Preparation

Preparation is key. Lincoln once said,
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax."

What would happen if we all lived our lives with this same perspective. Imagine how productive we could be if we spent 6 hours of every 8 hour day sharpening ourselves. I believe that you can’t walk others down a path that we have never walked down ourselves. Before we attempt to lead anyone else we must lead ourselves – especially spiritually.

Can you imagine how much more effective we would be if we prayed 3 times as long as we prepared. How much more effective we would be at anything if we devoted ourselves 3 times as much at planning as we did actually doing?

“Work Smarter, Not Harder” – philosophy worth living by.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DG-CcX2lRY

Mediocrity or Perfectionism

What is excellence about? Webster’s dictionary describes excellence as “being superior. “ I read somewhere a better definition, something we can all relate to in ministry. Excellence is doing your best with what you have. Now don’t take this as a pass and just use the excuse, “that’s all the time I had for the project”, or “that’s all the money in our budget to get this series off the ground.” This definition should move you from being a perfectionist to giving your all, from competing for all the glory to an honest assessment of the resources you have to work with. What someone or some church my see as excellence might only be mediocre in another’s eyes. The Lord has challenged us to do our best with what He has given us. Colossians 3:23 (CEV) “Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master.” We serve a God who has always given us his best. All He asks for in return is the same.

So, are you more inclined to being lazy and accepting mediocrity as a way of “getting by” or an obsessive type “A” person in pursuit of perfectionism? As Christian artist doing our best to live a Godly life, we should find ourselves somewhere in the middle and never on either end. So where do you find your self living week in and week out?

As a Christ follower, we should be living the type of life that we would never have to apologize for, when it comes to giving our best to God and our church. Giving excellence in everything you do will cost you. It’s not cheap, nor does it come easily. There is a price to pay when we choose to follow the vision God’s given our churches. Time, money, our gifts, etc., there is always a cost. But with that cost comes a blessing no man can describe.

Making the Change

Mark Batterson noted in his blog "In the 1960’s, a study was done on the campus of Yale University. The subjects were Yale seniors who were educated about and encouraged to get a tetanus shot. Most of the students were convinced by the lecture that they needed to get the shot. But only 3% actually went and got the shot.

Another group of students were given the same lecture, but they were also given a copy of the campus map with the location of the health center circled. Then they were asked to look at their weekly schedules, make a plan for when they would go and take the shot, and look at the map and decide what route they would take. 28% of that control group got the shot. That is nine times as many! Why the radical increase? Because they identified how, when, and where?"

We all need to make changes in our lives going into the New Year. Start or stop doing something, learn to say no or submit to saying yes. But in the end, 3% will make changes not knowing the how, when, and where.

Set aside one hour. Look at your planner and schedule it now. Don’t wait. Make that appointment with yourself and keep it above everything else you might have going on that day.

Spend this hour in prayer and journaling. Make a list in your journal set up in headers: prayers, family, friends, creativity and needs. Ask your self the hard questions and be honest. Make this your daily self assessment. Ask God to make it known what changes in my life are needed. Be still and Listen.

Start now. This is your New Years Resolution, your Goal, call it what you will. Make it a change that honors God. Start out slow with no more than there resolutions!

Once you pen these to paper in your journal refer to them daily. Send them as a reminder to yourself from your calendar every day. Whatever it takes to make it happen. When you set out knowing the how, when and where, change will come that much easier.

First Steps

I had the privilege the week to talk to man a little about life. Nothing religious - just life. I was at his house to purchase an old 1976 VW Van for an up and coming series we will be doing here at Flamingo Road Church. When I told him that we're going to use it at church he said, well, I guess we won't be talking about Obama. We both laughed. I was given the opportunity to tell him about the last weekends teaching by Pastor Troy on voting. When I shared how Pastor Troy did not tell people whom to vote for, he was in disbelief. It opened the door for me to share more. Here's a guy who was not a believer, who had a skewed view of Baptist in general, and the door was open to share my heart and my passion for what we are all working so hard at...Read more on November 22

Eating in the Rain

Eating in the Rain... not very comfortable. It's the title to a new book I've started writing. Part autobiography, part novel. The pain I feel for what my wife has been going through over the past few years has had a great impact on everyone in our family. The more I prayed about our situation, the more God showed me that I need to stay the course. God did His best work through those that were going through tough times. I believe God has great things in store for our family, for being faithful to Him in the good times and the bad times. I'll share more tomorrow.

75 Days Left on 08

Now I know there are less than 75 days left on 08, but just over a week ago Pastor Troy challenged each person on staff to set a 10-week goal. I accepted the challenge. I bought a journal and a pen. I love pens. Nothing feels better than writing with a good pen. Sorry, back on track. Pastor Troy encouraged to set goals for ourselves in: How many books will you read before the end of the year. How many CD/MP3's will you listen to. How many days will you work out each week. How many Major Ideas will you develop? How many days will you eat right. He challenged us to come up with 3 more goals for our selves: Spend more quality time with my wife and kids. Spend more quality time with my friends. Start writing again.

In my journal I'm keeping track of all of the above and I've got to tell you, it's an eye opener. The time you think you're spending at home - not there. The major ideas need to be written down and talked about. The books to be read - I need to get past the first few chapters and finish before going to the next one. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I'm embracing this challenge head on. I will finish strong. I deserve better for myself. God desivers my best. God will get my best!