Some of the most significant events in life happen outside any clever planning on our parts. This is ever so true in this new chapter of The A Group. Today, Pete Wilson, author, speaker and former pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN is joining our team as our new President. Here’s how it happened.

Social media works. Period. Savvy churches are now using social media to fund raise, organize events, and bring people to Christ. The old adage that dictated that the pastor of a church had to use the stage for all formal announcements is over. Churches and their communities are plugged in. Communication 101: reach people where they are. And for a large demographic in today’s world that most likely means via social media. Cross Point Church here in Nashville held an overwhelmingly successful night of praise this week that was completely announced via social media and an impressive 1,500 people showed up to the event. No emails, no church bulletins, no announcements were made. This was pure buzz generated solely via social media. Using powerful imagery and graphics and promoting the event with the hashtags #WorshipNight #OneNightOneVoice, Cross Point built up excitement. By posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, they spread…

Sometimes a book comes along that hits you like a ton of bricks. “Empty Promises” is that kind of a read. My friend and pastor Pete Wilson’s new book is not only something I’m proud to be part of, but it truly is a powerful reminder of how easy it is for me to be trapped by the dangers of the empty promises. When asked about the book, Pete says, “I wrote this book because I see a natural drift in my life. It’s a drift toward things that do not satisfy me, have never satisfied me, and have no hope of ever satisfying me, but I still continue to pursue them anyway.” How ironic is it that although we’ve had gadgets, relationships, success, beauty and all these things that the world says, “This is what satisfies you,” we’ve had those things…and we’ve tasted them….and they didn’t satisfy. So much…

If you have ever met me in person, you know that I’m highly relational. I’m truly blessed to work with people I like. I’m at the stage in my career that I don’t have to pursue relationships that are only financially motivated. This year, instead of paying for a booth at the Catalyst Conference (13 thousand Christians leaders meeting for 3 days in Atlanta), I opted to have a small gathering of clients, friends and even some new friends at a restaurant near the arena. Everyone seemed to have had a great time. I loved it. It was a great fit for my personality and the type of work our branding and development team does: focused, personal and relational. By the end of the evening, our friends and clients were talking unsolicited about the value we bring to them to our new friends and potential clients. I realized years ago…