Longing to Worship

I had the most encouraging text from a friend this past week.
He let me know that he couldn't be at the worship service because of his work.
Then he added that-
it pained him that he would miss the worship service.
That's enough to make a pastor's month!

Why do we go to church to worship?
Because we have to?
No, we don't have to.
Because we want to!

• Because we want to sing God's glory.
• Because we want to hear the bible taught in a relevant way.
• Because we want to see our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Because we want to serve on a Ministry Team and make a difference in people's lives.
• Because it's in worship that we feel most alive!
• Because we feel encouraged, uplifted, stretched and challenged all at the same time.

For some people this is a totally foreign experience- to actually want to be in worship.
If you know someone who's in that category- invite them to Connections this Sunday.

• They'll hear laughter in the lobby;
• See people hugging and loving on each other;
• Hear a band that rivals most any group you'd pay to hear;
• And listen to a preacher who teaches people about "manscaping."

(OK, that last part might not be the best selling point for our worship service.)

The Game of LIFE

Hey Connectors,

This Sunday, November 2, 2008, we kick off our "Game of LIFE" series.
We'll be talking about a classic game each week, and how it relates to the game of life. This Sunday it's "Trivial Pursuit." What are the trivial things that consume so much of our lives, and what is the most "meaningful pursuit" of our lives.

I promise that everyone who comes out to play is gonna leave a winner this Sunday!

Information is Service

You know the old expression,

"Information is power!"

I'm tweaking it-

Information is Service!

When folks are involved with Connections and understand Connections- our mission, how we operate, what our programs are, etc- then they can better serve. And we can better place them where they need to be.
Recently one of our volunteers apologetically told us she didn't feel comfortable in the volunteer role we put her in.
GREAT- now she knows something about herself and we can put her in role that fits better.

Information helps people to:
feel empowered;
help visitors;
point other people in the right direction.

Information doesn't put them in a position of power, it puts them in position of service.

So I encourage all our volunteers and attenders-
Get informed,
and get serving.
If you don't know, ask.
If you know, serve.

We have to work together to make this mission happen!

The Real Us

Sunday night our Connection Group got a taste of the real Saylor household.

• I left the house at 3pm to preach at an event in a neighboring town.
• Robin came home at about 6pm from another party and started cleaning up.
• I picked up Justin at 6:15pm from his friend Caleb's house.
• Our group started to arrive at 6:30pm, right on time.
• I didn't get home until 6:45pm.
• Robin asked if I remembered to pick up Eden.
• I didn't.
• The birthday party she was at ended at 4pm (what 3 hours late among friends?)
• Justin and I had not eaten.
• I gave Justin a bag of lunch meat and a block of cheese.
• I grabbed a piece of cheese cake.
• Justin rejected the bag-o-meat and opted for my cheese cake.
• Robin walked in with Eden to see all this unfolding in front of our group.

So much for the image of the perfect pastor's family.
We tried so hard to keep up appearances!

We told the group when we started that we'd be hospitable, but we'd also be real. Now they've seen the real side. "Life in a Fishbowl" as Robin's blog says.

Then we had a great discussion.
And we really prayed for each other.
This is authentic community.

Then we had company come to spend the night!
2 days into the week and we've had nearly 30 visitors already!

Monday's Musings

Yesterday we had our biggest turnout yet- 284 people.
Wow.
I knew it was a big crowd when we ran out of programs, but I had no idea.
A lot of folks were there to support the Kaastra and Terry families.
But still, take away 50 guests and we still had 234 people there to worship.

So I went home feeling pretty full of myself.
Then it started to dawn on me- God is really doing something here.
And if God is doing something, I'm both thrilled... and terrified.
I got the chills.

And I feel out of comfort zone already.

• How to you transition from wondering if anyone is going to show up, to knowing that a couple hundred will show up?
• What do you do when you fill your meeting space?
• Multiple services, multiple locations, video services, new venue?
• How do you make such a transition and keep the momentum?
• How do you lead people when you're clearly in over your head?
• I don't know, but it's going to be a blast figuring it out.

I had a confidence going into church planting that I could lead a group of people with a vision to change lives for Jesus. But taking that vision to the next level is where my challenge really begins.

• I'm going to have to resist the urge to play it safe now.
• Take chances on people.
• Let go of some things and trust others with leadership.
• Think organizationally as well as missionally.
• Plan ahead instead of respond to the moment.
  

_____
Yesterday I also preached at a Reformation Day service to a couple hundred people. It was awesome, and they were so excited to hear what God is doing through church planting.

Then we had our Connection Group at my place. Five weeks into the semester and I already feel so close with these people. Our prayer time was awesome!

We had company show up at 11:30pm to spend the night. I had never met them before. Honestly, I said who are you people and why are you at my house? Almost 12 years of marriage to Robin and she is still surprising me.

This morning we made pumpkin pancakes. It was a taste of the glory yet to come.

Our Target Demographic

I was recently told about an 80 year old Latvian woman who has been attending Connections.
Somehow I still haven't met her.
She started coming to Connections because she lives by the mall and can walk to worship.
Apparently she loves it. She joined a Connection Group and told them how good it is to find a group of people who love to worship God.

That's our new target audience-
Eastern European Octogenarians.

Actually, it's not.
But people have asked me many times who our "target" is.
I don't see people as targets, but I get what they are asking.
But I still try not to answer their question.
I simply say our target is every person who is far from God.

Are their certain people or types who are going to resonate with the vibe of our church?
Obviously.
But that's not what we focus on.

We seek to faithfully serve by the methods and means that God provides.
Then we'll go out and love our neighbors.
And then we trust that He'll bring the right people to us.
Including 80 year old Latvian women.
That's the stuff you can't make happen- it's just a God thing.

GLORI(FIED)

October 26, 2008

Finish this statement: No guts…

No GLORY. There is something very powerful, very attractive about GLORY- something or someone or some event that is truly GLORIOUS. It draws us in and invites us to celebrate.

Listen to the message at www.connectionschurch.ca or read at cccsermons.blogspot.com

T-Shirts

Hey Connectors,
Tomorrow we wrap up our current series with GLORI(FIED).
We'll be looking at the end-game of the Christian life, and the impact it can have on the way we play the game here and now.

If you volunteered during the month of October and received one of our t-shirts please wear it tomorrow.
If everyone wears one of the series shirts we'll have 80 folks sporting their colors!

It's going to be an awesome service- I'm already chopping at the bit to preach since my week off.

See you at Silver City

Going Parking

We had a great Prayer Gathering Monday night. I say that as a shout out, and as a call out.

Everyone needs to work on growing a prayer life. I receive great encouragement to keep praying through participation with our prayer gathering. It's stretches me, grows me, inspires me, refreshes me. It's awesome.

Of the many things we covered in prayer, we prayed about the vision of parking lot as full for God as it is for the movies. It's a beautiful vision and prayer- to see lives changed by God, engaged with Connections, making worship a priority.

One man said I'm gonna start parking at the far end of the lot in anticipation of it being full. So starting this Sunday you'll see my ride (the uber cool Ford Bull, aka, Taurus) parked at the far end. I'll be walking across that lot praying it will be filled.

I hope you'll park with me.

_____

Second through for the day...

I've been reflecting on our progress in some areas at Connections.

One of our core values is authenticity, creativity and excellence…which does NOT mean perfection…but it does mean giving something your best effort.

I have an incredible amount of confidence that the people I serve with are going to do all that they can to make sure that whatever they are working on is the best it can be!

We are called to do whatever we do with the absolute best effort we can put forth. I do not expect perfection from our volunteers because I am not perfect…but I do want everyone's best effort because I believe God works through people who are willing to go all out for Him…and then believe He is going to go all out as well.

Monday's Highlights- FASTING

I'm hungry already.

Fasting is one of the lost disciplines of the Christian life.
At least its been lost in my life the past few years.
In college and as a young adult I made fasting a regular discipline.
Then Robin and I started a family. And for us family meals are one of our top priorities. We eat pretty much every breakfast and dinner together.
Then I'm usually meeting someone for lunch.

But enough is enough.
I need to fast.
Jesus expects us to fast. In Matthew 6 Jesus is teaching on what we would categorize as "spiritual disciplines."
First he talks about "acts of righteousness" and giving to the needy. That's a whole sermon there- the first "discipline" is really about loving others and getting our money under Christ's Lordship.
Second, he talks about prayer.
Third, he goes into fasting, and he starts with this audacious statement,

"When you fast..."

Not "if you fast," or "should you decide that fasting is for you," or "once a year when you give something up for Lent..."

He says when you fast. It's an expectation that someone following Christ will make fasting a regular practice.

So I'm once again convicted that I must return to this discipline.
I need this.
I need to hunger after more than food and drink.
I need to stand in solidarity with those who daily hunger and thirst.
I need to be and example to my family- where family meals are still a top priority, so family fasts must also become a part of our home.
And who cares if I look a little funny only asking for water at a restaurant. I'll just leave a bigger tip!

Now someone reading this knows this bible passage and knows that it says don't make a big show of your fasting. And I confess that by blogging about this I've turned this fast into a bit of a show.
But in truth, I don't write this as bragging. I write this as confession, and as accountability.
And maybe even to challenge you.

Bring at Fork!

I double booked myself for Monday night.

I was all flustered about what to do. My friend Mike asked if was going to be at the Prayer meeting we host the third Monday of every month.
I was stuck between to very worthy things to do. Then a moment later my other friend Hilk set me straight.
He asked me if I was going to be at the prayer meeting.
I said I double booked myself and had to make a decision.
He said,

"Well George, I hope you can be at the Prayer Gathering, it's going to be a very important meeting."

He didn't have to guilt me or coerce me.
He just simply and factually reminded me- it's going to be a very important meeting.

Setting aside time for prayer is always a very important meeting.
And I want to be present when something very important is happening.

I was so inspired I've invited everyone I was double-booked with to join us for prayer.
And I'm even going to up the ante-

Consider joining me for a day of fasting in preparation for the prayer meeting.
Let us come to God hungry for His Word.
Hungry for His Spirit to fill us.
Hungry for the banquet that only our God can provide.
Hungry and ready to be satisfied in Him alone.

7:30pm, 1326 Hastings Drive.
Bring a fork!

Questions I'm Asking

• Why does replacing an oil pan gasket cost $400? I should have used the money to by a lift and do it myself.

• Instead of thinking, "How do we respond to growth?" I'm asking, "How can we prepare for growth?" What should be be doing that will pave the way to the next stages of Connections?
• What is the next big move for Connections?
  

1. Should we go two services back-to-back on Sunday's? This means negotiating a deal to get in at 7am, running services at 9am and 10:15am, and deciding where to put child care.
2. Do we go simulcast- running a live video/audio feed into another theatre on site, running at the same time? This would be a pretty straight forward step in techonology.
3. Do we go to another site when the theatre fills up? A school, a community centre, an arts centre, another church building?
4. Do we go "mulit-site" and what does that even lookj like?! Do we run it like a branch of Connections? Is that crazy audacious to "branch" a church our size? Is that relevant for our context of ministry? Do we become a church-planting church at that point?

To answer this question I'm going to need a lot of feedback from people. If Connections continues to grow, then I beleive we must respond by creating a larger space and more opportunity for growth at Connections. If we seem to be leveling off, does that mean we need to focus our sights on becoming a "sending" church.

Either way, growth is not an option. We have to keep growing. It's one of our values- growing in size and maturity. This that aren't growing are stagnating, or worse, dying. Ouch, harsh, but it really is that simple.

I also don't think it's too premature to be asking these questions. We should be looking at this stuff now so that we can make prayerfully informed decisions in the future. I also need to ask these questions because I tend not to be a long-range planner.
I like to live in the moment.
But the reality of life is that planning and preparation is required.

Maybe something will come along that is totally unplanned. A God-thing that just falls in our lap. But you can't count on that. You just praise God if it works out that way.

So that's what's on my mind this morning, between trying to get the car fixed, and trying to plan ahead!

Message Topics/Texts

Hey Connectors,

I am genuinely interested in your input here- what are the pressing needs in our lives? What are the burning issues of our day? I want to know!

Let me get this started by telling you a few things that go through my mind as I sit down to write a sermon. Of course what I'm about to write is always tempered with the eternal truth that you can't address every person all the time. But still, I prayerfully think about the following things when I get ready to sermonize:

1. Love God; Love People. The message should always convey both of these foundational truths.
2. Truth wins. I am held accountable to teach the bible, whether it comforts or convicts.
3. Someone here doesn't know Jesus- how can I introduce Him?
4. Someone here is ready to believe- how can I invite him/her?
5. Someone here is ready to take the next step- how can I inspire him/her?
6. Will junior high kids get this? (I find this a very powerful question to ask myself)
7. Everyone needs faith, hope, love and forgiveness.
8. Many people, more than I think, are trapped in addiction, guilt and depression.
9. What's the big idea people will walk away with?
10. How will the big idea be applied/understood within 24 hours?*

*A final note on number 10. Some sermons deal with a proposition truth: How will someone embrace this life-changing truth? Other sermons are more about practical application: How will someone apply this life-changing principle?

Join the discussion in our Facebook group.

Monday's Highlights

I'm happy to say that something changed for me this weekend- I felt thankful!
Or to be more specific- I felt thankful for Thanksgiving in October. It's a good sign of my acclimatizing to the Canadian rhythm of life. It really felt like Thanksgiving. (You can check out the rest of the family photos here.)

And I get the best of both worlds- we'll still celebrate US Thanksgiving with my family in November! That's something else to be thankful for!

But on with my other reflections:

~ Sunday felt like the first "normal" service we've had at Connections since the summer. We played it pretty safe because of the Holiday weekend. It was a good morning, pretty straightforward, pretty relaxed. It think the team needed that.

~ I made a HUGE message change right before I preached- the first time I've done that in ages. I'm still not sure if it was the right move (You can read the sermon online and decide for yourself). It's no use beating myself up over the change, but I've been examining Why I made the change:

• Why did I feel unsettled about what I first wrote?
• Was it a lack of faith, or a sign of faith?
• Was I flowing the Spirit's leading, or listening to a voice of self-doubt?
• If the former- great. Stay sensitive George.
• If the latter, who was I trying to please with my message- God or people?
• If the latter, where am I out of step?

If I can get a better grasp on the WHY question, then I'm going to learn something profitable. I'm so thankful that most Sundays I walk in with a message that I'm bursting at the seams to share. I really feel that God has prepared me, and prepared hearts, for his Word. But every so often you don't feel it.

But I think that in itself is a grace of God. It keeps me humble. It forces me to take it back to square one. It puts my eyes on God and in His Word.

I've been asking some other questions lately. Questions about Connections next steps. But that needs more thought before I write anything.

JUSTI(FIED)

Series: (FIED)
Sunday, October 12, 2008

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Those who have been reborn by the Spirit, who have repented of their sins, who have put their faith in Jesus, now stand justified before God. Not because of anything we do, but by the faith we hold. We don’t earn it, we don’t achieve, we simply receive it. Jesus says I have a right relationship with God, and through me you will have a right relationship with God. This is the next vital movement of the Christian life- to exercise this faith in our relationship with God.

This is the one thing that is required of us- faith. It is what God desires from us. It is what God requires of us. This is overstating the case, it is the one thing that is really required on our part. It is the start, following our rebirth, of our relationship with God...

Listen to the message at www.connectionschurch.ca or read the manuscript at cccsermons.blogspot.com

T.E.A.M.s

T.E.A.M.s

I was invited to join up with a group of fellow pastors. Mostly guys in church plants, or other "progressive" (for lack of a better word) churches. Connections is definitely the baby in the group.
It's nice to be invited to the group as it appears that these guys see something they like in Connections.

Anyways, the point is to share some of the valuable learning I gleened from our time together yesterday. The most fruitful portion was a discussion on the real need to foster a volunteer culture through ministry or service teams. Essentially, we all agreed that you need to create numerous "sticking points" in your church for people to be involved. We actually challenged our churches to create a ratio where 50% of your attenders can always find a ministry team to be a part of.

Two points of clarity- this doesn't mean you volunteer every day or week. But it should mean you voluteer at least once a month. This means some people need to stop doing so man things, and it means others need to take on a role so they really feel like a contributor to the church.

Second, this doesn't mean the ministry teams become more complex. We don't need to create all sorts of new roles. It means the more people we have, the more greeters, ushers, children's ministry volunteers we need. Growth for Connections will not mean becoming a more complex organism.

But finally, in our discussion, we talked about the things that are essential to leading a successful team. We boiled it down to four things, and I put them into the TEAM acrostic, just to help me remember this stuff. SO these are 4 essentials qualities to leading a team...

T. Task- know, understand, and complete your ministry task, whatever it may be.
E. Empower your team to understand their role on the team, to own it, and to do it.
A. Adore what you do, Adore who you do it with. It's really about caring for each other.
M. Multiply- always add to your group! Recruit like mad!

So there you go- my new BIG thing for our ministry TEAMs. It's kind of messy, some words are nouns, others are verbs, but hey, serving in ministry is kinda messy too!

Connection Group Facilitator Tips

We've had a great launch of our Connection Group ministry.
We have more than 100 people registered.
And I am blessed to have partners who are passionate about this in Mark and Julie- I love you guys.

There is a myth out there in church land- community happens.
I've talked to too many folks who have had the opposite experience-
isolation happens.
Community and connection take work and intentionality.
You have to want it, and you have to make it happen.

Now let me be clear- you can't force friendship, community and connection.
But you work to make the space and opportunity for it to happen. You create the culture and environment. That's all we've done with Connection Groups.

But it still takes work and intentionality to make it flourish.

One thing I'm doing to help keep us on track is encouraging and educating our facilitators.
So I'll just copy and paste my first "Connection Group Facilitator Tips" newsletter...


So here's my first bit of unsolicited advice:
Assume nothing- love everyone.

Don't assume that folks have bought into this whole "Connection Group" thing. They still have their questions, and their doubts. They may still be a little awkward and uncomfortable with all this.

Hey, they may still be a little uncomfortable with the whole "Christian" thing. We have the blessing of many new Christians in our groups. So go out of your way to make the meeting a comfortable place. How do you do that?

Love them. Yeah, that's vague, but it's still the best advice I can give.
Love them. Greet them at the door. Give them snacks. As them how their week's going. Pray for them. Serve them.

Now here's my second bit of advice for you:
Lead your group. Your level of preparation and leadership will directly transfer to the comfort level of the group.
Your group won't feel like a gathering of old friends. You're not a group of old friends- you're two weeks old. Expect a bit of silence when you ask a question. But lead your group through this, and a few weeks you'll feel like a group of old friends.

Finally, here's a great site to book mark. It's full of articles and advice on leading small groups.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/smallgroups/

Monday's Highlights

I woke up this morning with a massive headache. Drank a cup of coffee, felt sick, went back to bed, missed a meeting, got back out of bed at 10am and I still feel pretty lousy.

But other than that I am pumped!

It's like we are still feeling the ripples of the baptism service (do you like that water imagery!). I said we were making no promises on how we'd do baptism in the future, but this I know- we'll have more baptisms! I'm already praying about how we'll celebrate our 100th baptism, and I pray it's not too far down the road. People need Jesus, they need to be washed clean, they need a fresh start.

Yesterday the band covered "Fix You" by Coldplay to lead into the message. We knew this song had a lot of resonance with the culture, but I was blown away. Even as a performance piece (it's just not fair to ask people to sing along in falseto!) there were so many people singing along- even without any lyrics on screen.
When I heard that, I KNEW that people needed to hear the bible promise of Regeneration. People are crying out to be fixed!

I love the ...(FIED) T-shirts. They are so cool. And they only get better as the series progresses. Just wait until you see GLORI(FIED).

I love our Connection Group. These folks bless me with their lives.

Steelers RULE! I was so stressed out watching this game. They always throw it away to the Jaguars. Not last night! Even with the toughest schedule in the NFL in a quarter century we are leading the division, 4-1!

Finally, I was given permission to pass this along, so I am...

George,
I just felt like sending a note of encouragement your way.
Even though I've only been able to attend Sunday morning's hit and miss....It's really exciting to see the way God is working in this church, especially after the baptism service.
I've just been sorting out some cobwebs in my own life and God has definitely been speaking to me through different aspects of Sunday mornings at ccc.
I realize that there are a lot of people involved in this and you aren't the only person God is using at connections but i felt you should hear this.....feel free to let others know......

PETRI(FIED)

Series: (FIED)
Sunday, October 5, 2008

Many of you have met my daughter Eden. Everyone who meets her knows she’s a very special girl. With our first pregnancy we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl. So I prayed that if we had a girl she’d be Godly, and smart, and beautiful like her mom; and that if we had a boy he’d be Godly, and smart and great looking and athletic and funny and charming and musical and artistic… like his mom. Thanks be to God and by His grace, all my kids take after their mom. But perhaps none more so than Eden. But Eden is really very special. Eden is a millennium baby. Eden was born January 1, 2000. We always tell her that the whole world celebrated her birth.

Now Eden was our first baby so we had nothing else to compare her birth. We had some friends call us right at midnight while we were in labor and Robin says she remembers through the contractions and the agony she was enduring, hearing me say- “Oh yeah we’re having a blast!” Let me tell you it was a real blast. First off, Eden had been due nearly two weeks earlier, and I thought I was going to get a big fat tax write off for all of 1999. Instead I got a big fat bill. (I’m still gonna make her pay for that someday.) But not only did the pregnancy drag on, so did the delivery. Hour after hour after hour began to tick away. Soon a whole day went by, and we went well into the next day, 40 hours of labor. All our hopes and plans for a natural birth went out the window.

You see, Eden was posterior...

Listen at www.connectionschurch.ca or read at cccsermons.blogspot.com

...(FIED)

Connectors, you don't want to miss the service this Sunday, October 5, as we kick-off our new series with...

PETRI(FIED)
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 36:26

This series is going to walk you through four essential movements of the Christian life.
Perfect for inviting friends who have questions about Christianity.

I have one request for all of you to consider:
This past Sunday we had over 200 in worship- so awesome!
Of course this means that the upper section of the theatre was getting pretty full.
I ask that you please consider moving to the front section.
The front row is taken with equipment, but everywhere else is open.
You can even sit right next to the camera!

See you at Silver City!

Public Speaking

I always try to keep my eyes open for good articles/advice on three things:
Leadership
Public Speaking
Parenting
I could add more, but those always catch my eyes.

I thought this one on public speaking was good, so go ahead and read if communication interests you as well...

11 Public-Speaking Pointers

A successful speech should always end with a standing ovation--here's how to get yours.

By Guy Kawasaki | Entrepreneur Magazine - October 2008

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/october/197100.html

When I started public speaking in the mid-1980s, I was deathly afraid. It's taken me 20 years to get comfortable. I hope many of you are called upon to give speeches--it's the closest thing to being a professional athlete that many of us will achieve. Here are 11 tips for giving great speeches:

1. Have something interesting to say. This is 80 percent of the battle. If you have nothing to say, you shouldn't speak--end of discussion. It's better to decline the opportunity so no one knows you don't have anything to say than it is to make the speech and prove it.
   
2. Cut the sales pitch. The purpose of most keynotes is to entertain and inform. It's seldom to provide you with an opportunity to pitch. For example, if you're invited to speak about the future of digital music, don't talk about the latest MP3 player your company is selling.
   
3. Focus on entertaining. Many speech coaches will disagree, but the goal of a speech is to entertain the audience. If people are entertained, you can slip in a few nuggets of information. But if your speech is dull, no amount of information will make it great. If I had to pick between entertaining and informing an audience, I would pick entertaining, knowing that informing will probably happen, too.
   
4. Understand the audience. If you can prove to your audience in the first five minutes that you understand who they are, you've got them for the rest of the speech. All you need to understand are the trends, competition and key issues facing the audience members. This simply requires consultation with the host organization and a willingness to customize your introductory remarks.
   
5. Overdress. My father was a politician in Hawaii. When I started speaking, he gave me this advice: Never dress beneath the level of the audience. That is, if they're wearing suits, you should wear a suit. To underdress is to communicate, "I'm smarter/richer/more powerful than you. I can't take you seriously, and there's nothing you can do about it." This is hardly the way to get an audience to like you.
   
6. Don't denigrate the competition. By denigrating the competition, you're taking undue advantage of the privilege of giving a speech. You're not doing the audience a favor. The audience is doing you a favor, so don't stoop so low as to use the opportunity to slander your competition.
   
7. Tell stories. The best way to relax when giving a speech is to tell stories--any stories: stories about your youth, stories about your customers, etc. When you tell a story, you lose yourself in the storytelling. You're not "making a speech" anymore. You're simply having a conversation. Good speakers are good storytellers; great speakers tell stories that support their message.
   
8. Precirculate with the audience. Here's how to heighten the audience's connection with you: Talk to them before the speech--especially the ones in the first rows. Then, when you're at the podium, you'll see these friendly faces. Your confidence will soar, you'll relax and you'll be great.
   
9. Speak at the start of an event. The audience is fresher. They're more apt to listen to you, laugh at your jokes and follow your stories. On the third day of a three-day conference, the audience is tired, and all they're thinking about is going home. It's hard enough to give a great speech--why increase the challenge by having to lift the audience out of the doldrums?
   
10. Ask for a small room. If you have a choice, get the smallest room possible for your speech. If it's a large room, ask that it be set classroom style (i.e., with tables and chairs) instead of theater style. A packed room is more emotional. It's better to have 200 people in a 200-person room than 500 people in a 1,000-person room. You want people to remember, "It was standing room only."
    
11. Practice, and speak all the time. This is a "duh-ism" but nonetheless relevant. My theory is that you have to give a speech at least 20 times to get decent at it. You can give it 19 times to your dog if you like, but it takes practice and repetition. There's no shortcut to Carnegie Hall. As renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz once said, "If I don't practice for one day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, the critics know it. If I don't practice for three days, the audience knows it."

Part of the reason it took me so long to get to this point is that no one explained to me the art of giving a speech, and I was too dumb to do the research. Now I love speaking. Every time I get up to the podium, my goal is to get a standing ovation. I don't succeed very often, but sometimes I do.

Guy Kawasaki's mantra is "Empower people." He is co-founder of Alltop.com, a managing director at Garage Technology Ventures, former chief evangelist for Apple Inc. and author of eight books--most recently The Art of the Start. Visit smallbusiness.alltop.com.

Our first Baptism

There can be only one "first."

Our first baptism at Connections was of Mr. Michael King.
I asked Mike to share a few words in the service.
I know Mike to be one of the funniest, most gregarious guys around.
But I didn't know he could be so eloquent. There were few dry eyes after his brief testimony...

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Michael.

There are infinite reasons for me standing here but I wish to share just one, one that I believe to be the foundation of this road I have chosen. The road that I have followed, and got lost so many times along the way.

That one reason is so simple, yet so profound. That I love the Lord, and that I trust that the lord loves me back.

I choose today to be washed of my sin and I choose that my daughter Lailah, and my Wife Andrea, grow in the knowledge that they are loved and protected by our God.

I would like to read to you Philippians 3 vs 13 and 14. These two very short sentences shot out at me the other day.

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win a prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I would Like to end off with saying, Thank you Lord for all you have given me and for the gift of washing me clean of my sin.

Thank you so much! Amen