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24
Aug

Organized Religion’s ‘Management Problem’

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While I disagree with some statements, the overall principles and evaluations are very candid and worth consideration. From my favorite Newspaper a blog on Church Management.
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Organized Religion’s ‘Management Problem’*
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http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2009/08/21/organized-religions-management-problem
24
Aug

Be careful what you stand against…it may one day stand against you.

I’m in 2 Samuel these days and while I’m not to the climax of the book I know what is coming: David’s eventual fall as he becomes an adulterer, a murderer, and an impotent judge.

Throughout 1 Samuel and now into the first four chapters of 2 Samuel you get a strong sense that David is a man of principle. He has multiple opportunities to kill Saul, who’s tried to kill him numerous times, and yet he refuses to do so out of a sense of duty and principle that Saul is the Lord’s Anointed. Who is he to forcefully change the leadership? You sense that David understands that God is in control of his destiny.
You even find that David hates the unjust killing of someone, even for the sake of vengeance (2 Samuel 3), and he curses Joab and Abishai for murdering Abner and he puts Baanah and Recab to death for killing Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 4). Up to this point you would never have been able to predict that David would murder anyone at any time for anything. Yet this is exactly what he does to Uriah after sleeping with his wife.
One principle I glean from David’s life is that we must always keep our guard up. We can never say, “I’ll never do that”, or “I’ll never do that again.” We can never be slothful in how we personally combat things that we take strong stands against publicly. Often I wonder if we take strong stands against things in a public manner in order to cover for what we struggle with deeply on a personal level. When pride sets in we often fall to the very thing we stand against. There are too many recent examples to mention, but we must be careful to refrain from claiming that, “I’d never do such and such or this and that.” For as soon as we do the seed of pride has been sown and a road to destruction has been paved.
So, for me I can never believe that I can indulge because I have control, or I have defeated, or I once repented because once I do the enemy will be waiting to take full advantage and create an avalanche from a snowball. It will be a butterfly effect where one uncontrolled thought leads to a multitude of physical sin.
So, when we are encouraged to always keep a close watch on ourselves (1 Timothy 4:16) it’s not without historically recorded evidence of what happens when we don’t.
21
Aug

You're the Bottleneck

If only some might listen and be transformed…

via History in the Making by Ben Arment on 8/21/09


I’ve got a secret.

In every endeavor that I pursue, there is a point where it goes from good to great… but it has nothing to do with me. The tipping point comes when I find someone who is great at whey they do… and then I get out of their way.

It would be depressing if the outcome weren’t so great. =)

We’re nearing the end of first generation of mega-church pastors. And more and more, I’m hearing that as budgets and attendance are dropping, these leaders are tightening their grips. They’re trying to re-engage the hell-bent spirit that grew the church at the beginning.

It’s a shame because this chokes the spirit of the staff rather than releases it… which is the key to reinvention, creative solution and growth.

Is it possible that the church leaders have learned the first-half of leadership, but not the second half — succession? Hmmmm.

Things you can do from here:

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