Junkyard Treasures

One of the things that makes it hard to lead is making decisions you know might make people uncomfortable. Especially when you care about people! It is important to listen to everyone, but at the end of the day the thing that matters is doing what you know is right. My job here is to make sure that the decisions made are in line with who we are as a church, who God is asking us to be.

I had a dream the other night; I was driving to a junk yard to look for something and when I got there I was escorted into a building that housed some of the most beautiful things I had ever seen! I saw beautiful relics of time gone past, pieces of art that were transformed from wreckage, things that would have been considered menial or average were displayed in ways that made them special. I believe this is what church should be, a place where the bent and broken of life can take refuge, be restored, treated with dignity, and brought to a place where they shine because of God’s grace, love and acceptance.

This is what motivates the decisions I make as a leader… What motivates you?

Baptism Photos

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and the experience was worth even more.  One of the kids in our congregation accepted Jesus’ forgiveness later on Sunday after he watched all these people stand up for God and share their stories…

Volunteer Development

Saturday we have invited some of the leaders in our church to attend a volunteering brain storming and strategy meeting.  One of our church members works for Compassion International as their volunteer coordinator and she is helping us get on track with a strategy for recruiting, appreciating and training volunteers, setting expectations and evaluating our volunteer needs.  This couldn’t come at a better time because as we have grown we cannot support the newcomers, meet needs in the community, and take care of everything we need to, without other people involved and plugged in.

Being sure we know what we are asking, we all know what is expected, and understand how we all fit into the organization is an important part for any organization, but crucial in a growing church.  Even though it is going to be a long meeting, I know the benefit we will reap, not to mention how this will help others, will be well worth while!

Have you ever volunteered in an organization or church?  What would you say worked or didn’t work where you currently or previously volunteered?  what motivates you to volunteer?

Fall Line Up

So, I have a few TV shows that I really enjoy, and have missed over the summer.  They include; Castle, Brother’s & Sisters, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice.

What shows are you looking forward to seeing?

Not Working So Good

okay, my thoughts on flip flopping my schedule is not exactly working out for me.  I am going to keep at it though and see what happens.  Sorry for the sporadic posts and all, or non at all, but I will get this figured out!

This was a busy weekend; setting up for baptism, communion and the “get to know us” class we offer called Enter, so that may be part of the problem.  I have a “did too much yesterday” hangover today, but maybe by 10 PM I will hit my second wind and write more!

What If I Flip Flopped My Schedule?

I remember when I started Middle School, decades ago, how difficult it was to have to go from class to class for the first time. Not only was it hard to find the next class, but then you had to go to your locker between classes, struggle to open it, partly because the combination was hard to remember, and partly because the halls were so crowded. And just when I thought I had it all figured out someone told me about the “flip-flop” schedule, (I thought they were lying to me at first, but it was in fact true). For two weeks you went to your classes normally, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, but then the next two weeks they flip-flopped them around like this, 7,8,5,6,1,2,3,4! Then after those weeks were over, it started all over again! I still don’t understand why – but it made the whole “remember where you go next” nightmare last a whole lot longer!

All that to say, I used to get up early to have time in a quiet house. When the kids were younger they would sleep until 7 or 8, so I could get up, study and read, and then get ready for the day in peace. Not anymore! Now the kids all get up by 6 AM or earlier to get ready for their school day – some of them leave here at 7, so my quiet house is ablaze with curling irons, flat irons, steam irons, hair dryers and the inevitable, “has anyone seen my ______ (fill in the blank with any of the following: shoes, favorite shirt, hair brush, backpack, with all the flair and drama you can think of from a plethora of teenage complainers).

They are all in bed by 10 PM now, partly because they are exhausted, and partly because they are exhausting the adults in the house and are told to! So couple that with my insomnia of late, and I am contemplating a “flip-flop” of my own schedule. What if I did my studying, reading, blogging, et. al. at night after everyone went to bed? The house is once again quiet, I have time alone with my God and my thoughts, and I would just be staring at the ceiling kicking dogs off the bed anyway… We’ll see what happens. If these words get incoherent at some point you will know it didn’t work…

Maybe I will see you tomorrow night!? Same time (ish) same channel…

Baptism Service

This weekend our church is doing a baptism service.  Baptism is a great way for people to physically show their spiritual commitment to Jesus.  Last time we did baptisms we had to use a “stock tank” because portable baptistry units are expensive, (I talked about that here) but we had a donor cover the cost of a brand new portable baptistry!  Here it is!

It will hold at least three people if necessary, comes apart in pieces to store, and actually looks nice too!  (we set it up in the back hallway to try it out – we didn’t fill it, but all the teachers that walked by wondered if it was a hot tub!)

It is going to be so exciting to see 7 or so people share their spiritual journey with us!  You should come and watch!

Listen!

Last week I was listening to an Andy Stanley podcast and he said something I thought was worth sharing…  He said, “If you stop listening to the leaders around you, you will find yourself surrounded by people with nothing to say.”

Leaders will not stick around long if you don’t give them opportunity to have a voice and input into the decisions and direction you are going.  If they begin to feel like you don’t care, or their opinion is not valued, you might as well say goodbye.

This seems like a simple thing, but I cannot tell you how many people I have talked to over the past year, good quality helpful people, that are leaving their churches because the leaders don’t listen.  It is tragic, and my prayer will be to have an open mind, an open heart, and open ears.

I have a quote hanging on my wall that says, “Life is too short to be a part of a church you do not believe in.”  A good reminder for people that are working hard to help, grow, and contribute to their church, but aren’t being listened to.  I hope you never find yourself in that position, but if you do it may be time to reevaluate and find a place you can thrive & contribute;  a place where your voice matters!

Smacked!

Wow, yesterday afternoon I got smacked by God.  Like many, sometimes I struggle with His faithfulness in that I easily forget how He has taken care of us in the past when I am facing a big obstacle in the future.  I was describing my feelings to a friend last night and said something like this, “I feel like I am watching a tidal wave approaching and I am not sure what to do!”  The worst part is I have seen God lead through tidal waves in the past with great success.

Usually I start my days with a reading from Oswald Chambers, a historic pastor/professor from overseas.  He wrote a ton of stuff, but some of his works are recorded in a daily reader called “My Utmost For His Highest” (this link will take you to the main page and you can click on “todays reading” to read him for yourself) But yesterday I missed reading it; until right before bed, after I had been wrestling for hours with the difficult news I received yesterday, wondering if we were going to survive the latest tidal wave… here is what it said:

Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Matthew 8:26.

When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but Our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones. Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who do not know God. We get to our wits’ end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him and His government of the world; He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead.

“O ye of little faith!” What a pang must have shot through the disciples—‘Missed it again!’ And what a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what-was ahead.There are stages in life when there is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breakingpoint and not break in our confidence in Him.We have been talking a great deal about sanctification—what is it all going to amount to? It should work out into rest in God which means oneness with God, a oneness which will make us not only blameless in His sight but a deep joy to Him.

Smack!  It even hurt a little…

He Wants To Through You A Party

Yes, because God’s your refuge,

the High God your very own home,

Evil can’t get close to you,

harm can’t get through the door.

He ordered his angels

to guard you wherever you go.

If you stumble, they’ll catch you;

their job is to keep you from falling.

You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,

and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,

“I’ll get you out of any trouble.

I’ll give you the best of care

if you’ll only get to know and trust me.

Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;

I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.

I’ll give you a long life,

give you a long drink of salvation!”

that is so cool…  Psalm 91:9-16