Kirk Bowman's blog

Today I am at a pastors’ roundtable at an amazing church.

Chris Hodges started Church at the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama 7 years ago. Now their attendance on a Sunday is 8,500 in 4 different locations.

Chris is part of an incredible church planting group called Association of Related Churches (ARC).

Over the past 7 years they have planted 53 churches. 50 of those churches are thriving now. An incredible success rate for church planting where the normal success rate is around 10%. Last year alone they gave $7.5 million to missions.

I love the entrepreneurial nature of church planting and multi-site ministry.

Today is going to be a blast! Sharing ideas and building friendships. Already meeting some great guys building great churches.

Church is a verb, not a noun. Church isn’t something we go to – a noun. Church is something we are, and do – a verb.

So this Sunday we’re going to have a Volunteer Fair. It’s an opportunity for our church to see all the areas they can participate in and just sort of scan all that’s going on. It helps people know where they can plug in to involvement.

We decided a few years ago to upgrade our whole volunteer culture. This Volunteer Fair is one part of that upgrade.

We also started to define a length of service – one year at a time (called Full Serve). Then people can re-enlist or change areas of serving after their year if they want. This helps people from feeling like they have to commit to a lifetime of being in the 2 year old class.

We also instituted a First Serve idea- letting people check things out without an upfront commitment.

If you are a part of our church family, I want to invite you to check out our Volunteer Fair this Sunday.

The best way to feel like you are a part of a church family is to get involved – and be an active part.

This weekend is going to be awesome! We are having a special guest in – Chims Phiri from Zimbabwe, Africa.

I met Chims last fall when I taught at a leadership conference in Ghana. He was another minister on the line up with me. There is an obvious touch of God on His life. He’s young (35ish) but carries an apostolic mantle that is very impressive.

God is using him to raise up a great church, to minister to high schoolers orphaned by AIDS and to empower leaders to fulfill the great commission.

He shared his story of starting in the ministry. He was out in the remote regions of Africa. His only possessions were a cup, a spoon, a blanket and a couple of changes of clothes. He would dream of God using him one day to make a big difference. You'd never know that was his starting point when you meet him now. Now his dream is being fulfilled. He is traveling around the world for the cause of the great commission.

I love new friends and new connections. They make our world a better and bigger place.

Let me encourage you to make every effort to be here this weekend. And invite a friend. God is doing something great!

Last night we had another great Business Breakthrough meeting. We were finishing up our study of E-Myth – a book I highly recommended to business and church leaders.

The concept that grabbed my attention the most was the thought Michael Gerber has about marketing.

He says all customers have their antennas up when they walk into our business, church – even personal space. That antenna is connected to their conscious and sub-conscious mind. Their sub-conscious mind makes a decision based on all kinds of variables. It’s not even a conscious decision. Then their conscious mind goes to work validating the unconscious decision they have just made.

People decide to buy or not, go to our church or not, trust us or not, based more on unconscious rationale than anything else.

He says – “I doubt if anyone has ever purchased anything based on an entirely rational, conscious decision”.

I think this idea is fascinating and absolutely true.

I’ve watched people who loved our church and thought we were the best thing since sliced bread all of a sudden turn their perspective completely. No amount of rationale seems to appease their new perspective. Now they hate sliced bread!

Thankfully, whatever signal we are sending now is resonating with a lot of new people.

In business, church, ministry, friendships and family consider the signals you’re sending. And know there is a lot of unseen processing going on inside of all of us.

Yesterday was another great day in church. So much fun!

Suzette and I closed out our series on marriage relationships with a message on “Delete The Divorce Option”. It was all about the heart matter of covenant breaking.

Our society doesn’t really seem to understand covenant. Covenant is different from contract. And very different from convenience.

People leave marriages, churches, jobs and friendships way too easily.

We sang “I Got You Babe”. You know, the Sonny & Cher song. We were both pretty nervous about how it would go over. We got a standing ovation. That was the most cotton mouth I’ve had in a long time.

All the creative was great on this series – all the songs, videos, pictures, Suzette and I getting to teach together. Our creative team is rolling!

We’re praying for fun, healthy, loving and lasting marriages.

Tomorrow evening a big group of us are going to see this. Looking forward to it.

I had the awesome experience of seeing U2 live in Chicago - on Bono's birthday. We didn't know it at the time, but those were the nights they recorded for their DVD of that tour.

U2 is an experience. Going to see U2, even if it's in 3D film, with friends is an experience.

Shared experiences make life a beautiful thing.

Just got back late last night from the Evolve conference in Atlanta.

Really enjoyed the diversity of guys speaking there.

Some were flashy, some were super serious, some were just unassuming. God is using all of them. It’s pretty cool.

Also loved the diversity of attendants: Baptist, Methodist, Spirit-filled, etc.

The “new generation” Baptist guys are doing a great job. I think it’s time for a “new generation” group of spirit filled guys to rise up as well.

Lots of great churches being planted right now. The future of the church looks great!

This was a great weekend.

We had a “Tacky Prom” birthday party for Suzette at our house on Saturday. We love having people over. Having 50 plus people in our house was a blast. Just fun to hang with everybody. Lots of food and laughter and people we love.

Had another great Sunday. Church feels so good right now.

Tackled the sometimes sticky concept of submission and leadership in marriage today. It went well. I think….

Met with a great group of Connect Group Leaders for a big lunch. Lots of great, healthy groups right now. Planning for next semester that begins on May 4.

Labeled a huge mailing campaign that will be reaching out to new people in our area. First mailing goes out this week.

Going with a great group of guys to the Evolve Conference in Atlanta. Should be fun.

Life is good.

I’ve been thinking about thinking.

Not every thought that comes into your head has to be owned or pursued.

In some ways, we become the sum total of our thoughts. Yet the paradox of it all is, we are not our thoughts. Just because a thought enters my brain doesn’t mean it’s really in line with me – or who I want to be.

A train of thought will take you somewhere. We just want to be sure what trains we’re getting on. Truth is, a lot of thoughts that start up in our brain are not going to take us to a great place.

I’m back in the gym after a too long hiatus. One of the things I’m enjoying about this go round is my Ipod nano with my own playlist. I’m not required to listen to the noise in the gym. I get to choose my own soundtrack. And I like it.

Create your own playlist of sounds, thoughts and ideas.

Think about it.

Next Monday I’m taking 7 of my best guys with me to this conference.

I’m looking forward to the experience. This group is not really my “tribe” but God is doing some great things through a bunch of these guys. They are building great churches and reaching a lot of people for Christ.

In the past, I have been a part of groups or movements who had the idea that they had a corner on “what God is really doing”. It was all locked into their way of doing things.

I am so done with that attitude. There are so many great things happening throughout different tribes of the church today. It’s healthy to cross pollinate and get a look and feel for what God is doing in other places.

Exposure is one of the best ways to grow your outlook and perspective.

I know we all have to wear our own armor but I think it’s pretty healthy to see how someone else does things. Just might learn something.