Daniel Floyd

TURN UP THE VOLUME

What is the loudest volume in your life and ministry?

I have learned something over the past couple of weeks. If you don't turn up the volume on the right things, others will turn up the volume on the wrong things. As the senior leader it's your responsibility to keep the volume UP on the vision. As you grow and add complexity many things will seek to take center stage but it's our job to continue to turn UP the volume of the vision.

The difficult part is that some of the things competing for time and attention are good. They are outreach programs and care programs and the latest great group strategy but if they don't increase the volume of the vision then turn them down and turn the volume UP on the vision. (it will go to 11 - that's for you movie buffs)

HOW THE MIGHTY CHURCH FALLS

Great article by Gordon MacDonald - his take on Jim Collins book How The Mighty Fall.

Download Church Leadership - How a Mighty Church Falls

MAKE THE ASK BIG (CAPITAL CAMPAIGNS LEARNINGS)

If you're not comfortable with making the BIG financial ask, it could be because you're not sold on your vision.

Going into this project I thought that one of the major hurdles I would have to cross is asking individuals and families to give. I pictured awkward, uncomfortable moments that could possibly damage relationships. However, the exact opposite is what I found.

I encountered people that were willing to give and were looking to me to give direction. I found that my role was to increase their understanding on how to give, and how to know that what they were giving was the will of God.

I also found that those with the capacity to give wanted me to challenge them by asking BIG. And why wouldn't I? If I really believe in the vision then I should also believe it's worth giving towards. Once I got this revelation, I looked forward to giving people the opportunity to invest in the vision of Lifepoint Church.

However, if you aren't sold on your vision then your apprehension will be much greater. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars waiting to be invested in your ministry. But it will require you to make some BIG ASK. So, what's stopping you from giving those with resources the opportunity to invest in the kingdom?

YOU START BEFORE YOU START (CAPITAL CAMPAIGN LEARNINGS)

Two Sunday's ago we finished our first of, what I'm sure, will be many capital campaigns. We learned a lot and experience the power of God in so many amazing ways. So, I wanted to share some helpful learnings this week.

Lesson #1 - You start before you start! After crunching the numbers with our consultant we arrived at an initial goal of 1.5 million, which would have been a stretch for us. Especially considering we didn't have a "real project". No building we wanted to build, no property we had our eye on to buy. We simply challenged our church to give towards the vision of "reaching people far from God". To give towards placing us in the best position possible to move on whatever door God opened. To say we were fighting an uphill battle is an understatement.

But you start before you start and we saw the fruit of this big time when 100 of our leaders, two weeks before "commitment Sunday", made their commitments totaling over 1.5 million. This is the fruit of a culture of TRUST. See, long before we ever started an official capital campaign we were creating equity with our leaders. We were coming through on promises made; we were the first to call ourselves out when we blew it. We were proving ourselves trustworthy. So, when the time came to raise 1.5 million as a church with no "real project" 100 of our leaders stepped up and positioned us in a place to experience the unthinkable.

Are you building TRUST? 

Are you following through on promises made with your leaders and your volunteers? 

Are you the first to call yourself out when you blow it or do you hope it gets overlooked? 

Because you start before you start.

MINISTRY COST MONEY

I know this is not a new revelation for anyone. Obviously, it takes money to operate a growing ministry or a ministry of any sort. However, I have learned somethings about this on a whole new level. This past Sunday we announced the total amount of commitments towards our capital campaign called Accelerate. Through this process God has taught me some things that I want to share with you. So, starting next week I will spend the week sharing some thoughts on raising capital to advance the kingdom. Hope you'll check it out!

WHAT 3 THINGS....

There is a question that has challenged me as of late. Here it is:

"What 3 things could I do, in the next six months, that would allow me to carry 

the ball farther down the field?"

These are the 3 things that if I were to invest my energies in would advance our church, elevate our staff, accelerate our vision.

What are the 3 things for you? 3 things that would advance your career, bring your family closer together, or accelerate your financial position in the next 6 months? Take some time today to answer this question yourself, create a strategy to attack them and then get busy carrying the ball farther down the field in every area of your life.

Leaders Go First

We are in the middle of a project called ACCELERATE that will position Lifepoint in the best place possible to walk through whatever door God opens for future expansion. Yesterday morning I had the privilege of sharing how our leaders had set the pace for this project. Leaders go first in order to create a passage way for others to walk through. Our leaders created a huge passage way and I couldn't have been more proud. Lifepoint remember - God gives an instruction to obey before His power is displayed!

CHANGE

Change isn't easy for anyone no matter how progressive we may think we are. 

It's difficult to change patterns, behaviors or systems we may have held to for so long. And one of the greatest difficulties with change is that it affects those around us. See when you change it makes others uncomfortable, it causes them to no longer be able to relate to you. It's moves them from there comfort zone which in turns causes them to react in ways that may pressure you to turn back to, "the way things use to be".

However, if you are going to advance toward what God has for you, you must not turn back, you must move forward not based on what you feel but on what you know to be true. 

So, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Change will be difficult but don't turn back, don't allow the pressures of peers to cause you to retreat!!

RUN TO IT!!

Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David's servants, and brought tribute. I Chronicles 18:2

What began as an enemy or an obstacle in David's life turned into a servant that brought tribute to him.

What in your life today do you perceive to be an enemy, that God may perceive to be the stepping stone to you dominating greater territory for the kingdom of God? 

Whatever that may be....RUN to it!! Don't hesitate but advance toward it knowing that it God is with you! 

Because your greatest obstacle today could be your servant tomorrow!!

Unleash Conference 2009

On our way to the Unleash Conference in Anderson, SC at Newspring Church with the greatest volunteers on the planet!! I can't wait to see God use this experience to take their vision to a whole new level!!