Personal Mission Statement

Recently, I went through some life coaching to revisit my life and ministry and how to live out of my strengths.

Below is my Personal Mission Statement. This is a statement that holds me in check every day to make sure that every word, action and initiative aligns with what God has led me to be:

I live my life out of God's vision to:

love my God and my family more than myself

love the Lost more than the church

love the real church more than the ideal church

by being relational, creative and leaving no gaps between my words and my actions.

Do you have a personal mission statement? What is it? What do you think of mine?

If you don't have one and would like to develop one, contact me @ revmiller38401@yahoo.com

Simple Relationship or Programmed Religion?

When we consider our relationship with God, reflect on the Tozer quote below:

"The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us---

in its place are

programs,

methods,

organizations,

and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention

but can never satisfy the longing of the heart."

We're Not Taking Up an Offering at Church

Can you imagine going to church and hearing: "We're not collecting an offering today!"

That would be a shock!

Yet, that's what happened in Exodus 36.3-7.

Moses hears a complaint from the workers that they can't keep up with all the money, gold, jewelry, grain that the people are brining. THE WORKERS ASK MOSES TO STOP THE PEOPLE FROM GIVING!

I would love to stand in front of a worship assembly and say "You're bringing too much. Let's not take an offering."

A twist on this idea is to collect the Sunday morning offerings but give all of it away outside of the church. That might be a first step to an Exodus 36 Sunday.

But first, leaders would need to wrestle with this question:

What are the marks of a church bringing too much in offerings?

-and-

How do we help our church grow towards an Exodus 36 moment?

Are You Giving Away Tasks or Giving Away Authority?

Be careful about what you give away...

It's not enough to teach, train and discipline people to exhibit the right behaviors and follow thru on completing tasks.

You also have to empower them to make decisions based on the situation around them.

Better yet, you have to give them authority to make decisions on their own.

It's the difference between delegating tasks and delegating authority. (Great insight from Craig Groeschel!)

If you delegate tasks, you'll get mindless followers who constantly look to you to make decisions.

If you delegate authority, you'll get leaders who look to you for VISION.

This is what it looks like if you only give away tasks instead of authority:

Nothing Beats Snail Mail (Google Proves It)

I'm happy to hear that snail mail still is recognized as an effective way to personally communicate. In this email-facebook message-140 character twitter-age, the personal touch can get easily lost.

As leaders, we always need to assume that even though we send out an email, even though we send a message through Facebook, that doesn't mean we've communicated effectively and personally. Nothing beats a phone call, a face-to-face communique, or better yet, a handwritten note.

Don't believe me? Consider Google's comments and it's latest initiative for people this Christmas.

(I know it's not a handwritten postcard, but it is impressive that the internet giant Google recognizes the unique personal touch a postcard possesses).