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Friday Discussion: #BlackFriday …What’s the Deal?

By Change, Culture, Innovation

Black Friday…the day after Thanksgiving when retailers hope their financial books go from red to black…when they are completely profitable for the year…isn’t what it used to be…

I was in retail for years…I loved the excitement of this time of year…especially after I was in management. Seeing people with their Christmas anticipation and the stores being full gave me energy…even as an Introvert. I love growth, busyness, and energy, so Black Friday became one of my favorite days of the year.

Fast forward almost 20 years and Black Friday isn’t what it used to be. My youngest son Nate Twittered that he had participated in his first Black Friday event. He was finished and in bed by 6 AM. In my retail days, that’s about the time I was going to work to prepare the store to open. Because of the changes in Black Friday, and because I’m no longer paid to do so, I have participated in the day in years. (Any other former or current retail folks out there?)

So, let’s have some fun discussing Black Friday today…

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November 26, 2010
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The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round

By Culture, Encouragement, Family, Life Plan

I saw this plaque in a store window in Michigan recently. I snapped a quick picture. I didn’t need the plaque, but I love the statement.

I dont’ know where the saying originated, but the most memorable time I heard it was when Jack Nicholson said it in the movie “Bucket List”. It’s a powerful and true statement about life.

It has a similar thought process to one of my favorite verses from Scripture. Ecclesiastes 11:3: “If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.”

It reminds me that

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November 24, 2010
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Three Ways I Process Ideas

By Innovation, Leadership, Life Plan, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

Perhaps this has happened to you…

You read a Tweet…you hear a message…you read a book, blog post or article…it gives you an idea, encourages you, prompts you to want to take action on the idea…

If you are like me, that thought can soon become lost in a sea of other thoughts and ideas and, as great as it may have seemed at the time, the idea never becomes reality in your life. Weeks, months, or even years later you may even hear the same idea again and remember that you never did anything with it the first time…

I often am asked: How do you capture great ideas and make them useful in your life?

Here’s a simple system I use…there’s nothing extremely genius about this, but for me it had to become a habit to be successful. Others will have better systems, but this is what I do:

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November 22, 2010
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A Week of Thanksgiving – People Who Helped You Professionally

By Call to Ministry, Church, Church Planting, Encouragement, Leadership

Thanksgiving should be more than a day.

In the United States, we set aside one day a year to ceremonially show our appreciation for all we have been given. No one would disagree that this practice shouldn’t be limited to just once day. With that in mind, I thought I’d use part of my blog this week to share a little gratitude. Throughout this week I’ll be sharing some things and people I’m thankful for in my life.

Today I want to talk about people who have had a huge impact on me professionally. I’m a pastor now. I haven’t always been one. I was in the business world for many years before God called me into ministry. When I think of the process God used to prepare me for ministry, three men immediately come to mind. There are many people along the way who have helped me, but these three made significant investments in my spiritual maturity and preparation for ministry.

Here are three people who helped me be where I am today professionally:

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November 22, 2010
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Friday Discussion: Are The New TSA Travel Requirements Fair?

By Business, Change, Culture, Innovation, Leadership

What’s your opinion?

Since 9/11traveling has become much more difficult and time consuming. Our government has assumed new responsibilities as we travel. I am thankful for the diligence of people involved in keeping us safe. Their work should never be taken for granted.

The most active story on my radar this week, however, has been that of the new TSA restrictions on travel.

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November 19, 2010
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7 Ways Fraternity Life Shaped Me For Ministry (Guest Post)

By Business, Church, Culture, Leadership

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with a group of my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers from college. Some of them I have seen, but not really connected with in twenty years. It was fun, good to remember old times, and reminded me that they had made positive impacts on my life. I was a crazy college student sometimes, but the experience has since been used for good many times.

Right after that hang out time, I Tweeted that I should write a post about what I learned in my fraternity days that helped prepare me for ministry. I got lots of reaction, but one in particular appeared to be it’s own post.

Ky Bishop is currently Pastor Of Ministries at Woodlands Church in Houston Texas where Kerry Shook is Senior Pastor. He’s been married 25 years to Terri and they have 3 sons ranging from 16 to 20 years of age. Ky lists his fraternity experience as Delta Tau Delta – UTA – 81

Here are 7 ways Ky’s fraternity experience prepared him for ministry:

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November 16, 2010
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Great Leaders Don’t Take Opportunities Just Because They Can

By Business, Church Planting, Innovation, Leadership

Part of being a good leader is not taking opportunities even though you can. Sometimes letting your staff do something you could do, maybe even would like to do, is a better for the entire team.

When we launched our church eleven couples took a risk on a dream we felt God was leading us to pursue. We empowered this core team to do things the way they felt best doing them, as long as they were achieving the vision we knew God was calling us to achieve. We encouraged them to explore new ideas, become experts in their field of interest, and then released them to dream and build. It became part of our DNA and we are still allowing people to explore new opportunities.

For example,

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November 15, 2010
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