Some years back, I was driving late at night through West Virginia, trying to find something on the radio. Yes, they have radio there.

As you can imagine, the selections were pretty limited. Hitting the scan button yielded: bad preaching, bluegrass, gospel, and maybe a country station when we got near a town. Eventually, I zoned out and quit paying attention to what the radio was scanning over, until I heard a gospel song that caught my ear.

A woman with a great big voice was slowly singing about all of her troubles, all her pain, and all her sorrow. But then, she broke into a raucous chorus I’ll never forget:

“Put it on the Master’s Card….Charge it to Calvary.”

I’ve never heard the song again. Looked for it a lot, but can’t seem to find it. But I’ll never forget it.

As we head toward Easter, I’m reminded of that woman, that song, and just why we lean toward the Cross and Empty Tomb. Remember that with me this week. Got sorrow? Pain? Guilt? Shame?

Put on the Master’s Card. Charge it to Calvary.

He’s got you covered.

I’m pleased to announce that the Vanderbloemen Search Group is launching a new Senior Pastor search for a vibrant congregation of 2500 in the midwest.

The new Pastor will have the chance to lead an outstanding congregation and staff into a new chapter of vision, mission, and growth.

Check out the details here.

If this position interests you, or you know of anyone who might be a good candidate, you can contact me directly or upload your resume to our firm’s database. All correspondence is strictly confidential.

The good Book says, “My God will supply your every need.”

Last week, He supplied my need through Brookstone.

I was walking through an airport, connecting flights, and on the phone with a client for the Vanderbloemen Search Group, and my phone’s battery was dying. I know….not so much of a stretch for the imagination.

Problem was, I really needed to finish this particular call, and I had no way to plug the phone in as I made my way to my next flight.

I walked by the Brookstone kiosk, where one of their workers came up to me, and saw me pointing to my phone’s battery indicator. She pointed me to battery extenders. I chose one, thinking it would be a smart purchase for the future. But then she took the box out of my hand, went around back, pulled out another box of the same product and wrote down on paper, “We keep a few of these charged up in the back for people in your situation.”

Sold. To be honest, she could have charged a lot more than she did and I would have bought. And from now on, I’m with Brookstone. They didn’t just anticipate the product I needed, but went the extra step to figure out how and when I would need it. It’s no wonder they made it and The Sharper Image went out of business.

Since then, Brookstone and that employee have gotten in my head. “Does my church think that strategically? Am I anticipating what struggles my visitors and attenders are going through, and is our church taking the next step to meet those needs right away?” Has Brookstone out served the church?

Paul told his people, “My God will supply your every need.”

Is my church doing this for the people who are coming?

Is yours?

With a week behind us since the launch of The Vanderbloemen Search Group, web traffic is way beyond my biggest expectations.

Some of that is due to friends who posted articles about us (I’ll list them all in an upcoming post). Some of the credit goes to the amazing work Will Mancini’s company, Auxano did with linking our new branding to our story.

But the behind the scenes, secret sauce making credit goes to our code and design team, M!lk Engine.

No matter how cool your site looks, what’s under the hood is what drives traffic. M!lk Engine gets that and knows the jedi tricks to lining up code and other things I don’t even know about. They bring IT experience from Fortune 50 companies and church experience (John Saddington is the behind the scenes force running North Point’s online service).

Their team, headed up by John Saddington (aka @human3rror), blended the best of SEO practices under the hood with a design that fit both our branding, and the simple, elegant experience we were after.

John has built sites for lots of folks you may know, including Michael Hyatt, my executive search partner Carlos Whittaker, and the site you’re on now.

John is a busy guy. He’s not the cheapest. But I’ve looked at a lot of companies, and can clearly say that he’s the best I know at building websites for ministries. Period.

“What do you call 2000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?”

“A good start.”

With a father, brother, uncle, sister in law, and best friend who are all practicing attorneys, I’ve heard them all. And despite the good examples I’ve seen in family friends, I understand the jokes and why there are so many of them.

Finding a lawyer you can trust is great. Finding one who also knows your trade is amazing.

That’s why I was excited to learn about The Church Law Group (also known as Anthony & Middlebrook) and to sit down with them for a podcast about our new firm.

I had heard of them for years through many colleagues who have used the group for legal matters in church work. If they published their client list, you’d be amazed. When I went into my own business in the church world, I figured they were someone I should look at for help incorporating my new firm.

Alongside that knowledge, my best friend has been badgering me for years to get to know his trusted friend in Dallas who does some work for church folk. I’d trust my friend with my life, and he says the same of his friend in Dallas. Turns out, the law group and this mutual friend are one in the same. Matt Anthony and I became friends quickly. I saw immediately why he’s both skilled and trustworthy. I hired him on the spot.

The Church Law group does everything from handle simple things like compensation issues, contracts for purchasing sattelite sites, and labor agreements. They also handle sticky messes that churches find themselves in from time to time. They know the law, particularly as it pertains to the particular and unique rights of clergy, churches, artists and authors in the church world.

Take a listen to the podcast we recently did together where they introduced my executive search work with The Vanderbloemen Search Group to their clients. Take a look at their website. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

“What do you call a couple of lawyers who know their stuff and are trustworthy?”

“A great start.”