Orange Tour/Call Update

Last night was not as good. I made 195 calls and secured 7 addresses. Most of the numbers didn't exist. :\

Today I attended the Orange Tour with Reggie Joiner in Burbank. It was a great reminder of what our mission is and how we're implementing our mission. It also reminded me why I left a comfortable position to take a risk and start a new church. "Change will only take place when the pain of the status quo is bigger than the pain of change."

It was a boiling 105 degrees in Burbank today... so nice to live on the coast and be protected most of the time from that kind of heat! (And smog!)

Calls, Calls & more Calls!

I hate telemarketers. I used to try and mess with them. Sometimes I would set a timer and see how long I could keep them on the line before they hung up on me. ;) I'd ask them question after question like I was really interested in their product but never buy. What a jerk I was!

I actually had a job as a telemarketer for 3.5 hours. I was selling AT&T long distance a few years back. They asked me to not come back because I didn't make one sale... well, actually I had one guy wanting to buy but he was an Iranian student without a credit card and we could only sell to those with a credit card. A funny: I'm freaking nervous (and hating myself for actually being a telemarketer!), while trying to keep up with the automatic dial system. Every time I hung up a new caller was on the line... in fact most times that person had already said hello before I was connected with them! So I'm looking at all the names quickly pop up on the screen and saying, "Hi! Is this Mr Brown, Mrs Green etc..." In the fray I looked at the next name without thinking and ask, "Is this Mr. Jehova?" The computer had dialed a Kingdom Hall. :)

Anyway, this week I had my third evening of taking part in a calling campaign to get the word out about RPCC. Our goal is to call about 30,000 people! The calling is going a little slower than anticipated because many of our volunteers are freaked out about doing this. Our calling has been overwhelmingly successful thus far and I've actually been enjoying it a lot! The cool thing is that we're not selling anything and we're actually not even asking people to go to church. It's a very 'soft' sell. We just tell people we're a new church in the area and ask if we can send them information to keep them updated on our progress. That's it! So every address we get we're sending them information.

Here are my numbers so far.

Dialed: 652
Addresses received: 53
That's 8%.
(Keep in mind that the majority of the numbers dialed were answering machines and we will call them back. We anticipate that we'll get addresses of at least 10%.)

If we call 30,000 people that's 3,000 people who will receive a few mail pieces from us and a follow up call! I'm excited to see what God is gonna do with this! We're inviting all these people to come out Oct 24 to a special Saturday evening service at the barn. If you want to be a catalyst for life change for people you don't know come and make some calls with me. I'll be doing it again tomorrow night and at least two nights next week. It's really fun because you never know how people will respond. I'd say 95% are very polite and are not put off by the call. I get a few hangups and a few "I've got my own religion... click" but I've also had great conversations with people including one guy who is a Hindu, attends a Hindu church but asked me to send him information. How cool is that???

Joy in Sorrow

I celebrated twice this weekend. Yesterday a wedding, today a memorial. Both events were for friends. I cried a lot at the memorial for Kim, for what could have been and especially for her 5 year old daughter who will now live with a distant memory of her mama. I cried for Shanna because at one time she was very close with Kim and cherished their friendship. We met Sean, Kim and Robyn at the end of August in 2004... both our daughters less than a month old. In fact, we learned that our daughters were born on the exact same day. They came by to start a small group with us that actually ended up being just us four. We spent a couple months together going through Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life" book. Yes, I did actually mean that I celebrated at the memorial too... Kim loved Jesus and I know she's with Him, with a new healthy body, quizzing Him like crazy about things we don't get answers to in this life.

I met Nick & Rachel for the first time in January. They came to check out our church and were heading out of the service when I shook their hands and asked them about their story. They were brand new to town from Washington State and I know moving to a new area is hard at first. Shanna and I had them over for dinner that Thursday and while talking about the Office we became good friends (Thanks Michael Scott!). That led to marriage counseling and yesterday I officiated their wedding. A perfect day for a great couple!

I played with my kids a lot tonight, gave them extra hugs and am reminded of the amazing gift that life is... something that should be cherished and lived to the full because it's gone too soon. Tomorrow is a new day and really a new season. I have been part-time at RPCC since March while Shanna has been working full-time. We made a commitment to do this at least until September and that is now here. She is now part time (and a full time mom!) and I need to fill that gap in our budget ASAP. I've applied at many places but now that I'm not playing "Mr. Mom" full time I can get more aggressive in my search. I'm actually looking forward to getting a part time job because I'll get to meet new people and invite them to check out RPCC.

8 Principles for Leading a Team

Perry Noble shares some valuable points when leading others. This is a must read if you are in a position of leadership. In fact, it's a must read for everyone because we all lead someone in one way or anther!

It's easy to think of others who lead and which of these they struggle with... check the mirror and see what you may be struggling with. Or even better (this could be #9 on this list!), ask those who follow you to read this and give you feedback on what they think you struggle with. Ouch, that could hurt, but what you will learn will be worth it as long as you keep #4 in mind. :)

See You Soon River Park!

We finished our final Sunday at Rio Vista Middle School in River Park. Rio School District raised our rent by over 50%, which is way beyond any comparable space in the area (Their special way of saying "Please do church elsewhere."), so we have moved out of River Park. We're taking our portable church 10 minutes south to an amazing facility that is actually charging us fair rental value! Did I mention fair? ... not bitter ;) God's up to something here, we're praying that we can get back into Oxnard when the commercial area finally opens in River Park which will make that area more of a destination.

Here is our new home beginning this Sunday. The Camarillo Ranch is a prominent Ventura County location for community events, school field trips, weddings, receptions, film shoots and now for church! I'm stoked we get to meet in a barn that was built in 1905. The whole property is an historic landmark in Camarillo and the grounds are beautifully landscaped with flowers, trails and fountains.

We are kicking off an amazing 6 week series this Sunday with Andy Stanley titled "5 Things God Uses To Grow Your Faith". I will be leading worship with an amazing group of musicians. Don't miss out on seeing us do Church At the Barn this Sunday beginning at 10am.

Top 100 Christian Blogs

Top 100 Christian Blogs.

I clicked on #1 which is Piper's. Today he summarizes Obama's speech to students. What I read in his summary is great and even encouraged me today. I hope many students get to see it today don't you?

Here is Obama's speech transcript.