Life time Learner, Youth Pastor, Evangelist and Motivational Speaker.

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Why Vision Is More Important Than Strategy | Michael Hyatt

Over the next six years, Nelson Books was consistently the fastest growing, most profitable division at Thomas Nelson. It had one bestseller after another. It was home to almost all of our company’s bestselling authors during that time.

This didn’t happen because we had a great business strategy. It happened because we had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve. That’s where it started, and that’s where you have to start if you want to experience a different reality than the one you have now, you have to get clear on what you want.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. Get alone with just a journal and a pen. If you can get a way to a solitary place, so much the better.
2. Make sure you won’t be interrupted. Turn off your cell phone, e-mail, television, etc.
3. Close your eyes and pray. Ask God for inspiration and guidance. What you ultimately want is alignment between His plan and your vision. But don’t make this harder than it needs to be. God usually speaks through our desires. If that’s a new thought, then read John Eldredge’s book, Desire: The Journey We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers.
4. Write down your current reality—all the things that you don’t like. Be brutally honest. It’s difficult to change unless you find your current reality unacceptable.
5. Now write down what you would like to see happen. Write it down in detail. If you can, use all five senses. Write it in the present tense, as though it has already happened. This will make it more believable to you.
6. Share your vision with the people who have a stake in the outcome.
7. Commit to reading your vision daily. This is critically important. “Faith is the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The more you can “see” this, the more likely it will come to pass.

Remember: Don’t get hung up on how you will accomplish your vision. Just believe God and watch it come to pass.

via michaelhyatt.com

18 Ways to Ruin Your Reputation on Facebook by Paul Steinbrueck - ChurchLeaders.com - Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How To's, and Free Resources

Facebook is a great way for you to build and maintain relationships with people both inside your church and in your community. But Facebook is not without its risks. Every time you post something, you risk hurting, offending or distancing yourself from people. So, here are 18 things you want to avoid doing on Facebook…

First, the ugly…

1. Post something out of frustration in the heat of the moment. 

We all get frustrated at times. And if you want to engage people authentically, you need to “keep it real.” But Facebooking when angry, frustrated, or hurt is never a good idea. Take a few minutes (or a few hours) to cool down, and then think again if you really want to use Facebook to vent.

2. Criticize people. 

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Even if you don’t use a person’s name, chances are you’re Facebook friends with that person or someone close enough to the situation to know who you’re really talking about.

3. Embarrass yourself.

Expect everyone in your congregation and your community to see everything you post to Facebook. So, don’t post anything you wouldn’t be comfortable saying or showing from the pulpit on a Sunday morning.

4. Embarrass your family. 

Our spouses and kids say and do funny things all the time. Most of those things can be posted to Facebook with no problem, and they help people to see you’re a normal person with a normal family. But be sensitive and when in doubt, ask your spouse and kids if it’s OK to share a quote, happening, or pic online.

5. Criticize other churches in the community. 

Every church has a different mission, ministry philosophy, style of worship, and theology. But we all share one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. We should be known for our unity not our division.

The self-absorbed…

6. Only talk about your church. 

Pastors, when people become Facebook friends with you, it’s because they want to engage with you – a real person – not a spokesperson for your church.

7. Share everything posted to the church FB page. 

Even if you post personal updates to your Facebook profile, don’t repost every church update as well. Some – yes, all – no.

8 . Just talk about yourself. 

When you go to a social event, do you like hanging around with people who only talk about themselves and never ask you about you? Don’t be one of those people online either.

via www.churchleaders.com

The State of the Union and the State of the Pulpit | Ordinary Pastor

1. People are not idiots. We can and should expect them to listen when we have something to say.

2. Persuasive presentations are still effective. Otherwise he would just blog the thing.

3. Preparation actually matters. Whatever you want to say about the POTUS and his teleprompter, guess what? He knew his speech. He had thought it through and had it down.

4. Thoughtful preparation matters. He knew who he was talking to and what he wanted to say.

5. Fear is healthy. Let’s face it, the President has a job to do and an election to win. He doesn’t want to stink it up.

If you are a pastor, keep preaching. And keep expecting people to listen. But, please, please, please, could you make sure that the sermon is actually in you before you give it? Make sure it moves you. Have convictions, be persuasive, get after it. What a shame it would be if the president was more thoughtful, diligent, and committed in his presentation to the people of the country than we are to our congregations before God? What an indictment this is to us who bye the lie that preaching is irrelevant. No, boring is irrelevant. And so is tired, lazy, unprepared, unmoved, wimpy  guys who have nothing to say.

via www.ordinarypastor.com

Is Technology Killing Your Family? « Orange Parents

So, who’s to blame? It’s easy to finger technology for creating a relational disconnect. According to a recent study, only 35 percent of tweens and teens feel emotionally close to their dads, and only 59 percent feel emotionally close to their moms.

We can pretend that life was simpler back in the day before WIFI left no room unconnected. When you’re struggling to have a conversation with your kids, and between the Wii and YouTube you can’t get a word in edge-wise, it’s natural to think technology has killed your family.

I’m not sure it’s that simple. Here’s a question to wrestle with: What if technology isn’t good or evil, but simply reveals and amplifies what’s already there?

There may indeed be a relational disconnect, but many of us grew up in a home where the primary activity we shared decades ago was watching TV. (Ironically, that’s still the number one activity parents and teens engage in together today.) And more than a few of us grew up in homes where relationship was hard to come by. Many children of the sixties, seventies and eighties had parents who worked long hours, moms who were busy with friends, distracted by book clubs or endless housework, or dads who came home only to disappear to the golf course or to the garage to tinker all night. Distraction and disconnection aren’t new.

Maybe technology is simply revealing and amplifying a problem that’s been with us for awhile.

Which is why I’m so glad you’re with us this week on the blog: relationships within families are worth fighting for and technology doesn’t have to kill your family. In fact, technology gives us incredible opportunities and the potential for unprecedented connectedness. But like all things, it needs to be managed so it becomes a servant of what matters most–our relationship with God and each other.

Something else to think about: there’s a reasonable likelihood technology is here to stay. So, this week we’ll explore ways to approach technology that might help your family manage it well.

In the meantime, take some time to evaluate the state of relationship in your home. To get started, ask yourself this question:

If all the technology in your home was removed tomorrow, what would be left of your relationship with your family?

I realize that can be a tough question, but tough questions can lead us to great places relationally. Especially if, like me, you like technology.

So, if the power went out and the WIFI and cable went down, what would be left of the relationships in your home?

via www.orangeparents.org

12 Characteristics Of Pastors That Drive People Crazy by Alan Danielson - ChurchLeaders.com - Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How To's, and Free Resources

In my line of work as a pastor and consultant I meet tons of pastors. All are wonderful people, some just don’t quite get what pastoring is all about though. Here are some of the characteristics of many pastors that make me crazy:

• Focusing on “church growth” rather than mission.
• Thinking small groups are about “getting people connected” rather than discipleship.
• Trying to lead without being relational.
• Identifying things that need to change, but not changing them.
• Tolerating obvious sin in their congregation.  Gossip, division, greed, lack-of-faith, and idolatry top the list of tolerated sins.
• Not having accountability.
• Not being in a small group.
• Having a “vision Sunday” once per year.  People need vision all the time!!!  Over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over…and over!!
• Making plans, without executing them.
• Not returning phone calls or emails.
• Blaming staff for problems without looking to themselves first for fault.
• Openly offering feedback without being open to feedback.

via www.churchleaders.com

Hey Brothers....Young men......20 “little things” that could change your marriage

Doug, you made me mad last week because I was too dumb to notice the simple things I wasn’t doing. After I left you I made a list of 20 doable things that I would pursue this week.”

Here’s his list:
1. Clean up my dishes
2. Not leave clothes on the side of my bed
3. Put the toothpaste in the drawer (I usually leave it out)
4. To hug/kiss her right when I come in the house
5. Fill-up the gas in her car
6. Not watch TV in bed when she’s trying to sleep
7. Write her a short note and put in her briefcase
8. Don’t read the mail and leave the envelopes out
9. Put stuff back in the refrigerator
10. Walk the dog at night so she doesn’t have to
11. Be more affectionate
12. Listen to music instead of sports’ radio while we’re getting ready
13. Turn the lights off when I leave a room
14. Offer to help the kids with their homework
15. Comment and affirm her more often
16. Ask her if I could do the shopping this week
17. Don’t bring my phone to the dinner table
18. Care more deeply about her day
19. Make the bed
20. Bring home flowers/dessert/gift one night a week

via www.dougfields.com

The Key to Longevity (Kurt) | YouthMinistry.com

Don’t Be Toolish: Is that a typo? Did I mean to write “foolish”? No. Youth workers fizzle out long before they should for all sorts of reasons, many of which fall into the category of “toolish behavior”; attitudes and actions that needn’t be present in the life of a Christian leader. Sadly the list of toolish youth worker behavior is long: Pride, using volunteers to your own end, favoring one type of student over others, being a promoter of self, breaking trust, constant bragging about growth of your youth group, building a ministry built around your personality, making the church know how lucky they are to have you, complaining about the long hours and low pay of youth ministry.

via www.youthministry.com

Seven Reasons I LOVE Our Children’s Ministry! :: Perry Noble | Leadership, Vision & Creativity

#1 – It’s clean!  No nasty carpet!  No smells that make you want to projectile vomit.  No dirty floors!!!  I know that our kid’s area is clean…and that matters to every parent.

#2 – It’s safe!  Background checks have been ran on every staff member (in our church) and every volunteer that has any contact with children (or students!)  There is a volunteer security team that makes sure random people do not just walk through our kid’s area…and there is a solid check-in system where not just anyone can come pick the child up from their class, whoever checked them in must check them out.

#3 – It’s fun!  My four year old daughter LOVES CHURCH, LOVES IT!!!  I love the fact that “fun” is a value in our kid’s ministry!!!  Where in the world did we ever get the idea that kid’s must suffer through church?  Heaven is NOT boring, it’s going to be a massive party/celebration, church should be as well (especially for kids!)

#4 – Our Staff & Volunteers Are Awesome – Our children’s staff LOVE children!  Our volunteers love children!  They do not do what they do out of duty but rather delight!!!  If a staff member or volunteer the children’s area does not absolutely love children then they need to be moved to another area.  Kid’s can read right through an adult…and a ministry that isn’t based out of love for children will be unfruitful and ineffective.

#5 – Our Kid’s Know God’s Word – Every week on the way home from church I ask Charisse two questions (by the way, these are the two questions I’ve shared with our children’s ministry for over a decade in regards to what their vision should be for children’s ministry.  I have said that parents are going to ask their kids two questions every Sunday…which are…

• Did you have fun?  (This one is first 90% of the time!)
• What did you learn?

via www.perrynoble.com

10 Global Churches Larger Than America's Largest by James Davis - ChurchLeaders.com - Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How To's, and Free Resources - Page 3

A Bible study group in Singapore wanted Kong Hee, as a young man, to be their shepherd and to pastor and lead them. With the support and encouragement of numerous senior pastors in the city, Kong decided to pioneer a new work, putting aside his desire to become a traveling minister. With the affiliated Harvest Churches, the combined worship attendance has exponentially grown to more than 40,000. Today, CHC holds its main English services on Saturday and Sunday at Suntec Singapore.

via www.churchleaders.com

Royal Buffet on Yelp

Royal Buffet
31 Golf Ctr
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169
(847) 885-0688

http://www.yelp.com/biz/royal-buffet-hoffman-estates

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Grace & Peace
Pastor James Owolabi
13604717260
Revlabi.org