Sometimes we keep doing what we are doing because God called us to do it, not because we are popular, the work is easy, or even that we are being well received at the time. Being obedient to the call of God is sometimes painful, unpopular, difficult, and seemingly unrewarded (at the time).
One of the most damaging expressions in a team environment is the phrase “that’s not my job” or “that’s not my area of responsibility”. Thankfully I have never heard that said at Grace Community Church. Sadly it is far too common in organizations that claim to be a team environment. I talk with people on staffs frequently who feel they are on an island by themselves within the organization and no one ever helps them think through a problem, recruit volunteers for their area, or lend a hand during crunch times.
Of course, this verse refers to the famous march through the middle of the waters by that powerful leader we know as Moses. Can you imagine how the Israelites felt? They had escaped the years of slavery and persecution to head for what they thought was a chance at real freedom and along came the Pharoah’s finest, ready to put them on the chopping block. Needless to say they were slightly disappointed. Never at a loss for tricks, Moses summoned God, who told them to go through the center of the sea. Yea, right? Yet as strange as that may have sounded at the time the people enter the “water” on dry ground! I know, it doesn’t make sense, but that is what happened, read it for yourself if you don’t believe me. (Exodus 14)
Susan Boyle ends the Britain’s Got Talent Show with a smashing performance! She’s a star!
When communicating with children there is an old management axiom of communication that works well with children also. If you want your children to respond well to your instructions for them, try these steps.
I don’t know how to describe what’s happening right now at Grace Community Church, short of the Spirit of God works in the hearts of people. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since I know God is more interested in people in our community than I am or any of our staff is concerned…and we love our community, but it is an exciting time to be at Grace.
What an experience today! Nate, our 17-year-old son (soon to be 18), had a minor traffic ticket for failure to yield to a yellow light and had to appear in juvenile court. We went to court and paid the ticket several months ago. I posted a blog about the first experience. Read it HERE. Today we had to reappear to prove he had been to traffic school. After 3 hours of waiting (attorneys get to go first), they saw our case, which took no more than 2 minutes, and we were on our way.
I believe and practice the concept of team leadership. I want people in our organization that will assume ownership of an individual task and follow through with the responsibility of seeing projects completed well. We have a shared leadership philosophy at Grace Community Church and I have posted about the need for a leader to “give their vision away” to people he or she trust to make it better.
We are seeing good news about the economy this week. Here is a recap of some I found today:
At the same time, our church has continued to grow and the needs for our ministries are greater than ever. This season has forced us to find ways to do more with less. We need to continue to train our people, learn new ways of doing things and keep up with current trends, but we can no longer afford to attend all the conferences we once could.
