April 2009

• I am holding my 3 month old baby as I type this and she is not happy :-)
• Arrived back in Atlanta this morning @ about 2am after a grueling drive from Orange Beach, Alabama. I will never do that again before preaching on Sunday morning.
• Saturday’s are pretty much sacred days for me as I rest my body and prepare my mind for Sunday.
• I got just a few hours of sleep before getting up this morning, but I normally have trouble sleeping on Saturday nights anyways.
• We got an email on Friday stating that West Peachtree Street (where we have our Sunday services) was going to be completely closed.  We sent an email out to everyone and thought attendance may drop some, but it was up over last week and the number of new visitors we have every week shocks me.
• We had to fire our caterer for FreeBreakfastChurch.com and have been winging it for a few weeks.  Hope to have it back up and running full strength soon.
• I am so thankful to God for all of the hardworking volunteers that make our service and breakfast a success week in and week out.  We need more volunteers for sure.
• We launched our new series on Personal Finance today entitled, “You are Here: God’s Directions for a Recession Proof Life”
• I wrestled all week with whether I should preach what Jesus said about money and stuff or preach good capitalism.  I know you might think I’m joking here and some of you might think that Jesus and capitalism go hand and hand, but I really think that most of the preaching I here on money is just American capitalism with a bit of biblical flavor.
• I chose to preach what Jesus said about money and stuff and felt good about it at the end of the day.  I’ll be sharing some notes from my message later this week if you’re interested.
• I know people are always complimentary after I preach, but the message seemed to really connect with a lot of people and provided them hope for their financial lives.
• I have so much more to say, but have to help my wife pack right away before I get myself in trouble.
• Would you pray for us? The next seven days are going to be the busiest we’ve had for years and years and we’re doing a bunch of stuff we normally don’t do.
• God really gave me the strength to recover quickly and be full-strength for our Sunday service though.
• Wifey is packing our bags again (we haven’t even unpacked from Alabama) for our trip to the ARC All Access Conference.  I really am stoked about getting there.
• Without ARC I am pretty confident that you would have never heard of Courageous Church.  The support, encouragement and prayers that our church has received from ARC has made all of the difference in our success.
• Gotta run!  I hope you have an awesome week.  My prayer is that this week will be a pivotal week in your year and that you begin to step into some of the dreams and plans God is speaking into your heart.

{ 7802 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/buncha-stuff-sunday-25.htmlBuncha+Stuff+Sunday%212009-04-27+01%3A24%3A00Shaun }

Every day I get people to ask me for secrets and tips and pointers for things that I’ve done well as a church planter and pastor of Courageous Church.  My wife and I giggle because so many people treat us like we’re experts, but we usually feel like bumbling, idiotic amateurs most of the time!  Don’t get me wrong, we’ve done some things well and the grace of God has really been on us during these first three months, but I’ve made a ton of mistakes! A TON!

If you are as bull-headed as I am, you church planting types will probably makes these exact same mistakes in spite of my warnings because church planters are notorious for having to learn from mistakes they were warned against (and for reinventing the wheel), but you won’t be able to say that I didn’t try to help save your sorry butt some heartache :-)

10. I completely, totally, absolutely (did I say completely) overestimated how much money we would be raising from week to week.  50% of the people that are a part of our church are unemployed.  A huge percentage of the employed adults that attend are either in a financial crisis or are a bit skeptical about giving to churches.  We’re working on solutions for all of these things, but I made many decisions based on these estimates and soon found myself in a bit of a leadership crisis without the financial resources to support the decisions I made.

9.  While I would give our team a big ‘ol A+ for creating buzz and momentum leading up to our Grand Opening on January 11th, I channeled nearly 100% our early attention to creating this buzz and gave almost no attention to putting in place the programs, systems and structures that would keep our momentum going. While I am glad that we had a huge grand opening, I regret not putting in place simple things like information cards, follow up emails, a clearly defined system for baptism or membership/partnership, etc.

8. I was told by a few gazillion people that launching and pastoring this church would be like working two full-time jobs.  I thought that was stupid.  Turns out I was a bit stupid!  I did not properly plan for just how much time and effort it would take to plant and lead this awesome community.

7. I made a few really bad hires and put some people into leadership positions that I would not wish on my worst enemies.  Because we are a brand new community, we just didn’t have time to get to know some people that we put a lot of trust into.  This is very, very tricky.  From this point forward, I will make sure that we are very, very picky and much more intrusive before we make any hires.

6. I underestimated the need for office space.  I have heard a lot of different opinions on this and regularly read that it is not advisable to jump right into having an office, but we need it.  With a family of 6 in a small urban townhouse, my home is a terrible makeshift office space.   We will still make use of public space, our house, other homes, etc., but a dedicated office space is pretty essential in my opinion.

5.  I really regret not having a very clear, well conceived definition of what it means to be a member/partner of our church.  Some of this really stems from my own personal hangups on the idea of membership.  However, I am thinking that I through out the baby with the bathwater on this and we are now working hard to define what this means in our context.

4. We spent way too much money on our first Sunday morning facility.  Nobody in the world could have convinced me of this. Nobody.  Even though we have some very legitimate reasons for creating poor projections for our income, I still think that our first facility simply cost too much money.  If we were raising more money maybe I would be thinking differently, but I doubt it.  With all of this said, it was really the only choice that opened up for us in January and we had to do what we had to do.

3. We didn’t launch with a functional assimilation system that would really channel excited attenders into committed volunteers.  We are just now starting to get this together, but I think we burned out a few volunteers in the process.

2. We weren’t courageous enough and being courageous is essential to who we are as a community.  Atlanta really doesn’t need another church doing the same old stuff that reach old people.  When we started to have some stress and systems challenges after our launch, I started to fall back on default church mode and lost touch a bit with the unique call that God has for us. I feel strongly that SERVOLUTION helped us get our mojo back!

1. I wasted way too much time either thinking about & engaging my critics.  This not only got me distracted from the work of God, but really put me in an unhealthy place emotionally.  I think I was surprised that the public criticisms started so soon and regret even caring in the first place.

—

I hope you can learn something from these mistakes!  I’ve made more than these and will definitely make more in the future.  The key, in my opinion, is not to make the same stinking mistakes over and over again.  My hope is that making these public will cause me to fix these and move on!

I’d love your thoughts and would like to hear about any mistakes you’ve made along the way!

{ 77150 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/10-mistakes-ive-made-so-far-as-a-church-planter.html10+Mistakes+I%27ve+Made+%28so+far%29+as+a+Church+Planter2009-04-22+21%3A01%3A06Shaun }

This Friday I will be announcing what is probably the most ambitious dream (I am a dreamer) yet for The Courageous Church.  It’s one of those things that will completely fail if God does not put His hand on it!

That’s all I can say now. Pray!

{ 7695 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/this-friday.htmlThis+Friday2009-04-21+07%3A01%3A39Shaun }

I can hardly stand to watch the news anymore.  It’s not that I am afraid of the harsh reality of our current economy, but it just seems like bad news gets so much more coverage than good news nowadays!

We need some hope! Real hope! I am proud to say that The Courageous Church is privileged to be sponsoring the Townhall for Hope with Dave Ramsey!

This event is on THURSDAY, APRIL 23rd @ 8pm and is completely FREE. It will be hosted in Midtown Atlanta near Atlantic Station (click here to RSVP and get directions)! Childcare and refreshments will also be provided!  Our seating is limited to the first 200 people to RSVP and we fully expect this event to fill up.  This event is not a sales pitch and we are not taking up an offering :-) !  We want to bring our community together and begin focusing on what we CAN DO to have some real financial freedom!

In the opening half hour, Dave will offer straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures and more.   He’ll carefully explain where we’ve come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money during this time.  Then, Dave will spend an hour answering YOUR questions live via Twitter, Facebook, email, text, phone, and more.

Trust me…it’s going to be the bomb!

RSVP here today and spread the word!

{ 7587 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/townhall-for-hope-with-dave-ramsey.htmlTownhall+for+Hope+with+Dave+Ramsey2009-04-17+16%3A24%3A34Shaun }

About a year ago I started to form a list of 100 life goals to accomplish before I die.  Some of them are so outrageously lofty that only God himself can make them happen! Haha!  Others are not too far away from my grasp, but are still going to take a lot of work.

I was going to publish the list (and still might), but didn’t want to have to waste time defending it and arguing over it with people that didn’t understand some of them.  I also didn’t want to have to tame the list for public consumption.

Well – I am very proud to say that God opened a door that I was not even knocking on to help me achieve one of my 100 goals.  Yesterday I was invited to speak for 2 nights @ Abyssinian Baptist Church in the heart of Harlem, NY!

I am guessing that most of my blog readers don’t know a lot about Abyssinian and why preaching there is such a big honor to me and I want to share a little bit of why this is such a big deal.  First off, I wanted to share two bits of information about how this dream came true.

1. Someone that I unknowingly had a positive impact on nearly 10 years is now on the staff of the church and spoke highly of me coming there to speak.  Images of a gardener planting seeds for an apple tree that would not grow for years immediately came to my mind.  It is very gratifying to reap today the benefits of seeds sown 10 years ago
2. My efforts to really have a presence online with social networking technologies like Facebook & Twitter really helped to open the door for this opportunity as well.  I have invested a lot of time to being an active member of these online communities and am glad to see other churches embracing the value as well.

As a student at Morehouse College, I dreamed of one day being the pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church (as I think most preachers at Morehouse do).  Beyond the fact that the current pastor, Rev. Calvin Butts, is a Morehouse grad, Abyssinian was always lifted up for students as an example of a church that transforms its community in major ways.  Here are a few other things that make Abyssinian amazing:

• 3 of my top 10 heroes of all-time have been there.
• Abyssinian was founded in 1808 (Thomas Jefferson was President) by free Ethiopians & African Americans that wanted a higher standard of freedom of worship and Christian practice.
• After over 200 years of faithful service, the church is still growing and impacting Harlem (and the world) in amazing ways.

{ 75425 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/an-old-dream-come-true.htmlAn+%28Old%29+Dream+Come+True2009-04-15+13%3A11%3A28Shaun }

I always thought it would be cool to work for an awesome company like Catalyst!  Well… tomorrow will be my first day there on staff…

What will I be doing you ask?

Blogging? Nope.

Preparing to speak on the main stage of Catalyst West?  Maybe next year :-)

The official title in my totally temporary, part-time Catalyst job is (drumroll please)…..

Packer of Boxes.

My buddy Jesse Phillips said that Catalyst needed some box packers this week to work hard for a bit more than minimum wage from 9am-5pm Tuesday-Friday.  When I wrote Jesse and told him that I was down, he wrote me back this response…

“Really?”

When he wrote me back I realized that somewhere along the way I have mistakenly given Jesse or maybe you that I am not a 29 year old church planter/grad student with 4 kids.  Any savings I had were spent a long time ago to launch The Courageous Church in January.  I am prepared to give this dream everything I have!

I fully expected to be able to just work as a full-time pastor, but our growing community is just not there yet.  I probably could draw a larger salary, but I would bankrupt our church in the process.

So – for the next week – I’m going to be busting my butt and packing these Catalyst boxes like my life depends on the quality of my efforts.  Heck - it beats UPS any day!

Pray for me – this will be the first week since we launched that I have not been able to devote all of my time to our church.

{ 74931 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/my-1st-day-catalyst.htmlMy+1st+Day+%40+Catalyst+%3A-%292009-04-13+15%3A06%3A36Shaun }

Let me get these two things out of the way!

• I had the runs (that’s code for diarrhea) all morning before service.
• I made it to the bathroom in time to blow chunks soon after arriving for our Easter service.

Moving on ….. :-)

• I know every pastor says they had an awesome day today, but doggone it, we had an awesome day!
• Easily one of our best services ever in so many different ways.
• Wifey says it was her favorite service we’ve ever had.
• Our volunteers kicked major butt today.
• We had more volunteers than we’ve ever had for a Sunday service and they took care of business.  I love y’all!
• We didn’t do any mass mailers, but did a pretty big push on Facebook for our Easter Service with some city-wide ads that I think really worked for us.
• We were also really blessed to be shown all over the Atlanta news Friday and Saturday and got a good bump because of it.
• We had about 40 very excited first time visitors!
• This was the biggest number since our grand opening
• They added a ton of energy to the room and caused us to run out of seats!
• I love that problem!
• We introduced board games for people to play during our Free Breakfast and they were a hit and really helped get people involved and connected!
• We noticed a ton of little irking problems last Sunday and worked our butts off all week this week to make sure we fixed them!
• Jinean (our Creative Director) works her butt off and does a fantastic job! Praying to be able to bring her on in a real paid capacity soon.  She’s amazing and has brought her whole family on board with the church!
• I always think about how Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church says we shouldn’t invest a bunch of time and money and energy into inviting people to a Sunday service that sucks so bad that people basically become evangelists for why your church sucks.
• Our worship team this morning (DJ Dust, Michael, Marquan, Sophie, Rai, Ashley, Dorothy, Antwon) had what may have been our best Sunday ever.  They are becoming a cohesive team.  You all are the bomb.
• Ashley did a beautiful interpretive dance while my wife and Dorothy sang “His Eye is on the Sparrow” – the song and dance were beautiful.
• I hope we continue to add more creative elements to our service.  It added so much to our gathering.
• I preached about the Resurrection of Jesus and really focused a lot on the impact it had on Peter’s life.
• I read more scripture than I ever have in my life throughout my sermon.  I honestly knew that a lot of people in the room had never heard or read this story and I wanted them to hear it directly from the word.
• 7 people decided to be baptized.
  
• We have about 20 people to baptize and I want to do it very soon.
  
• My brother and I served communion at the end of service and it was a very moving experience for everybody.  I am so glad we did this today.
• I made a very big announcement today and will tell you all more about it soon!
• DJ Dust started filming videos today for our new series next week…more about that soon too :-)
• After we broke down all of our equipment, a good number of people came out to have a very informal picnic @ Centennial Olympic Park.  The sun was shining bright and we had a blast!
• I am so honored that I get to do this for a living!
• Thank all of you for your prayers and well-wishes!  They mean a lot to me!
• So amped for all of you that helped to lead services all across the world today.

{ 7439 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/buncha-stuff-sunday-easter-edition.htmlBuncha+Stuff+Sunday+-+Easter+Edition%21%21%212009-04-12+23%3A21%3A41Shaun }

Here’s a pretty cool segment that 11 Alive, Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate, did on how a few Atlanta area churches (including The Courageous Church) are using technology to reach the city.  The article they wrote was good too!  Check it out!

{ 7361 commenthttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/736.htmlCourageous+Church+on+the+News2009-04-11+15%3A21%3A32Shaun }

Hey Courageous Church Friends & Family!

This Sunday will be our very first Easter together as a brand new community of faith and I am so thankful to God for each and every one you! We are just 3 months old, but it seems like we have been around for so much longer because of the awesome impact that we are having on Atlanta!  I dare you to TEXT everybody you know about our service this Sunday!  You’ll be surprised how many people just need a simple invite and how much influence you really have!

I have a few important details that I want to share with you about this Sunday:

* The timing has worked out perfectly for us to make a very big announcement this Sunday morning that we can’t wait to share with you!  No, my wife is not pregnant :-)  You’ll just have to come out and hear the news!

* An awesome FREE pancake breakfast begins @ 9am and lasts until 10:30am and is open for everyone!  We also have some fun games & activities planned for our breakfast this Sunday!

* We have a great prize for the person that brings the most friends, family, co-workers, strangers, etc.! Pets don’t count, but if you bring everybody you know, we’ll be sure to host the type of service that you’ll be proud of!  Our goal here is just to encourage you to be an inviting person!

* My family is heading to Centennial Olympic Park for an old fashioned picnic @ 2pm on Sunday and we’d love for you to join us!  This gives us enough time to break down our equipment, pack it all up, and pick up a meal before we head to the park.  We joked last week that it’s a BYOF (bring your own food) picnic since we’re already hosting a free breakfast and uhhh…I was serious about that! You can bring your food in a cooler ahead of time or pick it up at one of several stores/restaurants ahead of time.  We’re just bringing subs, chips, and drinks for our crew.  Whether you are single or have a family as big as mine (nearly impossible) come on out and hang with the King Team after service!

More than anything, I am so excited to share the awesome message of the resurrection of Jesus and what this means for all of us!  Don’t be surprised if my inner Bapticostal preacher comes out! Haha!  See you Sunday!

Be Courageous!

Shaun & Crew

{ 7320 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/details-about-this-sunday-im-amped.htmlDetails+about+this+Sunday+%28I%27m+Amped%21%292009-04-10+14%3A33%3A52Shaun }

Hey Everybody!

Tonight is the last of 7 days & nights of SERVOLUTION! It’s been awesome.  We have a slight change for tonight for our Strip Club Outreach (meeting @ 6pm and not 8pm…more details below) and we still need more men for security/prayer and women to help for ministry!

We believe going earlier, when it’s not as busy, would give us more of an opportunity to speak with the women.  This is a very unpredictable outreach.  We may or may not be able to hand out the flowers and do what we want to do (clean up, pray, leave notes, etc.), but our women are excited to bless and encourage the women there even if it is just through prayer in the parking lot.  Come prepared to pay admission to the club ($10-$20).  Also, come with an open mind and a willingness to be flexible.

Just as a reminder, be sure to look over the training tips on www.beautyfromashes.org prior to meeting tonight.  Click on tab to the left that says “Training and Tools” Scroll down to the link “Updated Strip Club Outreaches” located just below the pictures.  These tips will help us as we interact with the women.

Remember – the women are doing the actual direct ministry and the men will provide some security and prayer…in the parking lot!

{ 71212 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/strip-club-update.htmlStrip+Club+Update%212009-04-09+16%3A38%3A24Shaun }

Whether you have been to every service we have had since we launched on January 11th, you come and check us out every now and then, or have never even heard of us, come on out this EASTER SUNDAY and learn how an EMPTY GRAVE can make us SAVED & BRAVE!

(Don’t Front…You Know You Like My Hip Hop Baptist Rhyme Style) :-)

Really though! It’s the very first Easter Sunday Celebration for The Courageous Church and we want YOU and YOUR crew to be a part of it!

We’re serving a BIG, FREE Breakfast from 9am-10am ish and will begin our service soon thereafter!

I can’t wait to deliver a message on the real power of the EMPTY GRAVE and sing along with the Courageous Church worship team as they lead us in songs that celebrate the power of the EMPTY GRAVE of Jesus!

Dress is casual, but if you want to look fly, we’re fine with that too :-)

See you Sunday!

1330 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309

Get Directions Here & More @:

Courageous.tv

RSVP on FACEBOOK HERE!

{ 7040 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/a-courageous-easter.htmlA+Courageous+Easter%212009-04-07+17%3A59%3A44Shaun }

What is a SERVOLUTION? [ surv-uh-loo'-shuhn ] 1. to initiate a complete and radical change of a persons life through simple acts of kindness for the glory of God. 2. God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. 3. A church revolution through serving.

Starting on Friday, April 3rd and going for 7 STRAIGHT DAYS through Thursday, April 9th, The Courageous Church is joining 100s of churches all around the world in a global SERVOLUTION!

Sign Up Here Today

The Courageous Church is joining HUNDREDS of other churches around the world for 7 AMAZING DAYS OF REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE!

It’s SERVOLUTION!

Nearly 2,000 years ago many people expected the coming Jewish Messiah to spark a revolution with politics or even violence, but instead a simple carpenter named Jesus sparked a REVOLUTION through SERVICE and is calling all of us to do the same thing TODAY!

For 7 Days STRAIGHT – leading up until Good Friday and Easter Sunday, our church is leading a SERVOLUTION throughout Atlanta and we want YOU to join us!

You don’t have to be a part of our church or ANY church.

You don’t have to have ANY ministry experience!

All you need to do is SHOW UP to make a very real difference in the world and we will help you do the rest!

Some people are going to be serving EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and some are just serving a few! Whatever you can do, YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD TODAY!

HERE IS OUR SCHEDULE from April 3rd – April 9th…

Day 1. Friday, April 3rd: Street Outreach
Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!
Details: Meet @ Parking Lot 1 under IKEA towards the back @ 7 p.m. to pray and receive assignments

-Groups will receive locations (Peachtree and Phar, Peachtree and North, Metropolitan Parkway) and head out to Hand out water, granola bars, flowers, encouragement cards until approx. 10 p.m.

Leaders: Jason King (615) 400-8105/ jasonking@courageous.tv and Starvos Pierce

Day 2. Saturday, April 4th: Atlanta Dream Center/Adopt-A-Block
Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!
Details: Meet at Dream Center at 9:30 a.m. (412 Linden Avenue, Atlanta)
-Bag groceries right when we show up
-Worship/Prayer at around 10 am
-Recieve block assignments from Dream Center coordinators at around 11 am
-11 am-1 pm go door-to-door to meet needs, hand out food, pray for people, build relationships, etc.

Leaders: Ken and Nneka Robinson-

Day 3. Sunday, April 5th: Free Breakfast @ Courageous Church/Safehouse Outreach
Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!
Details: Meet at Safehouse Outreach (89 Ellis St., Atlanta, GA 30303) directly following service to receive explanation on ministry of SafeHouse and what the objective for the day will be
-Hand out water to break the ice and create conversation/build relationships
-Strike up a game of ultimate frisbee or football
-Plan on being there until about 3 p.m.

Leader: Jinean Robinson-(404) 664-3508/ jineanrobinson@courageous.tv

Day 4. Monday, April 6th: College Campus Outreach (TBA)
Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!
Details: -Meet @ Parking Lot 1 under IKEA towards the back at 7 pm
-Pass out care packages to local colleges. Details forthcoming…

Leader: Sophie King SophieKing@courageous.tv

5. Tuesday, April 7th: Bless Everyday People
Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!
Details: -Meet in TARGET Parking Lot (Neighborhood: Atlantic Station
375 18th St
Atlanta, GA 30363)
-One crew will meet at 8 a.m. to receive breakfast items, flowers, encouragement cards, etc. to take to DFCS (Central City North Service Center 84 Walton Street, NW Atlanta, GA 404-657-8000 or 404-657-8100).
-The second crew will meet at 11:00 and take lunch, flowers, encouragement note to Firehouse Station 15 (170 10th Street NE, Atlanta, GA -404-853-7000) and possibly an elementary school

Leader: Sophie King- (615) 491-7413/ sophieking@courageous.tv

6. Wednesday, April 8th: Children’s Outreach Events

Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!

Details forthcoming, but this day will be a day of loving on children throughout the city with face painting, balloons, Superheroes, and much more!

Leader: Dawnia Baynes-(310) 743-7289/ dawniabaynes@courageous.tv

Day 7. Thursday, April 9th: Strip Club Outreach

Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!
Women ONLY inside of the Strip Club & Men will help with preparation, security, and prayer.

Details:Meetup Location to be Determined
-Go to Magic City to take single flowers with encouragement cards tied to them to hand out to dancers. We will also try to clean/beautify dressing room, set out flowers, leave encouragement cards, set out candles, while we are there.

Leaders: Jinean Robinson and Angelica Trimble
JineanRobinson@Courageous.tv

Sign Up Here Today or Just Show Up!

{ 7001 commenthttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/servolution-is-about-to-change-atlanta.htmlSERVOLUTION+is+about+to+Change+Atlanta%212009-04-02+19%3A45%3A38Shaun }

I just wanted you all to see the very cool video that Israel Houghton did for our outreach event @ Morehouse College! Super cool!

{ 6963 commentshttp://www.shauninthecity.com/2009/04/israel-houghton-the-courageous-church.htmlIsrael+Houghton+%26+The+Courageous+Church2009-04-01+21%3A04%3A15Shaun }