It sure does feel good to be back

I came back to work today. I was out for 6 weeks - 2 weeks of vacation book-ending 4 weeks of study (click here for more info about my study break). Technically, I returned to my regular work on Sunday. But even that wasn't 'normal' because we had a mini-retreat planned with our senior staff (which we call the 'Blue Team'). So got home from vacation on Saturday and spend Sunday through Tuesday away on that retreat. Today, I finally got to my office after a long time away. There was some surprise waiting. Here's a sample of what I saw when I opened my door:

Everything had been wrapped in toilet paper and plastic! It was pretty funny. I guess I've been gone so long, they had to shrink-wrap the room!

But the favorite think I found was inconspicuous. It would be easy to miss by the average person. It looked like this:

So what...just a nickel. Can't even buy anything with it anymore. What's the big deal? Well, a few years ago, a group of guys at our church went to a men's rally in PCC kind of put together. They brought in a great speaker who challenged them in many areas. One of those areas was to pray for their pastor. His symbol was a nickel. "Pray for your pastor 5 days every week and give him a nickel every week when you do. I have a special flask in my study at home where those nickels have accumulated and grown into substantial collection now. Most Sundays, 1 or 2 or 3 guys (and occasionally a lady who found out about this ritual) will just walk up and hand me a nickle. It means a lot to me.

This nickel on my desk was put there for a reason. Someone - and I don't know who - is sending a message to me. They're saying, "even when you are away and not bringing us messages and making us laugh, I'm still praying for you." I can't tell you how much that means to me.

So, for all the saran wrap and toilet paper, I sure do appreciate the person who also sent a fun message that simply said 'I love you enough to pray for you regularly'.

Looking forward to diving back in really hard today.

The MOST EXCELLENT Mobile Church I've EVER seen!

I am really digging into some studying now...after a few days of playing. I've almost finished reading the first of four books on my reading list (will finish that book later today), and have written a good bit about the formation of a teaching team that may be helpful for leaders outside of PCC and folks inside who just want to know more about it.

But I wanted to tell you about the church I visited today. One of the things I like to do on my study break is something I never get to do in the normal course of things - visit other churches! This has become an annual ritual for me and - though I love our church and think it's awesome - visiting other churches helps me see some things we could do differently (and better) and helps keep me fresh because of inspiring messages and creative elements that make me think differently (and better).

My wife, Susan, had found a church in Fredericksburg that intrigued me, so I decided to go up there and take a look. I was completely blown away. You can imagine that in a decade of studying innovative churches, I've visited a LOT of them. They vary in quality from A to Z. But this one takes the cake, by far, hands down. It was awesome. The church? Lifepoint Church in Spotsylvania. You can check out their website by clicking here or going to visitlifepoint.org.

Now, perhaps it was an atypical experience. They had a guest band in that apparently makes regular appearances at Lifepoint - The Andy Cherry Band - and they were outstanding. The technology and the artistic talent was top notch. Plus, the Senior Pastor was out on break (go figure). They had a message from Steven Furtick from Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. the audio/video quality was excellent and after a few seconds, I felt like he was in the room with us.

Other notable parts of my experience include:

• Lifepoint had a 'family worship' area, with chairs and black curtains and a monitor where families who didn't want to take their kids to the children's area could participate without disturbing others in the big room.
• The music was LOUD - but not painful at all. (WAY louder than PCC). About 500 people were in the service I attended and were really into the music and seemed to enjoy it. It was edgy and very cool. Nobody had their fingers in their ears. I thought it was excellent.
• They meet in a High School auditorium, but they use 8' or 9' black curtains (which they set up and take down every Sunday) to make the room feel 'full'. It really worked, too. The mood was electrifying and the energy was palpable. They really understood the concept of critical mass.
• People were friendly, signage and literature were excellent, parking folks helped guide you in and waved goodbye as you left.

There were only a couple of things I think they could have done a little better. They were mostly minor, and you can find those in any church anywhere (PCC has several, too). For the most part, this church understood excellence without extravagance. They honored the folks who came to church.

So, I had an extremely formative experience at Lifepoint church today. I suspect you'll hear lots of things about them as they grow (and I suspect they will grow rapidly). If you are ever up that way and can check it out, let me know how your experience was!

Why I take a Study Break

I need your help. Every summer, I take a study break in addition to a vacation. I've done this in different ways. Sometimes I break it up. Some years I've gone away. Some years it's only two weeks. But early every year (like in January), I try to get a sense of my own pace, fatigue, spiritual and emotional health, and the condition of my family. Based on these things, I plan my summer and, specifically, my study break.

Most people don't really understand why I take a study break. It's ok. I don't really understand what most people do in their jobs. Likewise, most don't understand what I do in mine. But I am quite sure of this: being the senior leader in a church like ours, coupled with being the primary teaching pastor leads to a very high burnout rate among my peers. Let me explain a little more...

I LOVE being the Senior Pastor of PCC!! But in addition to being the most fun job I've ever done, it is also the most challenging and taxing. I have found that the combination of trying to be an intuitive, strategic leader AND a creative, excellent and effective communicator every weekend is somewhat unique. At moments like the one I'm in right now, I feel pretty good, but also like I'm slowly draining. I'm older now, and I can see the pattern of my life better and in a more mature way. I know I have to have some extended time working from a different altitude, thinking about our church from a birdseye view, and seeing PCC from a very big-picture perspective. I also desperately need to dig deep into some Bible study that doesn't require me to write a message out of it. And then there are some projects that I can't seem to get done, such as:

- I'd very much like to do a video curriculum for new believers that can be shared online or through DVD's. This would be 8-12 sessions that would cover the basic practices of a good spiritual life. What does it mean to pray or have a prayer life? Bible Study? Giving/Tithing? Small Group life (Community)? The symbolism and significance of Communion (the Lord's Supper) and Baptism. What is worship and how do we do it? I could easily spend 80 hours or more developing this, and I'm not even sure I'll get it all done on this break, but I'm going to try.

- Series planning. Beth and I (and some others) did a good job earlier this year of planning our services out into the summer, but we're not planned out beyond July. I have got to spend some time finding a fall series that's as good as Wild Goose Chase was (no small task), and plan us through the end of the year.

- Restructuring. A church like ours should restructure our staff every 18-36 months. We're not the same church we were 2 years ago. We'll need to have a staff that's ready for 2,000 people in 5 services in 3 physical campuses plus an online campus.

- Coaching Network. I'm committed to organizing a coaching network for Senior Pastors who want to take their leadership to the next level. I have a website and am just about ready to launch this for the fall. This is Kingdom-minded work, and I'm really excited about it.

- Read 4 books: QBQ by John Miller, The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and Innovative Planning - your church in 4D by Bud Wrenn

- Other things include incorporation for PCC, some work for our teaching team, learn how to use Evernote, prep for a staff retreat and for my leadership summit presentation, prep for a VERY exciting church-wide study that begins in mid-October, catch up on some leadership blogs (Michael Hyatt and Tony Morgan particularly), and finish moving all my files to the cloud, just to name a few.

In addition to all of this, I'm going to dive deeply into a study on the book of Hebrews and will blog a lot about my journey through it.

AND, finally, I'm hoping to rest some. Recenter. Take some long walks and hear God speak. Pray for long periods about our church, our people, our staff, our leaders, and our future.

As I think about all of this and look back on the agenda I just created for you, it occurs to me that I've already bitten off more than I can chew. I'm going to have to whittle this thing down, and I haven't even started my study break yet!

What I'm hoping that you see is that study break is still working. It's not vacation. But it's working in a different way. This year, I'm mostly going to be gone. God blessed me with access to a few places that folks have generously lent me or rented to me at a very low cost. I've got some fun planned and some family time, in addition to the work.

When I go away, I always get a little pushback about the teaching platform at PCC. I'll have more to say about that in a blog post this week, but for now, let me simply say that you will not be disappointed this year. In fact, I think you are about to be blessed!

Thank you for supporting me while I take a breath. You can help me by being positive with folks who don't understand. This is important, and being away for a short while will make me better in the long run. This is a marathon, not a sprint. And I can make it for the long haul if I get a little break like this once a year.

Thanks again,

Brian