If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Luke 6:32a NIV
I wonder if Jesus got an answer to this question!
Be honest…it is easier to love some people than others. Some people quite frankly are just difficult to love. (No names necessary, but you know who I’m talking about.)
Jesus doesn’t always call us to easy tasks, does He? We don’t live under the same standards as the rest of the world, do we?
This week I was at the Story Conference in Chicago. Ben Arment and a team of volunteers put together a conference designed to help us creatively tell the story of Christ’s redemptive love for the world. I was challenged personally to be a better storyteller.
It got me thinking though…
We all have a story…. We should share some of them…
Let’s share some of them today.
Here are 10 questions…Answer all…one…or as many as you want to answer…
I realize there is room for debate and even disagreement on this Friday discussion post. I decided when I began this series that I would not shy away from issues only because they may appear controversial. My criteria is really issues I’m wrestling with personally or have a special interest in the discussion. Today’s post fits that category.
Should churches be comparing numbers of attendance with other churches?
Busy leaders. You know them. I hesitated to call them “important” people, because frankly I think all of us are equally important, but these are the leaders who have influence in a certain area of expertise and you would love a chance to spend some time with them just to learn from them. Perhaps you need their assistance for a project or you just want to glean from their experience.
The problem is these leaders have limited time to spend beyond what they are currently doing. You already view their time as valuable to you. You want to make the best use of it that you can.
Here are a few pointers to help your interactions with these busy leaders:
When a person struggles with greed, it will rob them of the peace and joy God intends for use to have. The saddest part of this struggle is that most people who have greed in their heart don’t even know it. Everyone around them does though…and most of the time…that greed becomes a wedge in those relationships.
Recently I talked about this at Grace Community Church. Listen with an open heart.
I am amazed at what God has done through the work of the people of Grace Community Church in the first five years. We celebrated that milestone last week, but tomorrow is a new day. The start of the next five years. As a natural dreamer, I can’t help but wonder what the next five years will bring.
The anniversary caused me to be reflective this week. I thought about some of the obedience of the people following God in Scripture:
Let’s discuss….
As a former business owner, I am a huge proponent for treating a customer well. I don’t know that I would say the customer is king always, but the goal should certainly be that they leave feeling good about their experience. Customer service is the front door of any business (or church). Because of that, I tip well, I express appreciation and I always have a desire to make the waiter or waitresses day better, not worse than before I came. I want to encourage and reward good service and I realize that there could always be personal reasons why a person gives bad service on a particular day. I am always perplexed, however, of the way to respond when I receive bad service.
One night this week, my small group ate together at a local restaurant. From our first encounter, we knew our waiter did not want to be there. He was obviously impatient and snappy with his responses. It wasn’t the worst customer service I’ve ever received, but it was obviously not one of the best. When a large group recognizes the tension in a waiter, it’s probably a good indicator that service is less than excellent. It reminded me, especially with the pressure of my small group around me, that I don’t always know how to respond.
Today’s Friday discussion is:
What kind of customer should a Christian be?
Successful projects and teams require meetings to accomplish goals and objectives of the organization. Busy leaders, however, are usually somewhat anti-meetings because of the interruption they appear to be in getting actual work done. I have found, however, that much of the frustration is found in the lack of proper preparation prior to the meeting. Although, when done well, the time spent in meetings can actually make projects better and strengthen the work of the organization. A large part of making meetings better is found in the preparation prior to the meeting.
Here are 7 ways to prepare for more effective meetings:
I had an awesome opportunity a few weeks ago to spend a couple hours with Rick Warren and a dozen or so other pastors. Rick was in town to speak to a conference and Ed Stetzer arranged for him to meet with us. Obviously, this man is bigger than life just because of the book, the publicity he has received, and the impact he has in the church world and society. He is becoming a statesman for the church around the world.
It was a humbling experience. I didn’t choose the seat of honor (I promise), but I ended up sitting next to him in the meeting. Rick talked randomly and conversationally with us and I took notes as fast as I could. There are so many principles I took from our time, but here are 12 random things I gleaned from the time: (Some are quotes…I put them in quotation marks…some are random points of information I heard from Rick’s talk.)
Once a year, the people of Grace Community Church turn out big to show love for the community in which we live. Through home projects, services to non-profits and schools, or fun activities for kids, Operation Serve gives us a tangible way to share God’s love with people.
It’s that time again! This year we put all our registrations online to make it easier administratively and faster to get people assigned to the right projects. You can sign up now. You do not have to attend Grace to participate, just be willing to work.
