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Bluray Jesus

January 18, 2012 in Books, Life Change with Comments Off

My friend Rick Stewart released his first book last week. It brings a fresh take on how we picture Christ in our lives. You should check it out now!

Here is a summary:

We live life in high definition all the time. We surround ourselves with 1080P, LCD, Plasma, and other such devices. We focus in on the things we place around ourselves so we can feel we are right in the midst of the action coming from the screen. What if we were to see Christ that way? Meet Bluray Jesus!

Bluray Jesus is a modern approach to bringing the Gospel into real life, especially in our modern culture. We are surrounded by media & technology all the time and we spend a lot of cash on devices that help us “upgrade” to the newest and best thing out there. This cultural phenomena is what spurred the creation of Bluray Jesus. We have already embraced technology, so let’s allow technology to teach us a thing or two about Christ.

Excerpt: “I believe there is a higher definition Jesus out there. It is not the perfect picture of Him, but it is so much closer than anything we have ever encountered before. I do not believe that Jesus is summed up in just a few short books concerning Him in the New Testament, but that there is an ongoing high definition, clear picture, depth of color Jesus that needs to be discovered and played out in our lives–Bluray Jesus. If you caught a glimpse of Bluray Jesus you would be captivated. You would not be able to move from your position in the aisle of life because you would be fixed on the highly tuned definition of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness that shines from His unimaginably bright screen.”

No matter where you are in your faith this book can help you hone in your experience of Christ in a personal way. Whether you have been thinking about your relationship with Christ or if you don’t have one yet, Bluray Jesus discusses things that every modern person should wrestle with.

Take a look at the website by visiting www.tinyurl.com/meetblurayjesus or snag it here on amazon. It is currently available for download for Kindle only. If you don’t have a Kindle that is no problem. All you need is an amazon account and to download Kindle for Computers (PC or Mac) which is free. The book will be automatically transferred to your device or computer. It also works great on the iPhone or other smartphones.

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CadillacZak Recommends

November 10, 2010 in Books, Leadership, Life Change, Rants, Revolution Church with Comments Off

This week I recommend…reading something that you normally wouldn’t. Or, for you “I don’t read” peeps out there…well…I guess you’re not reading this anyway…but if you are, read something. Anything.

Why?

Check this out. It ought to be reason enough.

Leaders are learners. They read.

Successful people are learners. They read.

So maybe you should read. Something. Anything. Here are a few books I’d recommend to start with:

And if you already do read, but you get in a rut and only read from your “approved author list” as I used to do, I’d recommend that you read something from someone you despise. You’d be surprised how much it can rock your little reading world.

You’re welcome.

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Funded and Free

August 18, 2010 in Books, Leadership, Life Change with Comments Off

The number one question I DO NOT get from church planters is “how do I fund my church plant?” This should be question number one. Trust me. Revolution Church is six months old and I had no idea how much money it would take. There are so many things you don’t think about at first!

To make it worse, if you are a “lion” personality or A-type as many church planters are, you simply do not have what it takes to manage the financial side of your church on your own. The first step to growing a healthy church is to admit that you can’t do it all.

What’s the second step? Buy a book that just came out called “Funded and Free.” Casey Graham and Joe Sangl have teamed up to release this rocket style approach book that will help you become a funded church, free of financial worry.

I have been working with Casey for over a year now and there is no doubt that Revolution Church is reaching people because of his coaching on biblical financial management principles and funding techniques.

I called the approach of the book “rocket style” because each chapter is no longer than two pages and gets right to the meat of what you need to know. This is MY KIND OF BOOK. No fluff. No puff. No junk.

Here are just a few topics in the book that have helped Revolution the most:

  • Leverage digital giving (Number 1 help at Revolution!)
  • Fix the summer slump (HUGE!)
  • Create an obstacle and opportunity fund
  • Connect life change to giving
  • Haste makes Waste
  • Fund life change – not the squeaky wheel
  • Develop a generosity brand

There are 50 chapters total, each hitting an important topic with super practical and simple advice.

If you click here you can buy 5 books for $50 now. I recommend getting one for everyone on your staff and reading it together. Or, buy 5 books and give one to each church planter that your church supports. Seriously, this stuff ought to be REQUIRED reading for any church planter.

Trust me. The two pages on “fixing the summer slump” alone are worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. We have grown both financially and numerically through the summer just by praying our guts out and applying these simple principles.

One more thing. I know Casey Graham. I know his heart. This is the best part of this book. Casey has been in ministry and truly has a heart to see people meet Jesus in churches all over the world. This book isn’t about making money. Its about the Gospel. I tell every church planter I meet that dollars equal people you can reach. This book will increase your dollars so that you can reach more people. Its ALL ABOUT THE KINGDOM.

Don’t be prideful. Don’t be dumb. Get at least one copy of this book NOW and DEVOUR it.

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Trappstr 28 – Part 7 (Burt Bacharach, reading and true friendship)

November 28, 2009 in Blogging, Books, Family, GOD, Revolution Church with 2 Comments

My new blog buddy Brett Trapp wrote this post on 28 things he’s learned in his 20’s. Since I am so much older and wiser than Brett (3 whopping months) and since I loved it so much, I thought I’d take each of those things and elaborate on them over the next several days.

15. People who love people are the most powerful people in the world. -Trappstr

Wow! Never thought of it that way…probably because of all the thoughts that cross my mind when I hear the word power.

We live in a time of war, terrorism, immorality, and death; a time where violence, sex, drugs, hate, lust and greed have become normal fanfare. It almost seems like wrong is the new cool at times.

Burt Bacharach that, “what the world needs now, is love, sweet love! Its the only thing there’s just too little of…” Since my sophomore year in high school I’ve always had this deep sense that my life is to be all about people. So I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His…people! I’ll never forget the first time I read Mark 12: 28-31 which says, “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him “Of all the commandments, which is the most important? ‘The most important one,’ Jesus answered, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’

Dang. Burt Bacharach had a lot of wisdom when he wrote that song. We need a love revolution. We need desperately to be more powerful as the church because of our LOVE.

16. The number 1 thing holding most people back is their dislike for reading. -Trappstr

YES YES YES! Why do kids leave our public schools hating reading so much? Something has to change. As a parent I think much of it is my responsibility.

I will admit that I have to set goals and sometimes MAKE myself read. This year I set a goal to read 40 books. I have actually read 728 books so far this year (yes, I’ve counted.) I won’t lie; 706 of those books have been library books that I read to Couper. We read 2 or 3 per night. Each one takes about 5-10 minutes. I guess those don’t count. :)

Of my 40 book goal, I think I’ll knock out 30 by the end of the year. Not too shabby, but not my goal.

Bottom line is this: I read a lot with my son, Couper because I want him to love to read and I read a lot for myself because I never want to stop growing in my leadership.

17. You only have a hand-full of truly good friends in this life. -Trappstr

Why is this? I think because of two things: trust and forgiveness. Both are essential to true friendship. And both can be incredibly difficult for us to muster up these days.

We all need someone that we can trust and share our lives, thoughts, feelings, and frustrations with. We all need a place to share our deepest secrets and struggles without worrying that those secrets will end up being spewed into the public.

Real friends also forgive one another where there has been an offense. We live in a culture often unwilling to forgive. Its hard for us to forgive someone. The true friends I have are those who I’ve had to forgive (or be forgiven) from the worst offenses in my life.

Want some true friends? Spend lots of time with them, build trust and return grace the grace that Jesus Christ gave us all by forgiving!

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