Practicing What I Preach
May 29, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
I have been harping on the idea of Focus a lot lately. It has been the topic of a staff retreat, lots of personal conversations with leaders, and several blog posts. Since it has been such a high value for me, I thought it might be a good idea to practice what I preach.
And so yesterday I spent a bunch of time trying to figure out how to focus myself more on the roles God has given me in my life. Here are two simple things I am going to implement to help me do this:
Focus My Online Time
I started by deleting all the extra “web presences” I have but never use. MySpace, Brightkite, LinkedIn, Wayfaring, Qik, and several others had to go on the chopping block. My primary tools are Twitter, Facebook, and my blog and so I am going to focus my web time there. I am also going to go back to my old habit of only checking my email at certain predetermined times throughout the day and only reading my RSS feeds twice a day.
Focus My Schedule
My assistant Kim is already a great help with keeping my schedule sane, but I need to focus more. I work much better with a block schedule so I am going to tighten that up and allocate certain days to certain projects. I am also going to create a weekly focus plan that helps me keep the main things the main things in each of my God-given roles: Christ Follower, Husband, Father, Pastor.
I’m looking forward to seeing how these simple tweaks help me focus my life more.
Three Big Questions: Who?
May 28, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
OK, here’s the final big question to ask yourself and (just as importantly) those you are mentoring:
“Who?”
In other words, who are you pouring your life into? This is one of the most important and overlooked pieces of the Christian faith: mentoring. Each one of us is to pass the Gospel onto someone else and to be part of their spiritual journey. It may be your kids, your neighbors, someone serving with you at church, etc. Like Paul wrote:
2 Timothy 2:1-2 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
So…who are you pouring your life into?
Three Big Questions: Where?
May 27, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Today, we’re looking at the second of three questions that are great to ask yourself or someone you are mentoring:
“Where?”
Quite simply, where are you serving? Each of us is called to be serving in the local church and yet most people who claim to follow Jesus don’t serve in the local church at all. This is what Paul has to say about that:
1 Corinthians 12:18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
You are needed in the body of Christ.
So here’s your action step: find a place to serve in your local church. Don’t wait until life gets “less busy” because it never will. Do it now.
Three Big Questions: What?
May 26, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Last year I had coffee with Chan Kilgore (an awesome pastor who is crushing it in Orlando) and he told me about the simple 3 questions he asks everyone he is mentoring. I wrote them on my whiteboard and I periodically ask myself the same questions. They have been really helpful for me, so I thought I’d throw them out at you this week. This is super simple stuff, but helps keep you focused in your walk with Jesus.
Here’s question one: “What?”
- What do you need to learn in this season of life?
- What area of your life most needs your attention right now?
- What do you need to be reading / listening to that will help you here?
Stop for a second and ask yourself these questions. Now, look at your calendar for the week / month and schedule some time to work on it.
Memorial Day
May 25, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
I have heard many stories about WW2 from my grandfather, my old neighbor, and others. And while all stories of war and conflict are moving (in a variety of different ways), there is a distinct tone to the men who served our country in that particular conflict. Here’s one story told by a man who died just a few weeks ago.
Economy Questions
May 18, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
This week, I am going to be in Dallas connecting with some other pastors from around the country. I am certain the topic of the economy is going to come up while I am there. It’s going to be interesting to see how everyone’s churches are doing right now.
I am also working on my next series at Riv, which is going to tap a little bit on the recession and it’s impact on the Lansing area.
So, I would love your help with both of these. If you could answer a couple quick questions for me, that would be awesome. Just comment on this post with your answers.
1) Have you been personally impacted by the recession?
2) If yes, how?
3) On a scale of 1 (Scared out of my mind) to 10 (Incredibly hopeful), how are you feeling?
See, that was painless. Just 3 simple questions.
I’ll try to post as I am able this week, but of course I’ll be Twittering much more frequently.
Tags: Lansing
The Perfect DNA Storm
May 15, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
When people meet my children and see how ridiculously good looking and smart they are, they always respond with the same comment:
“They must get it from their mom. Har har har.”
Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but according to Time Magazine, the evidence points the other way around. Check out this chart my dad kindly passed onto me:
South Korea may take 2nd, but Finland takes 1st!
Sisu!
Statistically, I account for a good percentage of my kid’s smarts. Unfortunately, there’s no such evidence for their good looks.
Empowerment
May 13, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Yesterday, I posted a bit on the idea of Focus. Today, I want to reflect on Empowerment.
For focus to really work in an organization, it must be accompanied by empowerment. This is the example of the church in Jerusalem we looked at yesterday:
Acts 6:2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”
One man’s focus is another man’s empowerment. In this situation, the widows still needed to be fed. The Apostles didn’t just throw them to the wind–he empowered other leaders to take up the task.
This is one of the cool things about how Jesus set up his church. Christianity isn’t a “religion of the elite.” It’s not about one person or even a handful of people doing all the work, it’s the whole body taking care of itself. Each of us has a different role to play. And when we don’t play our role, the whole body suffers. We should each feel empowered to play our own specific part in the body.
Practically speaking, that can mean many things:
- Seeing a need and taking care of it
- Seeing an opportunity to serve and doing it
- Dreaming about a new way to reach the world and making it happen
And the cool thing is God has given us a vehicle to do this: the local church. Unfortunately, sometimes we feel like “the professional Christians” should be doing the work at the church, so we either do nothing or we head off and find another place to serve outside the church. Now at Riv we love to see people serving the world outside our doors–it’s a huge part of our mission. But at the same time, we are the most understaffed church our size in America. That means the need for volunteers to serve us greater here than anywhere else.
For those of you who are part of the Riv family, I want to challenge you to step up and find a place to serve. Click on this thumbnail to find just a few ways you can get involved:
Focus
May 12, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
This last week, we had a staff / key volunteer retreat at Riv. The theme of the retreat (as well as this next year for the church) is Focus and Empowerment. I thought in light of these two things, I’d do a couple posts on the topic.
Today, I want to reflect a bit on Focus. At Riv, we have limited resources when it comes to budget and staff. We have 1/4 the budget of the average church our size and the smallest paid staff of any church our size in America. The positive in this is that we don’t have the luxury of doing “too many things.” We need to focus.
And it’s not just organizations who have to face this, individuals need to face it, too. We all have a tendency to drift away from the “main things” in our lives, jobs, marriages, and churches.
The first church faced this situation in Acts 6, as did the leaders. The Apostles were faced with a crisis in their schedules that threatened the focus of the church.
Acts 6:1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.
This was the first real test of the focus of the church in Jerusalem. It was a real problem, because the widows needed food or they would die! This was a potentially life or death situation. So what did the Apostles do? Did they drop everything to feed the widows? No, they didn’t. They kept their focus. Check it out:
Acts 6:2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”
They said, “We need to focus. We need to teach the Word. We need to pray.” This is the first and essential part of focus: deciding what few things you will do.
I just got done reading a great little e-book by CJ Mahaney called “Biblical Productivity” that was very convicting on this front. Here’s a bit:
“When considering our schedules, we have endless options But there are a few clear priorities and projects, derived from my God-assigned roles, that should occupy the majority of my time during a given week. And there are a thousand tasks of secondary importance that tempt us to devote a disproportionate amount of time to completing an endless to-do list.”
I highly recommend you download and read Mahaney’s short book. It will help you think about how to focus yourself on the things you should be doing in your life.
But you can’t stop here. You need to take the next (sometimes more painful) step. You have to decide what you are not going to do.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done.” – Steve Jobs
It’s hard to have focus when you are in a growing church / organization / business. The temptation is to do a lot of things kinda sorta well instead of doing a few things very well. To be successful you have to stop doing some things and you have to never start doing some other things. And it’s important to realize the things you have to “not do” or “stop doing” are good things. They aren’t bad things, they’re just not the best things.
It was not bad for the Apostles to run a food program. It just was not the best thing for them to be doing. Once they had their focus figured out (Prayer and Teaching), they needed to take the next step to say “no” to other stuff.
Tomorrow, we’ll continue by talking about empowerment.
The Team: Gary Darling
May 11, 2009 The Team
It’s Monday and that means it’s time for me to brag on our of our team at Riv.
Today’s target? Gary Darling.
Gary is a great example of someone from one generation pouring into other generations. Gary is a retiree (and I don’t even know what he did for a career…shame on me) who volunteers tons of time around here.
He and his wife faithfully teaching in our RivKids program. But it doesn’t stop there, they watch little kids for our MOPS program as well, which is a blast to watch. He is on the floor with the kids, playing and eating crazy kid snacks, and generally loving on the kids.
He also “babysits” our website. He keeps it updated each week, uploading the messages and constantly searching for the elusive broken link. Gary is even overseeing our team that is working on our bi-annual website overhaul. On top of all this, he runs his own site called Project405.
If there is one word I would use to describe Gary it would be “faithful.” He epitomizes Jesus’ admonition:
Matthew 5:37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.
When Gary says he will do it, then he will, period. We need more Garys.
