What would it be like to hear some of the great church leaders of today, and to limit each of them to six minutes for their talk?
What would it be like to ask them what key learning could be a Game Changer for your life and ministry?
That’s what will happen on September 9th when The Nines goes live on the Internet.
In one day, you can hear over 100 of the best church leaders, six minutes each, each one talking about Game Changers.
And it’s all free.
The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to be a sponsor of this event. Lots of the speakers are clients and friends of ours. It will be on our computers all day. It should be on yours. And if you want a premium registration (goodies included), you can get a discount by entering “VSG” in the promotional code upon registering.
Thanks to Leadership Network for putting this together, and bringing great teaching to us, in short format, at no cost, and in our homes. You guys are great to know and call friends.
Over the years, I’ve been blessed to know a bunch of older, wiser church leaders, and to count them as close friends. Maybe it’s my rather unique collection of friends that makes me have so much fun doing executive search.
Last week, I read a great post from my friend Tony last week that called one of my long time friends to mind. I’ll never forget what my great Houston colleague Ed Young told me about measuring the effectiveness of programs.
Over a long lunch in his office, Ed said, “William, never forget that the church is a non-profit but it has a profit margin. Our profit margin is life change.”
Dr. Ed Young
“William, never forget that the church is a non-profit but it has a profit margin. Our profit margin is life change.” – Ed Young
Now that’s money.
Ever since hearing that wisdom, I’ve insisted that every line item in the church budget be measured against that metric. I think it translates in any church, no matter your vision statement or particular strategy.
Measure programs for their life change, and you’ll never wonder what is worth funding and what needs to be cut.
Show your people the profit margin of the church. Show them how much the church is changing lives, and they will never wonder why we are here. You won’t have to worry about raising money. You won’t have to worry about being off purpose.
What would change in your church if every line item were measured against the question, “How is this ministry changing lives?” What would the overall effectiveness of your church look like?
Doctors have all sorts of tests to gauge our physical health, and those tests keep us on a healthy track. They warn us if we are off track. They’re helpful.
Wouldn’t it be helpful if someone would invent a spiritual thermometer?
Some sort of instrument that would tell us how we’re doing in our walk with God and the maturation of our souls. I believe a thermometer like that exists. It’s in the form of an old question.
“Does your heart break over the things that break the heart of God?” That old question might be the quickest and most effective spiritual gut check available.
Throughout history, the tool God has used to effect the most change in our worlds is a broken heart.
Having a holy heartbreak is not a choice. It’s not an option. It is a necessary byproduct of belonging to Jesus.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36: 26,27)
So how is your temperature? Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God? Ask yourself the question.
And if you’re serious about changing your life and the world, ask God for a holy heartbreak.
Chances are, God has a higher view of you than you do. Here’s what He says about you:
You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (1 Peter 2:9-10, The Message)
Do you ever find yourself thinking you’re just a face in the crowd. That you’re in a rut that won’t ever end? Ever wonder if you will ever amount to anything?
It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you are just a face in the crowd, a number in the masses, or a wisp of air.
You are a difference maker. You have been called to be a contributor to the greatest movement the world has ever known. God wants to use you to change the world, one life at a time. How? by telling those you see what a difference God has made in your life.
Every time we point someone’s life toward God, angels dance.
Who can you talk to? What can you tell them about the difference God has made in your life?
Each morning, I send out a first tweet that is a devotional thought God has given me for the day. Sometimes Scripture, sometimes a quote, and sometimes just a thought that came to me in prayer.
“Quiet time with God is like manna from Heaven. It comes each day, but it disappears with the dawn.” (unknown)
I often get responses from friends to my “first thoughts” like, “My first thought was, Cereal, or bagel?, or Did somebody turn the coffee on? I have similar thoughts…..but have tried over the last chapter of life to spend waking moments with a higher focus.
Many years ago, a mentor of mine gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever received.
“Make your first conversation each morning, a conversation with God.”
So my goal has become this: The first thing I hear each morning is a Word from Him through Scripture or a devotional. And the first thing out of my mouth is a prayer to Him. Am I tempted to check email, or Twitter first thing? Oh yes. And I’m amazed at how many times, when I do read something else first, my day loses focus and my mood is less than it could be. But on the days when I spend those first moments and first conversation with God, things stay on a much more even keel.
Interested, but too busy to deal with books first thing in the morning? As much as I travel, I’ve found a couple of great tools for making this discipline portable. I might suggest the daily read from the One Year Bible or from YouVersion, particularly if you want to use your phone or blackberry. The YouVersion app for the iPhone and Blackberry are amazing, and may even be history making.
So what’s your first thought? Where does your first conversation go each day?
I hope that a First Thought, maybe better titled a First Tweet will help you in some small way.
follow me on Twitter and get your first thought on most days (I’m not perfect….ask my family)
This post originally appeared in 2009, and has been reposted as a result of the growing popularity of the daily #1stThought. Thanks for your comments. Keep them coming!
