A Reminder Of What The Church Is Not

December 18, 2011 in Chrstianity, Church, Ministry with 0 Comments

Every now and then a reminder needs to be issued. The Church is not a building. Neither is it programs that are run by her. The church is not how good the music or the preaching is. The church is not how much offering comes in or does not. The church is not liturgy. The church not man’s idea, it is God’s! The church is not just about the people in it. (It is also for the people not yet in it!) The church is not made up of people ‘who have it all together’.

the Church is incomplete without you!

The church is not how well people dress up on Sunday. The church is not the stain glass or steeple. The church is not complete without you! The church is not and should not be a place where some are more important than others. The church is not and should not be a closed ‘community’ or club. The church is not how well her building is adorned. The Church is NOT complete without you!

.illustration: from outside Wordwise, in Hartebeespoortdam


What is your take on what the Church is NOT?



	
	
	
	
	

		

		

	



	
		
			

			
				Lesson #1 From A Defunct Blog – When Things Fall Apart			
		

		
	

		
			December 15, 2011		 in 
		
			Leadership, Life, Vision		 with 
		
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My blog was down a couple of weeks ago. It took about 3 days to get everything working again as it should. During that period there are some things I learned as well as reminded of. These are things I think are valuable in life and leadership. I felt challenged as I pondered the lessons… There is opportunity for growth in the midst of setbacks. Your setbacks will set you back even further if you simply see them as such and not opportunities for growth. Here two things to consider when things fall apart:


don't waste the ruins!


    

  • Perfect: It is the perfect opportunity to effect some changes. Sometimes it is difficult to effect change in the middle of processes. When things aren’t just working there is nothing more you can lose! You can’t do any worse! Evaluate what was not working as it should and correct it before restoration. Review frameworks, perceptions and approach while everything is down in order to rebuild stronger. Put in place things that will help you even go farther and stronger. When you lose something it is great opportunity for a fresh and better start not to wallow in self pity and unhealthy self criticism. Don’t waste the ‘ruins’!
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  • Prevent: Before rushing to restore things to their previous working state, always ensure you have understood why they broke down. Acting out of panic or frustration will cause you to focus on restoring things only. Restoring anything to a working state will be more worthwhile after understanding why they crashed in the first place. Using downtime to understand the cause of the crash will be an investment that can save you valuable resources going ahead. Never stop at asking why things got to where they are. To effectively solve a problem you have to understand the root cause and deal with it, otherwise it will be live longer and cost you more. If you do not go to the root of the problem you may just repeat it again. You might also discover that the cause of the breakdown might have been a gradual development.
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 illustration: John Drake Flickr, Flickr (cc)


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Your thoughts?





	
	
	
	
	

		

		

	



	
		
			

			
				Random Thoughts On Excuses			
		

		
	

		
			December 14, 2011		 in 
		
			Ideas, Leadership, Life, Productivity, time management, Vision		 with 
		
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Excuses are as old as humanity. Everyone is using them in one area or another. You’ve used them and chances are tomorrow you may use a couple without even realizing. They have become a normal part of our lives. Either we hear them, accommodate or use them. In all cases we interact with them. Here are some of my (random) thoughts on excuses:


 


    

  • Significance: they never built anything significant: Simply put, excuses are the reason something was either not done or could not be done. They can be very logical and valid. Excuses make it easy for people to get hung up on why something cannot be done instead of why we cannot afford to do it.
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  • Nowhere: It takes as much energy to think of some excuses as it is to think of solutions. They are not always easy to conjure and often burn up energy that could be used for progress. Using and entertaining them keeps you from moving forward. Your biggest obstacle at the moment is that you’re paying too much attention to excuses. Only when you start looking beyond the why-it-cannot-be-done excuses do you get on track to significant achievements. Excuses are the main reason why things stay the same or deteriorate. They will take you nowhere worth going!
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  • Keep from: Excuses are what people use to keep themselves from God. It gets worse, by so doing they rob themselves of a life or purpose and significance. They have also kept people from dreaming and achieving with God. Another sad fact: some of the excuses people conjure sound very ‘spiritual’ that others start buying into them. What excuses have you bought into that are keeping you from God and or achieving with Him?
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  • Creativity: Excuses are wasted imagination and creativity. Like I’ve said it’s not always easy to come up with excuses. Fabricating them is often not seen as time and energy wasters but more as the means of not using energy, creativity and time. On the contrary, it is.
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I actually had more random thoughts but thought that I’d leave this open to give you room to add yours… What are some of the common excuses people use? What’s your take on excuses?



	
	
	
	
	

		

		

	



	
		
			

			
				When Sharing Dreams Or Goals			
		

		
	

		
			December 8, 2011		 in 
		
			Ideas, Leadership, Life, Productivity, Self Leadership, Vision		 with 
		
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It matters who you share your dreams, goals or aspirations with. This means you must be well prepared for truth or perspectives that will not necessarily match yours. As difficult as it may be, it also means you need to be an objective listener and not listening only for what you want to hear but what you need to hear. Sharing your dreams and goals is important to keep you accountable as you pursue them. It will also protect you from worthless pursuits and or false starts. The people you share your dreams with will determine:


 


    

  • Pursuit: They will affect whether you pursue your dream or not. Some may validate it. Others will challenge and strongly recommend you don’t pursue it any further. I am not suggesting that you use this as a way to determine whether to “chase” or not… You need to have a balance in perspectives before you pursue anything and decide for yourself. Thus whoever you share your aspirations with, will encourage or discourage you, lead you to your demise or your blossoming.
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  • How: Whoever you share your aspirations with may, to a great extent, shape how you pursue them. With this in mind, do your best to find people that have a clue or have walked a similar journey. There is an African proverb: You ask for the way from those that are ahead. [almost literal translation, but you get the gist] In other words seek out those that have walked the road. If you cannot find someone to help you map the way forward, find someone that is willing to help you find it.
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Therefore, carefully consider with whom and how to share your dreams and goals. Make sure you are clear on what they are. Be objective as you share and listen to other people. You cannot follow everyone’s counsel, but ensure that you have enlisted counsel with different views; either from different people or an individual that will fairly assess the pros and cons.


What are other things one must remember when sharing dreams or goals? Any other thoughts?





	
	
	
	
	

		

		

	



	
		
			

			
				In This Strength That Is Yours			
		

		
	

		
			December 5, 2011		 in 
		
			Leadership, Life, Ministry, Passion, Productivity, Self Leadership, Vision		 with 
		
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A great difference between seeing a vision or idea realized is often action. You can spend a long drafting plans and perfecting them and never realize your goals. Perfect plans are not a guarantee for success. Nothing will bring you closer to your goals that a plan and action to back them up. Plans and inaction = stagnation. How many dreams are you carrying? How long have you been carrying them? Do you have any tangible action backing your plans?




Lack of resources is often an excuse for inaction. I sometimes catch myself dreaming about what I will do when or if I got a particular resource. Are you obsessed with the resources you hope to have at the expense of action with what you have? What you have now is the means to get what you want to achieve the ‘bigger’ things you see. The (little) you have right now is really the great resource you’re looking for. See the value of what’s in your hand and leverage it!


But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?” – Judges 6:14 (MSG)


This was part of a conversation between Gideon & God. Prior to this statement Gideon had (indirectly) communicated a desire to Israel delivered from her oppressors. Despite his desire he expressed why he couldn’t save Israel. This sounds like most of us! We want to do great things but how willing are we to pay the price? What dreams has God given you? We lose more in our ‘self made safety’ of inaction than in risk chasing God’s call on us!


Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.” God said to him, “I’ll be with you. Believe me, you’ll defeat Midian as one man – Judges 6:15 – 16


Gideon then launched a fight to stay in the comfort of his discomfort. What does your fight for staying in the comfort of your discomfort look like? You see, Gideon and his people did not have it easy. They were constantly being harassed by the Midianites and Amelikites. By not rising up to the challenge there can be no change. You can never change what you’re not willing to confront. Gideon was also overlooking this fact: Whatever God calls you to; it is ultimately going to be greater than where you are right now! Not moving to where God is calling you to is denying God the opportunity to act through you! Stop stopping God! Allow Him to make his purposes to be fulfilled through you…


 With all this being said, God echoes to you His charge to Gideon:


But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?” – Judges 6:14 (MSG)




Obsessing over what you don’t have will blind you of want you do have! God will bless the work of your hands. When your hands are not at work there is no blessing to empower you for success. You may be praying and waiting for God to start doing something, but He’s actually waiting for you to do something. God moves in our moving. As feeble as we are, we hold the key to seeing God’s strength at work. We must go in the strength we have!  All excuses must end right now. God is not going to ask you about what you did with what you did not have, but what you did with what you had. It is time to act with what we have!


We are never going to change the world with excuses of why we cannot do something. We will only change the world when focus on why we cannot afford to do something.  Your inaction not only affects you but the people God has called you to. Your community or church’s action or lack of it, is the difference between God being manifest to them in a tangible way or not. You have something and can use it for a great impact. Don’t undermine what you have by getting hung up by what you don’t have. Go in this strength that you have!


illustration by ralphbijker, flickr, (cc)


What have been some of your excuses?



	
	
	
	
	

		

		

	


    
					

	

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