1. Am I honestly giving my best effort? Is there fruit?
2. What’s my leadership lid?
3. If my position, title, role and formal authority was removed, would the people that I’m leading gladly follow me?
4. Am I for the people on my team? Against the people on my team? Or for myself?
5. How can I better organize my teams?
6. What boundaries do I need to set in my own life and ministry work?

What questions are you asking yourself?

If you’re a blogger, leave a comment with a link to your favorite blog post that you wrote in March, April, or May. (If you’re not a blogger, leave a comment to your favorite blog post on someone else’s blog during the Spring.)

I’m excited to read your favorites!

• “Sweet Ms. Janice and KY Jelly“
• “Brainstorming A New Message Series“
• “Getting Specific On Getting Things Done. Period!”
• “How Do You Capture Your To-Do List?“
• “30 Things I Love About My Mom“

• To the nearest mile, how long was the Berlin Wall?
• What is the name of the waterway that separates Detroit from Canada?
• Name the city and state where the American Tennis Championship is played?
• Who is the author of “For Whom The Bell Tolls”?
• In the comic strip and cartoon Peanuts, what is the last name of the character Lucy?

Maybe you would have done well, but our team struggled.

Check out these links below. They are from some of my favorite reading links from this week.

• “…in many cases, leaders get so caught up in trying to fix immediate problems, they fail to execute at what they know best.” Phil Cooke uses the Air France Crash to teach a basic leadership principle; keep your eye on the main thing.
• Confession: Sometimes I don’t like what God commands me to do. This post by Perry Noble is spot on!!!
• “Whatever circumstance, struggle, or enemy you’re facing, don’t turn around. God has something for you on the other side better than what you have now. And it’s something you’ll never experience until you walk through the door.” Read Steven Furtick’s post “Walls or Doors.”
• What happens if you relentlessly avoid looking for excuses at all? Seth Godin answers this question perfectly!
• The Resurgence has a fantastic post entitled, “I’m Not A Christian, But I’m Coming To Your Church This Sunday.”
• Ron Edmondson states “there are some specific ways I should and shouldn’t speak publicly to someone who doesn’t know me well. Most of these are true to any audience, but especially for an audience of visitors or strangers.” Click HERE to read the “4 do’s and 4 dont’s when talking to people you’ve never met.”
• The 99% never disappoints. Read this article, “Getting Creative Things Done: How To Fit Hard Thinking Into A Busy Schedule.“
• Ron Edmondson shares his top 12 blog posts about Team Development! PURE GOLD!!!!

To remember where you came from!
To remember how you started!
To remember what you achieved!
To remember what you overcame!
To remember the lessons you learned!

Shepherds in biblical times used to carry large walking sticks, canes, staffs, with them as they guided and directed their herd of sheep from place to place. As they overcame difficulties, or encountered an event they never wanted to forget, the shepherd would carve a notch in the staff to serve as a milestone, or to recall that special circumstance they overcame. When these shepherds gathered with other people they could then point to their staff and recall the stories, recall the memories, recall the journey.

As you walk through the doors of Renaissance Road Church you will notice a large wall on your right decorated with numerous pictures. These pictures are actually the sermon graphic created for each of the message series we have presented since the beginning of Renaissance Road Church. Right now there are 28.

Check them out!

Photo by Jace Breeback

1. Life Is A Highway
2. Stuck
3. When I Grow Up
4. Beyond
5. Touching God
6. Generation Sex
7. M.I.A.
8. Is God Dead?
9. Extreme Makeover
10. The Verge
11. Unstoppable
12. Supernatural
13. All I Want For Christmas
14. Break Free
15. The Merger
16. Do You Know This Man?
17. The Controversial Jesus
18. Lost
19. Step It Up
20. Plan B
21. Hello, My Name Is Fear
22. Project Nehemiah
23. Collide
24. The Amazing Expansion Celebration
25. The Man Series
26. Rooted
27. The Preacher and The Prostitute
28. Beautiful

The next time you walk into Renaissance Road Church look to the wall on the right, and think back to the first message series you began attending R2. Think about each of the subsequent message series you have been attended.

It is so important to remember your journey!

To remember where you came from!
To remember how you started!
To remember what you achieved!
To remember what you overcame!
To remember the lessons you learned!

I could have easily listed another 15 (if not more) churches, but decided to cut the list off at the ones I visit consistently each month.

• NewSpring Church (Anderson, South Carolina) : Perry Noble
• Elevation Church (Charlotte, North Carolina) : Steven Furtick
• LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, Oklahoma) : Craig Groeschel
• Mars Hill Church (Seattle, Washington) : Mark Driscoll
• The City Church (Seattle, Washington) : Judah Smith
• Church On The Move (Tulsa, Oklahoma) : Willie George
• North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, Georgia) : Andy Stanley
• National Community Church (Washington, D.C.) : Mark Batterson
• Fellowship Church (Grapevine, Texas) : Ed Young, Jr.
• Granger Community Church (Granger, Indiana) : Mark Beeson
• Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, Kentucky) : Dave Stone
• Community Christian Church (Naperville, Illinois) : Dave Ferguson
• Mountain Lake Church (Cumming, Georgia) : Shawn Lovejoy
• Cross Point Church (Nashville, Tennessee) : Pete Wilson
• Church of the Highlands (Birmingham, Alabama) : Chris Hodges

Is there a church, that has helped to further your spiritual growth and development? Who is it?
Is there an amazing church, not listed above, that is making a huge Kingdom impact that I should check out? Who is it?

My schedule drives my day’s work.

In a time and age where EVERYTHING competes for our attention, we must choose to spend our time wisely.

I use Google Calendar to help me get better organized.

And I’m pretty strict on how I spend my time. Before I agree to anything (project/meeting/appointment/funeral…just kidding) I check my calendar.

It may sound extreme, but I don’t want to

• waste precious time.
• promise my attendance to an event when I have already agreed to a prior engagement.
• under deliver on a project because I didn’t set aside enough time.

Since establishing and creating my calendar I have noticed that I

• have created little rituals that make me more productive.
• have developed a much stronger memory.
• completed more assignments, tasks, and projects…on time.
• enjoyed more personal time with friends and family because I have scheduled time to get things done, AND have got it done.

So, how do you schedule your calendar?
What do you use to keep track of your appointments?

We’re planning a message series for the month of July about John the Baptist.

Here are the brainstormed ideas for the message scheduled for July 10, 2011.

Photo by Jace Breeback

Photo by Jace Breeback

WOW!!!!! This book is really really really helping my clarify my thoughts on taking action on ideas. It’s helping me identify how to better work with creative people. It’s teaching me how to get things done. It’s growing my knowledge of how to organize, create, produce, act. It’s AWESOME!!!

What are you reading right now…
…that’s challenging you?
…that’s making you (re)think?
…that’s carrying you off into another world?
…that’s captivating you?

Photo by Jace Breeback

I write it down on a sheet on notebook paper inside a composition notebook.
Each sentence begins with a verb.
Each sentence is short.

I’ve used Evernote.
Have friends who prefer Springpad.

What do you have to do today?
How do you capture your to-do list?