Eddie's Blog

The Distracted Life

 I speak every weekend to thousands of people who come in to see and hear just exactly what is going on at Marathon. Try to imagine what it’s like to be in a place where every word that comes out of your mouth is being played over and over again and being constantly analyzed. All the Twitters and Tweets, and Blogs about what I say that are sent out and analyzed over and over.

 

Placed on top of all of that is the responsibility of running a staff – keeping things running, and everyone focused, and on the same page. It’s very difficult; because the goal of the enemy – Satan – is to make sure that we stay distracted, and off our game.

 

I think it was Bill Hybels that said that “Vision leaks” and it’s really true. We have to be reminded over and over again that people are our business. That’s why God left us here. We are to be the physical witness for Christ here on Earth. So Satan does his best to move us off our game and keep us distracted.

 

I will sometimes get complaints (believe it or not) from other churches about how we do things, and it is amazing to me the people who have the time to worry about what someone else is doing, but that ends up being one of the biggest distractions, because it’s so much easier to point out something that is being done wrong somewhere else than it is to do what you are supposed to be doing.

 

Do we really have time to be worrying about what’s going on down the road? Shouldn’t our energy be focused on carrying out The Great Commission and on the things that Jesus Christ told us to do? That’s why I have to keep people focused.

 

I think that if we can ever get to the part of loving God with all of our heart and soul and mind, and loving our neighbor as ourselves, then I think we’ll never get distracted.

 

Paul said that we need to finish well, and that’s what I want to do. I want to stay focused on what Jesus told us to do. I want to avoid distraction, and reach people!

The Next Generation

 It is Saturday morning, and I am sitting in my office working on the message for Sunday. As I look out of my office window, I can see our Youth, as they go out into the neighborhood, and pick up kids, and bring them back for what I can only describe as a back yard Bible study. They then play games with the kids, feed them, and then take them back home!

 

It is amazing to me how few people will ever see this, and how few people will ever know the effort that these kids are putting out in order to minister to these kids. I’m watching Bryan Holder, and Chris Brank lead these kids in this ministry, and it is such an incredible thing!

 

I’m totally amazed at how many people have shown up for this, how many of out Youth kids are involved, and I can tell you now that our next generation is looking good from where I sit.

 

This all goes back to the question of “Do we practice what we preach?” I can guarantee you that the next generation of leaders at Marathon does practice what they preach. I can see it on their faces, and in what they do, and in the way that they love! Sometimes you wonder if you are really making an impact – if what you teach on Sunday morning is really getting through. It’s really good to know that these kids are getting it!

 

I am so proud of Bryan Holder, and Chris Brank! They are doing a great job!

Ted Williams

 

During our last series, “Broadcast”, we talked about how we use ourselves to get the message of Christ out to the world. God has wired us all – shaped us, made us – in different ways, and with different talents.

 

Ted Williams was a great example of being “wired” differently. Ted Williams had a lifetime batting average of 344! He once hit for .406 in an entire season! This is in a game where the super star players try to get up to a 300 average.

 

When Ted Williams retired, he began to coach, and to train other players. So, one day when he was coachin a player, Ted told him “You need to watch the rotation of the ball.” And the guy complained that the ball was coming at him at 100 mph, how could he possibly see the rotation of the ball? Ted told him that he just needed to watch the stitches on the ball as it spun.

 

You see, Ted Williams had 20/10 vision. He was able to see the stitches on a baseball, and tell how they were spinning, as the ball traveled at him at 100 mph! That is God given ability, and he used it.

 

Not all of us can see and hit the way that Ted Williams could, but all of us have gifts, and talents that we need to use, and that’s what we’ve been talking about. God wants to use us where we are, and He wants to use us exactly how He shaped us and made us.

 

You need to ask yourself; “What are my gifts, and how do I use them where I am?”

Pastor’s Roundtable

 I just met with Greg Orham, Pastor of Foothills Church in Seneca, SC. They’re one of the churches that we are honored to have played a part in early on in our ministry. Greg is just a great guy and I love to hang around with him.

 

We’re going to be doing something special beginning in September. We’re going to be inviting 15 pastors to be with us in a “Pastor’s Round-table”. We’ll meet once a month for 3 months, and discuss how to start churches, what actions to take, setting up the children’s ministry, dealing with first timers, and all of course we will EAT. There is going to be a lot of interaction, and it’s going to be really interesting.

 

I’m giving you pastors a heads up now, because this is going to be limited to just 15 pastors from churches that run an average attendance of less than 300 people. The cost will be $300.

 

One of my goals in life is to help other pastors, and I know that is Greg’s heart, too. So in September, October, and November we’re going to be doing just that. More details will be coming, so stay tuned.

 

 

The Staff

I meet with a lot of pastors, and they always want to know how important it is to set up the right staff. Well, it is HUGE! It is extremely important! It is one of the main ingredients of growing a church. You have to make sure that your staff understands the vision and stays on board with that vision, because if you’re not careful, what will happen is that the details of running the church will get in the way of the church’s vision, if you let it. There is a danger of it becoming more of a job than a ministry.  

One of the many things that I love about my staff, is that they NEVER let that happen. The bottom line for this staff is always, “How many people did we reach?” and “How many salvation's do we have?” and those kinds of things.

 

Our staff does an Excellent job. The word “Excellence” is what is used when we talk to churches and about churches… It’s not about doing it “the Marathon way”, it’s about doing it the way God wants you to do it. God’s way is Excellence.

 

What I have found in many cases with many churches, is that the “Excellence” factor is not there. The idea of always putting our best foot forward, with everything we have, simply isn’t there. And so, what you have is “mediocre”, and most people are not going to show up week end and week out for “mediocre”.

 

That is what I love about Marathon: Every Sunday is Important! Every service is the best service that we can do! That’s what I try to impress on other churches.

I have a great staff, and their main focus is ALWAYS reaching people!

How Do You Grow A Church?

Twelve years ago we started Marathon, and the driving thought was to do something different. Do something that nobody else was doing. And we were brand new at it, and everybody thought that we were crazy! (They still think we’re crazy, by the way, but not quite as much as they did back then) So at the time, we were the only “different” thing in town – different music, different clothing - and WE GREW LIKE CRAZY!  

Well now, our “different” has grown into a culture, and when you talk to pastors at other churches some of the first things they bring up are the music, and donuts, and the things that they are doing. It used to be that you could put out donuts and the band would play some good music and people would show up, but it’s just not that way anymore.

 

For instance, we at Marathon still seem to be missing the 18’s – 30’s, so we’re trying to find a way to engage them on different levels. That is one of the reasons we have the Twitter updates, and the Blogs – just to try to engage them, and get people more involved.

 

One of the things that we did in order to figure out where we were at Marathon was to identify 3 groups of people. We call them the “Warm Bodies”, the “Workers”, and the “Winners”; and we’re looking for ways to help all 3 of these groups develop in their spiritual journey - seeing where people are spiritually and helping them move along. Part of it comes down to their commitment level and what they are willing to do, but the BIG thing is their personal relationship with God, because THAT is what determines how they spend their time and what they do with their lives.

 

So, “How do you grow a church?”  Well, there is much more to it than coffee and donuts!  It’s really based on God’s Word, and luckily we figured that out long ago. People are hungry for His Word and want to know what God has to say about their life!