Revitalize Your Church

I have to agree with Perry Noble who said, “Negative, critical people have NEVER come up with a positive solution for anything.” Now, I realize that’s a pretty strong statement, but through the course of my life, I’ve found it to be quite accurate. In any given situation, there are two kinds of people:  Fault Finders and Solution Finders. Fault Finders immediately see the flaws of the world, the nation, the community, and others.  They seem to get a morose satisfaction in pointing them out.  Of course, there’s no intelligent alternative solution offered – only criticism. Fault Finding isn’t rocket science.  You don’t have to be very bright to gripe and complain.  In fact, such behavior indicates small mindedness. Great minds talk about great ideas.  Average minds talk about the weather.  Small minds talk about other people.  Or, as Benjamin Disraeli said, “To belittle is to be little.” Solution Finders, on the other hand, ...

photo from A Faithful Walk A pilgrim, on a quest to "pray without ceasing", travelled widely and heard many sermons on the subject.  None of them seemed to help.  He heard many prayer lessons, but none taught him how to do it. Finally, he heard of an old prayer warrior in a little village, so he went to him with his inquiry:  "How can I learn to pray without ceasing?" To this, the old saint replied, "Ceasless interior prayer is a continual yearning of the human spirit toward God.  Pray and ask God to teach us to pray without ceasing.  Pray more!  Pray more fervently!  It is prayer itself which will reveal to you how it can be achieved unceasingly. . . but it will take some time." (From The Way of a Pilgrim )

Our children's pastor, Jeremy Mavis, has recenly joined the blogging team at CM Buzz.   Check out this delightful post where Jeremy shares how he disciplines four boys who were wrestling when they were supposed to be singing.

Emil Brolick, the new CEO of Wendy's was recently interviewed by USA Today reporter, Bruce Horovitz. A highlight of the interview was when Brolick described his formula for success: "Have a vision, a strategy, define reality, give hope and execute." If he goes to all this bother to merely sell hamburgers, it seems pastors should be at least this intentional about their business -- the greatest mission on earth!

One person with passion and conviction can accomplish more than one hundred with mere interest. You have to dream it in order to achieve it. Nothing can take the place of hard work - but smart work makes hard work go a lot further. All true leaders are readers. If you read a lot, you will automatically grow. Reaching a goal loses its fulfillment if you have to run over people in the process. People are more important than processes. Intentions never get the job done. Imitations never get the job done either. Jobs don't finish themselves. You have to finish the job! The joy is multiplied when you accomplish the dream as a team. It's amazing what can be achieved if you don't care who gets the credit. Sometimes plans should change - but not values. Write you plans in sand and your values in cement. You can accomplish a lot more than you think. Small changes make a big difference through the power of compound interest! If you never risk anything, you will never accomplish anyt...

During Tim Tebow's miraculous come-from-behind victory for the Denver Broncos last Sunday, he dropped to one knee for a moment of prayer. Tebow's outspoken Christian faith is widely admired, scorned, and now imitated with a new internet craze called Tebowing. A recent website, Tebowing.com   displays pictures of various people in random places, on one knee, heads bowed in prayer. Pehaps this is is done in jest -- but I cannot think of a position more worthy of imitation!  It certainly beats Hawking  or Mossing .

1. Troubles are common to everybody. We shouldn't be so surprised when they come. Often, a problem arises and people freak out. "Oh my goodness! This is just awful! What am I going to do? Why did this happen to me?" Instead of being shocked when the difficulties come, expect them. A trouble free day is exception rather than the rule. 2. You can't choose whether or not to have troubles. (They come to everybody.) You can't choose when they come (They always seem to come at the wrong time.) -- but you can choose how you are going to react to them. 3. If you remain open-hearted, you will grow through your troubles. If you close down emotionally, the hard times will make you bitter. 4. You do not have to face your troubles alone. God promised to be a present help in the hour of trouble -- Can you think of anyone better to have beside you when you face life's problems? 5. Troubles are never neutral -- If they don't do you good, they'll do you harm. You ca...

  “We are in bad shape when we cannot laugh from the gut, play like a child, and simply let go.   How’s the fun factor for you these days?”   -- Nancy Beach

"Never put a period where God puts a comma.  Never put a comma, where God puts a period."

Michael Hyatt on How to Avoid the Power of the Drift.

An interesting post by Ed Stetzer on handling "Issue Christians"

Lenny Luchetti interviewed four outstanding preachers:  Keith Loy, Steve DeNeff, Linda Keefer and Dave Ward on the art and craft of preaching.  It's a fascinating conversation, which can be found on Wesleyansermons.com  . I especially liked Steve DeNeff's perspective that a good sermon must be. . . Relevant Biblical Interesting Convicting To this, I add one more. . . Anointed A preacher's job is to deliver a message -- not to give a sermon. Pastor, when you're in the pulpit tomorrow morning -- may you preach a relevant, biblical, interesting, convicting, and anointed message!  Amen and Amen!

Shawn Lovejoy Resigns -- and You Should Too!

"Uh God, Gotta go.  Dinner's gettin' cold.  In Jesus' name, amen." HT Manifest Blog

HT Jesus Creed

A few years   ago, our family went on a "field trip" to Philadelphia . One of the highlights was our visit to Ben Franklin's grave in the Christ Church cemetery. Keeping with tradition, I tossed a penny on his tombstone and said a prayer, "God, give me wisdom. Even a fraction of Franklin 's wisdom would be nice." Although Ben was never a president or king -- he was a genuine leader. Leadership is influence -- and Ben Franklin certainly had a lot of that! In fact, he still does! Even from his grave, he influences us. It was Ben Franklin who said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." I'll bet every kid in America has heard that one at some time or another. I'm sure northwoods residents can relate to this one: "Fish and visitors stink after three days." Here's another good quote: "People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages." Franklin tried hard to "live...

"Therefore, as God's people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." --  Colossians 3:12-14

Loving opinions more than people.  Imputing negative motives onto others Believing that love means never having to say, "I'm sorry". Thinking that love is a feeling rather than a commitment. Failing to let go of hurts and resentments. Not listening. Not speaking up when you should. Taking others for granted. Rehashing old offenses.  Being dishonest.  Being insensitive. Closing down the heart to avoid hurt (it keeps love out too).  Forgetting to express appreciation and gratitude. Believing you are better than others. Believing others are better than you.  Comparing yourself to others.  Competing with others. Emphasizing flaws and shortcomings (faults are thick where love is thin.) Being petty. Refusing to take personal responsibility. Manipulating. Controlling. Focusing on what you don’t have, rather than what you have. Expecting perfection. Waiting for someone else to read your mind. Griping about people behind their b...

"Brothers and sisters,  join in a rousing rendition of the Halitosis Chorus!"

The God Pocket, by Bruce Wilkinson, is a powerful little book which challenges the reader to practive faith by putting it into action!  In this follow up to his earlier book, You Were Meant for This, Wilkinson gives simple, step by step instructions on how to look for opportunities to bless people. He advocates setting a sum of money aside, devoting it to the Lord as a "God Pocket."  The money, then, is no longer yours but God's and is to be given away as He directs. This direction happens through a gentle nudge of the Spirit -- and brings blessing to those who desperately need it. The God Pocket is packed with heart-warming and inspiring stories of special encounters using this approach.  I have tried it myself -- and it works!  It's a beautiful way to let God's love flow through you! He owns it! You carry it! Suddenly, everything changes! (A complimentary copy of the book was provided to me for review by the publisher.)

"Of all I would wish to say this is the sum; my brethren, preach Christ, always and evermore. He is the whole gospel. His person, offices, and work must be our one great, all-comprehending theme." --  Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (HT Tolle Lege  via Greg Teegarden)

It finally happened!  I wrote a book!  It’s a resource for pastors and church leaders – but I’m pretty sure everybody else will be able to draw some inspiration from it.  I’ve included plenty of Hayward stories. The manuscript is completely edited and ready for typesetting.  They tell me it will be published next April.  I can hardly wait! Authorship is quite a pilgrimage.  When I began, I had no idea what this project would entail.  Of course, that’s true for most worthwhile endeavors.  They take more energy than one initially supposes.  The process is somewhat like a pregnancy.  I was pregnant with an idea – and it took a lot of work to give birth. But, my baby has been born, named,(Filled Up, Poured Out),  and is now being groomed for the public! For over 20 years, I’ve said I wanted to write a book, but never got around to it.  Each January, I wrote a list of goals for the year – and “write a book” mad...

Three important questions: 1.  Who are you investing in? 2.  Why are you investing in them? 3.  How are you investing in them? If you're unclear on the answers to those questions, it's time to go to the mountain. (HT Scott Hodge )

An insightful post by my friend, Phil Stevenson:  Expecta-nomics  which addresses the tension between what God expects of us, and the expectations of others.

My friend, Mike Morrell, sent me a complimentary review copy of Speaking of Jesus , a new book by Carl Medearis. I dove into eagerly, as I've deeply appreciated Medearis' previous writings, and speaking of Jesus is somethign I love to do! The subtitle, "the art of not-evangelism" intrigued me.  I teach evangelism courses for FLAME (nontraditional students pursuing ordination in the Wesleyan Church) and wondered how "speaking of Jesus" fits with "not-evangelism" Basically, Medearis says the Gospel is a person -- Jesus.  It is not a program.  It is not a worldview.  It is not a belief system, a doctrine or a creed.  The Gospel is Jesus, pure and simple. If we focus on Jesus in our conversations with unbelievers, rather than trying to defend Christianity, we'll make far better progress, Medearis suggests.  He speaks from the unusual perspective of having lived  among Muslims in Beruit for several years. "Muslims ...

Gordon McDonald's new book, Going Deep , tells the inspiring story of a pastor and congregation that made cultivating deep people their highest priority. This mission was sparked by the following quote from Richard Foster:  "The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people." This fascinating tale chronicles the birth and development of a new approach to ministry.  Making significant schedule adjustments, senior pastor (Gordon) and his wife, (Gail), invested a full year in nurturing, mentoring and training young, emerging leaders -- developing them into deep people. The significant (and most neglected) step in "deep people development" is training -- and the book outlines, through narrative, what an effective, relational training strategy could look like. I became more excited as I turned the pages.  (It captured me so completely, I read all 400 in three days.)...

Credit:  Jonathan Mark Long "The death of Steve Jobs may be the first time in history when it could be said that most people on earth learned about the demise of a leader on a device created by the leader himself." --  Doug Phillips

HT Rob Lamont

"The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."  --  Richard Foster

This article about my amazing friend, George Voss and his "Goats for Grandmas" in Zambia is definitely worth the read -- but be warned.  You'll want to send him $25 when you're finished reading it!

A heartwarming story in Living Stones News about our dear friends, Horst and Elisabeth Braeuner, who own the Riverside Motel and Mallard's Landing in Hayward.

"Disciples (deep people) are not manufactured wholesale.  They are produced one by one, because someone has taken the pains to discipline, to instruct and enlighten, to nurture and train one that is younger."   -- Oswald Sanders (I found this wonderful quote in Gordon McDonald's inspiring new book, Going Deep )

"A walloping great congregation is fine and fun, but what most (churches) really need is a couple of saints.  The tragedy is that they may well be there in embryo, waiting to be discovered, waiting for sound training, waiting to be emancipated from the cult of the mediocre." --  Martin Thornton

Ed Stetzer:  Seeing Missional in 3-D

Your most important decision.  An thought provoking post from Seth Godin

The terms “mission” and “missional church” are code words for reaching lost people and turning them into Christ-followers. If a church makes this its highest priority, nothing much will stop it. If it doesn’t, nothing much will help it.   -- Dr. Aron Willis, in God's Cure for Declining Churches

I've been promoting this idea for years:  You can touch the world from the end of it!   Artist from Small Town Wesleyan Church Performs Internationally

A powerful little e-book from Tony Morgan:  The Leisure Suit Trap Good insights for church leadership teams.