Making Difference Makers

KJV or Bust

2008-07-19T02:00:00.000-05:00

Is it me...or are there any others out there who find it extremely hard to read the King James Version.

I know there are people out there that argue it is the only version we should read...BUT...is it even in English. Maybe I'm under-educated and just don't know some of those words. Maybe it's because I just can't understand the old English. All that and I've pastored for 14 years.

Am I the only one that struggles with it?

[photo credit flickr.com]

A Desire To Reach People

2008-07-17T09:19:00.004-05:00

Personally, I don't fight back the desires that I know God has placed in me. Fifteen years ago I would not have cared a single bit about someone going to a church and following Christ. Now, that's a different story.

The desire to reach as many people as possible is not a desire that I came up with on my on. It's not about a show. It's not about being famous.

It honestly comes from a desire to help others move from one road in life to a better road. I have know hundreds of people who have had their lives changed. I'm also one of those people who changed roads. It is not about us being "right". It is about helping people see what they may not already see.

Some people say as a pastor I just need to be content and let God bring in those He will bring in. Personally I don't see that. He said, "Go into all the world". He said, "bring them in." (I know that second example is within a parable, but "for me" I take that one personally as a charge to bring in people to church.)

I don't want to push my giftings on any other person reading this...but...I don't think it is about giftings as much as it is about COMMAND. That is why we do what we do...it is why I push so hard...it is why we must reach this world.

Honestly if every church would wake up and just go for it...well I'll leave you to wonder about what the results might be.

[photo credit flickr.com]

Launching Sunday

2008-07-16T02:00:00.005-05:00

I'm so excited...this Sunday July 20th we are launching our campus. We still have lots of work to do to get it ready but the time is now and it is here.

Be praying for us and believing great things. The two zip codes our campus is near combined have near 50,000 people. 16,000 of which are teens and children. What that means is there is lots of ministry out here. Lots of people who are not in church and who I believe are ready for a church like ours.

We have lots planned and have a grand opening/ribbon cutting set for August 24th. Much thanks to everyone who has worked on our campus....the best is yet to come.

You Have All You Need 2

2008-07-15T02:00:00.001-05:00

Think about it...all those "large" churches started somewhere. Some started in apartments with just the pastor and his family. In the beginning they didn't have all the bells and whistles that you see now.

What they did have is a passion...and partnered that passion with the resources God brought their way. And as they continually did that week after week, month after month, year after year they got to where they are...BUT...it isn't stopping there. The passion they started with is still there and they are continuing to push forward more and more.

Most mega-churches have had and still have mega-passion.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said, "Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion."

Begin today to reignite that passion....add a few logs to the fire that was once burning. Don't give up or give in as what God has for you is just around the corner.

Read some of the stories of today's churches that are growing...listen to their podcast or read their pastors blog.

Pray that God will help you or will burn that passion even brighter.

Over the next month read through the book of Acts twice. Meditate on what the early church did...it can still happen.

And no matter what...just as Winston Churchill said so famously, "Never, never, never ever give up!"

If you haven't already check out part 1 of this series.

You Have All You Need 1

2008-07-14T02:00:00.003-05:00

One shift that can occur in church leadership is the shift of worrying about what we don't have...to a realization that we have all we need.

It's kind of like climbing a small mountain only to get to the top and realize there are these bigger mountains you want to climb all around you.

I've heard comments over the years from smaller churches that go to larger churches and the conversation usually starts like this, "If we had all of this, imagine what impact we could have."

Bottom line: You have all you need.

What do you have? Passion, People and Purpose

It is not about the size of the church. It is not about all the bells and whistles. It's not even really about the style.

It is about the size of your passion, maximizing the people God has brought to you and living with a sense of purpose. God is waiting for you to realize that you have all you need and partner with you to reach this world.

[photo credit flickr.com]

Go To or Come See

2008-07-11T02:00:00.001-05:00

When it comes to evangelism there are two perspectives...wait...there are two ways it can happen.

Go To
In practically all of the Gospels, Jesus said "GO". We are commanded to go into the world, to be the salt and the light. When it comes to evangelism as it pertains to the church, we must go out.

Come See
The flip side is "Come See". Philip told Nathaniel to come see for himself what was happening. I think that is huge as well. Many people say evangelism should all take place outside the church. I don't feel that is even a totally biblical point.

This is huge for a church. If you can effectively equip your people to go out and tell people to come see, you can reach your community.

Question is what are we giving them to come and see? Are they seeing the gospel in action? Are they seeing lives being changed? Are we effectively developing them to live a life of purpose?

Thoughts????

[photo credit by flickr.com]

BAF 5 Point Work Night Video

2008-07-10T13:47:00.003-05:00

Here is a video that Brandon Cunningham, the Men's Ministry Director for Bay Area Fellowship made at our July 9th work night.

We have more to do and are pushing to begin our soft launch on July 20th....PUMPED is an understatement.

Bay Area Fellowship and Multi-Site

2008-07-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

One of the "challenges" or "complaints" that is often heard from around the country when it comes to multi-site ministry goes something like this.

"You big mega-churches are just moving in to steal all the people out of the churches in this area and are going to put them out of business."

First and foremost, let me tell you that from our perspective at Bay Area Fellowship and from many other churches who also have campuses around the country this statement is so far from the truth that it is absurd.

Pastor Bil Cornelius wrote about this in a post called "No More Competition". Here's a little excerpt:

addressing a concern that someone has that Bay Area is going into new areas with video-venues and are going to “steal people from other churches.” The truth is, and I mean this in a good way….we don’t want them! Long term Christians who either grew up in church or have been a faithful part of another ministry typically give us problems, because they keep comparing where they came from with where they are now. They almost always complain about our worship style, insist our small groups function like the “Sunday school” they used to attend, and wonder when the pastor will get “deeper” for them. As they are complaining, someone (either a member or a pastor) will challenge them to serve, lead a group, and tithe (which they almost always do not do!) and then they leave in a huff, angry that we did not “meet their needs.”

Pastor John Atkinson who leads our churches multi-site strategy wrote a great post called "Taking New Ground". This explains a lot of the reason of our "why".

Tough thing is...we can't control how other churches handle it or how they criticize what we are doing. We can only manage our motives. I can tell you the motive for our campus is to reach out to the un-churched population that is already out here.

There are more than 50,000 people within about 15 miles of our church. In that number includes around 16,000 teens and children. There is no way that our church can do it by ourselves anyway. We are not coming out here to shut down any churches. That would be counterproductive anyway. Our purpose is to simply make a difference in this area.

What A Difference A Year Makes

2008-07-09T02:00:00.002-05:00

My wife is hijacking my blog today as we reflect where God has taken us since this time last year. Enjoy her post.

What a difference a year makes.....heard it so many times and thought honestly does that really happen?

Well I can officially, honestly, and whole heartily say, "WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES"

If anyone would have said this to me last year I would have laughed. I mean laughed hysterically to the point of tears. I would have never thought that we would be at this place in one's years time.

Let me say that I know God is capable of above and beyond anything I can comprehend. I also know to dream bigger then my little brain can wrap itself around but, this time last year didn't feel this way.

I knew God had nothing to do with what happened but it was hard to see through the storm. Little did I know that God in His infinite wisdom had big plans for our lives.

It has been a year now since we left our last church. It's no secret it was not in the best of terms and it was not by our choosing. Many things have come out of that time in our lives. We were able to take a step back and realize that God is not a controlling, manipulating God nor is He arrogant or prideful. He is a God of choices, love, and mostly great humanity. He showed us how much He loved us and how much He believed in us.

After the storm cleared, the sun starting to shine again. We got the awesome privilege of meeting some great friends along the way. People who were unpretentious and love God with all their hearts. Pastor John Atkinson came into our lives and Pastor Bil Cornelius and his beautiful family took us under their wings and allowed us to heal and gain our confidence back. They loved us through the not so pretty times and accepted us right where we were. We were able to see Jesus in them and a new picture of what it meant to be the family of Christ.

We started to see God in a different way. A way of great patience, great love, and most of all a true hunger for the lost. Many churches say they want to reach the lost but it has been my experience that that is not so. It actually is the furthest from the truth. What they really wanted is to keep God in a box and pad there lifestyles. For the most part they just loved the control and the position not the people.

I know it seems harsh but it is what it is. Sometimes the truth is staring you in the face but most people choose to ignore it. I guess in some ways it's easier for them that way.
I guess you can say they are deceived?

I always want to be known as someone who challenges the truth and never compromises no matter what the cost. We can look the other way for convenience but at some point it does and it will affect you. It will affect you in your walk or even in your relationships. After all it's the covering your sitting under that sets the tone for all you do.

In saying all that I came to one realization that God loves me beyond my comprehension. I also know that we are at a place in our lives that we are totally in love with.

It is the satisfaction of knowing God is for you and the satisfaction of having His favor on your life. In the storm he built character, in the storm He built confidence, and in the storm He brought us home.

In a few weeks we are launching Bay Area 5 Points and I cannot put into words the excitement I feel. The anticipation is ridiculous. I literally feel like I am bursting at the seems......How crazy is that? In all the years of ministry, never have I felt such peace and joy over what I was doing. I can honestly say I found peace at BAF.

We have an amazing support system. Pastor John has been amazing and Pastor Bil Cornelius in one of the most amazing leaders known to mankind. Anyone who says differently is seriously just a hater...LOL...if you knew the man, you would see what I mean.

He is truly a humble guys who simply loves God and surrounds himself with people who love God too.

So in saying that.........wow what a different a year makes!!!! We are launching in two weeks and grand opening in August and boy are we going to take this town by storm.............I advise you to hold on to your seats.........

With God all things are possible and with great leaders at the helm they get even better.

Much love
Robbie Curlee

Multi-Site Resource

2008-07-08T02:00:00.004-05:00

Ever want to keep up with the day to day of a Multi-Site Campus?

You can check out a lot that goes on at Northpoint's Buckhead Campus. The blog is a place where you find them celebrating stories, sharing the latest news, and capturing what God is doing in their midst.

Multi Site Video

2008-07-07T02:00:00.001-05:00

Are you a multi-site campus pastor or a church thinking of becoming multi-site?

Here is an interview by Tony Steward with Scott Hitzel and Randy Craft. These two guys actually implement the hands-on efforts at Saddleback Church's multi-site location in San Clemente.

In this spontaneous 16-minute interview, you'll hear the first-hand report of nuts & bolts involved at a remote campus. Enjoy!

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

One Wild Weekend

2008-07-06T21:29:00.006-05:00

This weekend was the Fourth of July holiday and what a wild one it was for me.

Thursday Detective Curlee
Thursday, it started out with us driving home to visit my parents at their farm. As we were driving down the highway I noticed some suspicious activity as we passed a car on the side of the road. I pulled over to let the car catch us and then sped up to re-catch them to make sure it was the right car. I then called my brother who is a Texas State Trooper to let him know what I saw.

He then put me in touch with the Sheriff's Department in the County we live in. I then kept myself in front of them to make sure they didn't pull off.

When we got close to my home town a Deputy Sheriff began following the car. Then another. Then another. Then my brother in a DPS car. Their plan was to stop them in an un-populated area in case they jumped out of the car and ran. Since we had gone this far we decided to follow and see what happened.

While we were following though I started worrying if it was the right car. I could just see a whole family being pulled over by 5 or 6 different officers. Then I thought my brother would never let me live it down if I was wrong.

All of the sudden we see all the officer's put their lights on...one problem though...the car isn't stopping. Then it cuts through the median to the other side of the highway. Across the highway into the ditch...of course at this time I figure I was right. Once they hit the other ditch everyone bailed out of the car, over the fence and hit the woods.

In all, only one of the guys was caught. And thus my day as a detective were over.

Friday Jason Curlee "Snake Hunter"
Friday evening my daughter and I drove out to the pond on my parents farm. As we were driving by the pond I saw something move on the ground. It was a poisonous Copperhead snake. I stayed to make sure it didn't slither off while my daughter went to get my Dad with a gun. He came out and shot it. Of course the rest of the family wanted to come see it. Here is a picture.

While we were all there looking at it. Another Copperhead, even bigger, came out right by us. I guess it was coming to help the other. My dad, with his gun, shot at it and missed. It began to slither off towards the woods when I sprang into action and began to strike it with a cattle prod, thus killing it.

And so my day as a "snake hunter ended". It really was quite a humorous sight of me trying to kill the snake I was told by my family. Here are some pics of the second snake with me in action:

Saturday Spin Out
Saturday as we were driving home it proceeded to pour down rain. We were following about 100 yards behind a car when all of the sudden that car began to hydro-plane and then did a full 360 and started to slide into the ditch. I immediately hit my brakes and slowed to not get into an accident myself. That car came to a stop and we checked on the driver. She was ok and was able to drive out of the ditch and waited for someone to check on her.

We found out in the next town when we saw the lady at a store that the car spun out a second time and ended up getting stuck in a ditch. Everyone was safe and we got home safely.

Somewhere in all of that we shot off fireworks and I smoked some mean ribs and "Coke Can" Chicken. And with that our weekend of excitement came to an end.

How was your weekend????

Do You....Comment

2008-07-06T02:00:00.000-05:00

I usually like to leave comments on other peoples blogs. It is the whole thing about community in blogging. That's probably why I like following guys like 'los versus the big time blogging pastors who don't have comments on their blogs.

Why do you leave or not leave comments on other people's blogs?

[photo credit by flickr.com]

Fourth of July

2008-07-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

Just a quick "Happy Fourth of July" to everyone.

Hope you are safe and that you are thankful as I am that we live in one of the greatest countries in the world.

[photo credit flickr.com]

We're Having Fun

2008-07-03T14:00:00.002-05:00

Question is....Who's having more fun????

Pastor John Atkinson or my wife and I. I got my money on my wife and I.

You have to read John's post to know what we are talking about. I do have to add that we have an awesome team. Guy's like Ken, Daniel, Lance, Tom, Chris, Mike, Jimmy, Tim, and their families and so many others that are unnamed here, have made it so easy to bring our campus to reality.

What is awesome is that in all the work we are doing it has built some relationships that are going to make our campus rock solid.

Thanks team if you read this....we love all of you.

Post Number 1,000

2008-07-03T02:00:00.000-05:00

"Amazing" is really all I have to say about this post.

This is post number 1,000 for Making Difference Makers. It has been quite a journey.

REFLECTION
I actually started this blog in 2006 as I was transitioning from one ministry place to another. I thought it would be a great way where those people that knew me could keep up with what I was doing.

Little did I know that two years later this blog would be where it is. Through this blog, and the blog's of others, I have met and made some great friends. I have also improved myself in so many ways. I'm not there yet...this blog isn't there yet either. That's why it's a journey.

DESIRE
In the end, I don't know that there is a specific destination in mind for what I'm doing through this. It is a journey that I'm on and who knows where it will take me. God is doing so many things through my family and personal life and I'm growing so much. Most of this is to share what I'm learning as well as the lessons learned.

There are two things I do know about my blog:

I want to make the greatest Kingdom impact for God that I can. I'm going to use as many methods as possible. That is one of the reasons for the things I write here. I write a lot of leadership and organizational management posts. I believe there are a lot of pastors who have the faith, the scripture, the prayer....but no one has ever showed them the organizational side of things. I hope to be a resource in that.

I want to get back to a little more of sharing my journey. In December of 2007, I decided to start another blog for that. I was going to take this blog and make it all about leadership. With the time frame I'm constrained with now, this blog will stay in these two areas.

So it is post 1,000...I'm excited to hit this milestone. Have I arrived? Nope!!! Only feel I'm just getting started.

THE STATS
Thought I would give you a quick rundown of stats. Even though I started my blog in March of 2006, I didn't know you could even track blog stats until October of 2006. So here are some stats since Oct. 20, 2006.

15,363 Visits
24,484 Pageviews
Over 80 Subscribers
Blog has been viewed in every state and in 97 countries

THANKS to all you readers, my family, and the people who are seeing my potential in ministry.

[photo credit flickr.com]

Green Grass

2008-07-02T14:46:00.002-05:00

They say "The grass is always greenest on the other side"

I say "The grass is always greenest over the septic tank"

Have you ever found that to be true like I have?

[photo credit flickr.com]

Questions Answered 1

2008-07-02T05:30:00.003-05:00

I asked people to ask me a questions they would want the answer too.

First question is by Texas Ron Linebarger whose blog link is kindlytalk.com

"Why is Jesus not mentioned in the Core of MDM page?"

What he's talking about is here. Great question by the way. The reason I don't have it in there is that I feel that I shouldn't have to preference "Jesus" on everything I do. I don't spend a lot of time on this blog putting out or proving my theological stance. I don't spend time interpreting scriptures even though I way put some in there.

What I do do...(hmm that didn't sound so good...do do)...is try to help pastors or ministry leaders be more effective. I feel there is enough written about how you should be praying, reading the word, trusting, walking by faith, etc, etc, etc.....I want to write in areas that can help people practically.

Well done TEX....great question again.

Answers Coming Soon

2008-07-01T15:00:00.002-05:00

Left a challenge to everyone to ask me questions....it was open ended which was scary cause I didn't know what kind of questions I would get.

Would they be hard? Would they be on topics I didn't know? Would they be too personal?

Well the questions are in and I'll be answering them this week and next week. And I was relieved that no one asked me anything to hard or personal and that I am going to be able to answer them all.

FYI - Post number 1,000 will be hitting this week. So be on the lookout.

[photo credit flickr.com]

Who Do You Listen Too

2008-07-01T09:00:00.002-05:00

Do any of you listen to any other pastors other than your own through the week? If so, who and how?

For an example...Craig Groeschel at LifeChurch.tv via podcast or Joel Osteen via TV. I hope you get the picture...

Let me hear from you....my answer will be added into the comments.

Why Do I Want To Know

2008-06-30T17:30:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed I'm asking a lot of questions to you the readers.

Why????

Because this is about community and I want to get to know you.

So for now the questions continue...and please...PLEASE....click on the post a comment and leave me a comment.

It doesn't even require an account or anything. Simple click on post a comment, type in your comment, check the name/url button...and hit submit.

Join in the community and help me get to know you a little.

[photo credit by flickr.com]

Grill and Chill

2008-06-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

This past week as we are gearing up for our campus launch we decided to have a fun night. This was meant to connect people with others out there who have an interest in our campus.

Each week we have been working two to three nights or days on our campus build out. We are so close to finishing and launching.

Our grill and chill was meant to give our people a break and simply have a night to relax. I felt it was a successful night with over 90 people showing up. We didn't even really advertise for this event either.

Here are a few pictures from the night.

Simply Creative

2008-06-28T05:30:00.001-05:00

Found this creative artist's video on Brad Ruggles site. It is simply amazing how this artist merges this into animation by drawing all over Buenos Aires. It is Simply Creative.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

RSS readers if the video is not here please go to the original post to view.

The Short Version Resume

2008-06-27T05:30:00.001-05:00

Here is the short version of my 1st Job to my Current....

Paint Scraper
Grocery Sacker
Farmhand
Lifeguard
Lifeguard
DJ
Lifeguard
Fitness Center Attendant
Manager TCBY
Youth Pastor/Coach/Athletic Director (Same Organization)
Substitute Teacher
Teacher/Coach/Athletic Director/Assistant Principal (Same Organization)
Youth Pastor
Substitute Teacher
Teacher
Principal
Campus Pastor

So what's your resume consist of from 1st to current????

Turning Ideas Into Reality

2008-06-26T05:30:00.004-05:00

Brad Lomenick, from Catalyst, had a GREAT post on the process they use to execute ideas. In reading the full post, you will realize this is a simple process that can be implemented by any organization.

The points of the process are:

Create
Criticize
Optimize
Validate
Execute

Read the full post to get a breakdown on Brad's blog.