Another variable in determining strategy that is often overlooked is the strengths of the people within the organization at the time. I posted before about the way organizations typically replace senior leaders. (Read that post HERE.) Organizations usually replace the top position with someone opposite from the one that leaves. They do this to build on a strength they feel the former leader didn’t have.
What is the end goal of being a disciple?
Let me try to explain. Throughout the 16th chapter of Exodus, Moses recounts the story of the Israelites gathering manna, which were thin flakes of bread. Every morning, each person gathered the manna by a measure called an omer. For 35 verses in chapter 16, if you are inquisitive like me, you are wondering, “Moses, what is an omer? How much is that?”
I had a great couple days this week hanging out with Casey Graham of The Change Group as he visited with Kristin Ruther from The Aspen Group and Tim Stevens and Kem Meyer at Granger Church one day and then Scott Hodge from Orchard Community Church the next day. It was challenging, tiring, and personally rewarding.
So why do I share this? Well, it gives you another pie recipe you can try, but really to illustrate that, if you don’t follow the directions carefully, your recipes will fail. So it is in the Christian life, or any life for that matter. God has a plan. He has spelled it out in His Word. If we follow it, we will experience rich reward. His first command is to “love the Lord with all our heartâ€. Then, we are told to “love your neighbor as yourselfâ€. The rest of the commands are in the Book. We aren’t saved by works and we don’t remain saved by works, but Jesus said “If you love Me, you will do as I command.†So our proper response to God’s love is obedience. In fact, it’s how life works best.
Even so, in my position, I often have to say “Noâ€. I have to consider the amount of money and energy expended as it relates to the entire church organization. Honestly, there are times I feel like the dream killer more than I get to be the dream enhancer, because I often have to be the “No†voice, but the fact is, as with any organization, we operate with limited resources and sometimes saying no is the right decision at the time. In these times, I have to walk the delicate balance between saying yes and saying no.
Change is necessary, however, if organizations want to continue to improve and grow. The simple fact is that change requires a certain amount of faith. Faith is much easier to believe, and even to preach, than it ever is to live by.
I am frequently asked for travel tips for the city, so I thought I would share my top 10 suggestions. Knowing you will automatically track down the touristy historical spots, I decided to share my picks that may or may not be in on the standard weekend tour, but places that you do not want to miss. Philly is an excellent city in which to walk, so if you are only visiting Philly for a short time, put your walking shoes on and check out:
In our recent series “Hunger†at Grace Community Church, I shared a system I have used for spiritual growth that has helped me mature. I had numerous people ask me the following week to describe the details of my “systemâ€. It really isn’t anything scientific or deeply thought out, but has helped me greatly.
We all at times say things we shouldn�t say. Recently, while talking to someone that was recently offended by awkward questions about her life, I was reminded that there is a few questions that, while probably well-meaning or just conversational questions, are better left unasked unless you know the other person well. Some questions are simply not good conversational questions and they are actually more hurtful than helpful.
An annual tradition my family has observed since my boys were old enough to write has been setting aside some time Thanksgiving weekend to share the “Top 10†things we were thankful for that year. I must confess that this past year, while I did compile my list (I posted it HERE on this blog), we never found time to sit together and share them.
I was tempted to say, “No, we just work that one hour (in our case three hours) and then we are doneâ€, but I remembered that typical cliché’ joke aggravates me and this was guy was not trying to be funny. He simply didn’t know.
For those that do not know me, I would not normally be considered a “soft†man. (No joking allowed here from our staff…Remember I have power!) I am not into many things considered “girlyâ€. Cheryl and I often joke that she could have chosen romantic or comedic. Well…at least I keep her laughing! Still, depending on the place we are visiting, this man often prefers to stay in a bed and breakfast to a hotel.
The story of Abraham and his oldest servant is a great picture of the leadership style Abraham must have exhibited. As Abraham was dying, he called his oldest servant to him and asked for his help carrying out his final wishes. Read the servant’s response in the passage here:
