Drought? Need rain? Simply let Coastal schedule an outdoor Baptism service in your community! This is a picture my son Christopher took with my iPhone at our last attempt. At the attempt before this one we had tornado sightings! We’ll still do Beach Baptisms, but we’re looking into getting a portable Baptistry.

Top Chef Masters. I don’t know if you caught this show on the Bravo Channel this Summer, but I did. It’s not like we’re “top chefs” at the Rollins house by any standard, but in general we enjoy watching cooking shows. Well, Top Chef is cooking show meets Survivor. They bring in young up and coming “top chefs” from around the country and after a series of cooking challenges and eliminations a “Top Chef” is crowned.

Top Chef Masters is the same premise, with one twist. The chefs are already established, recognized names in the culinary world – “Masters” in their field.

In the quarter final episode the Master Chefs had been whittled down to 4 remaining chefs – French, Asian, Italian, and Mexican. I know, it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.

The elimination challenge was to create buffet for over 200 guests. The twist for the challenge was that the chefs were to pick a team from previous “Top Chef” participants. The entire episode quickly became a lesson in leadership for me on so many levels. The chefs were given a certain amount of time to interview the young chefs and pick their team.

The Asian chef quickly chose someone she had actually worked with before. She stayed with what she knew. The Italian chef barked out orders and wanted to see who could follow his commands. The Mexican and French chefs spent a lot of time trying to get to know the other chefs, listen to their stories, and learn about their passions and skills.

When it came time for execution and presentation the different leadership styles were very obvious. The Italian chef came across that the “young guns” were beneath him. He knew what he wanted to do. It was his vision and they were there to simply implement it. He yelled a lot and demanded a lot. They were definitely not a team.

While the Asian chef knew what she wanted to do, she didn’t seem to do as good of a job of communicating her vision. And once she gave instructions, she never went back to see how they were doing. They were kind of left to their own – sink or swim.

The French & Mexican chefs had very similar leadership styles. They definitely communicated a “vision” for what they wanted to do – afterall, it was their neck on the line so to speak. But it was as though they included the younger chefs in the process. They worked together to enhance the vision of the Master Chef. They each felt like their skills and opinions mattered and brought value to the final product. Not only were they given responsibilities, but they were given authority to see a dish to the end. And while they weren’t micro managed, their work was inspected and given feedback.

As I watched this whole challenge unfold, the results were obvious. The French & Mexican teams blew away the competition. Their teams were motivated and proud of the finished product. And even though only the Master Chef was the one recognized, the French & Mexican Master Chefs took the time to praise the young chefs for their specific contributions and dishes.

Anyway, just some random lessons learned from an unlikely place that I thought I would share. I am committed to building a healthy team of young (and old) leaders to continue to position our church to grow and reach this next generation for Christ.

On Sunday we continued in our series, “I Love My Church!” My message on Sunday was, “I Love Our LIFE Groups!” One of the reasons I love Coastal is our emphasis on small groups. At Coastal we call our small groups, “LIFE Groups.” The goal of Sunday’s service was simple – communicate the importance of living out our faith in the context of community and get people to sign up for a LIFE Group. And from what I can see right now, it was a success.

We had our LIFE Group Leader Training Meeting last night and from what Matt shared, all of our groups are filling up! By the way, Matt Beam is doing a great job of leading our LIFE Group Ministry! For several years now this is a position that I have been praying would be filled by the right person. Matt is the right person. He is prayerful, consistent, organized, and faithful. He says he’ll do it – he does it. And he loves LIFE Groups. He has been a leader himself and continues to lead a group as well. In other words, he leads from the trenches. I am so excited to see what’s happening with our LIFE Groups as we grow and prepare for future growth. As I said Sunday, we must continue to grow larger and smaller at the same time. If you’re not in a LIFE Group yet – get in one!

One of the cool things that happened on Sunday was that I got to go pick up a group of guys that Joe Towles usually brings to church. Joe leads a recovery program through the VA and each week he brings 6-12 guys to church with him. He was out of town (Spain) and so I volunteered to get the guys. They are such a joy each and every week so it was something I really wanted to do. Matt Beam actually met me there (on the old Navy Base) and we loaded the guys up.

We continue to have 1st Time and return guests every week! And Sunday was no exception. Overall, Sunday was just what we come to expect now each and every week – awesome! We didn’t break 250 on Sunday, but it’s coming – soon! Invite and bring a friend this Sunday! My message is going to be, “I Love Our Volunteers!”

Truthfully, I was kind of emotionally spent on Sunday and I found myself dragging a bit. We took my daughter Lydia to college last week (Tuesday-Thursday) and it has been more draining than I anticipated. But we are doing good – thanks in large part to our Coastal family. Lydia sent me a text early Sunday morning telling me that she missed her Coastal family and exhorting me to “Rock the House!” I think we did!

What an awesome day at Coastal! We started a new series today entitled, “I Love My Church!” For the next several weeks I’m going to talk about why I love my church. Today I talked about what we teach about worship. It was just one of those days where so many things seemed to click and all work together to communicate a powerful message. We used this graphic for several banners and a t-shirt that we gave away to everyone today. Actually, we ran out and will have more next Sunday. On the back of the t-shirt it simply says, “ASK ME WHY?” And when people say, “Why what?” You can turn around and say, “Why I Love My Church!” and tell them why. But today I challenged people to make the shift, make the commitment, and fall in love with the church all over again. The local church is still the hope of the world.

We also began signing people up for LIFE Groups today. For the next month we will be encouraging people to join a LIFE Group. Patrick Schroder shared what a difference being in a LIFE Group has made in his life. It’s one thing for people to hear that from me. It’s even more powerful to hear from someone else – especially a man.

Had tons of 1st & 2nd time guests. Oh and did I mention we had 232 people in church today?! We are going to blow 250 out of the water SOON! Do you know what our attendance was one year ago? 124! Wow! Not many churches our size and our age experience that kind of growth.

Janet had a great Coastal Kidz meeting today. She came home telling me what a great team we have and how they are willing to do whatever it takes to grow and improve as a team and as a church.

We also had a great 3rd Service Planning Meeting. We add a 3rd Service in just about 2 months! Sunday nights at 6PM beginning October 11th. It’s going to be awesome!

Sean Clements is the real deal (even with the cats, turtles, and mullet)! I’ve been so impressed with his love for the Lord, our church, and our students. He has a strong work ethic and a willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done. We are building a great staff team here at Coastal.

Honestly, today was emotionally draining. It was my daughter’s last Sunday at Coastal before college. Everyone was so kind and loving to her and to our family. Let’s just say that the crying has already begun. I’ve got a ton of stuff to do tomorrow. We leave for Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) on Tuesday and return on Thursday. I’ll try to Twitter our adventure (between the tears, laughter, and hugs). Keep us in your prayers.

I really do love our church! How about you?

Yesterday I registered our church for the Unleash Conference. Unleash is a one-day gathering designed to challenge, encourage, and motivate Church Leaders hosted by NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. Perry Noble is the Pastor. I have gone to the conference every year since it’s inception in 2007. Being in Anderson, it’s only a short day trip away. And the Early Bird price is too good not to pass up – $39!

The first year just me and our Youth Pastor went. From that year on I made sure that we brought a team of people to the conference. The second year, just a handful of us went. Last year about a dozen went. This year I pre-registered 20 spots, but would love to take more. In fact, we tell any of our volunteers that if they can take the day off of work, we will pay for them to go. We pick up the cost of the registration and transportation. In fact, we rent vans and ride together. Each year it just gets better and better. We’d love to take 40+ people!

The best part is the conversation it sparks on the ride home. It really expands the vision of our volunteers. And it’s a great way for us to tell our volunteers how much we value them. So, Coastal Volunteers, go ahead and mark Thursday, March 4th on your calendar. If you serve at Coastal, we’d love to take you!

Oh, and guess who called me yesterday to thank us for registering? Perry Noble! That’s right! In fact, his assistant called the church yesterday (talked to Sean our Youth Pastor) to get my contact information. Perry’s people called my people! And then late yesterday afternoon he called me to personally thank us for registering.

Now for some people in the “church world” Perry is kind of a big deal. And as crazy as this sounds to even say this, for some, he has kind of a “Super Star” status. Personally, I’ve never really understood why people do that. Pretty sure Jesus is the only one we’re to make famous.

The truth is, some Pastors feed into the problem. But you know what? Not Perry Noble. In fact, yesterday it was just one Pastor talking to another Pastor. He thanked me for registering our church and wanted to hear our story. He was very gracious and kind and genuinely excited about us coming and the life change happening at our church. He invited me to stop by anytime so he could put a face with a name. I will definitely take him up on the offer and if he has the time, hopefully get a chance to pick his brain a little bit about leadership. I thanked him for the conference and his ministry at NewSpring. By the way, talk about customer service! Now, I’m even more excited about Unleash 2010!

Well, I better go. I’ve got Rick Warren waiting for me on line one.

My daughter Lydia leaves for college in one week – that’s right, one week! We’re simply trying to enjoy each moment – and trying not to say, “This is the last time we’ll get to . . .” I think most of the stuff on the check list has been done, but I’m sure we’ll be making several more Wal-Mart trips this week. We leave next Tuesday and return on Thursday. Although I know the tears will come, I am so excited for Lydia! The college years are some of the best years of life, full of memories, friends, and experiences. Bear with your Pastor for the next few weeks. I’m sure I’ll be a little more emotional. Any thoughts or advice?