Are you a pimped out S-10?

This afternoon on my way home from Auto Zone I saw an S-10 Blazer with Lexus rims on it. I almost had to pull over to laugh it was so hilarious. I thought to myself check this guy out trying to be something he's not. Then the Lord buzzed me. You do it all the time. "I do not!" was my first thought. As if I know myself better than the Lord. You know we all try to pretend we are something we aren't. I can't tell you how many times I have have been mad and tried to hide it, or back in the day when I was living in sin and trying play church. The truth is no matter how much I tried I was still mad and I was still buried up to my neck in sin. Just like the S-10 today no matter how hard we try we can't really hide who we are. We will still be an S-10, pimped out, but still an S-10.

Church Life Lessons Part III

Part Three of Church Life Lessons

Indecisiveness

Because we will not take ownership we spend to much time trying to plan out how we should reach the lost instead of digging in. People are dying and going to hell everyday while we decide what the best way to reach them is. We need to step up to the plate, take a swing, and hit it out of the park. You might take a strike on the first pitch, but you’ll never get the strike if you stand at the plate first.

Poor Accountability for Performance

The church is lacking in accountability period. It’s not just on performance good or bad, but the things we keep tucked away and hidden. My wife and I have started a new thought process, “If it’s out in the open satan can’t use it against you.” This is not an easy concept in a society of isolationism where there is a computer and TV in every room. We have allowed ourselves to become isolated from our spouses and family. How can we ever expect someone at church to hold us accountable when we won’t allow our families in? The only way to achieve true accountability is to be apart of an in your face community of close members. We need people who are not afraid or embarrassed to ask about our personal lives. God did not design us to loaners through life. We have been connected to some from the day we where conceived, just take a look at your naval to remind you of that.

Church Life Lessons Part II

Part Two of Church Life Lessons

Misalignment with Vision

Garlinghouse was quoted as saying "We are separated into silos that far too frequently don't talk to each other. And when we do talk, it isn't to collaborate on a clearly focused strategy, but rather to argue and fight about ownership, strategies and tactics.” We have allowed ourselves to become isolationist totally oblivious to what God’s master vision is.

Relying on Outside Hires

Too often we rely on someone else. I know in my church I see a lot of the same people doing it all. I once heard it said 20% of the people do 80% of the work in a church. To many times I hear people say God hasn’t called me to that ministry. I know because I used to be one. If we look at the Great Commission Jesus was not selective in who is called. If it involves reaching people then you are called.

No Defined Ownership

It is hard to get anyone to take ownership in anything they are told to do. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, told us to go into all the nations and make disciples for Him. Its that simple.

Continued ...

Church Life Lessons Part I

I first wrote this as one large blog, but a good friend of mine Andy Zook said I might want to break it up. So I did.

I was reading a blog by Tony Morgan, a pastor at Granger Community Church, entitled “Leadership Lessons from Yahoo”. It talked about an internal memo from Brad Garlinghouse, a Yahoo senior vice president, which was published in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago.

Tony began to discuss how if Yahoo, one of the world’s largest internet company’s can have these types of issues how can these lessons benefit our ministries. I really had to agree with him, and then the Lord began to challenge me with this.

We as a church and church goers really can benefit from this as well.

Lack of Focus

We sometimes lose focus on what our main objective in life is. This of course is the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came to them and said:
I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19 Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world. (CEV)

Our focus really can’t get any clearer than this. Go into all the nations. Jesus didn’t say go where we feel comfortable. He said into ALL the nations. Jesus was very politically and religiously incorrect with the things he did, and the people he reached out and touched. We should live by his example.

Continued ...