De-skunk your dog, and other small group lessons.
As our small group was shutting down for the night we visited with our overworked and under appreciated friend who happens to be doing an internship here in Horse Country, Nicole Fawns. I let out our Cairn Terrier one last time before putting her to bed and I went to let Nicole out and Daisi in.
Well, let’s just say it was a good thing those two things happened at the same time because Daisi came in with her tail between her legs smelling like…well SKUNK. I shewed her to the garage and Nicole gave us the formula for De-skunking the dog. Here it is for all of you who run into the same situation.
- 1 quart of Hydrogen Peroxide
- 1 tsp liquid soap
- 1/4 cup of baking soda
- Wet dog with water
- Mix Up ingredients
- Pour on dog, being careful around eyes
- Let sit 5-10 minutes.
- Wash out.
Now how is that for a great reason to keep your small group open to anyone and everyone. Nicole is single, and our group is all couples. She’s from the West Coast and we’re all East Coast or Mid-Westerners. She’s in her 20’s and two of us are approaching 40s. There is no reason to have her in our group, right? WRONG!
While she’s more busy than any of us and misses many a small group gathering it’s a place for her to get connected, and we love having her around.
Funny how God knew we’d need her expertese.
Keep your small group open! You never know when you might need a de-skunking formula. After all it’s not about you.
Am I smoking what I’m selling? John Ortberg says we should be.
Am I smoking what I’m selling
Posted Thursday, 12 November 2009 by johnortbergI talked not long ago to a man who spends his life working with churches on stewardship. i asked him what the number one characteristic of generous churches is, and the rapidity of his answer startled me: “They have generous senior pastors.” He didn’t cite programs or teaching or systems. Just a person.
It struck me how deeply this is true of the whole area of spiritual formation. Sometimes a person will want to become a ’spiritual formation champion’ in a church. They may know a fair amount about techniques like lectio devina, they may read good writers and be able to articulate substantial ideas. But the biggest question remains: When people look at this person, do they say ‘I want to be like him or her?’When it comes to transformation, the single most helpful gift we offer is the life we lead ourselves. If I’m leading the wrong life, if I’m becoming the wrong person, no amount of information or teaching skill can speak louder than the volume of my actual life. The foundational question around transformation is always the ancient Biblical question (found in an obscure variant text):
Am I smoking what I’m selling?
Ten Things I Believe About Your Ministry! – Perry Noble
November :: 2009 :: Perry Noble | Leadership, Vision & Creativity
Ten Things I Believe About Your Ministry! November 23, 2009
#1 – God’s heart is not for your to fail and/or drop out!
#2 – God’s plans for your life/ministry are greater than yours! (I Corinthians 2:9, Ephesians 3:20, Isaiah 49:6) SEEK HIM!!!
#3 – God will surround you with the right people in order to make His vision become a reality. (Proverbs 15:22)
#4 – God will reveal what He wants in His time…and it will be amazing! (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
#5 – God cares more about your character than He does your churches numerical growth. (II Chronicles 16:9)
#6 – The tomb is empty…and He didn’t mean for THAT to lead to boring, lifeless church services.
#7 – We should fear becoming IMPOTENT (having the equipment but lacking the passion to perform, via Bishop TD Jakes) way more than we fear becoming IRRELEVANT.
#8 – Success needs to be viewed through the lenses of obedience and not through comparing yourself to another ministry.
#9 – If what you are doing doesn’t cause you to say “oh crap” internally…then there probably isn’t any desperation for God…which means He will allow you to do ministry without Him.
#10 – If everybody likes you then you’ve spent way too much time kissing rear ends instead of being faithful to who God has called you to be and what He has called you to do!
