A friend of mine and I were talking recently about blogging and how I have tried blogging about different things, like personal stuff or spiritual stuff, or books that I liked. She used the term 'finding your voice'. That phrase has stuck with me for weeks and as I sat down to blog this morning, I had a few thoughts about how versatile phrase it is.
A voice is something that comes from within. It is the result of what is put into you, a conglomeration of experiences, thoughts, conversations, education, wisdom, etc. It is something you share. It's something natural and everyone needs an outlet to express themselves.
Regarding blogging, I think my voice prefers commenting on books and sharing remarkable insights I've read. I like to sprinkle in personal stuff for variety's sake or connecting with my readers on a personal levels sake, but I really feel I'm pouring my best when I share books and tie the theme to personal experiences.
In ministry, a voice is the result of what God has done in your life. It is the way you express grace, mercy, joy, compassion, wisdom, knowledge, and all the spiritual gifts God has given you. As you allow God to pour into you via prayer, reading the Bible, meeting with other believers, etc., you have built up a reservoir that must spill forth into the lives of others. How you share your voice will most likely change over time. For me, I had a season of pouring into single moms, then a season of teaching, then a season of leading leaders, now my season is blogging.
In the physical, my voice is health. Today I ran. My body's voice cried out, "No!" (just kidding). My legs felt like tree trunks but the louder voice said, "Keep going." I think for the first time I did better than my dog. "Yeah!"
It the mental, my voice encourages others to read more. The brain is a muscle, use it or lose it. I've been so encouraged, so challenged, so redeemed, so confirmed, so set straight that I crave spiritual books.
Where's your voice? Is it blogging? Is it discipling others? For all that is poured into you, where do you let it leak out? Who is benefiting from it? Are you hogging it, becoming a spiritual glutton? Or are you healthy, freely giving what you have freely received? Blessings this beautiful Friday!
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
More About Ministry
Some of our staff is going through a book by Wayne Cordiero called Doing Church as a Team. It's a great book, and easy read, and is full of common sense about doing church. I highlighted a lot in the last two chapters I've read and won't share it all here, but here's some of what I loved.
"The ministry belongs to you and me, and it requires both of us. Doing church is not the responsibility of the professional clergy and a few talented staff people; it is the privilege of all of us-together.
You don't find the strength of a church in the beauty of its building, the number of attendees or the size of its budget. A church is only as strong as the involvement of its members; and the more each person takes ownership in the ministry of the church, the stronger it becomes. Only when we realize that God has called every one of us with an equally divine imperative can the church at large and our individual congregations begin to reach their fullest potential."
I believe this with all of my heart. My prayer is that all churches believe it too and act on it. No one should be left out of ministry, since God created everyone to serve. Who can you tap on the shoulder and involve in your ministry? I'm sure there are lots of people in every church who aren't serving. Let's get them involved in discovering God's purpose for their lives. Anything less is robbing them. Have a blessed Wednesday!
"The ministry belongs to you and me, and it requires both of us. Doing church is not the responsibility of the professional clergy and a few talented staff people; it is the privilege of all of us-together.
You don't find the strength of a church in the beauty of its building, the number of attendees or the size of its budget. A church is only as strong as the involvement of its members; and the more each person takes ownership in the ministry of the church, the stronger it becomes. Only when we realize that God has called every one of us with an equally divine imperative can the church at large and our individual congregations begin to reach their fullest potential."
I believe this with all of my heart. My prayer is that all churches believe it too and act on it. No one should be left out of ministry, since God created everyone to serve. Who can you tap on the shoulder and involve in your ministry? I'm sure there are lots of people in every church who aren't serving. Let's get them involved in discovering God's purpose for their lives. Anything less is robbing them. Have a blessed Wednesday!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Potential
One of the things I've loved doing over the years is finding the potential in others. I used to teach a class created by Saddleback Church called Discovering Your Ministry. It took people through a self-discovery process. In 90 minutes and about an hour's homework time, people discovered their spiritual gifts, passions, skills, personality type, and catalogued their experiences. Then I had the privilege of meeting with them and walking them through finding out how all these things worked together to make them unique. God has a purpose for everyone, and helping them discover what that purpose was or at least where they would fit in ministry was a great joy.
But you don't need a class, or forms, or even an interview to find out your potential or someone else's (though it helps). All you really need is some time to reflect on these areas and ask God to reveal his purpose for you. In discovering someone else's, spend time with them. Ask them questions. Dig deep and it will come to the surface.
I remember going through this process myself the first time. I had the class and the interview. I was placed in the 3-4 year olds room. Unfortunately, this was a 3 month commitment that was extremely stressful for me. I wasn't created to baby-sit other people's children. It wasn't a good fit. I prayed and prayed about what God wanted me to do. I looked at all the areas God had poured into me. Then it came. Single Mom Brigade. Over and over these words came into my head as I traveled to and from work. God showed me how I had grown as a single mom and that I should pass that knowledge on to other single moms who were struggling. After a few months of God bugging me about this, I talked to one of our Pastors and he gave me the green light to start the ministry. He didn't like the word Brigade so I came up with Heart to Heart. Though I haven't led the ministry for four years, it is going strong. I still have a heart for single moms and can see how God allowed that experience and ministry to mold who I am today. He also made something good out of what the enemy intended for evil.
Do you see the potential in others? Look past the awkwardness, the mistakes, the immaturity, the selfishness, and the pride. These will go away or at least lessen with time as they grow spiritually. See what God has given them to work with and encourage them in that direction. Give them opportunities to serve and make mistakes. Yes, make mistakes. That's how we all learn. God is okay with mistakes, we're human after all. Use mistakes as learning opportunities. They're needed for the process. God bless you today and always.
But you don't need a class, or forms, or even an interview to find out your potential or someone else's (though it helps). All you really need is some time to reflect on these areas and ask God to reveal his purpose for you. In discovering someone else's, spend time with them. Ask them questions. Dig deep and it will come to the surface.
I remember going through this process myself the first time. I had the class and the interview. I was placed in the 3-4 year olds room. Unfortunately, this was a 3 month commitment that was extremely stressful for me. I wasn't created to baby-sit other people's children. It wasn't a good fit. I prayed and prayed about what God wanted me to do. I looked at all the areas God had poured into me. Then it came. Single Mom Brigade. Over and over these words came into my head as I traveled to and from work. God showed me how I had grown as a single mom and that I should pass that knowledge on to other single moms who were struggling. After a few months of God bugging me about this, I talked to one of our Pastors and he gave me the green light to start the ministry. He didn't like the word Brigade so I came up with Heart to Heart. Though I haven't led the ministry for four years, it is going strong. I still have a heart for single moms and can see how God allowed that experience and ministry to mold who I am today. He also made something good out of what the enemy intended for evil.
Do you see the potential in others? Look past the awkwardness, the mistakes, the immaturity, the selfishness, and the pride. These will go away or at least lessen with time as they grow spiritually. See what God has given them to work with and encourage them in that direction. Give them opportunities to serve and make mistakes. Yes, make mistakes. That's how we all learn. God is okay with mistakes, we're human after all. Use mistakes as learning opportunities. They're needed for the process. God bless you today and always.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Nuggets #18
I've been doing better the last couple of days. Thank you for your prayers.
An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
Continuing on . . .
A Sticky Situation
When being a church attendee is not a culturally expected responsibility, a person who attends but does not begin to serve will drop out within a year. If people begin to serve, they stick. If a person is simply being served, it is highly unlikely that person will make it in the long-term.
Consumed-Communion
We must become relevant and reverent. Worship must become the meeting place between the eternal and the contemporary. We tend to love the altar so much that we refuse to set it on fire. Yet God comes in the flames. Our God is a consuming fire.
Our hearts must find passion for those things that enflame the heart of God.
Imagine This
The future leaders of this world will come from somewhere. Shouldn't it be the church?
This reminds me of Huckabee. Wouldn't it be great if we had another full-of-faith man as President, and he came from a church! Here's a clip showing how he responded to a question on evolution/creation during a Republican Debate. This is great!
An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
Continuing on . . .
A Sticky Situation
When being a church attendee is not a culturally expected responsibility, a person who attends but does not begin to serve will drop out within a year. If people begin to serve, they stick. If a person is simply being served, it is highly unlikely that person will make it in the long-term.
Consumed-Communion
We must become relevant and reverent. Worship must become the meeting place between the eternal and the contemporary. We tend to love the altar so much that we refuse to set it on fire. Yet God comes in the flames. Our God is a consuming fire.
Our hearts must find passion for those things that enflame the heart of God.
Imagine This
The future leaders of this world will come from somewhere. Shouldn't it be the church?
This reminds me of Huckabee. Wouldn't it be great if we had another full-of-faith man as President, and he came from a church! Here's a clip showing how he responded to a question on evolution/creation during a Republican Debate. This is great!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Nuggets #17
An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
Continuing on with Chapter Eight
Spirit Matters
The modern church has often established programs, structures, and even roles and positions before it is even known who the people are. You have a position, and you've got to find someone to fill it. Recruiting volunteers can become as simple as filling slots.
The connection environment is radically different. It understands that the Spirit of God does not dwell in programs but in people. Strategies are not nearly as important as gifts, and the organizational principle that drives ministry must be the unique gifting of the people that God brings to the body of Christ.
Whenever we receive new members at Mosaic, we remind them that receiving them into our community is our commitment to inviting them to change who we are, that we may become who God desires us to be. Our commitment is not to clone them to who we already are, but that each person who joins our community is a promise from God that he is not finished with us yet. If we respect the gifts, talents, and uniqueness of each individual, then we must be willing to change. If a person's contribution is honored and respected, then he will make a difference.
Many times we have demeaned the value of the spiritual power that God has placed in individuals by forcing them to conform into what we perceive the church needs.
A community with the servant heart of God knows no limit to sacrifice, and when its people are doing what God created them to do, there is no limit to impact.
Do I hear a hallelujah? Thank you Erwin for putting my heart into words!!!!!!!! I believe that spiritual gifting is foundational for the power and fire of a body of believers. The church must not limit the individuals by making them conform to a box of behavior or serving, any more than an eagle should be caged. We should all be free to soar in the way that God created us. If not, God is the great redeemer and he will find a way to set us free to use those gifts to bring Him glory.
Continuing on with Chapter Eight
Spirit Matters
The modern church has often established programs, structures, and even roles and positions before it is even known who the people are. You have a position, and you've got to find someone to fill it. Recruiting volunteers can become as simple as filling slots.
The connection environment is radically different. It understands that the Spirit of God does not dwell in programs but in people. Strategies are not nearly as important as gifts, and the organizational principle that drives ministry must be the unique gifting of the people that God brings to the body of Christ.
Whenever we receive new members at Mosaic, we remind them that receiving them into our community is our commitment to inviting them to change who we are, that we may become who God desires us to be. Our commitment is not to clone them to who we already are, but that each person who joins our community is a promise from God that he is not finished with us yet. If we respect the gifts, talents, and uniqueness of each individual, then we must be willing to change. If a person's contribution is honored and respected, then he will make a difference.
Many times we have demeaned the value of the spiritual power that God has placed in individuals by forcing them to conform into what we perceive the church needs.
A community with the servant heart of God knows no limit to sacrifice, and when its people are doing what God created them to do, there is no limit to impact.
Do I hear a hallelujah? Thank you Erwin for putting my heart into words!!!!!!!! I believe that spiritual gifting is foundational for the power and fire of a body of believers. The church must not limit the individuals by making them conform to a box of behavior or serving, any more than an eagle should be caged. We should all be free to soar in the way that God created us. If not, God is the great redeemer and he will find a way to set us free to use those gifts to bring Him glory.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Nuggets #15
An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
A Future of Optimism
People are looking for something worth believing in, somewhere to belong, and something to become.
Effective ministry is not the elimination of failure but the ability to thrive in the midst of failure. They mystery is that there are some churches that just can't be stopped. It doesn't matter how many times they fail. There's no problem too great for them to overcome.
Hope Never Gives Up
. . . there are three crucial dimensions to our ability to engage failure in a positive way. They are all related to how we understand failure and explain it to ourselves.
One style views failure as pervasive, another sees failure as personal, and the third understands failure as permanent.
Faith, hope, and love are the fuel that ignited the first-century church. They are the very essence of the apostolic ethos. They are the promise that the church of Jesus Christ is unstoppable and that even the gates of hell will not prevail against her.
I know this blog has statements that skip around a little. Let's talk about purpose, ministry, and failure.
It's no coincidence that as I was starting to type this blog, that my husband came up to me and read what he was reading in the book, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. In it, Mark cites Gordon Mackenzie's book "Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace". It struck his heart and supports the first statement above that people are looking for something worth believing in, somewhere to belong, and something to become. It says,
"My guess is that there was a time - perhaps when you were very young - when you had at least a fleeting notion of your own genius and were just waiting for some authority figure to come along and validate it for you. But none ever came."
How extremely sad is that? Everyone wants to have a purpose to thier life, to leave a legacy, to make a difference in at least one person's life, if not on society as a whole. I pray every church has a clearly communicated method of training up these future leaders.
Let's talk about failure for a minute. I think everyone has a different view of failure. I know those who wouldn't want to be caught dead doing anything wrong, less the sky would fall on them. I know those who have a slightly less dramatic view, but still avoid it at all costs, and in addition make sure others around them avoid it by manuevering situations within their control, less others' failures reflect on them. I think both these views are unhealthy. Having worked for a large corporation for 17 years (picture Dilbert), I discovered that failure was not something to be feared. The first few years I spent a lot of energy, calories, and sweat fearing failure. Then I came to a point when I realized that failure was bound to happen. I would always try and do my best, but noticed that worrying about it had absolutely no bearing on whether it happened or not. The odds were that sometimes it would happen. Sometimes it was my fault, sometimes it was a co-worker's fault, sometimes a boss's fault, or a subordinate's fault. And you know what? It was always okay. The healthy thing about that corporate environment was that everyone else knew things would crash from time to time, and when they did, no one pointed fingers (except one person, but that's another blog) but instead just pitched in to fix the problem. No big deal! It happens, move on! It's not the end of the world. Trust others will have the grace to not make you feel horrible about yourself, and if they don't, that's between them and God. We're all human, we blow it sometimes! Every experience is worth it, as long as you learn from it.
Once again I have to repeat one of my favorite mottos:
Don't use people to do ministry. Use ministry to do people.
A Future of Optimism
People are looking for something worth believing in, somewhere to belong, and something to become.
Effective ministry is not the elimination of failure but the ability to thrive in the midst of failure. They mystery is that there are some churches that just can't be stopped. It doesn't matter how many times they fail. There's no problem too great for them to overcome.
Hope Never Gives Up
. . . there are three crucial dimensions to our ability to engage failure in a positive way. They are all related to how we understand failure and explain it to ourselves.
One style views failure as pervasive, another sees failure as personal, and the third understands failure as permanent.
Faith, hope, and love are the fuel that ignited the first-century church. They are the very essence of the apostolic ethos. They are the promise that the church of Jesus Christ is unstoppable and that even the gates of hell will not prevail against her.
I know this blog has statements that skip around a little. Let's talk about purpose, ministry, and failure.
It's no coincidence that as I was starting to type this blog, that my husband came up to me and read what he was reading in the book, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. In it, Mark cites Gordon Mackenzie's book "Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace". It struck his heart and supports the first statement above that people are looking for something worth believing in, somewhere to belong, and something to become. It says,
"My guess is that there was a time - perhaps when you were very young - when you had at least a fleeting notion of your own genius and were just waiting for some authority figure to come along and validate it for you. But none ever came."
How extremely sad is that? Everyone wants to have a purpose to thier life, to leave a legacy, to make a difference in at least one person's life, if not on society as a whole. I pray every church has a clearly communicated method of training up these future leaders.
Let's talk about failure for a minute. I think everyone has a different view of failure. I know those who wouldn't want to be caught dead doing anything wrong, less the sky would fall on them. I know those who have a slightly less dramatic view, but still avoid it at all costs, and in addition make sure others around them avoid it by manuevering situations within their control, less others' failures reflect on them. I think both these views are unhealthy. Having worked for a large corporation for 17 years (picture Dilbert), I discovered that failure was not something to be feared. The first few years I spent a lot of energy, calories, and sweat fearing failure. Then I came to a point when I realized that failure was bound to happen. I would always try and do my best, but noticed that worrying about it had absolutely no bearing on whether it happened or not. The odds were that sometimes it would happen. Sometimes it was my fault, sometimes it was a co-worker's fault, sometimes a boss's fault, or a subordinate's fault. And you know what? It was always okay. The healthy thing about that corporate environment was that everyone else knew things would crash from time to time, and when they did, no one pointed fingers (except one person, but that's another blog) but instead just pitched in to fix the problem. No big deal! It happens, move on! It's not the end of the world. Trust others will have the grace to not make you feel horrible about yourself, and if they don't, that's between them and God. We're all human, we blow it sometimes! Every experience is worth it, as long as you learn from it.
Once again I have to repeat one of my favorite mottos:
Don't use people to do ministry. Use ministry to do people.
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