• Tony Morgan talks about the “5 Benefits Of Going on a Test Drive.”  Loved it!
• Seth Godin had some great insight in two posts this week: Do You Have The Right To Be Heard, and Validation Is Overrated.  I feel a blog post of my own coming from each of those… maybe this week.
• And the last one for the week is an awesome post by Jon Acuff called Wanting Wisdom Without The Walk.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

• I loved what Donald Miller wrote in The Absolute Power of An Apology.  He also had some other great thoughts in Were We Designed To Be Mastered, and another post about infinite comlexity
• Perry Noble says Don’t Let Your Past To Be Your Prison.  He also had some great words in It’s Not The Product… It’s The Service, Part One and Part Two.
• Scott Hodge writes on Apologizing Well.  Good stuff!  I have had a lot of “apologies” that were… not really!

That is just a few for the week… gotta run!  Have a great weekend everyone!

• Perry Noble gives us “11 Signs You May Be Experiencing Ministry Burnout.” If you are in ministry, you need to read this.  You also need to take care of yourself to guard against becoming burnt out!
• Mark Beeson tells us that “Good Times Don’t Always Require Alot Of Money.”  For someone on a budget, or who just lost there job, Mark has some great words on how to make the most with what we do have to make memories this summer with your family.  I plan on taking some of his advice.  I think I will start with the one about choosing a good attitude!
• Donald Miller brings up a statement that hit me over the head a year ago in his post “Healthy Friends Are Responsible To, Not For Each Other.”  I wrote about it not too long ago after attending a workshop at Granger Community Church.
• Pete Wilson asks “What’s The Point” in reference to what the goal of the message that is preached.  Some good food for thought in that post and in the comments.

May you all have a blessed weekend!

• Some great insight from Scott Williams in his post “Diversity Drives Innovation.”
• Tony Morgan, in his post “Are You A Christian Atheist,” had the chance to interview Craig Groeschel about his newest book, The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist. It takes about ten minutes to listen to, but it is good stuff!
• “You Can See The Determination In His Eyes” was a great post by Seth Godin.  I have met Christ followers that have this sense of direction and a “you can’t stop me” attitude about reaching people for Jesus that is just contagious.  I want to be one of those people that has that determination and drive!
• Being a leader in the church means you will be faced with tough decisions.  Making those decisions can be hard, but it is necessary for the longevity growth of the church.  Perry Noble talks about that is his post “Leaders Make Tough Decisions.”  Great read!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!  Be safe!

• Jonathan Acuff had a great post on Being Lazy For The Lord.  Love that post!
• There are a lot of churches that do a lot of good things, but very few churches do great things. I think that is partly due to not paying attention to the last ten percent.  What do i mean by that?  Well, read this article by Seth Godin titled,  Hardly Worth The Effort, and you will be able to make the application pretty easily I think.  Churches have to stop sacrificing great on the altar of good.  Good enough is not what you want to hear anyone say when they are doing something for Jesus!
• Loved this one called “Empire of Entitlement” by Pete Wilson.  Good stuff!
• Love the posts Craig Groeschel is writing about Honor.  Read them here, here, here, and here!
• Finally “Having Right Theology Does Not Mean You Know God” by Donald Miller will get you thinking and asking questions!

I hope you all have a great day in God’s house this weekend!

• Tony Morgan posted something that rings in my heart right now in his post, “What’s Your Next Step.”  A friend of mine asked yesterday what my future looked like, and I basically responded by saying that I had no detailed plan from God as to what is next, only that I was waking up each morning with a little more light shed as to where I am to walk for the day.  I love being in that position.  And I hate being in that position.  I hate it because I am not in control.  I love it because I am so totally dependent on God, and that is a great place to be!
• Seth Godin had a great illustration that I think fits many churches.  He talks about “Becoming A Bus Company” and how bus companies are “slowly moving people from place to place, going through the motions and showing a lot of fatigue…”  I think there are a lot of churches and Christians like that as well…
• All I have to say about Perry Noble‘s post titled “Do You Want A Loyal Staff” is… WOW!  The very first line says: “If you want loyalty…then GIVE IT!  The leader that demands it but does not offer it often leaves a wake of abused and neglected staff members.” I have worked with and for people like this.  It is no fun getting thrown under the bus.  Staff people want to know the leader has their back… or they will not have his!
• Life is all about relationships… First, your relationship with God, and then with others.  We need each other… we need people in our life. Mark Waltz discusses creating opportunities for building relationships in spaces designed just for it.  Read it in his post, “What Spaces Are You Creating?”

That will do it for this week!  Enjoy the weekend!

• Loved this post from Kem Meyer on “Three Things to Consider Before Your Next Roll-Out“.  Great stuff in that there post!
• Awesome words from Craig Groeschel in a post titled, “Promise and Deliver – Later” and “The Almost Ready Event.”
• Perry Noble had some fantastic thoughts in the post “Four Signs You Know You Are Working With Leaders.”
• Speakers for Catalyst were released with the website for this years event as well.  You can see them here at the Catalyst Website.
• And lastly, I love this spoof video that North Point did at the drive conference.  Funny stuff:

All I have for this week!  Enjoy!

• Jon Acuff talks about chasing dreams in a great post last week.  Decide to do it, and then do it.  So simple!
• Tim Stevens reminds us how important our words are… even if we do not remember them in his post titled, “Every Conversation Matters.”  What a great reminder!
• Don Miller.  This post: Why Doctrine Is Only Half The Message.  Read it.
• Loved this post by Carlos Whittaker: HELP! I Am Locked In My Church And Can Get Out!! Been a huge advocate of having an office at St.Arbucks for this very reason!
• Perry Noble gives us Ten Random Leadership Thoughts.  Some excellent ones here!  My favorite? I have two actually, “The people God has placed to lead with you should be listened to and valued; after all, God speaks to them too!”  And, “Loyalty cannot be demanded…it must be earned.”
• Jeff Bell had some great thoughts in his post, First Things First.

Hope these are helpful to you!  Have a great weekend!

• Loved this post titled, “Breaking News” by Seth Godin.  It got me thinking about all the “breaking news” we have at church.  You know, all the things that we tell everyone are so important, but really do not add value to their life or help them take next steps to Jesus (and if we were honest, we would say we do not want to do it/attend the event either!).  Just something to think about.
• Pete Wilson hit me over the head with his post “Costly Assumptions” (and his podcast that I listened to that included some of the same).  Ouch!  But thanks Pete!
• Perry Noble says “You Don’t Have To Hate Your Life.”  God has created us for a purpose.  When we pursue it, and live it, we will be fulfilled. The difficult part usually becomes living God’s purpose and not our own.
• Lastly, “A Principle Art Of Leadership” by Tim Stevens. Short, concise and yet this principle holds back many, many churches.  Leaders, release your people to do what you cannot and should not be doing!

• This post by Mark Beeson is from last month, but was just awesome. It has stuck with me for a couple of weeks now: “Can you be a Christian?”
• Tim Stevens shares some good thoughts about “Managing Subordinates.”
• Pete Wilson speaks on being accountable, 100% accountable to be exact, in his post “The Last 2%.”  He also shares his battle with having “A Need To Be Right.”  Thanks for being so open Pete. It helps me.

Not too much time to read this week, so that is all I have got!Have a great weekend!