This past week was monumental for me and our family.  First, our triplets turned 14….and I still have all of my hair (just not any money or sanity).  Secondly, my parents, A.J. and Leona Cool celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  That is monumental.  That is truly incredible.

As I thought about their anniversary, I wrote them an e-mail…and yes, they have e-mail, which is also impressive seeing that they are technological aliens (meaning they were not raised with technology).  I want to share with you that e-mail:

I was thinking about today…and what 60 years of marriage means.  For me, it has a whole slew of meanings and ramifications…but the over arching one is “Leaving a Legacy”.   Here is what I mean:

1.  In today’s world of high divorce rates and splintered family units, you have left a legacy showing that God ordained marriage can last a life time.

2. Not all of marriage experiences are rosy, but that through perseverance, love and a commitment to each other, obstacles can be overcome…with God’s help.

3. Having a marriage that is first and foremost a covenant before God, is foundational to the legacy.

I am so blessed to have a legacy to build upon.  To have an example that has laid a foundation for learning.

Thank you for your lives…you love…your prays…and your legacy.

I am incredibly blessed to have parents that are still able to share life with me on this earth…that pray for me daily….that love me unconditionally.  But also that have left a legacy and an example of a life long relationship with God and each other. Wow…I pray that I can leave such a legacy for my kids.

I love you mom and dad!

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How many of you have been through a construction project in the past 10 years? How did that go? Did you ever feel alone? Ever wonder if anyone was on your side? Ever feel like everyone that you hired (or that was hired for you) had their own agenda?

I hear your pain…and I have seen the damage in the wake of that pain.

Now, I have a lot of friends and colleagues in the church “development” space that are already turning red in the face and ready to jump down my throat…just hold on…don’t get too worked up…yet.  There will be plenty of time for that later and maybe much later.

Before I get started let me do the “disclaimer” bit…not all projects go bad (in fact most end up pretty well).  Not all contractors are out to deceive you or make their “real” profit margins through change orders…not all design professionals want to design monuments to themselves without listening to the real needs, wants and budget of the church…not all Audio/Visual/Lighting contractors/designers think that your system should rival Carnegie Hall…not all fund raisers claim to help you raise 6 times annual income. OK…enough of my political correctness…you get the point.

But, I assure you that there are way too many instances where a trusting soul in the church or church leadership goes down an ill-advised path that results in exactly these scenarios.  So…who is there to protect the church?  Who is on the church’s “side”?

I have been doing a fairly extensive study on project delivery methods for design and construction.  What I have found extremely odd, is that each of the popular methodologies boast that their system is the “best” because they are on the clients side and they are there to protect the client. While I believe that many of them believe this to be true, I am not sure it is humanly possible.

I have heard general contractors say for years that they want the best for the church and that if it is not the right space that they would tell the church not to build.  I have seen this on occasion, but if those same general contractors do not eventually build something…then they are out of business.  Their paradigm is to build buildings…plain and simple.

I know architects that really believe that they are the last line of defense against the big bad contractor and that without them all heck will break out and the client will be abused.  In some cases, I think they may have a point.  But if they were truly more interested in the church than their own agendas, then why do they not take more time to understand what a church can REALLY afford…for the TOTAL project budget?  Why do so many churches that “bid” come in over budget? Again…this is not an issue with all firms…but it is true with more than it should be.

While I am asking questions…shouldn’t every person involved with the project be on the church’s side? Just saying…

OK…let me tell you what I think the real issues are (and it is not necessarily for all of the cases I have stated previously):

1. Churches need a translator: Most of the churches that I have dealt with need a translator that can speak“construction-ese”. Someone who can read a set of blueprints and give them a real life example of what the lines on the paper mean. Someone that can explain a change order and if it is valid or not.  A person that can explain that you need an appraisal before you can close a loan and that the process could take months and not just days.   I have seen the light bulb go on for so many committees and leaders when someone sits down and tells them, in layman terms, what a construction term, word, phrase, acronym, drawing or the like really means. (By the way…PLEASE stop using acronyms that are germane to your field of endeavor…you make church leaders feel stupid…not a good move and it leads to confusion and missed expectations)

2. Churches need a relationship: Do you really want to spend hundred of thousand or even millions of dollars with a person or firm that you have very little relationship with? Is that even wise?  If you are a business owner, would you enter into a 2-3 year(or longer) joint venture with someone you did not have a good working relationship with?

3. Churches need transparency: I believe that in today’s technologically based society, with its ease of accessing data, transparency is the new norm. Churches can research and find out pretty quickly what a building should cost, or how much a new video projector can be bought for on the internet.  With all of this data at our fingertips (and those of our clients) why would any firm think it is wise to hide numbers or not be transparent? If your “service” or product is really that much better than another firm/company, then by all means charge accordingly and you should be compensated for the differentiating features…but don’t hide it.  Are you embarrassed of the fees?

I believe that the above 3 items are great steps to better facilitated design and construction projects for churches.  I also believe that the firms that are willing to embrace being on the church’s “side” will flourish as the economy recovers…and yes…the people on the church’s side can be contractors, architects, engineers, construction managers, owner’s reps and the like.  What we call ourselves in the market place is less important than how we serve the church.

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I am no stock guru…in fact I only own a couple publicly traded stocks…but this headline grabbed my attention.

Earlier this week, the second-quarter earnings reports came out for most publicly traded companies.  I was riding in my car listening to the financial news (I know…BORING) when I head that Home Depot and Wal-Mart had posted higher than expected earnings.  So…it got me thinking as to why, in this economy (especially with construction being down) would the world’s largest home improvement retailer see such an increase.  So I have doing some research.

The first place I turned was the Wall Street Journal web based Market Watch report.  This was very enlightening.  If you read the report you will see that:

1. Home Depot’s profits rose 6.8%

2. Lowes (a direct competitor) profits rose 10%

3. Standard & Poor’s Equity Research analyst Michael Souers upgraded Home Depot to hold from sell

So…why the increase in profit?  Well, according to the WSJ report, it is based on what is being purchased.  According to thge report “Large tickets, for transactions above $900, fell 4.9% as professionals remain slow to get back to major projects; tickets under $50 grew 2.4%, driven by day-to-day maintenance jobs.”

What does this indicate to me with regards to stewarding the facilities God has entrusted us with… particularly in these tough times?  I believe it is an indicator that more and more people (including churches) are taking stock in the assets that they already have and spending the available resources on extending the life of these assets by fixing, repairing, maintaining and managing these assets.  In talking to many churches, I am seeing a couple trends:

1. Churches are more likely to find a way to extend the life of facilites and equipment than to buy/build new

2. Churches are more likely to find a different way to “program”  to meet their needs than to add new facilities.

3. For those churches that need to build just to continue providing space for their growing ministries, they are considering smaller projects than 2-3 years ago. (call Jim Shepphard at Generis and ask him how many of their campaigns were for new construction over the past 12 months).

So…what is the take away?  I think it boils down to a more acute understanding of stewardship…which is more about taking care if what has been give to us (entrusted) than what we “give”.  In the case of our ministry facilities, it comes down to a better understanding of facility stewardship…which is caring for the facilities God has entrusted to us to facilitate ministry.

How are you doing with your facility stewardship? Keep in mind that this goes beyond just “maintenance” but also includes facility Management…which leads to maintenance.

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This past week I was driving on I-85 between Charlotte and Atlanta and saw a billboard for a church that said:

ABC* Church and School…the way it used to be (* I will not reveal the name of the church…but if you Google “Church, the way it used to be” you may be shocked at how  many churches use this slogan)

I saw this and just thought…HUH?  Really?  Are you serious?????

I know what they are trying to say…but REALLY?  Do you really want things the way they used to be?  Do you really want church and school to be the way it “used to be”….really?  Let’s think about how church and school used to be:

1. Schools “used to” meet in a one room facility

2. Schools “used to” not have computers

3. Schools “used to” use corporal punishment in excess

4. Churches “used to” require that you wear a coat and tie (that is the piece of cloth that men sometimes wear around their neck…just in case you are less than 25 years old)

5. Churches “used to” use a Latin version of the Bible

6. Churches “used to” require their minister to wear a robe to preach in.

7. Churches “used to” do all of their music with a pipe organ only, if any instruments.

8. Churches “used to” print bulletins on a mimeograph machine.

9. Churches and schools “used to” not have air conditioning or heat

10. Churches and schools “used to” require men and women sit on opposite sides

OK….enough of my rant…but I for one do not want to do “church or school” the way it used to be done in the past. I believe that the cultural and social changes that we have been blessed with have allowed us to better grow disciples that love God and love people…and allow us to impact a culture that is far from God.  While the message of the Gospel can never be compromised…and the truths of the Bible never forsaken, our means, methods and approaches must stay relevant and contextual to the society we are trying to serve…you know…in the world, not of it.

Let me share one more example.  I have heard for many years the argument of traditional vs. contemporary music in church.  This is an argument that does not ring true to me (no pun intended).  What is contemporary? According to the dictionary, it means : of the present time; modern. Simply put, it is what is happening right now.  And yet, so many churches have tried to make “contemporary” an ugly word.  Let’s take an honest look at church music. Fanny Crosby is credited with writing dozens…maybe hundreds of hymns that were made popular in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s.  This era of church history was called the Sunday School Era as that is when Sunday School was first started.  Now we talk about how we need to have music the way it “used to be”…which generally means we need more hymns. But the reality is, the hymns of that day were the contemporary music of the day and were considered trite and trivial compared to the great works of Bach, Beethoven, and other great composers of the Middle Ages.  Sounds pretty familiar to today.

Now…I am not saying that the music of the Middle Ages is not relevant or that hymns have no meaning or place in our current culture…but I am asking if we really want our churches and schools to be “the way it used to be”.

Think about it.

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HMMM….save money….what a unique concept.

Over this past year we have looked at many items that can save your church/organization money with “building” related adjustments (i.e. change the type of light bulbs, add a building automation system or network thermostat product, etc).  We have also explored the opportunity to save money by looking at your staffing and outsourcing systems.  These are all valid and need to be considered.

But today, I want to shift our thinking to our site improvements….you know…our yards, grassed areas, landscaping, irrigation systems, etc.  These areas are too often over looked when considering the overall cost of operation of our facilities and we just continue to water the yards…cut the grass…put down new mulch/needles…and then do it all over again…and again…and again.

I have developed a relationship with Mr. Andrew Hill, Registered Landscape Architect and VP of the Charlotte division of Cardno. Carndo is a 70 year old international firm, that according to their website… “is an integrated professional services provider, delivering the specialist expertise necessary to create and improve the physical and social infrastructure that underpins communities around the world.  Cardno’s team includes leading professionals who plan, design, manage and deliver sustainable projects or community programs”

Andrew and his team has worked with our team at Cool Solutions Group and I have found them to be extremely knowledgeable and proactive in saving their clients time, energy and money.  Now that is refreshing.

Andrew has developed a Case Study on the concept of taking your site green…but with the specific twist of making it less expensive to operate and maintain.  While this document is geared more toward a commercial development (with a small bent on selling their services), it has principles that can be incorporated into any site regardless of the size or use.  

Take the time to read the Case Study and see how you can incorporate some of its suggestions for your site….and start saving additional operational dollars.  Remember…ever dollar that you save operationally can be “re-invested” into your maintenance budget or directly back into ministry.  Now that is an exciting proposition.

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On June 23rd, Ron Chandler and I had the privelege to present a workshop at the NACBA National Convention entitled:

Church Facility Management: THE FACTS

Since that time we have had a number of requests for the audio (or video) version of the workshop.  So…we have uploaded the 90 minutes of audio (sorry…no video) recording on our website which is available HERE (it is about 90 minutes long….so grab a snack and some iced tea).  I realize this is not the same as sitting in the standing room only workshop, but it will give you a sense of the topics and the discussion points.

In addition,  we are providing links to the convention  OUTLINE for the workshop as well as a link to our RESOURCE page that has many of the resources and other forms that we used as part of the workshop.

Finally….you may want to read the Sidebar article in Religious Product News on Facility Management software.  We wrote this for RPN for the NACBA edition.  It addresses some of the items that you will hear in the workshop.

Feel free to contact  me if you need any other information on this topic or on our web based Room Scheduling software or Facility Management/Work Order Management software.  We will be more than happy to arrange a free web demo.

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Decaying old churches face ‘trouble in paradise’ – USATODAY.com.

That is the headline of a recent USA Today article.  Take a minute and read it…I will wait…

OK…with that as the back drop, I want to hammer on some of the points I have been trying to make for a long time…and had the chance to share this week at the NACBA Convention in Orlando.

1. ALL buildings deteriorate…PERIOD.

2. The rate of deterioration is usually 1-4%…IF you perform some level of systematic preventive maintenance

3. The deterioration rate can double if preventive maintenance is not performed

4. Deferred Maintenance will compound and result in more expensive repair costs at a later date.

5. Preventive Maintenance is LESS expensive than corrective maintenance.

Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you are saving money or being a good steward by deferring or neglecting preventive maintenance.  In actuality, the deferred maintenance will cost you more in the long run…which is poor stewardship.

OK…I will get off the soap box again. To read more about this, check out our White Paper on the issues:

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About 15+ months ago I started a diligent routine of prayer journalling.  This routione has 2 aspects:

1. In the morning I pray/journal the things I need to “turn over” to God

2. At night, I pray/journal the things I am thankful for

As you can imagine, it is a lot easier to list things that I am thankful for than admitting/confessing the things that I need to release and turn over.  Frankly, it can be down right tough to confess the things that I need to turn over….but I am getting more comfortable with it and have been so blessed by the exercise.

Over the past month or so I have really been struggling with the dichotomy of “turning over” on one hand and using the gifts God has given me on the other.  I have taken no less than 1/2 dozen personality profiles over the years…in fact, just took another last week.  In each case, I am pegged as:

1. Dominant

2. Hard driver – Rocket personality

3.  Decisive

4. Aggressive

5. Strategic, ideation, maximization, etc.

So…I have been struggling with the incorporation of those God given traits with the need to release control (my big nemesis) to God.  So, I spent some time with my mom and dad (what a blessing to still have them in my life…praying for me daily…Love you!!!) and raised this conundrum with them.  My dad was a pastor for 25 years then was involved in administration of large heath facilities (still a pastor…just with a different congregation).  He shared with me the principle of  ”Don’t Touch the Glory”.  This is a principle that he had heard several times including from evangelists as well as Cliff Barrows with The Billy Graham Crusades.

Here is the premise of the principle:

- Use the gifts God has given you

-Use the situations God has placed you in

-Be the BEST you can be with the gifts provided

-Be willing to participate in God’s plan…not yours

-DON’T TOUCH THE GLORY – it all belongs to God

That has been really freeing for me.  I was struggling with turning things over, which seemed to be a passive act…and yet my gifts and personality are much more action oriented.  As I have thought on this and shared it with others, I can see that God has gifted me/us each with skills, expertise, life experiences, talents…and brains.  He gave these to use for a reason.  He wants us to use them…not hide them under a basket.  But…we need to use them for HIS glory…not our own.  These gifts are his…nor ours.  He gave them…he intends to use them through us to fulfill His plan.  So…I have the freedom and responsibility to use them…but not to bring me glory…rather Him.  There is great freedom in that for me…and I hope for you as well.

So…go use all the gifts God has given you…just don’t touch the Glory.

By the way…if you are going to the NACBA conference this week in Orlando, come spend some time with me and Ron Chandler from Shelby Systems on Friday morning at 8:30 for our workshop on Church Facility Management: The Facts.  Hope to see you then.

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I was blessed out of my socks to be invited to attend the International Shelby Conference (hosted by Shelby Systems….thanks Ron Chandler for the invite) in June.  What blew me away was the genuine spiritual tenor and flavor of the event.  The day I attended…as did each day…started off with praise and worship and a teaching time.

On this particular day, the guest speaker for the session was Mr. Dan Busby, President of ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability).  This was one of the best plenary teaching times I have head in some time.  Dan is one smart guy…and has tremendous insight regarding financial issues. But what stuck with me, was his passion for the Lord and His people. This was so refreshing to me…so…I asked Dan if I could share the outline that he taught from…for which he graciously consented…thanks Dan.  Unfortunately, you are only going to get the highlights…you need to get a hold of Shelby Systems or Dan if you want the whole enchilada.

KEYS TO SUCCESS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES (I would add…for all times)

1. Practice Integrity – Integrity has no need for rules. (This really struck me…how many of us try to legislate integrity?)

2. Talk Straight - Let your yes be yes…and your no be no

3. Listen Aggressively – “When was the last time you were criticized for listening too much” (Norm Augustine – Lockheed Martin)

4. Ignite Trust – Low trust exposes everything (This concept is further explained in the best selling book “The Speed of Trust” by Stephen MR Covey)

5. Create Margin – In all you do…including but not limited to time, personal finances, business finances, commitments, etc. (A great resource for this is Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard A. Swenson)

6. Require Simplicity – “If you cannot explain something simply, you don’t know enough about it” Albert Einstein

7. Insist on Flexibility – While we can learn from history, history has never been here before.

Dan finished the session by saying, “Success is having clearly defined goals consistent with God’s plan and faithfully meeting them with integrity.”

These are great lessons for all of us…whether in business, church leadership and our families.

Thanks again to my friends at Shelby Systems for a great day.

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Welcome to Part 3 of our series of “Simply Strategic Stuff”.  As I have mentioned , these are taken, with permission, from the book Simply Strategic Stuff by Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens.  I strongly recommend that you pick up the book as there are 99 great insights…and we will only be addressing a handful as part of this series.

This lesson is one that is near and dear to my heart…and one that anyone that has been involved in ministry can relate to.  Voluntarism is a wonder element in church life.  In fact, it should be the heart beat of the church. I am a firm believer that ministry is to be done by the church (i.e. the congregation as the hands and feet of Christ) and that as such they are led and equipped by the “paid staff”.  Given that, let’s see what Tony and Tim have to say:

SIMPLY STRATEGIC STUFF #32 – You Can’t Fire Volunteers When the Construction Project Stalls

Many times churches place too much emphasis on availability and not enough on ability. This may be the primary mistake I hear when I talk with church leaders about their building projects.

It’s not an intentional mistake. In fact, it comes from pure motives. Members of the church are excited about the growth of the church and are eager to volunteer their skills in areas in which they have interest, training, or expertise. The church leaders are excited about saving money on the project. they enlist available volunteers without appropriate reference checks, written agreements, or accountability systems and then find themselves in trouble.

Here are some of the typical difficulties the church encounters:

• The volunteers can’t keep up with the schedule. WHY? Because the nature of the word volunteer. They may be doing the work after hours from their “real” jobs.  They may be retired but have other responsibilities. And yet you have hired contractors that are scheduling their work around your volunteers.  Once a contractor pulls off your job to someone else’s project, its difficult to get him back.
• The ability of the volunteer isn’t what you expect, and the quality of the project suffers. It’s a sad day when you walk in and see that the rooms that were just painted by your volunteers have to be repainted. And, worse yet, you have to tell the volunteers, “your work isn’t good enough. Go home.” But really, it’s not their fault – it’s yours.
• The volunteers feel used by the end of the project. They have great hearts and just want to help, but now they feel pushed. It’s not very fun anymore. It’s not very gratifying to give when the giving is expected. Even so, you have to push them because they aren’t moving quickly enough for your contractor.

Here are some suggestions for handling volunteers in thgis situation:

• Utilize their gifts and availability on smaller projects…that don’t require coordination with a contractor or are not time-sensitive.
• When you have skilled and reputable contractors in the church who want to donate services to the church, encourage them to submit their discounted bids to the general contractor. Take yourself out of the loop.  Make the general contractor responsibile for quality and schedule.
• Check references. Always. Always. Always. Even if you’ve been attending church with these people for twenty years, you need to check their professional references.

Tim Stevens (who wrote this section) ends by saying, “Working with volunteers on your project doesn’t have to be a problem. Implement some of these suggestions, and you’ll create a win for the volunteers as well as for the project.”

Another good lesson to remember.  I can speak from firsthand experience that they are dead on.

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