As mayor, I will always be looking for inspiration. I'm constantly looking for successful concepts that the city of Lewisville might be able to use. If you've ever visited the Fellowship Church campus in Grapevine, or Plano, or Dallas, or Ft. Worth, or Miami, you know that Ed Young is a very inspirational guy. He's bold, he's a big thinker, and he's a true leader. When I look at Fellowship Church, I see things that Lewisville can and should be doing.

Churches have struggled in the past with attendance. As important as the message was every Sunday, some members thought that the church sermons were boring. They would occasionally go to church, but not regularly. Those that went to church on a regular basis often had God on the mind during that hour, but that was about it for the week. Those problems sound familiar. At our city council meetings, we discuss very important things. Unfortunately, we typically have very poor attendance. We have to do better. In our last forum, my opponent's unique idea was, "Make sure we start getting people to come to some things," so even he realizes we have to address this problem. What did Ed Young do to change the way people think about going to church?

Ed Young used his dynamic personality and speaking abilities to completely change the way we think about chuch. He added some production value. He made it entertaining. His messages come straight from the Bible, so it's the same content we've always gotten at church, but he changed the presentation. Another reason Fellowship Church is so successful is because they understand the value of encouraging small group fellowship outside of church.

How can the city of Lewisville apply these concepts? Can the city council meetings be more interesting? Of course they can. As mayor, I would invite a special guest to speak with me at the beginning of each meeting. These short interviews could include anything from a conversation with actor and "go green" enthusiast Ed Begley Jr., where he might share some tips on going green & saving money, to a conversation with Congressman Burgess about the latest news from Washington. I don't want Lewisville citizens to have to depend on the media to get useful information. I want the city to encourage people to get informed and to get involved. A little entertainment value on our end won't hurt.

Just like Fellowship Church, I want to encourage small group fellowship, or neighborhood organizations. There are so many ways we can encourage this, including my city council DVD idea. I want to empower Lewisville citizens so they're better equipped to hold elected officials accountable for their votes and actions. Getting plugged into a neighborhood organization is one of the best ways to stay informed. I've heard it too often during this election, and I don't ever want to hear someone ask, "How did we let things get to this point," ever again. I need engaged citizens that will vote us out the minute we forget that we're supposed to be representing the people.

Lewisville needs a leader that isn't afraid to look for inspiration outside of the 5 members on the city council. There really are some good ideas out there that the city council didn't think of themselves.