I thought that was a little humbling, and very incredible. Don’t click away too fast, though. Let that information really sink in.
Now respond to it.
Props to John for the find.
After yesterday’s tire debacle, I need to get some tires. Last night, that meant making a quick trip to San Antonio to pick up some tires I’d found on craigslist. And with my spare tire, that would have given me 4 decent tires to run on.
Unfortunately, when I got home I saw that they had managed to slash the 4th tire as well, so now I only have 3. Krista found some more tires with a little tread left on them in Houston, so off I go.
I’m not sure what lesson I’m supposed to take away from this, but I feel better responding and recovering than I would sitting in my chair feeling sorry for myself.
I remember years ago, my high school sweetheart would mock me when I would throw mini-pity parties and say, “poor, poor David.” Then and now, that serves as a reminder to me to get up and get going again and refuse to remain the victim.
So here I go again.
Good morning to me. 3 rims sitting on the ground and 3 slash marks. It’s been hard to shake this off. I’ve been in a funk all day and it’s getting irritating.
The depravity of man is real.
UPDATE: Dude. Do you read my blog? The fourth tire was slashed this afternoon / evening?
Okay, so it’s not really an official song of the Southern Baptists, but it was way too funny to not pass along. Props to Todd for this post. If you’re not already following his blog, you really need to.
After all, if we can’t have a good laugh at ourselves, what hope is left for us?
Some guys have a dozen guitars. I have two. I’ve owned several, but these are the two that have managed to hang around in my life.
My family bought a Taylor 414ce as a gift to me for my college graduation. I have led worship literally hundreds of times with it, and regardless of the situation just putting the strap around my shoulder brings me to a place of comfort and peace. That gift infected me (blessed me?) with the bug for Taylors.
A couple of years later, I fell in love the first time I sat down and played on a T5 (Thinline Fiveway). It’s a hybrid, semi-hollow body guitar that can switch between an electric sound and an acoustic sound using five pickup configurations. I love this guitar.
But ultimately, these are both tools that I use to lead worship. And the fact that every time I touch these guitars, I’m reminded of the hundreds of times I’ve stood in front of a group of people and led them to the throne of Christ, and thousands of times that I’ve sat in my chair and found myself strumming one chord or hitting one note that’s tugged my heart make them even more important to me.
What do you play? What do they mean to you?
There have been some interesting discussions online lately about people being too open, or too frank, or too abrasive on the web, whether that be on twitter, on facebook, or on their blog. John wrote a post on it, Mac wrote a post on it, so clearly I had to write a post on it.
But my thought is very simple and straightforward: Opening yourself up on any online medium risks offending someone. Be prepared for the fallout, or shut up.
The answer to all of your worries may in fact be to limit your interaction – to be wary of opening yourself up. To prevent yourself from being truly authentic. But I’m going to assume that this idea is distasteful to you since your presence online is actually an attempt to be available and forthright.
Your answer may, instead, be to give someone moderating rights over your activity, whether that be a friend or family member. My wife knows that she has the right to tell me when I’ve gone too far. She has told me more than once that I’ve crossed the line and that I need to delete that particular sentence, or even post.
When you make the attempt to minimize the filter between your thoughts, words, and posts you will immediately open yourself up to attacks, both professional and personal. You will say things that you can’t imagine being inflammatory that will offend so many. You will off-hand make a seemingly unimportant comment that will attract the ire and anger of many.
Be ready for that or shut up, delete your account, and go home. Just don’t be a coward and disable your comments. (How’s that for inflammatory?)
Some years ago, I posted an article for PDYM Community discussing one of the premiere factors when choosing a place to serve. I thought it was pertinent to my situation, so I thought I would go ahead and share it here.
When determining whether you will serve at a church, “Pick the Pastor.”You see, I think that most people will agree with the fact that the pastor determines the very character of the church. The pastor will determine so much in regards to his congregation. The pastor is the shepherd, the guide, the protector and so many other Biblical roles to his particular flock. We need (not you, WE) to be aware of this when we are entertaining the possibility of serving at that particular church.
The pastor determines the direction of the church. Now this goes beyond the style of worship or anything like that, but it is included. The pastor determines where his flock goes. It’s not a bad thing, but it is a reality. Whether he’s being led by the Spirit or not, he is leading the congregation.
The pastor determines the health of the church. Take a moment and let that work it’s way into your mind. The pastor will determine whether the ministries of the church are based upon the 5 Biblical principles or if they are based on traditions and “what we’ve always done.” He will determine if the ministries program driven or purpose driven. If you’ve been in youth ministry for 1 month, you know as well as I that you determine the health of the ministry you have been entrusted with.
The pastor determines the attitudes of the church. If the pastor is outgoing, encouraging, supporting, and loving others, then the church will in response. If the pastor is positive and creates a nurturing atmosphere that welcomes outsiders and make everyone (from the nursery to the blue-haired) feel welcome, the congregation will as well.
The pastor determines the priorities of the church. The pastor determines whether or not the church is welcoming to seekers. The pastor determines if the church is a safe-place for believers to take shelter from the big-bad world, or whether the church will become a force to reckoned with in the community. The pastor determines whether the church will think of itself in terms of brick and mortar or a living organism embodying the risen Lord.
As I said, this is not the end all deal-maker or deal-breaker. However, it is one of the things that we sometimes forget when finding a place to serve. It is so critical. One of the highlights for me of getting together with other youth pastors to discuss issues, is seeing how similar their struggles and issues are to mine.
Recently, someone asked Doug Fields which was more important: a person who does a wonderful job at their specific role that the lead pastor doesn’t particularly “click” with, or someone who is not as good at that role, but clicks with the lead pastor. Doug’s response was, “There’s no question…” He then proceeded to leave those of us less experienced in the ministry (most of us) in the dark. We had to ask. He then explained that, and I’m paraphrasing, when the atmosphere is conducive to a positive, team-oriented spirit, each role will be strengthened. But if we only focus on our own small portion of our ministry, the whole will be weakened.
I hope you follow me to the next level of thinking. If we can find a pastor that we can fully and whole-heartedly support and who can fully and whole-heartedly support us, the results will be so much better than if we simply looked at the annual budget and the numbers of the church when choosing a place to serve.
What do you think? Do you agree with this idea, or completely disagree?
I thought this would at least get a rise out of my iPhone-using amigos and give a good laugh to all my BlackBerry-sporting friends. Click the comic or here for a larger view.
So, Krista and I have decided to step back from church planting in order to take care of our family. Now we face the daunting task of finding the right position at the right church in this market.
There are so many job boards and websites out there that it’s intimidating and can cause one to doubt and worry if you’ve missed one, or forgotten to look at one at any given time. So, these are the websites that I search (and have used in the past) when looking for a place to serve.
www.churchstaffing.com
www.churchjobs.net
www.willowcreek.com
www.youthspecialties.com
www.ymarchitects.com
www.youthspecialties.com
www.ymarchitects.com
What sites am I leaving out or forgetting?
I often end up defaulting to youth ministry websites because that’s where most of my ministry experience is from. What else is out there?
And the truth of the matter is that the “safer” and “more effective” method for both the job-seeker and the church is to find staff through word-of-mouth and relationships.
Would you be willing to keep an eye out for me in your area?
Got this pic emailed in from Minnesota last night, and it made me just stop and say, “huh?”
I know the whole church-sign line of jokes is a little played, but I wonder, what’s the funniest that you’ve seen?
By the way, I think this one is still my favorite.
