You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2008.
My church is implementing a deliberate process for our strategic planning creative process. I’m sure that someone way smarter came up with this originally, but I don’t know who. ( If you do know who please let me know so I can give them some credit.) I thought these steps were really helpful, perhaps they will be useful in your planning process as well.
Dream
In this step we dream as big as we can to think as big as we can just dreaming about how we could communicate the message of the gospel in a message series, or what would be a more effective way to reach the unreached in our city.
Design
During the design stage we narrow the options down the different ideas from initial dreaming stage.
Detail
Here we think through more of the specifics of preparation that will need to be organized in order to make the outreach, program etc. a success.
Deadline
With out any specific timeline of what we want to accomplish the plans might not actually get off the ground so we calendar key deadlines leading up to the event or sermon series that need to be hit.
Dollars
After the deadlines and the plans are in action money needs to be spent towards the project. This can vary greatly from one thing to another depending on the dream.
Execute
This importance of this step is huge. No matter how great the plan everything if the plan isn’t executed, or followed through on with excellence then it’s a wash.
Evaluate
After the event has taken place the process is still not over. It still needs to be evaluated for effectiveness.
Adjust
Based on the evaluation, adjustments can be made and lessons learned can be educational for future planning projects. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake, but by making adjustments hopefully the same exact mistake won’t be made repeatedly.
Ok, so you may not necessarily need a mint for your breath, but at Chik-Fil-A when you get a mint, you get much more than just a mint.
When you get a mint from Chik-Fil-A you also get a nugget of wisdom from Chik-Fil-A Founder S. Truett Cathy on the mint wrapper. Check out a few nuggets from my recent Chik-Fil-A visits:
- “Courtesy is cheap to provide and it pays great dividends.”
- “You don’t have to make the headlines to make a difference.”
- “We never realize our greatest potential until we perform at our very best.”
With straightforward wisdom like this it’s easy to understand how Chik-Fil-A has been such a successful business! Do yourself a favor, next time you stop in for a chicken sandwich don’t forget to ask for a mint.
Abortion has gone on legally in the United States for over thirty years now. What does this mean for Christians? Should we care? If so, where should it rank with our other priorities and political concerns?
We could look at the issue from a sociological perspective, but as a follower of Jesus Christ my concern is primarily Biblical and ethical.
What does the Bible say about this issue? How should we act accordingly?
In Jeremiah 1:5 God speaks to Jeremiah saying, ”Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (ESV)
The Bible makes it very clear that God’s purpose and intimate knowledge of a person and their person-hood begins long before birth.
Not only that, but that God is actively involved in forming unborn children in their mothers womb as revealed by David’s prayer to the Lord in Psalm 139:13-15,
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret…” (ESV)
Furthermore, the book of Exodus reveals just how grieved the heart of God is about abortion,
Exodus 21:22-23 records the Law of God which states, ”If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life” (NIV)
If an unborn child died as a result of two careless men fighting and hitting against a woman’s womb so as to cause a premature birth resulting in the death of the child the one responsible would be put to death. This is just how serious it was in the case of a reckless accident. Using basic reasoning from this, how serious do you think it would be to deliberately kill an unborn child?
As a nation we have done this on a massive scale. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973 there have been over 48.5 million abortions. This atrocity has not been done secretly or illegally but with the support of U.S. Law. The legal ability for women to be able to choose to put their unborn child to death has been celebrated!
It makes me seriously think to myself, “How long will God allow such things to continue before he brings judgement on our nation?”
Don’t be misled by the sly propaganda or the suave politician. The key question is not whether a woman has the right to choose, the question is whether we as a nation will support life or death.
How many more years will we continue to endorse as a nation this heinous crime against the unborn and against God and expect prosperity and blessing from God? Have we no shame? Where is the fear of the Lord?
What especially concerns me is how so many Christians would even go so far as to agree that abortion is a problem and a sin, but then when they have an opportunity to do something about it supporting life is not very high on their list of concerns.
Too many Christians care more about other issues than they do about supporting the lives of the unborn. They are more concerned about having a candidate who will promise to lower taxes, create a system to lower gas prices or improve public school education than they are about putting elected officials in office who will work to support life. They have begun to see abortion as “just the way it is.” How sad that so many have virtually conceded. Where are the William Wilberforces of this generation?
Please don’t misunderstand, I too have economic and other social concerns, and I pray that we can find leaders who will navigate all these issues with wisdom and lead effectively in a holistic sense, however at the end of the day, none of this matters as much as protecting and championing the cause of protecting helpless infants.
What about you? What issues do you care about most? Is your heart and your passion aligned with God’s heart or is it aligned more with your own preconceived notions, self justification, cultural preferences or just the balance in your checking account?
Day 2
Session 5
Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Life Church.tv spoke on “How Leader’s Can Get IT and Keep IT”. The “IT” factor is sort of an intangible sense that something really good is going on in a church. Though Craig couldn’t define exactly what “IT” is, he was pretty sure that it had something to do with the Holy Spirit.
He did identify certain qualities that seem to be there when IT is present.
- Ministries that have IT have a laser focus. They are asking the question, “What can we be the very best at”, and then they only do that.
- Churches with IT see opportunities instead of obstacles
- Those with IT have a willingness to fail.
One great quote from this point was when Craig said “Failure is not an option, it is a necessity. It is often the first step to really seeing God.”
- Churches who have IT are led by leaders who have IT
The fact that Craig Groeschel was speaking at the summit was one of the main reasons I chose to attend and he did not disappoint. If you missed it you may want to check out his new book titled IT: How Churches can Get IT and Keep IT
Session 6
Chuck Colson, chairman and founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and author of numerous books on Christian Faith and Biblical World View spoke on Defending the Faith.
Chuck really challenged pastors with some statistics about how few Christians actually have a Biblical World View and made the statement “if you are a shepherd of a leader your job is not to pander to your people but to teach them the truth.”
He pointed out that a disciple is fundamentally a disciplined learner.
I really would have liked to see some interaction between Chuck Colson and John Burke. Colson seems really strong on the truth side of things and Burke very strong relationally an loving people, which I think would make for some interesting dialogue about where those Christian values intersect.
Session 7
Catherine Rohr, founder and CEO of Prison Entrepreneurship Program talked about Risk Taking, Barrier Breaking and Bold Leadership
Catherine is a small, and attractive woman who is in her early thirties and has only been a Christ-follower for 5 years, but is putting to shame many who have been believers for decades with her commitment and drive to make a difference in the world.
The Prison Entrepreneurship Program brings in top CEOs and business people to Texas prisons and trains selected inmates nearing parole on how to use their already existing entrepreneurial gifts to form a legitimate business. Her courage and drive to do this amazed me!
She was also very humble about it saying, “God doesn’t really need me – he just needs me to follow instructions.”
Session 8
Brad Anderson, Vice-Chairman an CEO of Best Buy spoke on An Uncompromising Focus on People
This was a discussion format session between Brad and Bill Hybels.
Brad talked about the importance of having a genuine focus on people even when you are in senior leadership. If people are having major problems in their personal life this effects their job performance as well, so it even makes sense from a business perspective to take the time to talk with the employees through personal issues and to help them get the help that they need. On this he said “if I have a leader going through a personal crisis I realize I am going to have a performance problem”.
Brad says that over the years he has probably read several thousand Biographies, and that these have really taught him a whole lot about people.
Session 9
Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church spoke on Being Relentless.
The conference was really good. I found it so helpful and inspiring to hear from so many different leaders all doing great things, but each out of their unique calling, personality and gifting. If you missed it this year it would be worth your time to check it out next year. For you college students, I found out that you can go for a discounted price of 75$. So if you want to go mark it on your calendar for August 6-7, 2009!
5 Things I Liked About The Dark Knight
August 21, 2008 in Cultural Commentary, Lists, Movie Reviews | 2 comments
1. The greater appreciation it gave me for a functional legal system and police force in my own community, contrasted with the systemic corruption of Gotham city.
2. The heroic example of Bruce Wayne fighting for justice and community transformation in the midst of a very discouraging situation and at great personal cost
3. The examples of incredibly close, purpose oriented friendships between men of different generations and giftings, namely the friendships between Bruce Wayne, Alfred and Lucius Fox
4. The action scene in which the Batman manages to use his motorcycle and some cables to flip over the Joker’s tractor-trailer
5. Sitting next to my wife for 2 1/2 hours