Virtual Tour of Our New Building at Victory!!

Victory’s New Building Virtual Tour from 19north on Vimeo.

I’m so pumped for what God is doing at our Church!!! This is only the beginning of seeeing God touch a generation of people! Whew!

David Faulk Interview

David Faulk Interview 3.09 from Bubba Smith on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago I got to skype interview David Faulk. David Faulk is an incredible man of God. In the interview, David talks about what he learned being in the worship band, “The Last Epic” as well as what he is doing in ministry today. Through his ministry thousands of lives have been changed. I’d highly recommend him for speaking engagements with your youth, young adults ministry, or a regular church service. Follow him on Twitter here. Find him on Facebook here.

Interview with Pastor Larry Bettencourt

Pastor Larry Bettencourt Interview from Bubba Smith on Vimeo.

Just wanted to share this video with all of you. A while back we had Cory Vogan interview Pastor Larry to catch us up to date with everything going on in his ministry. Pastor Larry is a great friend and mentor in my life. I had the opportunity to intern and serve under his leadership for 4 years before he started his own ministry. He is responsible for changing the lives of thousands of teenagers and leaders. I’m so grateful for his investment in my life.  For more information check out his webpage at Finishlineministries.com

It’s Ok to Not be Ok – Lessons from the Cadre Advance

¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. -I Thess 1:11

So last week I got to go to Jeanne Mayo’s house for our 2nd Cadre Advance. It was an incredible time! I’d like to share a few things I took away from the experience.

It’s Ok to Not be Ok – One night we broke into our iron groups and shared our deepest hurts, fears, and secrets. It was definitely a bond breaking moment as well as a moment that brought the people in our groups together as a family. We then prayed for and encouraged one another. How great would it be if we did this in our homes with our closest friends? Who are you being real with? Praying for? Encouraging?

The Thing about Leaders is They are Just Like You - It is an amazing privilege and honor to be mentored by Jeanne Mayo. I love how honest, transparent, and vulnerable she makes herself in order to invest in leaders. Jeanne really helped me realize that no matter how much influence someone has or how big their name is, they have to go through life just like anyone else, they experience problems, become lonely, have struggles, etc. Once we recognize this we can take our eyes off the leader and focus them on God. This enables us to be there for the leaders, add even more value to their vision, pray for them, and encourage them.

Character is Everything - we hear it over and over again, but character is absolutely essential to accomplish and sustain what God has called us to do. Talent is able to get you to the top, but character is what keeps you there.

Excellence Matters – One thing I see at every successful church, business, family, etc. is that they do everything with excellence. Jeanne is a master at this! Literally every second we were down there was intentional and done with excellence. The outcome? A life changing experience that nobody will ever forget. Excellence will get people saved, change peoples lives, and keep people coming back. What experiences are we creating for people with our commitment to or lack of excellence?

Tokens Are the Best – Jeanne is the queen of giving tokens away. By tokens I mean items that are given to the audience to symbolize and represent a main point of a message. I.e. a paintbrush when the speaker talked about life being a painting and we’re the artists that paint the strokes. I think I have 4 or 5 tokens from Jeanne’s, and because of them, I’ll never forget the lessons she taught. I actually took home something tangible. Do you use tokens in your sermons? Camps? Retreats?

There are so many more lessons I learned on the trip… perhaps I’ll share some more tomorrow!

If you’re a youth pastor – you should seriously consider applying for The Cadre!

Book Review: The Noticer

So I actually picked this book up through the Thomas Nelson’s Book Reviews for Bloggers website. I absolutely love this service because I get exposed to books I’d never otherwise even take a second glance at. If you’re a blogger – I’d highly recommend signing up for this service! Michael Hyatt, Thomas Nelson’s CEO, is a genius!

The Noticer was the third fiction book I’ve read in the past 6 months, The Shack and The Alchemist, were the other two. I really enjoyed this book – it was simple, profound, and a quick read. I read it in two sittings! It’s all about a man named Jones who “just happens” to come into peoples lives when they’re ready to give up on their life, their marriage, their purpose, dating, etc. and gives them perspective on the problems they’re facing. The book really taught me to recognize and be grateful for how many times God used other people to “notice” things in my life an encourage me and give me opportunities. On the other hand, the book taught me to intentionally notice others and what they’re going through, and not only notice them, but to plant seeds of hope in them.

Here are some of my key takeaways from the book:

• “A life filled with opportunities and encouragement finds more opportunities and encouragement, and success becomes inevitable.”

• Ask yourself, “What is it about me that other people would change if they could?”

• “We can’t do anything about what people think.”

• “Worry is focus, but it is focus on the wrong things”

• “Wisdom is the ability to see, into the future, the consequences of your choices in the present.”

• “Who gave you permission to decide that you have nothing more to do, nothing more to offer?”

• “Many of life’s treasures remain hidden from us simply because we never search for them.”

• “There is absolutely no power in intention.”

• No matter your past . . . you can choose your future.”

• “You must become a person that others want to be around! This is far and away the greatest success secret in existence.”

• “Your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely. Don’t squander your words or your thoughts. Consider that even the simplest actions you take for your lives matter beyond measure . . . and they matter forever.”

Overall – Great read…

Final Grade: B        Buy it Here

Ministry Highlight: The Cadre (A Must for Youth Pastors)

What they do: A coaching ministry for youth pastors – Jeanne Mayo, who has been in youth ministry for 40 years personally mentors you along with several other youth pastors around the country through a monthly conference call and two retreats to her house in Atlanta.

What You’ll Get:http://www.youthsource.com/ylc/cadre_about.html

Website: http://www.youthleaderscoach.com/cadre.html

Apply Here: http://www.youthsource.com/ylc/cadre_requirements.html

Personal Testimony: I’ve just wrapped up my first year of being mentored by Jeanne through this program and I can definitely say it was life changing! This is such an amazing experience in so many ways – whether it’s gleaning wisdom from Jeanne’s 40+ years of experience, developing friendships with some of the greatest youth pastors in the country, or all of the surprises you get throughout the year, this will be an experience you’ll never forget. I’ve heard testimony after testimony of the principles learned through this ministry, when applied, have revolutionized youth ministries around the country. If your a youth pastor, you need to sign up for this ministry right now – it’s beyond worth the money. Get ready for a life change…

Back from Atlanta and The Cadre Retreat…(Pics)

Just got back from another incredible Cadre Retreat… I wanted to unplug at least a little so I didn’t blog at all while I was there… Here are some pics – I’ll highlight the Cadre ministry tomorrow and blog on the experience as well in the next few days… Enjoy:

Ministry Highlight: Toms Shoes

Ministry Highlight: Toms Shoes

What They Do: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need.

Website: http://www.tomsshoes.com/content.asp?tid=271

Get Involved: Click Here

Buy a Pair of Shoes: Click Here

Book Review: It

I’ve been wanting to read this book by Craig Groeschel since it came out last year. I finally got the opportunity to pick it up at the Catalyst West Coast Conference. The tag line of the book is “It: How Churches and Leaders can Get it and Keep It.” The book talks about why some churches, some leaders, etc. seem to have “it” and some don’t. You can’t really define “it” and if I tried I would say it’s spiritual momentum. Craig provides some incredible insight to the behind the scenes of ministry and leadership. This book should be a requirement for anyone going into ministry or in a leadership role. Here are a few of my highlights:

• When a ministry hahs it, most things the leaders try seem to work
• As a leader you must hear from God on things like: Why does your organization exist? What can your organization be the best in the world at? If you could do only one thing what would it be? What breaks your heart and keeps you awake at night?
• An effective vision will always be memorable, portable,  motivational.”
  
• Those who attempt to do everything always lost it
• Your team must understand the vision(big picture), have fun together, and get naked together (read for context!),celebrate wins together, and fight hard behind closed doors together.
  

• God has given you everything you need to do everything He wants you to do
• Failure is not an option. It is essential. If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sure sign you’re not trying anything very innovative.”
• Failure somehow relieves the pressure to succeed at everything
• Do you love the lost? Churches and leaders that have “it” love.
• God won’t let a ministry keep “it” for long if they won’t give “it” away.

It’s hard to limit this book to a few highlights because you need to read every page to get the full context, but I hope that you’ll trust me that if you’re a ministry leader – you need to read this book.

Final Grade: A    Buy it Here

Are You Clear on what God Called YOU to do?

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.                                                         – Jermiah 29:11

Last Catalyst Takeaway: In Times of Uncertainty – Go Back to what God called YOU to do

Andy Stanley is amazing! He talked about leading in uncertain times … Here were my key takeaways from his talk:

Uncertainty is the Arena Where Great Leaders are Born -We all hate uncertainty, but without it we would have no need for leadership and we’d never become the people God wants us to become through the journey of trusting Him.

You don’t Learn Anything in times of Certainty - We all want certainty  in life – certainty that we’ll be a success, that we’ll know what the next step in our lives is, etc. . .  Honestly… we have certainty in the Word of God that our lives are going to be amazing if we follow Him. In times of uncertainty, we can stand on the certainty of God’s promises (His Word)

It’s Ok to be Uncertain, It’s not ok to be Unclear -You can be uncertain about what you’re supposed to do as far as the plan is concerned, but you have to be clear in knowing what God called you to do.

The Clearer You Are on What God’s Called You to, the less Uncertainty will Matter -When you know the Word and know what God has called you to do, obstacles seem so much smaller and easier to tackle.

What can you do proactively in what God has called you to do now? - Stop waiting for everything to be certain and get busy for God today. Andy always says, “You’ll never be more than 80% sure” – so step out do something!

What is the vision God put in YOUR heart? If you don’t know, spend time in prayer, think back to the beginning of your Christian walk before everything got so “complex” – what did you dream about? What do you KNOW He told you to do?

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