The single best piece of relational advice I have ever received wasn’t intended to be relational advice, and it came from a most unlikely place….a job interview.
I was conducting an interview a while back for a search. The candidate, who had a good job, and had no reason to leave his secure setting sat in front of me, and I asked him why we were meeting. His response,
“I love my job. This is a good church. But I want to be somewhere where my ideas and vision are celebrated, not just tolerated.”
That phrase turned in my mind for a good long while, and then I realized just how solid it was as a theological statement.
“God doesn’t just tolerate you. He celebrates you.”
God loves you, just because he loves you. He delights in you, just because.
Then I started thinking about my relationships.
I began looking for ways to celebrate imperfect people, rather than simply tolerate them until they got it all together. Honestly, I’ve not been very good at this in the past. I’ve got a long way to go, but this one piece of advice really has revolutionized my thinking and attitude.
Who are you simply tolerating today? How can you celebrate your spouse? Your children? Your in-laws (yes, even the in-laws)?
We’re headed into the season of saying hi to old friends, trying to remember names at parties, and dealing with families and extended families. What would happen if we all decided to celebrate one another rather than tolerate?
Give celebrating a try today. You’ll imitate your Maker, and you’ll revolutionize your life.
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?
