Archive for the ‘leadership’ Category
Filed Under church, creative, leadership
Edging your lawn is a pretty small thing in the grand scheme of lawn maintenance, but it’s that one little thing that makes all the difference in how great your yard looks. It’s the difference between a “nice” lawn and a “well-manicured” lawn… which is a BIG difference. It’s an easy step to skip and no one is going to look down on you for skipping out it (depending on the neighborhood of course). But it’s that extra step that makes your lawn pop.
We have opportunities every day to put that little extra into everything we do. That small detail that most would overlook that takes us to the next level in excellence. It’s amazing how much the small things, I mean tiny, can make or break a design, a video, a sermon or anything else for that matter. A tiny detail, and not just any detail, but the one that is above and beyond.
These little extras are gonna take more time, but in the end its totally worth it. For me, it also means that I’m gonna need to start every project earlier. I know the rest of you aren’t like this (ha) but it’s an every week thing for me to skip these small things simply because I’ve waited till the last minute to work on my project. So I’m doing good just to crank it out, forget the polishing.
It’s these small things that set us apart. I believe the church should be the most creative and excellent place on the planet, we won’t get there by dodging the details. It’s the persistence of the details that equal greatness, not one great act.
I hope that made sense. What do you think?
Filed Under church, leadership
Saturday night, about 30 minutes before our service started, our power went out. Now, thats not necessarily a big surprise because in that last few months we’ve had it go out during services, but typically its only for a second or two. Don’t get me wrong, that’s bad, because it takes a few minutes to get everything back up and running. But this black-out on Saturday was a brand new experience, you guys that follow me on twitter you may have witnessed the drama as it unfolded.
This was a whole new thing, because it went out, and it stayed out. Service time rolled around and we were still in the dark, and its starting to get hot. It stayed out until about midnight. So we created a back-up plan on the spot, which involved us cramming 130 people in our youth hang out room, which overflowed into the back portion of the main auditorium. We opened the garage door in that room for light and airflow, and we had church… the old fashioned way. Felt like an ol’ time revival.
Why we haven’t come up with a back up plan for that scenario before then I don’t know, but you better believe its something I’ll start working on real soon. If it would have been one of the larger services we would’ve had some serious problems. But it wasn’t and everything went great, considering.
Here are some pics I took from my iPhone…
Filed Under church, leadership
I’m a slow reader, thats why these post are so far apart (previous post). But here’s my next golden nugget from the book Simple Church, this is a great quote…
Hans Hofmann once indicated that if you want the necessary to stand out, you have to get rid of the unnecessary.
There is so much fluff in most churches that the main thing, the thing that they are there for, is hidden under “good intentions” or “great programs” or much needed (or requested) ministries that aren’t the most important or necessary component of the church. In other words, the unnecessary gets in the way of the necessary, even if its a great idea/ministry. The unnecessary becomes clutter, and clutter divides not unifies. It’s because of that division that most churches get off course and loose their way.
Complexity dilutes your potential for impact. -Andy Stanley
Filed Under creative, leadership
I’m a terrible reader, not in the sense that I don’t read good, but in the sense that I’m slow and have a fear of commitment. I typically get about 3 to 4 chapters into a book then ditch it because I’m bored (my ADD kicks in). But one of my goals this year is to read a little more, which means 5 to 6 chapters of about 5 books (up from 3 in previous years). Here are the top 5 on my list and hopefully I’ll surprise myself and read even more. (any suggestions?)
Also, I am starting season 1 of Lost tonight, so I’ve got a lot to catch up on before Jan 31st (season 4 premiere). um probably not much reading going to happen between now and then… so much for new years goals.
Currently listening:
Filed Under leadership
In the last couple of days I’ve had several conversations about strengths and weaknesses, and how important it is to recognize them in yourself. One of the most memorable moments at this years C3 Conference was when Ed Young said at one point in the history of Fellowship Church he had to move his staff around to different positions. He said he didn’t kick anyone off the bus he just changed their seats. And in doing this he found that several people were working outside their gifts and they were much stronger in a different area.
Over the last year or so I’ve done a lot of evaluating myself trying to learn what my giftings are and I’ve come to some conclusions and I’ve even changed my job here at Bay. Why would I continue doing something that is not my strength, first off it’s hurting me, and then theres the people or group under me that are also affected, but its keeping someone else out of their right spot.
Just because you can sing doesn’t mean your a worship leader or just because you are a good communicator doesn’t mean your a pastor. Sometimes we need to change seats and find our fit.
Share your thoughts…
Filed Under family, leadership
About 3 weeks ago our staff started going through Dave Ramsay’s Financial Peace University together and while its been good its also been so tough. Last night Beck and I sat down and spent about 10 minutes budgeting and 30 minutes fighting about the budget… what is that all about. Why is it that money is the main thing couples fight over and ultimately get divorced over. However during this fight we realized that we were arguing for the same thing we just were communicating it terribly. It’s true that men and women think differently but its even more true that we find security in different ways, especially when it comes down to money. Ultimately we found out that we were both wanting the same things, to have healthy finances, to give Bella what she needs, and to have a very healthy relationship which means not being stressed about money. I love how Dave puts it, he said
“As you learn to discuss major purchases and budgets and come to agreement, you are agreeing on your value system. When this happens, you will reach a unity in your marriage that you can experience no other way.”
Even though its only been a few weeks, I feel like this class is helping us more than just in our finances but in our relationship.
