Revitalize Your Church

Excuses are a dime a dozen. You can come up with all kinds of good reasons why you haven't been your best. You can blame the boss. You can blame the environment. You can blame your family. You can blame the clock (I just don't have time.) You can blame the situation. If you're looking for a way to weasel out of what you should be doing, you'll find it. The human mind has the uncanny ability to rationalize anything. The bottom line, however, is that if you continue making excuses for mediocrity, you will never realize your true, God-given, potential. It does no good to dream about what you are going to accomplish tomorrow if you're unwilling to pay the price today. Inspiration without commitment vanishes at the first hint of difficulty. A vision without careful planning is only a daydream. An idea isn't worth much unless it is accompanied by shoe leather. Refuse to cave into "somewhere over the rainbow" thinking. Your "ship" isn’t coming in. M...

What About Mediocre Churches?

Thirteen Baptists from Milwaukee were arrested last week here in the Hayward area, with 2,238 fish, mostly crappies, well beyond the bag limit of 15 each. The Department of Natural Resources will now sponsor fish fries for various community organizations. Some locals, close to the situation, have wondered, "What's up with these guys? Shouldn't a church group know better? How on earth could they disregard the laws so flagrantly?" I wonder if maybe they were just trying to follow in the footsteps of St. Peter. He said, "I go a fishing" and the rest of the gang said, "we'll go a fishing too!" 1) Maybe they fished all night and then cast their nets on the other side of the boat. 2) Maybe they were trying to feed five thousand. 3) Maybe they were looking for the elusive fish with a golden coin in its belly. One thing is clear. They're certainly going to "render unto Caesar, that which is Caesars." I hope our Milwaukee Baptist b...

Read the following poem three times slowly: He who binds to himself a joy, does the winged life destroy. But he who kisses the joy as it flies, lives in eternity's sunrise. -- William Blake What does this mean to you?

A concerned Pastor Jones addressed the Missions Committee. "Folks, we have a big problem," he began, "Several of our members are not fulfilling their pledges to support the missionaries. Our fund is dangerously low, and I'm not sure what to do." "I've got an idea," said Bubba, "How about if I write a letter in your name to all the people who haven't paid up. Surely, they will come around once they know how important it is." "Why thank you, Bubba!" Pastor Jones replied, "I'll provide you a list of all the people who need the reminder, along with the stationary, envelopes, stamps." Sure enough, a week later, the mission pledges started pouring in. A personal note accompanied one contribution which read: "Dear Pastor Jones, Thank you for your passionate letter regarding the Mission Fund. My wife and I are very sorry that we have gotten behind on our giving to support missionaries. We apologize deeply, an...

Seth Godin recently posted an insightful piece concerning the chasm of the new marketing: The marketing department used to be in charge of talking. Ads are talking. Flyers are talking. Billboards are talking. Trade shows are talking. Now, of course, marketing can't talk so much, because people can't be easily forced to listen. So the only option is to be in charge of doing. Read the whole post here Makes me wonder how this applies to church.

1. Honor the Past without Worshiping It 2. Celebrate the Present without Settling for It. 3. Embrace the Future without Fearing It. My friend, Mark Gorveatte, shared these thoughts last Sunday at the 100th Anniversary of the Owosso Wesleyan Church in Michigan. A great reminders for ALL congregations regardless of how old they are. (I swiped this from his facebook status.)

Out of Ur reported on a sobering Wall Street Journal article on pastoral unemployment: Unemployed pastors in 2005: 2000 Unemployed pastors in 2007: 3000 Unemployed pastors in 2009: 5000 WSJ article here

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis. -- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Watch this video before you answer:

1. Pray 2. Preach 3. Lead 4. Love And not necessarily in that order.

“We are put on earth a little space,” said poet, William Blake, “that we may learn to bear the beams of love.” What does it mean to “bear the beams of love?” The Risk of Receiving It: When the light of pure love shines brightly, our natural tendency is to scamper away like frightened mice and hole up in a good hiding place. Hiding is much safer than loving. You can hide from a distance. If you’re going to love, you have to do that up close. This brings the possibility of pain. Loving and pain are Siamese twins; they’re always connected together. The beams of love shine the light of truth on any given situation. Sometimes, we don’t want to know the whole truth. It’s too hard for us to accept. By lingering in the shadows, we do not have to face the brutal facts. Exposing ourselves to beams of love brings a certain vulnerability and risk that many are unwilling to take. You can hardly live without loving, however. A loveless life leads directly to despair. You might feel “safe” behind cas...

Great post by my friend, Heath Davis, Why Safe Isn't Enough

According to a recent survey conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Values, the primary competency CEO'S value above all others is. . . Creative Disruption! Business leaders are looking for people who can 1) Distrupt the status quo 2) Disrupt existing business models 3) Disrupt organizational paralysis More here in a post by Frank Kern , senior vice president of Global Business Services. So, how does this apply to the church?

Amena Brown's monologue at the Chick-fi-A Leadercast

A great idea from Mount Union Wesleyan Church in Pennsylvania. Kudos to Pastor Josh Rhone and his missional, small town congregation who really get what Jesus meant when he said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Small Town Church Redefines Potluck Dinners

Waken, sleeping butterflies, Burst your narrow prison! Spread your golden wings and rise, For the Lord is risen! -- Easter Song by Mary A. Lathbury

"Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you." -- Carl Sandburg

Copyright Gospel Communications Interntional, Inc. -- www.reverendfun.com (Used with permission)

My staff is attending a Church Leadership Conference -- for free! On Wednesday, we'll travel all the way to our church sanctuary, where it's going to be beamed online to the big scren. The Sage Conference will be held Wednesday, May 19 at 11:00 (central,) concluding about four hours later. Around 40 well seasoned ministry leaders will answer the question, "What things have you done, that if given the chance, you would have done differently?" A great resource, for pastors and other church leaders. Register here. You can't beat the price, the content is excellent, and here in Ojibwe country, the word "sage" has unique connotations.

Don't let troubles trouble you. Problems are opportunities in disguise! Some of us are blessed with dozens of such opportunities. Perhaps you would like give a few of them to somebody else. We shouldn't really think it's strange when trials come. That's merely a part of the human condition. Trouble comes to everybody. Jesus Christ, himself, said, "In this world, you WILL have tribulation." The more responsibility you have, the more difficulty you will encounter. If your life is full of struggles, it means you are doing something right. A wise old bard once said, "You know when you are on the road to success -- it's uphill all the way!" The other day I thought I would drive to a place in town where there were no troubles. I couldn't go to the hospital -- problems there. I couldn't go to the bank -- problems there. Couldn't go to church either -- problems there. The only place I could find where the people didn't have problems was ...

In this wonderful post at Just Call Me Pastor , Bishop Donald Bastian shares some insight given to him as a young minister from great preacher, C. W. Burbank: During one of my first conversations with him he shared a bit of wisdom. He explained that some ministers are more skilled at mending their fences than others. He meant that when a misunderstanding or even an unintended interpersonal rift developed, such pastors seem to have a knack for restoring trusting relationships. Others, he went on, leave the gap unaddressed and allow it to take on a certain permanence. If this happens with another family, and then another, Rev. Burbank explained, the misunderstandings accumulate sufficiently to destroy the trust of the congregation as a whole. A wall develops and the minister loses the trust of the congregation and he must move on. Bishop Bastian goes on to share some thoughts on how to mend the fence here.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo .

John Frederic Oberlin is widely considered to be one of the most successful small town pastors in history. Ministering at the turn of the 17th Century in the Ban de la Roche, France, he devoted his life to the people in this remote region. He never wrote a book, nor did he travel and speak outside his parish -- yet, over 100 books have been written about him. An Ohio college (and town) was named after him. While reading John W. Kurtz's biography, John Frederic Oberlin , I was impressed by Oberlin's predecessor, Pastor Stuber. Rev. Stuber tilled the garden Oberlin planted. He recruited the young pastor, and served as his mentor. During Oberlin's first year of ministry, the wise Stuber wrote: You have an engaging quality that makes you really more capable than I have been, provided that you remain fearless of all except God and that you not allow yourself to be stifled or overwhelmed by a multiplicity of projects. I do want to remind you that one can be turned away from Chr...

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” - Henry Ford

We cannot always choose our setting, situation or circumstance. Our plans and ideas don't always go the way we had hoped. Life has a funny way of suddenly careening out of control, and putting us in the ditch. One thing I know about the ditch - nobody ever intends to go there. It just happens. (A variation of a popular bumper sticker: "Stuff Happens") "Bad Luck" often brings with it a sense of despair and pessimism. When the problems pile up, we lose our hope, and find ourselves singing the children's jump-rope rhyme: "Same song, second verse. It ought to get better, but it's gonna get worse." Whatever happens -- you can make the worst of it, or you can make the best of it. The choice is yours. Wherever you are in life, you can just sit there and complain, or you can start planting a garden. If you plant, you may not see the results right away. The tiny seeds need time to grow - but they will sprout and bear fruit if you keep the faith alive. P...

Best Option = Ready, Aim, Fire! Second Best Option = Ready, Fire, Aim! Second Worst Option = Ready or Not, Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Worst Option = Ready, Ready, Ready, Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim

"Mom, remember that beautiful vase that has been passed down through our family from one generation to another?" Larry wondered. "Yes, darling, it's very precious to me.", his mother replied, "Why do you ask?" "Because this generation dropped it!" As I look at what's happening across our land, I can't help but conclude that this generation of parents has "dropped the vase." We have dropped the vase of moral values. "What feels right" has replaced "What IS right". We have dropped the vase of authentic spirituality. We substitute busy religious activity for a vibrant and genuine relationship with Christ. Then, we wonder why our children don't seem enthused about spiritual matters. We have dropped the vase of responsibility. When things go wrong, the first reaction is to hide from and/or blame others. It must be someone else's fault. We have dropped the vase of industry -- hard work. Today's emph...

Never irritate a woman who can operate a backhoe! (special thanks to sister in law, Sandy, for sending this along to me.)

A summer visitor to our church wrote this poem about our church after her visit last June. She recently sent it to me, and it was truly an encouragement. Thanks Jeannie! Hayward Take me to a country church on a clear blue day in June where smiling strangers shake your hand overwhelm you with grace. Let there be a young man strumming on a guitar his voice strong and scrubbed clean. Let there be children small enough to fit in the laps of their fathers resting their heads on his chest. Let there be truth spoken plainly, gently about simple devotion to a gracious God mercy and peace pouring in waves. Let joy fill the sanctuary and overflow out of open windows to where angels inhale the sweet aroma and dance in the light.

A class of second graders was asked why God made Moms. One little girl replied, "She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is!"