Monday, September 30, 2013

Wisdom



I love learning from the wisdom of others. As a leader I am constantly looking for opportunities to learn through reading, conferences, and networking. I also love sharing those resources with teams that I lead as well as networks that I am a part of. 

To that end, this week I will be bringing in a friend of mine who is a worship consultant and what we would call a "Legacy Leader": John Sarno.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)

Make sure to check out this week's video blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6xdKbp02bk

As you prepare for this week think about these questions:
1. Who are you reading to grow?

2. Do you intentionally network with people for worship or your work? If so, how did you select them?

3. What plan do you have in place for growth: spiritually, relationally, professionally, and financially?

I am looking forward to seeing you this week. This week’s announcements that you need to be aware of are listed below. See you Thursday night!


Announcements

1. More about our worship consultant: John Sarno currently has reached the equivalent of what we would call an L5 Leader in worship arts. This is a leader that has become a Legacy Leader and has moved into a consulting role for the church and other organizations after reproducing leaders and teams to run worship arts.  This is John’s church: http://mountaincc.org/staff.  He is at their Mountain Road Campus.  John will be here Thursday for practice and here through the weekend to evaluate our teams, structure, and values. If he asks you any questions please feel free to speak openly and bluntly about our ministry. John will keep your identity anonymous when he reports on our teams, but he will want to know your role. I am looking forward to what we will learn by having someone come in and see our systems with a different eye!

2. CR moves to Friday night this week, so please be in prayer for their transition and for the launch of live music as a part of this ministry.  There is no scheduled child care for worship arts based on this change. If you need to talk through options, please make me aware so that I can work with you.

3. Get ready for Field of Dreams, this is our Super Bowl!  Please plan to learn new music and to be on your top game for our guests in this season.  We will have a different worship flow from usual based on the campaign. We will be going over all the details Thursday night.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Time Management


As I have had conversations with many of you over the last few week’s many of you have asked questions that are centered around the principles of time management. There are a lot of theories and resources out there regarding this principle. 

Make sure you take the time this week to read the passage below and check out this week's video blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCk0xBXZKuk 

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” John 4:34–38 (NIV)

Prepare for this week’s devo by thinking about these questions:
  1. Do you have goals for your spiritual life, family life, ministry life, and professional life?
  2. How did you or how would you develop those goals?
  3. How does being a Christian and Christ’s comments about the harvest challenge or support your goals?
  4. How do you schedule your week, your month, your year based on the above questions? 
This week we will be breaking in to smaller groups than last week. Can’t wait to hear about what God does through you based on the principle of time management!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Personal Worship


All of us should have a daily quite time. We all also struggle with this discipline in seasons, but we need to stay on top of it because it is the building block for going deeper in our personal worship with the Lord

Take some time to read this week's Scripture passage: Acts 16:25-34 and make sure you check out the video blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-JyO6HGrvk. 



Think about this question for this week: What are you doing in your personal worship life that helps you to go deeper and be ready for leading on Sunday?



Announcements for this week:
  1. We are starting a new devotional process this week.
    1. We will break into groups of FOH Tech, BOH Tech, Band and Vocals and do our devotions and announcements from 6:30 to 6:45.
    2. Practice from 7:15 to 8.
    3. Full run through 8 to 8:30.
    4. New band process beginning
  2. New Sermon Series Launching on 10-13 “Field of Dreams”
  3. Volunteer rally on 9/29 at 4:30
    1. Make sure that you plan on making the volunteer rally.
    2. The event is designed to appreciate all volunteers and encourage you!
  4. We will give you sneak peak of “Field of Dreams” creative components. 
    1. If you want to be in the know this is your chance!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Shifting Strategy




I love the book of Nehemiah! This is a book full of leadership principles and nuggets of wisdom for how to organize people toward a goal that realizes a God-birthed dream.

As I sit a think about this coming Fall, it occurs to me that we will be coming up on one year without a paid full-time worship pastor at ORBC. We are still accomplishing the purposes of God, but it is time to adjust our strategy to go to the next level.

Check out this week’s Bible passage: Nehemiah 4:13–18 (NIV), then watch the video blog to prepare for this week’s devotion:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnO3bEg7MM&feature=em-upload_owner

Take some time to think about the following questions:
  1. Was it necessary for Nehemiah to adjust his strategy?
  2. Why did he station people in position based on families instead of hired soldiers?
  3. What was his purpose in asking them to, “Remember the Lord”?
  4. Did it make their work in that season less affective to have to work and carry a sword? Why or why not? What was the purpose?
Come ready to discuss your thoughts this Thursday night! This week I will be leading us through some BIG CHANGES in the way that we do what we do.  Even if you are not scheduled it would be a good idea for you to be there this week for practice to make sure you’re “in the know” as these changes will impact all of us.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Burnout?



If you are in ministry long enough you will face what has been labeled “Ministry Burnout”. While the definitions are varied, the end result is that you feel as if the only way you can find balance is to completely pull away from ministry and regroup.

Reality Check: It’s hard to find balance with family, work, hobbies, friendships, and ministry. If you are a struggling or marginal Christian it’s even harder. Especially when you read scriptures like this one:

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57–62 (NIV)

Then you read things like: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25–27 (NIV)

How do these go together? Where is the balance? It is found within the principles of "Focus" and "Pace".

Make sure you check out this week's video blog:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eS0kUWGnIQ

Think about these questions in preparation for meeting on Thursday:

What am I doing that someone else could be doing?
What am I doing or should be doing that only I can do?
What gives the Kingdom of God the greatest return with regard to my gifts, talent, and treasure?
What process am I using to schedule and prioritize my life?

Think about these questions and come ready to discuss this Thursday night! Let’s see if we can find balance in the midst of burnout.