Happy Birthday Nicole!

15 02 2012
Happy Birthday

Image via Wikipedia

I wish my wife, Nicole, the very happiest of birthdays today!

I am grateful for her in so many ways.





Valentine’s Day

14 02 2012
Scan of a Valentine greeting card dated 1909.

Image via Wikipedia

Today, I want to wish a Happy Valentine’s Day to my lovely bride, Nicole.

I hope that your day is great – without or with a valentine.





Power of Environment: I Want to Work Here

10 02 2012
Latte swirl2

Image via Wikipedia

At one of my favorite coffee shops, I overheard a group of students say to the barista,

“We’re going to work here when we get old enough.”

I was struck by the power of this statement. The environment and culture is so enjoyable that someone would want to work there in the future. Not just be present or come from time to time, but commit time in the future to working to create the space for other people.

I hope to lead congregations with a similar culture. I hope that people don’t just come to worship or take part in ministry activities because it is nice or fills some niche in their life. I hope that people are so engaged by the the purpose and culture of the congregation that they want to help make space for others to share what they have experienced.





Telling the Story: An Example from the @OlatheChamber

7 02 2012

I appreciate a well told story.

Telling stories is one of the most effective ways to lead a community or congregation.

The church that I serve, Resurrection West, is a member of the Olathe Chamber of Commerce who recently released a video to promote Olathe.

This model could be effective for a wide variety of settings to share stories of:

  • Generosity
  • Vital congregations
  • Church conference reporting
  • New church starts




My 31st Birthday

1 02 2012

Today is the day.

I’m 31.

I suppose that makes me in my early 30s.

Any advice on this decade?





How Could the Church Have More Pleasant Surprises?

30 01 2012
Chick-fil-A

Image via Wikipedia

Last week my son and I met Nicole for lunch at Chick-fil-A. This is a restaurant that has hospitality down pat and from which the church could draw helpful lessons. I have come to expect this when I go there to eat, but this time I had a surprise.

We had ordered a Kid’s Meal and was taking the toy (which was a computer game on CD) to the counter to trade it in for the board book designed for younger children. The cashier gladly took back the CD and asked if I would like a cup or a cone. I was confused. I was bringing it back to trade in for the board book. It took me a bit to catch on to what the cashier was telling me.

I could trade the CD in for a board book, or I could turn it back in for a kid’s ice cream cone.

Amazing!

What a great deal. I took the cone and there was a benefit for everyone. I will gladly make this trade again in the future.

This started me thinking about how to pleasantly surprise people at church? What do people (both new and regular attenders) expect when they walk in the doors to worship? In what ways could the church have more pleasant surprises? I haven’t come up with any out of the ballpark ideas yet, but will keep thinking as Chick-fil-A made a great impression on me.





Do You Info Snack?

27 01 2012

I sure do.

I recently heard this phrase and found it to pretty accurately describe my habit of using my iPhone to check news, play a game or read email while having down time of even a minute or two.

Do you info snack?





Columbus Day 2011

10 10 2011

Columbus Day, Columbus Day. Each year the United States, along with other countries in the Western Hemisphere commemorate the landing of Christopher Columbus in the “New World.” There is much that could be said about the legacy that Columbus left, but instead of diving in to what could be a quagmire, I’ll ask instead:

How important is Columbus Day in your life?





Breathe In, Breathe Out

28 09 2011

I recently learned that Relaxation is a Skill. One of the ways to relax is to breathe deeply. Our son is 9 months old and it doesn’t do us much good to tell him to take a deep breathe. What we can do is to hold him close and breathe deeply.

This helped me know more about my relationship with God. One of the ways to relax in life is to be close to God and breathe deeply in and with God’s spirit. Deep breathing is good for the body and soul.





Relaxation is a Skill

27 09 2011
Kindermusik International

Image via Wikipedia

We enrolled our son in Kindermusik and Nicole takes him to class each week. A couple weeks ago they learned something that was new to me.

Relaxation is a learned skill. It is not something that we are born knowing how to do.

I recognize in myself a tendency to not allow myself to relax. It was encouraging to me to discover that relaxing is a skill which I can practice and improve.








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