The goal of faith is not the elimination of risk. There is no such thing as risk-free faith.

– Craig Groeschel

Many times when we think about faith, we think that having faith means that God takes all the risk and potential for failure out of something.  I am not so sure I believe that.  Without risk or the potential for failure, where is the need for faith?  Where is the dependence on God? It is not there because we can handle things on our own.  Risk and failure bring out dependence and a hunger for God’s power in your life.

Our walk with God requires risk.  Churches require leadership that is willing to takes risks.  If you are not a risk-taker as you lead your church, you will be a care-taker and eventually an undertaker.

• Perry Noble gives us “11 Signs You May Be Experiencing Ministry Burnout.” If you are in ministry, you need to read this.  You also need to take care of yourself to guard against becoming burnt out!
• Mark Beeson tells us that “Good Times Don’t Always Require Alot Of Money.”  For someone on a budget, or who just lost there job, Mark has some great words on how to make the most with what we do have to make memories this summer with your family.  I plan on taking some of his advice.  I think I will start with the one about choosing a good attitude!
• Donald Miller brings up a statement that hit me over the head a year ago in his post “Healthy Friends Are Responsible To, Not For Each Other.”  I wrote about it not too long ago after attending a workshop at Granger Community Church.
• Pete Wilson asks “What’s The Point” in reference to what the goal of the message that is preached.  Some good food for thought in that post and in the comments.

May you all have a blessed weekend!

Eric says:

Often I hear deep lamenting from pastors and staff teams about the lack of volunteer engagement in their churches. And often I have discovered that the problem is not with the people but a faulty ministry culture that fosters low levels of volunteerism and perpetuates an unhealthy dependence on clergy. The typical approach to ministry in most churches stands in stark contrast to the biblical approach given to us clearly by God.

In the type of churches I grew up in, you had to have a “Pastor” involved in everything, and if there were too many things going on for one guy to do it, you hired another “professional pastor” to help out. That totally goes contrary to the Biblical model of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry! The church in America many times forgets that everyone within the local church has been gifted to serve, and if they are not serving, the body does not function properly. If we want to see our churches grow and thrive, we need to unleash the members to do ministry!

Now, go and read the rest of the article by Eric!

• Some great insight from Scott Williams in his post “Diversity Drives Innovation.”
• Tony Morgan, in his post “Are You A Christian Atheist,” had the chance to interview Craig Groeschel about his newest book, The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist. It takes about ten minutes to listen to, but it is good stuff!
• “You Can See The Determination In His Eyes” was a great post by Seth Godin.  I have met Christ followers that have this sense of direction and a “you can’t stop me” attitude about reaching people for Jesus that is just contagious.  I want to be one of those people that has that determination and drive!
• Being a leader in the church means you will be faced with tough decisions.  Making those decisions can be hard, but it is necessary for the longevity growth of the church.  Perry Noble talks about that is his post “Leaders Make Tough Decisions.”  Great read!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!  Be safe!

• Jonathan Acuff had a great post on Being Lazy For The Lord.  Love that post!
• There are a lot of churches that do a lot of good things, but very few churches do great things. I think that is partly due to not paying attention to the last ten percent.  What do i mean by that?  Well, read this article by Seth Godin titled,  Hardly Worth The Effort, and you will be able to make the application pretty easily I think.  Churches have to stop sacrificing great on the altar of good.  Good enough is not what you want to hear anyone say when they are doing something for Jesus!
• Loved this one called “Empire of Entitlement” by Pete Wilson.  Good stuff!
• Love the posts Craig Groeschel is writing about Honor.  Read them here, here, here, and here!
• Finally “Having Right Theology Does Not Mean You Know God” by Donald Miller will get you thinking and asking questions!

I hope you all have a great day in God’s house this weekend!

• Tony Morgan posted something that rings in my heart right now in his post, “What’s Your Next Step.”  A friend of mine asked yesterday what my future looked like, and I basically responded by saying that I had no detailed plan from God as to what is next, only that I was waking up each morning with a little more light shed as to where I am to walk for the day.  I love being in that position.  And I hate being in that position.  I hate it because I am not in control.  I love it because I am so totally dependent on God, and that is a great place to be!
• Seth Godin had a great illustration that I think fits many churches.  He talks about “Becoming A Bus Company” and how bus companies are “slowly moving people from place to place, going through the motions and showing a lot of fatigue…”  I think there are a lot of churches and Christians like that as well…
• All I have to say about Perry Noble‘s post titled “Do You Want A Loyal Staff” is… WOW!  The very first line says: “If you want loyalty…then GIVE IT!  The leader that demands it but does not offer it often leaves a wake of abused and neglected staff members.” I have worked with and for people like this.  It is no fun getting thrown under the bus.  Staff people want to know the leader has their back… or they will not have his!
• Life is all about relationships… First, your relationship with God, and then with others.  We need each other… we need people in our life. Mark Waltz discusses creating opportunities for building relationships in spaces designed just for it.  Read it in his post, “What Spaces Are You Creating?”

That will do it for this week!  Enjoy the weekend!

“Don’t cater to the preferences of the easily offended. You’ll never satisfy them, and You’ll bore everybody else.”

Some thoughts:

• Most people that I have met and seemed to be “easily offended” about something were not offended a the “said offending thing” you did, but were more upset that their preferences were not upheld.
• Trying to keep these type of people happy should not be a goal. It will never happen anyway, no matter how hard you try.
• Don’t spend so much time and energy focusing on people that will never be happy.  Instead, focus your attention and energy on people that are really trying to take their next steps towards Jesus. These will be the people that will change the world and will stand behind you as a leader.

Any thoughts?

“Both Scripture and experience teach that it is we, not God, who determine the degree of intimacy with Him that we enjoy.  We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be.”

It is so easy to think that God should constantly be pursuing us because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us that will allow us to be all that He intends for us to be.  And He does pursue us.  He does have a passion for us to be who He has designed us to be. There is no doubt about that.  It is evidenced all throughout the Scriptures.  Here is the deal though: We have to be pursuing Him as well!  He is there, arms open wide to take us in and share more and more of Who He is with us.  But we are not willing;  willing to sacrifice our time or our pursuit of what we hold as higher in value than God to have a relationship that we can have, if we will only choose it.

Do you want to be close to God?  It is up to you.  Only you can make the choice to draw closer to Him.  He is there.  Choose wisely!

• Jon Acuff talks about chasing dreams in a great post last week.  Decide to do it, and then do it.  So simple!
• Tim Stevens reminds us how important our words are… even if we do not remember them in his post titled, “Every Conversation Matters.”  What a great reminder!
• Don Miller.  This post: Why Doctrine Is Only Half The Message.  Read it.
• Loved this post by Carlos Whittaker: HELP! I Am Locked In My Church And Can Get Out!! Been a huge advocate of having an office at St.Arbucks for this very reason!
• Perry Noble gives us Ten Random Leadership Thoughts.  Some excellent ones here!  My favorite? I have two actually, “The people God has placed to lead with you should be listened to and valued; after all, God speaks to them too!”  And, “Loyalty cannot be demanded…it must be earned.”
• Jeff Bell had some great thoughts in his post, First Things First.

Hope these are helpful to you!  Have a great weekend!

“My plan A: “God, change my circumstances.” God’s plan A: Use people (in my circumstances) to change me”

Now, I will be the first to say that I never had any plans at almost 40 years old to be laid off from a church, then, end up working an hourly job at an electronics store while I waited to find a full-time position in a church to serve God in.  After all, I am called to be in full time ministry!  Surely there should not be much of a waiting period for me.  God needs me somewhere!  Right?!?

Evidently, God needs me right here for now.  He is teaching me, and molding me through people that are around me that will make me a better servant to Him and to others.  I am learning more and more each day that His “Plan A” is better than my “Plan A” could ever be.  So, I am leaning into that, and looking for opportunity to see and learn all that He has for me.

Don’t pray for a change of circumstances. Pray that you learn and are changed by the  people in your circumstance.