Check Yourself – Part 3

The last few weeks we talked about having a check yourself mentality and the need to gauge your effectiveness, you can read about that here. We also talked about ways to gauge your effectiveness, you can read about that here. Today I’d like to talk about another way to gauge this. This is geared more towards leaders as opposed to the 1/3 rule that is geared towards entire groups. You need to gauge how your leaders are doing personally and in their task since they set the pace for everyone else. Continue reading “Check Yourself – Part 3”

“Who do you say that I AM?”

Originally Posted: Monday, March 06, 2006
Mood: lyrical
Now Playing: Other people talking
Topic: the character of God

Currently Reading
CUCKOO’S EGG
By Clifford Stoll
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OK. I’m going to do this thing….I’m finally going to post. Wow, three months is a long time. A lot happens within that time. I can’t fill in everything. I guess this’ll be like starting over. It is time to start over. Hmmm…I like that. Starting over. Much like Jesus lets us do. I like that He covers and gives second chances and lets us start over. I need that. I know that I’m not the only one. Continue reading ““Who do you say that I AM?””

Check Yourself – Part 2

Last time we talked about how in leadership having a “check yourself” mentality is necessary. You can read that here. I want to spend some time talking about the specifics of effectiveness when dealing with church for the next several weeks. One thing I want to clarify is that effectiveness does not mean bigger numbers and more people. If you relegate to numbers as a metric of success then you’ll end up with a big group and not much life change in that group. In the end that becomes a big social club. I will also say that my observation has been that what is needed to attain growth is counter intuitive in that the best way to do that is to not concentrate as hard on numerical growth. Continue reading “Check Yourself – Part 2”

Hearing God’s Voice

Originally Posted: Thursday, December 08, 2005
Mood:  quizzical
Now Reading: Clowning in Rome
Topic: the character of God

Currently Listening
Lay It Down
By Jennifer Knapp
7. You Remain
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I knew it. Why am I listening this? I know that it tears me apart every time I hear it. Tears. I love Jesus, but sometimes the lies and feelings that we have seem so real. Real enough that even sometimes the lies seem strong enough to win against the truth that I must acknowledge. Continue reading “Hearing God’s Voice”

Check Yourself – Part 1

When we talk about mission, specifically related to church, there seems to always be this running tension between offering grace and seeing effectiveness. Usually people don’t want to have those harder conversations regarding someone’s effectiveness at what they’re doing. Whether that thing be leading a small group, leading worship, inviting others to follow Jesus, or even pastoring a church. Part of the reason for this lack is that as leader’s we don’t have the “Check Yourself” mentality for our own lives, much less for the lives of those we lead. The average median church size in the US is roughly 75 people. 90% of all church’s in the US run 400 or less. Now 400 is a good size, but when you take population growth into account, what this really means is that we aren’t keeping up. Continue reading “Check Yourself – Part 1”

Night and Day

Originally Posted:Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Reading: Clowning in Rome
Topic: Living in the Epic Story


Currently Listening
Gladiator: Music from the Motion Picture
By Original Soundtrack
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Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I think I can start posting more now. I think that I can break the silence.

I guess I should start with what God is doing in my life. The only way to do this adequately is to draw back. About two weeks ago I wrote this. For those who don’t know, I got away. I went and stayed in the middle of the woods, alone, for two nights. I needed adventure and could sense it. I needed to get away and wrestle with God on some stuff, and that seemed the remedy for it. That seemed where I could meet Him. It was good. Continue reading “Night and Day”

Organizational Health Is Big

I’ve been thinking through organizational health lately. Patrick Lencioni has a book out entitled The Advantage that speaks to this specific area. It seems that organizational health is big. The big idea is that you need a healthy culture before you can have a growing thriving organization. All the other things, knowing your burn rate, staying fiscally solvent, balancing budget, systems, structures, are important. They’re important, in that they’re permission to play, permission to get in the game. They won’t keep you there though. Continue reading “Organizational Health Is Big”