Limericks

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OK, this is a little odd but I was reading up on limericks (a particular kind of short poem). You can read about them here.

 

Here are some illustrations of limericks:

 

There was a Young Person of SmyrnaWhose grandmother threatened to burn her;

  But she seized on the cat,
 and said ‘Granny, burn that!

       You incongruous old woman of Smyrna!’

Or how about this one…

There was a young rustic named Mallory,

who drew but a very small salary.

When he went to the show,

his purse made him goto a seat in the uppermost gallery.

You get the point. And then there was this one, which just made me laugh…

There was a young man from Japan

Whose limericks never would scan.

 When asked why this was,
 He replied “It’s because

I always try to fit as many syllables into the last line as ever I possibly can.”

I enjoy unexpected humor. This is funny!

If I were you (what Seth Godin can teach the church/Christians)

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A few days ago Seth Godin blogged another gem.

I want to post his blog and add some comments that will be relevant to a church environment. My comments will be the bullet points. (Oh, and I’ve also bolded some of the  ”stick out” lines in his blog post)

“If I were you…”

But of course, you’re not.

And this is the most important component of strategic marketing: we’re not our customer.

  • “We’re not our customer.” The customer of the church is the person who is not there yet! Our mission is to connect people to Jesus, and we must start where they are! Our church must not ask, “What do we like/want?” Instead, we must ask, “What do they like/want?” And then, as much as possible create that kind of environment!

Empathy isn’t dictated to us by a focus group or a statistical analysis. Empathy is the powerful (and rare) ability to imagine what motivates someone else to act.

  • Thinking things like, “Why don’t they want to come to church on Sunday?” or “Why don’t they believe in Jesus?” or “Why don’t they want to be a Christian?” or “Why don’t they believe the Bible?” And then trying to imagine how they would answer those questions. Better yet… ask them those questions and LISTEN to how they answer… then ask some more questions!

When a politician or a pundit vilifies someone for her actions, he’s missed the point, because all he can do is imagine what he would do in that situation, completely avoiding an opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes, to try on a new worldview, to attempt to imagine the circumstances that would lead to any action other than the one he would take.

When a teacher can’t see why a student is stuck, or when an interface designer dismisses the 12% of the users who can’t find the ‘off’ switch… we’re seeing a failure of empathy, not a flaw in the user base.

When we call a prospect stupid for not choosing us, when we resort to blunt promotional tactics to get attention we could have earned with a more graceful approach–these are the symptoms that we’ve forgotten how to be empathetic.

  • “we’ve forgotten how to be empathetic.” A problem that Christians face is that the longer we are Christians the less we remember about our pre-Christ life AND the fewer non-Christian friends we have! We move into a Christian bubble and before long all we know, do, listen to and watch is Christian! We’ve forgotten how to be empathetic!
  • The best cure for this is to become friends with people who are not like you! People who don’t look, think, or believe like you do!
  • BTW, marketers aren’t the only ones who call people “stupid” for not agreeing with or choosing them.

You don’t have to wear panty hose to be a great brand manager at L’eggs, nor do you need to be unemployed to work on a task force on getting people back to work. What is required, though, is a persistent effort to understand how other people see the world, and to care about it.

  • Oh that last line grabs me! “To care about it!” I think followers of Jesus will influence and connect with a lot more people if we will stop talking, start listening, and really begin to care about what is being said rather than anxiously waiting til the other person is done speaking so we can give our spiel!
  • And the crazy thing is that once we start listening and caring we open the door for people to ask questions. Remember that axiom, “People don’t care how much (or what) you know until they know how much you care?” A great way to show you care is to LISTEN and LEARN about the person/people you are trying to connect with!

A couple of challenges for you:

  • Make it a point this week (or next week) to talk with someone who is different than you.
  • Ask them lots of questions… and listen.
  • Make some notes about what you learned during that conversation; see if any of your opinions are edited or confirmed and note why.

 

Safe place to hear a dangerous message

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…I say that a lot at Church180. (The first person I ever heard say that was Bill Hybels.)

Because I say it so much I think it deserves to be broken down and explained in a bit more detail. So here we go…

“A safe place…”

The church is to be a place where we are honest about who we are and hopeful about who we can become.

In the church we do not judge unbelievers or skeptics (though we do judge one another as believers). We accept them just like they are. We love them. We encourage them. And all the while we conduct ourselves in such a way as would make the Christian life appealing.

The church is a safe place for every tired and lonely person. It is a place where hope is discovered, new friendships are made, skills and talents are fully utilized, and God is experienced and worshipped.

The church offers a safe environment for every race, sexual orientation, age, and social status.

“a dangerous message…”

You are a control freak. You’re right. I did judge you a little bit… but you know it’s true. Don’t you? ;-) Seriously, all of us have a strong desire to call the shots in our own lives, chase our own dreams, make our own plans, and live for the man/woman in the mirror… and whatever is left over is what we bring to God.

The problem with that is that God says, “I’m not taking your leftovers.” He wants the best of your time, money, skills, ideas, etc. Bottom line, He wants you to turn over control of your life to Him. He wants to set the agenda, call the shots, and give the orders. And that just doesn’t sound safe to a control freak.

The message of the Bible is “give your life to Jesus. Let Him be the leader. Trust and follow Him!” And that sounds dangerous.

Safe and dangerous…

I want Church180 to be safe and dangerous… a place where anyone can come and make the most important decisions of their life under the watchful and helpful eye of God while surrounded by people who really like them.

And that’s what I mean by “a safe place to hear a dangerous message.”

Who I want to be in our church

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My friend and mentor Shawn Lovejoy just wrote a book called, “The Measure of Our Success.”

In this book he says, “Who our church is reaching is more important than how many our church is reaching.” I agree.

As a leader it is only natural for me to want the church I pastor to grow. I don’t apologize for that. However, I will not be content with just any kind of growth. I want to grow because the unchurched of our community discover a safe place to hear a dangerous message!

I want Church180 to be a place where the people most unlikely to go to church… go to church.

I want for God to use the men and women of our church to create a place where we are honest with one another, respect one another, love one another, encourage one another, help one another, pray for one another, and serve one another.

I want for Church180 to be a place where the most unlikely people will discover that Jesus and His people are good.

I want for our church to be filled up with drug/alcohol/porn/gambling and all other kinds of addicts. I want our seats to be filled with homosexuals and heterosexual couples who are living together outside of marriage. I want to see the abusers and the abused. I want the lonely, discouraged, weak, and angry. I want people that think suicide is the only way out. I want those kinds of people.

Now here’s the truth…

As God brings “those kind of people” to our church it is absolutely necessary that everyone step up and serve. Helping people discover God and friends is not just the pastor’s job. It is the life expectation of every Christian.

I want everyone at Church180 to be involved in other people’s lives… listening, teaching, encouraging, praying, serving, loving. What God is calling us to will require the maximum input of everyone.

Secondly, I know that as this happens many will not understand. Some will leave our church. Others will criticize and ridicule. That’s okay.

We are not here to please people. Just God. That’s it. We are here only to please God. And do you know what pleases Him? When we love people… especially those who are disconnected from Him.

I am praying and working towards this end. I will be calling the men and women of our church to join me in this cause. Together we will be a force for Jesus in Rock Hill and we will change the way people think about our leader (Jesus) and his people (Christians).

Are you in?

Talking about ladies…

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In two weeks (on Mother’s Day) we are going to kick off a new teaching series at Church180.

I’m excited about this series. It’s a topic I’ve never taught on but something that I’m becoming more and more interested in… I guess that’s the result of being daddy to six ladies.

Anyhow, we’re going to look at three ladies in the Bible… ladies we don’t often, if ever, talk about: Timothy’s mom (Eunice), Moses’ mom (Jochebed), and Zelophehad’s FIVE daughters! We’re going to discover three secrets that made these ladies great! I really can’t wait to teach this series… because I’m teaching it as more than a pastor… I’m teaching it as a dad and husband too.

 

How to break out of a rut

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Are you tired? Discouraged? Complacent? Ready for a change?

I know what will help.

Exercise!

A healthy body is directly connected to emotional, mental, and spiritual vitality!

I am working with several people right now who are experiencing this phenomenon. I have too!

If you are ready to break out of the rut you’re in may I suggest a couple of things:

  1. Do something, but don’t do everything! I’ve seen to many people fail because they tried to do to much to quick! The result is that they’ve got a garage filled with workout equipment and a closet filled with new and unused exercise clothes! Pick one thing. Do it for a couple of weeks. Make it a habit. Then you can tackle something else.
  2. Tell someone what you’re doing. Maybe they’ll join you! Even if they don’t, the fact that you’ve told someone what you’re doing will help keep you accountable.
  3. Set a time to do “your thing”, then do it. If you don’t have a time… you won’t do your thing. A time to do it is as important as the decision to do it! Find your time, put it on your calendar (just like you would schedule a meeting), then do it!
  4. Do something else! After a couple of weeks your body will be ready for a new challenge… so oblige it! Add another mile to your walk! Learn some new exercises! Add more weight or repetitions! If you don’t mix it up and keep challenging yourself you will get bored… and bored people quit.

Do you exercise regularly? How has it helped you? Tell your story! I’d love to hear from you!

I know the “MF word”

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That’s what one of my princesses said to me this morning!

Of course I, like you would have, cringed, wondered where she’d learned this word, and then with a fearful heart but a brave face asked the question, “What MF word? What does it mean?”

She looked around then whispered, “Middle” and before she could finish her sentence one of her sisters yelled, “Finger!” As soon as the “er” of “finger” was completed her little princess face screwed all up with the agony that comes with hearing an expletive uttered out loud.

A few things happened in a very short time span:

  • I simultaneously choked back laughter and breathed a sigh of relief.
  • I was very happy to learn that “MF word” means “Middle Finger”.
  • We did have a conversation about what the middle finger means when you give it to someone… and I encouraged her not to ever do this.

Being a parent is always an adventure and always an opportunity to teach! May you enjoy the adventure and take every opportunity to teach your children… even if it starts off with a cringe!

What Michael Hyatt taught me about responsiveness

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Michael Hyatt, among many other things, is a tremendously insightful blogger. He is one a a handful of bloggers that I read regularly. You can read his blog here.

Sometime ago he posted some thoughts on “responsiveness” that have not only stuck with me, they are changing me. Hyatt has written about this subject multiple times and you can read all of them here.

I’ve not always been the most responsive person. Sure I have reasons… but most of them look more like excuses when viewed closely! So I’m thinking about why I’m not responsive. Here are a few reasons:

  • I don’t have a good plan in place to deal with things like e-mail, voice messages, etc.
  • Sometimes I’m too tired to give a thoughtful response… so I don’t respond.
  • Sometimes I don’t care enough to respond (that’s just rude…)
  • Sometimes I create too many “input streams” which overloads me with voices to which I must respond. For instance I have 2 Twitter accounts, 2 Facebook pages, three e-mails, and a blog. That’s in addition to voicemail on cell phone, home phone, and church phone. Which is in addition to notes people pass me, crisis’ which require my attention, parenting responsibilities, etc. Maybe it’s time to unload.

A couple of things I’m doing to up the responsiveness quotient in my life:

  • Keep the inbox empty… or close to it!
  • Keep the voice-mail empty… or close to it!
  • I’m finding that the sooner I respond the easier it is (usually). And the opposite is true too… the longer it takes to respond, the more difficult it becomes (usually).
  • Lastly, I’m keeping in mind what Jesus said, “Do to others as you want them to do to you” (Luke 6:31). And guess what?! I like people to respond to me!

Anyhow I think you’d really like and benefit from Michael Hyatt’s thoughts on responsiveness so go here to check them out!

Finishing well (the last 10%)

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Starting is easy. Finishing? Not so much. Think about it…

  • How many books have you started… but not finished?
  • How many projects remain unfinished around your house?
  • How many e-mails are still in “draft” form in your e-mail?
  • How many difficult conversations have you started but the problem still remains because you didn’t finish the conversation?
You get the point.
But here’s something else to consider. It’s not sufficient to finish if it’s not done well! The last 10% of any project always seems to be the hardest, but it may be the most important! It is the finished product that sells!
A few days ago I read a post from a prolific blogger who wears weird glasses and shows only the top of his head on his blog… Seth Godin! He wrote:

It’s not enough to finish the checklist, to hurrily do the last three steps and declare victory.

In fact, the last coat of polish and the unhurried delivery of worthwhile work is valued all out of proportion to the total amount of effort you put into the project.

It doesn’t matter how many designers, supply chains, workers, materials and factories were involved– if the box is improperly sealed, that’s how you will be judged. 

He’s right!

Solomon, purportedly the wisest man to ever live, wrote “Finishing is better than starting” (Ecclesiastes 7:8 NIV). And if I can take such liberty I’d say, “Finishing well is better than starting well!”

Think about this, why spend the time, money, and energy to start well if you’re not committed to finishing well?

Jesus was all about this. Look at how He said it:

Luke 14:28-32  don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?  29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you!  30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’  31 “Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of ten thousand is strong enough to defeat the twenty thousand soldiers who are marching against him?  32 If he is not able, then while the enemy is still far away, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace.

Listen, I am pretty good at starting things, but here’s what I’m finding… finishing feels even better, makes people even happier, and gives me greater credibility as a man and a leader. And finishing well? Well that increases these three exponentially!

I want to challenge myself and encourage you to go finish something today… and finish it well! Make the last 10% as good as the first 10%!