to say to my friend who introduced us, "Jim seems like a great guy." Repeating a name after the interaction, helps lock it in further.

4.  Associate Them.

     The ultimate goal with a name is that it becomes linked to something greater than just their name or their face. Some people will talk about creating some cute memory game like, "Jim is Slim..." I've never been able to do that very well in real time, because my creative juices get going while I'm standing there talking to them, so instead of listening and making a real connection, I'm busy trying to think up a rhyming game or something cute to associate their name with.
     I'd rather associate their name to something real. Like what they do for a living, who their spouse is, their kid's names or activities, or a similar passion or hobby we share, or they enjoy. It just feels more genuine than, "Jim is slim." Especially if he's not.

5.  Place Them.

     Often, for me it's literally on a map. I'm such a visual learner that, for example, when I meet a pastor or leader and find out what city they're in, I can see it on this huge map of the United States I have in my office. Then, my mind usually goes to what Major League Baseball team is near them! But it helps me place them.
     For others, I'll try and place them in the surroundings we're in, if I want to remember their name beyond just the meeting or the day I'm spending with them. For example, if I met Jim at a party at Dave and Barbara's house, then I'd try and place him in my mind in their living room, or beside their pool. If I can see him somewhere, I can connect him to what the event was about and am more likely to see him there in my mind in the future.

6.  Nickname Them.

     This is kind of a funny one, but for me it's totally real. Everyone I like, I nickname. Once I get comfortable with someone, I find myself morphing their name into a nickname. And I tell them that their nickname will morph over time, but that's only because I like them.
     I have found that giving people a nickname makes them feel special. After all, if you have a nickname for them, then you must be pretty close, right? I love nicknaming people. And I love watching how the nickname morphs over time. And I think the people I nickname enjoy it too. If nothing else, it gives us something in common to laugh and talk about.

The bottom line is this: Names matter. More than we'd like to admit. As leaders, we have to refuse to make excuses and do the hard work of engaging people's names. It's always worth it.

Matt

How I Work at Remembering Names

Yesterday I told the story of how a guy named Kulani, in Hawaii, changed my perspective on remembering people's names. I'm not perfect at it, by any stretch, but I have learned several things over the past 10 years that I use regularly in remembering people's names.

1.  I Really Believe that People's Names Matter.


     There is a special connection that happens when you say someone's name. It's personal. It's who they are. And when we, especially in leadership, know someone's name it means alot to them. I really beleive that. Knowing people's names make them feel special. It's a WOW Factor.

2.  I Work at It.

     I don't take no for an answer. I don't make excuses, I'm a public figure who influences people and it's important for me to know as many people's names as I can. Of course, now that there are over a thousand people in our church, it gets pretty tough, but whenever I can, I do. I don't just say, "Well, there's so many people so why bother..." I force myself to work at it.

3.  If I get it wrong, I own it.

     Most of the time, people just admire you for trying. Anymore, I've found that most people don't expect me to remember their names. And I even throw out that disclaimer when I am introduced to someone. I say, "I will do my best to remember your name..." Most of the time, most people are pretty understanding. And when they're not, and they act put-off, I just let it go. I'd rather remember 5 people's names and make them feel special, and forget the 1, then not try at all.

4.  I'm better with certain groups of people then with others.

     I'm not sure if I'm just more engaged with certain groups of people or what, but I find that not all names are created equal. For example, I have found that I'm very attentive to pastors or church planter's names, but not as good with the other parents on the bleachers at the Little League park.

5.  I have found that the #1 key to remembering someone's name is:

Having a Significant, Shared Experience.

If I share a moment with someone, or we have something in common, it's much easier to remember their name. If we are at the same event or go to the same connection group and then see each other at a restaurant later, I'm more prone to remember their name.

 At the end of the day, it's a whole lot more motivation than information and it's about realizing that there are no magic pills, it takes effort, energy and practice. But in the end, I've found it's always worth it.

Monday, I'll give the 6 Tactics I use to help me remember people's names.

How 1 night in Hawaii Changed my Ministry Forever

In the year 2000, my parents took our entire family to Hawaii for their 30th wedding anniversary. On one of the nights, we made reservations for one of those Luau / All-Inclusive entertainment night things. The plan was for the Luau Company to pick us up at our hotel around 4 pm, I think, and return us to the hotel at around 1 am, after a full night of partying of course.

I've never been the party type (aka, I don't drink) but I do love a good party, but the thing that has stayed with me the most from that night wasn't the Hawaiian Culture or the food or the party atmosphere, it was our Bus Host, Kulani.

When we got on the bus at the hotel, Kulani greeted each of us, asked us our name and where we were from. At the time, we were living in Indiana, so we responded, "Matt and Sarah Keller, from Indiana." A few minutes later, he walked down the aisle of the bus handing out some sort of note card for us to indicate if we were having the beef or chicken and as he came through the aisle, he started looking at each of the 60 passengers and remembered about 1/3 of their names.

For the next hour he told jokes, made us laugh and tried to get us to ignore the rather ugly industrial park surroundings we were headed toward where this Luau was being held. When we reached the party and began exiting the bus, he stood at the steps and wished each of us a great night and then called us by name. All 60 of us... by name.

For the next 5 or 6 hours, hundreds of people partied like they weren't going to be sick in the morning and then at around midnight, we were all instructed to reload our buses for the ride home. As we approached our bus, Kulani greeted us by saying, "Matt and Sarah Keller from Indiana, how was your night?" Needless to say I was blown away.

For another full hour, he did stand up comedy and kept us entertained and then, one last time as we reached our hotel and exited the bus, Kulani called all 60 of us by name, from memory and thanked us for participating in the event.

That night forever changed me... here's why:

Up until that night in Hawaii, I always used to say, "I'm just not very good with names..." I would see church people, or other pastors and would easily forget their name and just blow it off under the guise of, "I'm just not good with names."

But that night, when Kulani was able to remember the names of 60 drunk people who he would never see again in his life and call each of us by name, it changed me.

If this guy can do this for drunk people, night after night, can't I do this for God's Sons and Daughters? 

Don't they deserve for me to at least try harder to remember their name than I have been? 

So for the last 10 years, I've worked hard at developing the skill and attention to remember people's names. I'm not perfect at it, but I've developed enough of a skill that occasionally someone will ask me how I remember so many people's names.

So, tomorrow, I want to share with you some of the secrets I've learned to remembering people's names.

If Kulani in Hawaii can do it, so can we... no, so must we.

A Prophetic Word for our Relationships

This weekend at Next Level Church, we're concluding our "The Big Game" series. For 6 weeks, we've been talking about how we win at our relationships. In part 1, I introduced a concept that has been sparking quite a bit of buzz:

Conflict in our relationships is the #1 tool God uses to shape us into His image.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Click here to listen or watch the message or go to www.NextLevelChurch.com/videowww.nextlevelchurch.com/video.

You can also download the podcast on iTunes, by searching for Next Level Church.

I believe this idea could be a prophetic word for our relationships. If we'll not run, but we'll commit and grow, imagine what is possible!?!

Question: Who do you need to have a hard conversation with? A Parent? A Spouse? A Co-Worker? The Boss? A Teacher? What's stopping you?

Hey Next Level Church, We just Closed on the Property!!!

Today, Friday, October 29th, 2010 at 2:30 pm EDT, we, Next Level Church, became the owners of 10 Acres of land and the church property (formerly Celebration Family Church.) Woohoo!!!

This is a picture I took one Sunday morning while I was over there praying early! If you look real close you can see a rainbow over the top of the building!

Demolition and renovations are scheduled to begin in the next week or two! The property is going to look and be amazing! Not one inch of the property is going to be untouched! Woohoo! Here we go everybody!

I don't think it's a coincidence that our monthly, 1st Monday prayer and fasting day is on Monday! Come on everybody, let's pray that God will give us a smooth road as we begin renovations and construction.  What a tool God has given us to impact so many lives in SW FL and beyond in the years ahead!!!

For all the latest, and to see the latest floor plans, etc. Go to www.ThisIsOurTime.org

Today begins a new chapter in the life of our church!

Ministry's Margin-Less Reality (A Re-Post)

Many of you have been commenting about what a difference some of the Margin stuff we talked about in September has made. So I have re-posted a lot of it here. Also, here is a link to the Conference Call I did last month to talk about Margin Live with a group of about 25 pastors. Click here.

In my opinion, margin in ministry could be one of the most overlooked ideas out there! Too many of us pastors are overworked, stressed out, and living out-of-control schedules and unfortunately, it's taking it's toll on us, our families, our marriages and our ministries.

Margin Defined...

     Today I want to give a working definition for the idea or concept of Margin. So here you go…

“The distance between where you are and your limits.”

     The obvious illustration is the margins on a piece of paper. It’s the white space between the edge of the paper and that little red line. I love it. Even paper manufacturers knew that we (as kids) would be prone to push the limits in our lives, so they gave us a bright red line to basically scream:

  “Hey kid, STOP! You’re gonna run out of paper and write on your desk and then your teacher is gonna yell at you and all your friends will make fun of you and you’ll feel like a stinkin’ idiot, so STOP!!!”

And yet… even with the wonderful red line, how often did we try and push the limits and write all the way to the edges?!?

Some things never change do they?

     Unfortunately for many of us, (and especially those of us in ministry,) we don’t have little red lines anymore warning us that we’re pushing our limits. Consequently, we plunge ahead with commitments and e-mails and appointments and deadlines and stressful situations and little sleep. And more times than we’d like to admit, we end up writing on the desk somewhere and our marriage breaks down or our kids rebel, or we compromise morally, or we have a financial breakdown.

      And all the kids in the world look over at our desk and say, “See, another one bites the dust.” And the moral authority of the message we proclaim becomes tainted or dilluted or compromised in some way.

     It doesn’t have to be this way. We gotta get this figured out, & I’m convinced that margin is the answer to the problem.

An Outsider's View of a Next Level Church - Weekly Staff Meeting

Last weekend, we hosted 11 church planters from across the USA for 5 days to train them in what is called "Basic Training." One of the experiential elements we put into the curriculum is an opportunity for them to "watch" our 1 hour, weekly, all-staff meeting we do on Monday afternoons from 4 to 5 pm.  The why behind the what is because we've realized that alot of church planters are coming out of less-than-healthy church cultures and the likelihood of them having never seen what a healthy, functional staff meeting looks like, is extremely high.

Ben Liles, a recently launched church planter in Panama City Beach, FL came in to teach, share his story, and observe for Monday and Tuesday. He recently posted on his blog (www.BenLiles.org) his observations from watching our staff meeting on his blog. I have re-posted them below. It's always interesting to see what you do through someone else's eyes, so thanks Ben, for the chance to see our weekly staff meeting through an outsider's perspective.

Here's Ben's Blog Post from October 19th, 2010:

Next Level Church Staff Meeting Takeaways

October 19th, 2010

One of the things I love to do is to find ways to be more productive. From online help, to personal schedules, to reading books on productivity, I want to be productive in my personal life. Yesterday, I found a major flaw in one area of my productivity as a leader: being productive in a staff meeting.
For the last few days I have been at the ARC Basic Training helping to train church planters. Part of the training yesterday was getting the privilege to  sit in on an all staff meeting led by Lead Pastor Matt Keller at Next Level Church. WOW. It was amazing to watch a staff meeting flow like that one. Here are some of my main takeaways.

• Just so you know, there were 11 departments represented and the lead pastor, so keep in mind it was not just 3-4 people. They do this every Monday afternoon.
• NO COMPUTERS! There was not a single computer at the meeting. None. You know what that means? No one was on Facebook or Twitter during staff meeting. Yeah, I am sure you’ve never done that!
• The lack of computers created an environment of engagement. Everyone was listening, helping, discussing, and a part of every conversation. It was not one person talking while everyone else played on their computer. They brought pens, and yes, wait for it…notebooks and paper calendars! No computers, no iPads, but plenty of engagement.
• Phones were shut off or on silent. Most of them never even looked at a phone once. Again, no Twitter and Facebook.
• They discussed “wins” first. They celebrated their wins together. Many of the wins were heard for the first time and they celebrated together. They dealt with losses at a later time. Fight to not go to the negatives first!
• Next they went around the room for department reports. Sounds like the boring part right? Nope. They each talked for about 60-75 SECONDS. They talked about 2 things. First, the one main thing they are working on. Second, the one challenge they are having. They discussed ways to help the challenge as a team, and when a possible solution was had, a secondary meeting was scheduled for those two staff members and BANG, next person! No long term discussions, trying to solve hundreds of problems.
• Next they discussed a reading assignment they had been given. It was a blog about how to organize and respond to the overwhelming number of emails that leaders respond. They each gave their one main takeaway and helped each other find ways to implement it.
• They finished with prayer requests. Not prayer requests from a card, that is handled by others. These were prayer requests that they had found about through relationships. It forces the staff to be involved in people’s lives. They assigned a staff member to follow up with each request, and report back.
• Done. Wins and losses, 11 departments reports, secondary meetings scheduled, leadership devotional with application, and prayer…total time…52 minutes. Less than an hour. Very productive and very time conscious.

Now remember, this was an all staff meeting. From what I understand, Pastor Matt has other meeting throughout the week with some of these guys as needed. So there were other meetings taking place, but for an all staff meeting, this was really productive.
Pastor Matt also highly recommended the book, “Death By Meeting” by Patrick Lencioni. Overall, it was a great eye-opening experience. Leaders, what have you done to improve productivity in your staff meetings?

Playing with Pet Rattlesnakes... Dealing with the Media in Ministry

            Over the past few years, we have had to deal with the media from time to time in our church. By and large, it’s been a positive experience but there have also been a few times when we’ve been misrepresented or haven’t been portrayed in the best light. Gaining media attention can bring increased (& free) promotion for your church, but it must also be handled with the right perspective or it can damage you and your ministry.

In Mark 6, Jesus has an interaction with what would be the equivalent of “the media” in his day. He’s speaking and his audience is filled with people who were anxious to hear what he had to say and then leave and give their opinion about it! (I don’t know about you, but that sounds like the media to me!)

We can learn some things from how Jesus interacted with the media.

Mark 6 (In The Message Paraphrase)

v. 1-2 “On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?"

1.  The Media will think you are an Overnight Success.

The people in Jesus’ hometown didn’t realize that Jesus had been preparing for this for 30 years, they heard him speak one time and thought he was an overnight success. When you gain media attention, don’t be surprised if they don’t know or care much about your back story. The media lives in a moment by moment world and representing your years of blood, sweat and tears isn’t their biggest priority.

v. 3 “But in the next breath they were cutting him down…”

2.  Never believe your own press.

Always remember the media has a job to do: Tell a story that will increase viewers. They’re interested in telling the story they want to tell. That’s why they are capable of loving you and hating you all in the same article. If it means they gain more viewers than that’s what they’ll write. Believing your own press is a dangerous thing, because if you’ll swallow the good things they write, you’ll be tempted to swallow the bad things they write as well. Don’t let either sink in to your spirit.

v. 3 "He's just a carpenter—Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?"

3.  The Media can reduce you and discredit you pretty fast.

The listeners in Jesus’ day went from “How did he get so wise…” to “He’s just a carpenter…” in just a few seconds. Don’t be surprised if the media reduces you to a “He’s just a…” statement. Over the years I’ve been labeled a lot of things: Too young, too hip, a sell out, and a flash in the pan to name a few. Don’t worry about it. Let them say what they want, it’s just words. The way to prove them wrong is NOT to fight back and defend yourself, it’s to keep doing what you do every single week. Consistency wins out every time, if we’ll give it enough time.

v. 4 “They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling.”

4.  The media only sees and believes a small piece.

In the media world, deadlines trump fact almost exclusively. Unfortunately, when a reporter is on a deadline, they must take what little facts they have about you and then project the rest. Often too much detail only clouds their mind for the story they need to write for the 6 O’Clock news. Remember, for you this is your life, for them this is today’s deadline, and tomorrow they’ll be off reporting on something else.

v. 4 “…they never got any further.”

5.  The media want what they want, sometimes, more than they want fact.

In most TV interviews I’ve ever done, I can tell the reporter is listening for a couple of select sound bites from me that will fit into the story they’re already trying to write in their head. Only every once in a great while do we get a reporter who will show up at our event with one story in their mind, see the reality of what is actually going on and then change the story they were going to write. Most media people have a pre-conceived idea of the story they want to tell long before they arrive on the scene.

v. 4-5 “Jesus told them, "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child." Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that's all.”

6.  The Media is a lot like a Pet Rattlesnake.

I remember when a nationally known and very prominent leader had seen a piece that CNN did on our church several years ago and made this comment to comparing the media to a pet rattlesnake. I have never forgotten that comparison. His warning was to, “never get too comfortable around them, because the minute you do, they just might turn on you and bite you.”

All in all, capturing the attention of the media can be a positive thing for your church or ministry. But knowing how to handle the attention and keeping it in the right perspective is key. Never forget, we do what we do out of faithfulness for an unseen Creator, not for media attention.

Spending Time w/ One of America's Great Pastors - Part 2

On Wednesday, I posted the first 5 of my Actionable Learnings from my time with Robert Morris, Pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. Here are my second 5 Learnings... Enjoy.

Learning #6: Our job as a pastor is to continually be asking, “How can I help?”

I love this perspective, especially in light of the context he said it in which is helping his staff. When you see someone carrying a burden of some kind, simply stopping to ask the question, “How can I help?” is how we pastor them.

Learning #7: Givers don’t want attention, but they do want to be appreciated. We must stop ignoring the gift of giving in the Body of Christ. It’s in the same list as teacher and miracles.

Learning #8: 3 Things about a pastor that you’re going to have to decide if you like, because they’re probably not going to change:

1) Their Friends,

2) Their Vision, &

3) Their Government.

What a great filter for new people coming into a church. Who do the leaders watch, learn from and hang with? What is their vision? And How are they committed to running the business of the church? Phenomenal.

Learning #9: The greatest temptation in the ministry in the next 5 to 10 years is Burnout. It’s a major reason pastors are falling morally, because they’re looking for an escape from the stress and pace of their life and they are turning to illegitimate escapes.

Great perspective and warning. It makes me so thankful for the precedence of Sabbath and days off and rest that we’ve got in place as a church. It also motivates me to teaching every pastor I come in contact with. What a major need in the ministry today. (Click here for the link to a talk I did recently on Margin)

Learning #10: A Personal Challenge to Pastors: Don’t exhibit God in your churches, let people experience Him. The greatest tool of evangelism today is the Presence of God in our worship services. Don’t compromise the presence of God and preaching of the Word. Your opinion won’t change anybody’s life, but the Presence and Power of God in your church will.

That’s what I’m talking about!

I’m definitely leaving this time with one of America’s great leaders encouraged, inspired and challenged to keep pushing into the great and unique thing that God is doing at Next Level Church.

Thanks again to Pastor Robert, Gateway Church, Billy Hornsby and the ARC for making this opportunity possible.