I just learned that Bil Cornelius is blogging and I’m so very excited about it. (Thanks, John!) Bil was kind enough to spend a day with me last September and it was an amazing experience. I also got to meet John Atkinson and a bunch of other folks from Bay Area Fellowship. Everyone there was incredibly kind to me and amazingly generous with their time and wisdom. It was a great, great trip and I walk away inspired.
All I can tell you is that Bil is the real deal and I’m sure his blog is going to quickly become a “must read” for all pastors and church planters.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Bil!
BTW, I was lucky enough to get a copy of Bil’s book “Go Big” last June and I devoured it. I also gave copies away to a bunch of pastor friends because I enjoyed it so very much. In honor of Bil’s blog, I’m going to repost my review from June 2006 below. Enjoy….
I just finished reading a new book by Bil Cornelius and Bill Easum entitled Go Big: Lead Your Church to Explosive Growth and all I can say is WOW!
I first came across Bil Cornelius (Yes, he spells his first name with one “L”) at the ChurchPlanters.com conference last year. He taught a break out session on creative service planning that was absolutely filled with great thoughts and ideas. Truthfully, the session was more about how to lead and grow your church than planning a service and I took a lot of notes. I also took note of Bil himself. He seemed down to earth and it was readily apparent that he just wanted to help other church planters. He had his wife with him that day too and you could tell that they have a wonderful relationship. I was truly impressed with this dude.
Last month, I was looking over my notes and I came across something that prompted a question in my mind. I decided to email the question to Bil at his church email address. I didn’t really think that I was going to hear back from Bil himself but he responded very quickly and graciously answered my question. Again, I was impressed.
In passing, Bil mentioned his new book was available. I started looking for it but although it’s listed on Amazon and Christianbook.com, it wasn’t available for ordering yet. I did eventually find it on the Cokesbury.com site and I ordered it.
I simply can’t stress how great this little book (129 pages) is. I started highlighting important stuff in yellow in chapter one and now almost my entire copy is dripping yellow ink. The book is filled with so much wisdom and direction. The pull quotes alone would be worth the price of the book IMHO.
I like practical books and this one is just that. It’s written by two men that have obviously seen it all, or at least most of it, and they shoot straight throughout the book. It’s like some incredible church growth and leadership conference in a book format.
The Bill’s don’t pull any punches. I found myself convicted and challenged. I felt like those two guys “lovingly” kicked me in the seat of my pants. They inspired me and helped increase my vision for what my church could and should be.
Here’s the Table of Contents…
- Introduction: Get Ready for a Ride
- The Only Difference Is the Zeroes
- A Wild and Crazy God
- Structuring Your Church for Growth
- It’s Time to Lead, Pastor!
- Double Your Vision
- Preparing to Break the Growth Barriers
- The Growth Barriers
- Staffing the Church for Explosive Growth
- Saved to Serve
- Make a Big “Ask” of Yourself
- Handling Problem People
- Positioning Ourselves for Explosive Growth
Again, two thumbs up for this book. I wish every pastor I knew had a copy.