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Archive for January, 2012
In a R.U.T. ?
Monday, January 30th, 2012You ever been in a rut in life? You know what I mean? You feel like everything is fine, but just fine. Nothing big going on, nothing new on the horizon, nothing exciting, scary, hurtful, or fun, just – in a rut. How about home or work? Is everything going great there… or would you describe it as fine? I define a RUT by how we get there. Here’s what I mean:
R – Routine (it’s all become such a routine that we find ourselves simply going through the motions)
U – Undisciplined (This routine causes us to become undisciplined and we lose our edge. We cut corners, show up late, don’t do the work…)
T – Tired (This Undisciplined Routine makes us tired, predictable, and we lose energy to serve, grow, and try new things.)
If you feel like your group is doing fine, (but probably really in a RUT) here’s a few ideas of how to get out of the rut.
Getting out of the rut
1. Break the routine – Serve
How can a group effectively reach out together within the context of a Community Group? Here are 2 things to remember when serving as a group:
2. Work on becoming more disciplined
How to Study Your Bible – Kay Arthur
This is a great book that will help you fine-tune your studying skills. Far to often, we approach a passage, read it, and then just say “what does this mean to me?” The problem is, we first MUST discover what it says to the original recipients. We need to accurately understand the passage BEFORE we apply it to our lives.
3. Wake Up! (Be passionate about something)
Just before the Holidays I had the privilege of sitting down with a men’s small group, which meets on Wednesday evenings at our church. This group caught my attention a couple weeks earlier when they came to me about an idea they wanted to engage. They wanted to dig a well in Ethiopia!
Here’s a little of an interview I had with them:
The Project:
“A funny thing happened at the end of studying Forgotten God, by Francis Chan. Francis challenged us with our next steps. He asked the question, “What are you going to do now? Go get another book or go do something?”… So we went and got another book! Ok, actually we knew then, that something was going to happen. We picked up the book Hole in the Gospel by Richard Sterns the president of World Vision. This book hammers home the “Sin of Omission (the sin of inactivity). This hit our group hard!”
Through a course of events God led this group to Living Water with the goal of raising $15,000 for the purpose of digging a well in Ethiopia.
How can people get involved?
Check out our Site (HERE)
We realize these are difficult times economically for all of us. So, we are not asking you to give more or transfer your current charitable and spiritual giving. We’re asking that you SPEND LESS and use the savings as your donation. Here are some suggestions on ways to contribute:
1. Pray, Pray, Pray that God may overwhelm us with generosity.
2. Reduce the amount you spend this Christmas and donate the difference.
3. Reduce the number of times you go out to eat for lunch and dinner and donate the savings towards the well.
4. Cut back on your favorite morning beverage and donate the savings.
5. Get rid of some of your tools or equipment that is collecting dust in your garage or basement by selling them and donating the proceeds.
6. Clean out your closets and attics and sell jewelry, furniture, clothing or other items you’re willing to sell and donate the proceeds.
7. Sell your old video games and donate the proceeds.
8. Save and donate your pocket change over the next couple of months.
9. Reduce your water consumption at home and donate the savings.
Personal Note: Right now the project is underway… As a father of an adopted Ethiopian daughter, I would love to see this well go in.
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Our Gotcha Day
Friday, January 27th, 2012For those of you who followed our adoption process over the last couple years… I finally finished our Gotcha Day video. This journey opened our hearts and lives to Ethiopia. The last two years changed us as a family in more ways than one. We no longer have a love and a passion for “those kids over there”… instead, “those kids over there” now have a name and face that have forever captured our hearts. God has called us to take care of the widow and the orphan. We believe that when God looks down, He doesn’t ask “Why did you go all the way over there?” or see children limited by geographical boundaries and countries divided by oceans. Instead, we believe He sees these little ones which He created and expects us to love! This was our journey, it’s not the same journey for everyone, but it’s definitely ours!
Hope you enjoy it! You can learn more about Ethiopia and our experience at www.longingforafrica.com
(Click to Enjoy Video)
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New Fam Min Leadership Resource
Monday, January 23rd, 2012It’s here… Year Won! a one year leadership EXPERIENCE
about 3 years ago, Craig and I sat down at Starbucks and start brainstorming and idea for leaders. The thought was this, we’ve screwed up so much… we’ve had some successes as well… we’ve learned a ton! How can we help others screw up less… succeed more, and learn lessons too? And this is what we’ve come up with.
1 year workbook – JournalDVD of Craig Teaching Stuff
Word Clings
Caching Card (on the phone with Craig and Joe)
Be sure to check out the demo on the sidebar!
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The aftermath, the time we rebuild ministry
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
So, last week I attended CPC Orlando. As you can imagine, it was a great time. Here’s the thing, it’s the week after and this is the time when people attempt to apply EVERYTHING they just learned (or heard for the first time). With that in mind, here are a few suggestions on how to apply your conference experience.
Apply lessons slowly
You need to remember that many of the things you just heard…you JUST heard them. You need to sit on them a little while. Marinate in them a bit. Think through which ones are the best to use and how you plan on rolling them out.
Apply lessons to YOUR ministry
The biggest mistake that leaders make is trying to apply something that’s done in Chicago to a church sitting in the hills of Kentucky. Not everything will apply well in your ministry context. Again, evaluate and adapt to meet your needs.
Apply lessons you’re still learning
Great leaders know that the lessons they’ve learned were lessons they learned over and over again. Keep learning. Read books on the topic, follow blog discussions, and ask question of leaders that have learned similar lessons.
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