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Triple-Threat Leadership eBook $9.99

The purchase link is at the bottom of the page. DESCRIPTION Triple-Threat Leadership is about understanding and developing three skills that are absolutely necessary for effective leadership: casting vision, creating strategy and fostering relationships. All leaders want to succeed and leveraging these three skills gives leaders an edge. The book includes an assessment, but it [...]

Marketing In The Social Media Revolution

Organizational leaders are aware of the social medial phenomenon. They know it’s not a trend. They know it’s a fundamental shift in the way people interact with one another, with businesses, with products, with services…with everything! Organizational leaders know that they are tired of traditional advertising. They know they are tired of flushing money down [...]

Speaking Audio and Video

Invite Alan to speak at your conference, event, church or company. Here are some video and audio files demonstrating Alan’s fun and engaging style. This is a clip of Alan’s talk at the RightNow ’09 conference in Dallas. The entire message is available in .mp3 audio format below. ————————————————————————————– This video is a short preview [...]

Coaching: A Great Leadership Choice

In my line of work I’ve learned there are three primary reasons people don’t hire coaching consultants: They think they can’t afford a consultant. They think they don’t need advice from someone who isn’t living in their shoes. They don’t think they have time to mess with consulting. Here’s why these three assumptions are wrong: [...]

Small Group Curriculum Videos

Alan is an experience video communicator. Here are some examples of teaching he’s done in studio. This is a sample from a curriculum called “What If…” that Alan taught for BlueFishTV. The entire 4 part series can be purchased at www.bluefishtv.com Below are some small group curriculums that I taught while at LifeChurch.tv. Lord, Wake [...]

Prayer Cancer Death

July 29th, 2010

alandanielson

A small group I know decided they wanted to do more than take up all the parking in the neighborhood where they met. They decided to go to every home in the neighborhood and say, “We pray for every household in this edition. Is there any way you’d like us to pray for you specifically?” This gave them some great opportunities to bless their neighborhood and meet some needs. Also they would periodically return to each home and remind the neighbors they were being prayed for.

One man in the neighborhood was always friendly but simply answered “No thanks” every time the group came by. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer he declined the group’s prayers. Two weeks after his cancer diagnosis, however, he was also diagnosed with HIV. The doctor told him that because the HIV had compromised his immune system there was no possible treatment for the cancer. He was given a death-sentence.

That evening he went to the home where the group met and knocked on the door. The host family answered and invited him in where he told his story. That weekend he came to church with the small group and he gave his life to Christ.

I’d like to say that God healed his cancer and used the guy to reach hundreds of people with his miraculous testimony, but God allowed him to die. He was healed after death though. He entered God’s Kingdom forgiven and perfect…all because a small group offered to pray for him.

How is your group doing more than taking up parking? How is your group blessing the community and making an eternal difference.Ori

Originally posted 9-11-2009. Reposted July 29, 2010

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A small group leader I know told me that his group decided they wanted to do more than take up all the parking in the neighborhood where they met. They decided to go to every home in the neighborhood and say, “We pray for every household in this edition. Is there any way you’d like us to pray for you specifically?” This gave them some great opportunities to bless their neighborhood and meet some needs. Also they would periodically return to each home and remind the neighbors they were being prayed for.

One man in the neighborhood was always friendly but simply answered “No thanks” every time the group came by. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer he declined the group’s prayers. Two weeks after his cancer diagnosis, however, he was also diagnosed with HIV. The doctor told him that because the HIV had compromised his immune system there was no possible treatment for the cancer. He was given a death-sentence.

That evening he went to the home where the group met and knocked on the door. The host family answered and invited him in where he told his story. That weekend he came to church with the small group and he gave his life to Christ.

I’d like to say that God healed his cancer and used the guy to reach hundreds of people with his miraculous testimony, but God allowed him to die. The great news is that healing did come though; death was his healing. He entered God’s Kingdom forgiven and perfect…all because a small group offered to pray for him.

Is your group doing more than taking up parking? How is your group blessing the community and making an eternal difference?

The One Good Thing In My Life

July 28th, 2010

alandanielson

Stacey and I had two of our married friends over for dinner recently. The wife sat down in our living room recliner and said, “I love this chair. For a while it was the one good thing in my life”. She said that because 5 years ago she came to live with us after finding out that her husband of only 8 months had cheated on her and was leaving her. She was depressed, discouraged, hurting, and angry. Yet in the middle of all that she became very attached to the recliner in our living room. The chair gave her some measure of comfort during a time of nearly unbearable pain.

Often times we feel like that. When things get difficult, depressing, discouraging and hopeless, we find ourselves latching on to the few things that bring us just a little joy or escape. But what if the little joyful things aren’t the only good things in our lives during painful seasons? What if the best things in our lives are the painful seasons?

With 20/20 hindsight, I can say that cheating husband and the failed marriage is one of the best things that ever happened to our friend. Why? Because she found an inner strength and a deeper faith during that time. A couple of years later, she also upgraded and found a godly man who loves Jesus more than anything on earth. After helping our friend through her painful divorce, I had the privilege of presiding over her marriage to her wonderful new husband. Today they are building a family together, they are debt free, and I couldn’t be more proud of them both!

What are you facing that seems too big to overcome? What’s the one good thing in your life that gives you the tiniest bit of comfort? Hopefully today you’ll draw a little more comfort from the fact that the pain you’re currently facing may the best thing in your life. It may turn out to be the best thing because of what it is doing to shape, strengthen, and change you. Remember during your season of struggle: God never wastes a hurt!

A Boring Death

July 27th, 2010

alandanielson

Elisha, an Old Testament prophet in Israel and Judah, followed in the footsteps of the similarly named prophet Elijah. As reported in Scripture, the former prophet, Elijah, did not die. Rather, when his time on earth was up, God took him directly to heaven riding on chariots of fire. Before going up to heaven, Elijah prayed that God would give Elisha a “double portion” of God’s spirit. Then the younger prophet Elisha witnessed Elijah fly up to Heaven. With a double portion of God’s Spirit, Elisha took up Elijah’s cloak and became his successor.

Elisha did his job well for years. He was a godly prophet and advisor to kings. Then we read about the end of his life in 2 Kings 13:14 & 20 (MSG), “Elisha came down sick. It was the sickness of which he would soon die…Then Elisha died and they buried him”. I just have to be honest for a minute; this passage of Scripture throws me off a bit. Elisha had a double portion of God’s Spirit. Why didn’t he get a non-stop flight to Heaven like Elijah did? That doesn’t seem fair.

Then it hit me; I prefer stories where the heroes have happy or glorious endings. The former prophet, Elijah, had both a glorious and happy ending. Elisha’s ending was…well…kinda dull.

Elisha’s ending may not be quite as exciting to tell as Elijah’s, but I suppose that’s the point of this passage. Most of us will have rather unglamorous endings to our stories, but it’s not the endings that really matter. What matters is the in-between. There are two dates on every grave marker in every cemetery: date of birth, and date of death. The most important thing on every headstone, though, is not the dates, but the hyphen. It’s that tiny dash that documents how a person lived.

Elisha’s hyphen is made up of his godly life, his obedience, his character, and the miracles in which he participated. What will people remember when they see my hyphen or yours? The great news for all of us today is that we have time to add plenty of great stuff to our hyphens. We may not all have a glorious ending, but we can all have a great hyphen.

7 Things To Learn From Facebook’s 500 Million Users

July 26th, 2010

alandanielson

Facebook recently hit the 500 million user mark. WOW! Think about that for a minute. There are approximately 1 billion Christians in the world and it took 2000 years for us to get there. It has taken Facebook only a few years to reach half that many people. At this pace, Facebook will likely reach 1 billion in the next 12 months (or less).

So what can Christ-Followers learn from Facebook?

Providing opportunities/platforms for relationships works.
Providing free services that truly meet people’s needs works.
Leverage technology works (ignoring tech doesn’t work).
The online community is a ripe mission-field.
Fan Pages (likes) aren’t enough…people want relationships and connection.
Online community is LEGITIMATE! It’s NOT virtual. It’s real and tangible to the people experiencing it.
The internet is nothing to fear. It’s a great tool and platform to reach people who need God’s love!

What do the 500 million Facebook users teach you?

Start Spreading The News…New York New York

July 22nd, 2010

alandanielson

Stacey and I are in New Jersey right now so I can interview for a lead pastor position. Yesterday we got to ride a train and a ferry into New York City. It was almost surreal at first. It was like I’d been there before, even though I’d never been there. Most of the things I saw have been on TV or in movies, so in many ways I felt like I’d already been there.

There were two things that really caught me off guard though. The first thing was the scale. I felt tiny among all the giant buildings. I was even surprised how small the Statue of Liberty looked when compared to the buildings on either side of the Hudson River. The second thing that was a little surprising to me was the population density. I knew this is the most densely populated part of our country, but that knowledge didn’t prepare me for the reality. It was stunning walking around the city seeing millions upon millions of people who don’t know Christ.

Many churches are growing like never before in the history of our country, but no matter how successful some churches may become, the truth is brutal: we are losing the battle for the souls of our country. I’ve always lived with a sense of urgency about evangelism, but after seeing New York City, that sense has been heightened even more. I was broken by the sheer volume of people navigating life without the hope of Christ.

Our mission in important, folks. Whether you’re in New York, Oklahoma, California, Idaho or Alabama, please “start spreading the news”. Let’s get on it!

Unexplainable Apart From God

July 21st, 2010

alandanielson

In one of my more embarrassing moments at LifeChurch.tv I was asked to play the part of a game show host for a message series about the will of God. It’s interesting that I was chosen for the part, because I always believed with absolute certainty that my being a LifeChurch.tv was God’s will. There was no other way to explain the fact that I was on the staff of such an amazing church. My resume couldn’t explain why I was a pastor there. My life’s trajectory couldn’t explain it. My life-long denominational connections couldn’t explain it (it was my first time to work outside the Southern Baptist Convention). There was just no explaining my presence at LifeChurch.tv apart from believing that God’s sovereignty placed me there.

5 years later I’m seeking to become a lead/senior pastor and I’m in a similar place. There’s no explaining the course I’ve taken to get to this point, except that God has supernaturally directed events to lead me here. That truth is very reassuring to me, because there’s no better place for me to be than right where God wants me.

As you seek God’s plan for your own life, remember the words of Paul from Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Phil 4:6-7 (NIV)

Try not to stress out or panic. God knows what He’s doing. It may not feel like it, but He is working behind the scenes. Take comfort in the fact that you desire to know God’s will at all. Desiring to know God’s will is proof that He’s already at work in your heart!

I wish I could write some simple formula for understanding God’s plan, but I can’t. The truth is, we all just have to wait for His plan to unfold. So while you’re waiting you might as well laugh. Go ahead and laugh at my expense by watching the video* below.

*You may download this video to use for free in your church here (must first create an account).

Small Group Tip Sheets

July 20th, 2010

alandanielson

Originally posted July 29, 2009. Reposted July 20, 2010

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I’ve had some great opportunities to help develop small group tools for the churches I’ve worked in over the last few years. Many times people have asked if these resources were available without any terminology specific to a given church (i.e. LifeGroups, Journey Groups, etc.). Well here they are! I took some of those resources and removed the church-specific language so anyone can print them and use them as-is.

Click here to download these tip sheets (or click “Resources” above). The best part is that these resources are absolutely free. I truly hope that these tip sheets will immediately benefit you and your ministry. Please feel free to post a direct link to these documents on your own church website as well.

Do you have any ideas for tip sheets we should add? Share your ideas.

Anything Short of Sin

July 19th, 2010

alandanielson

My pastor at LifeChurch.tv, Craig Groeschel, often says, “We’ll, do anything short of sin to reach people for Christ.” I’d like for us to consider that statement for a minute. More specifically, I want us to consider the outcome if that statement is not true of all churches.

If a church is not willing to “anything short of sin to reach people for Christ”, that means they are willing to stop short of reaching people for Christ. Sadly, I’ve seen this in too many churches all over the world.

We Christians allow the silliest things to stop us short of reaching people for Christ:

Musical styles
Out-dated traditions
The size of facilities
Small-thinking about growth
The belief that our church is “big enough”
The notion that the staff is responsible for evangelism
Slow decision-making processes
The length of our services
The lack of good kid’s ministry
Lack of money

If churches don’t embrace and live out the phrase, “We will do anything, short of sin, to reach people for Christ”, then they are willing to sin by not reaching people for Christ. Frankly, that’s a scary place to be!

What Makes My Book Different Than All The Others?

July 15th, 2010

alandanielson

A friend of mine at Life Way, Rick Howerton, is going to be reviewing my Triple-Threat Leadership eBook on his blog soon (not sure when just yet) and he sent me a few questions. I wrote out my answers and sent them back last night, but one of his questions really stood out to me. Today, I thought I’d share it, and my answer, with you.

Rick: There has been so much written on leadership, what sets your work, Triple-Threat Leadership, apart from other leadership ideologies?

Alan: The trend in leadership books/talks today is for experts to say, “Don’t focus on your weaknesses, just leverage your strengths.” While I agree with this in principle, in practice it’s not always realistic. I believe there are three skills that all leaders, regardless of their job title, organization size, or experience must have: (1) casting vision, (2) creating strategy, and (3) fostering relationships. Leaders who learn do do all three will always succeed. All leaders are going to be better at one or two of these skills, but their leadership will be incomplete unless they learn to do the other one or two they do less-well. Triple-Threat Leadership is not about focusing on your weaknesses, and it’s not about doing all things well. It’s about doing THREE things well. Leaders who learn these three things succeed: they become “Triple-Threat Leaders”.

Click here to get your copy of Triple-Threat Leadership.

Elements of a Good Social Media Marketing Campaign

July 14th, 2010

alandanielson

Marketing has changed. People now choose how they receive their marketing, and Social Media is one of the avenues people are choosing. As such, businesses are starting Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages by the thousands every day. Some organizations do very well with Social Media Marketing, but unfortunately, many businesses aren’t getting the results they want.

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself about your social media marketing campaign.

Does your social media marketing campaign give you the ability to focus on specific geographical areas?
Is your social media marketing campaign helping with SEO (search engine optimization)?
Has your social media marketing campaign gone viral?
Is your social media marketing campaign creating raving fans (aka brand ambassadors, brand evangelists, or mavens)?
Is social media marketing getting you the results you want?

I encourage you to ask those questions because they hit on the 5 elements of a good social media marketing campaign. If you aren’t satisfied with your answers to these questions, you have two options: (1) give up social media marketing, or (2) learn to do it better. When talking to a firm or consultant who wants to help you with your social media marketing campaign, ask them these 5 questions. If they can’t answer them satisfactorily, move on to another firm or consultant.

By the way, I help organizations do these 5 things successfully, so you can always contact me.