Tis the Season

"It's the most wonderful time of the year."

Get ready folks for the absolute deluge of lawn ornaments and decorations to be put up. I know it is not even Thanksgiving yet, (only a few more days till Turkey Time) but it is still coming.

Obviously, as we poke fun at the festivities, they do speak to a greater reality of light entering the darkness. This Sunday we begin the season of Advent. This is a time in the church where we take some time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. It is a way to indeed remember the reason for the season - sorry, I know that is full of cheesiness.

Join us during this season as we look at the Journey - walking the road to Bethlehem. Hear the familiar story in a new way and have your heart stirred during this beautiful season. Keep posted to the blog as I share a few other devotional thoughts to prepare our hearts for Christmas.

Not Equal Amount, but Equal Sacrifice

Often in the church we become confused whenever we speak of finances. It is often communicated in ways that seek to fulfill a need rather than meet the purpose.

The temptation is to focus upon the urgent rather than the important.

As many of you may know, we are looking to eliminate our only debt as a congregation. We want to enter 2012 debt free and we have asked our congregation to pray and discern how they can sacrifice and stretch in their giving. We have asked for equal sacrifice, not an equal amount. We could have divided it up and said, 'Ok each family take ____ amount and we can do it.' No. For me, this is not biblical.

Look at the Widow's Mite. This is not about amount, it is about sacrifice. So you need to know that whatever amount you give on November 20th - God will honor it if given with a cheerful heart and is a reflection of your values and heart. Let's put our treasure where our heart is.

I encourage you to continue to pray this week and know that when we come to church this coming Sunday, it will be day that will forever change our future. Get excited, the best days are yet to come.

owner/manager

A Prayer:

"Lord, am I honoring You as owner and CEO/CFO of the assets You've entrusted to my care? Or am I treating You as a mere financial consultant, to whom I pay a fee (2%, 10%, or...)? Have I been acting as if I own the store and You work for me, rather than recognizing that You own it and I work for You?

"The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants." (Leviticus 25:23)

quote to ponder...

As God's managers of the resources entrusted to us... how do you respond to the following quote?

"We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't even like."

- Dave Ramsey

Is there anything on your shelf, in your house, or in your car that you can see as an example of this? Now that we have talked about some of the theological and biblical understandings of Stewardship (God owns it all, we are His managers), how do we adjust the way we handle God's resources?

Let's get practical here.

Step 1 - Act your wage. If you can't pay for it, you shouldn't buy it.

Step 2 - Need versus Want. Asking this question will help prioritize our purchases.

more to come...

Fast Food for the Soul

On our leadership retreat this past week, I was presented with this great image....

Fast Food for the Soul.

We have settled for:

French Fried Places: It is the building, location, or other structure that has taken our focus more than the ministry of Christ. While a place is essential - it is not central to the ministry.

Big Mac Personalities: Is your church focused on Christ or is it based around the personality of the preacher?

Supersized Programs: Often programs get the most of our attention and we have forgotten to move people further in their walk with God.

Apple Pie People: Often we are scared to move forward because it is unfamiliar and not the usual. We want people to know who we are and to know who everyone is...

Fast food is not good for you. Neither is fast food for the soul. Where have we fallen into these temptations as leaders of the church?

Al Davis - Steve Jobs

I was listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio as I was driving up to school today and he had a short commentary on Al Davis. For some reason, it really hit home with me and with some of my ideas and line of thinking. For those of you who know me, I am a NUT for organizational development books or ideas. I just can't get enough of them and continue to try and stretch myself to read, grow, and be a better leader. Check this out....

What is the difference between Al Davis and Steve Jobs? Both are iconic in their personalities and well-known and loved by many. Both men this week have passed away and left a legacy behind them. Though they both have a rebellious spirit like most true entrepreneurs have, they are different in the end.

Al Davis went from being not very relevant or cared for one day to another day being made an icon for his affect on the NFL. Forgotten, then immortalized in 24 hours. Steve Jobs had a continue affect and is being called the Einstein of our day. What is the difference? Both pushed past the boundaries of their perspective field into the future. The difference is...

Al Davis saw the future of the NFL, worked to get there, but STOPPED. Steve Jobs continually pushed and moved forward with each product and idea. He saw the future, got there, and then continued to dream. For those of you who still dream out there.... what will you do when you get to your preferred future? Will you stop or keep moving forward?

vince young

Dear Vince,

Next time you want to speak to something you know nothing about.... remain silent. How about your dream team now? I love the fact that he thought that if you just get a bunch of good players put them on a team, and then it would just work. They didn't even play a game and he called them a dream team. Reality hurts doesn't it.

Teamwork is so much more than that. Reference Patrick Lencioni's "5 Dysfuncations of a Team" to learn more about how to grow as a team...

Take a lesson from Vince - next time you want to speak to something you have no experience in; don't.