A Plan for the New Year

The past two weeks the Parish Resource Center has been closed for the Christmas holiday. However I have been coming into the Center to use the 'quiet' space to catch up on some work, check the mail, but mostly to do some reading and planning for the coming year.

One of the things I did was to go over several legal size note pads on which I have been taking notes and doing work over the past few months. I tore off the pages no longer needed and made some new notes to follow up on things I said were good ideas to do. I also put on my calendar some of the ideas/items so I will do them and not just keep them as ideas on paper!!

I came across some notes from a video by Mike Slaughter of Ginghamsburg UMC that I watched on line last fall. Mike uses the acronym DRIVE as a plan for what he wants to do each day. It is easy to remember and yet provides for a holistic approach to daily living. It can serve as a plan for resolving to live better in the New Year.

D- Daily Devotions- Begin the day with God in prayer and scripture - or a devotional discipline you enjoy. Recently I have enjoyed using the Book of Common Prayer.

R -Read for Life Learning - In this ever changing world we need to keep up in our field as well as read some of the classics. My personal challenge is to read outside on my work field!

I - Invest in key relationships - Do you spend quality time with family and people who nourish you? Often we spend too much time dealing with persons who drain us.

V- Visioning- Do you spend your time just catching up and checking off the 'to do list'. Do you give yourself time to dream and work on the vision you have for yourself and your church/work/organization? A vision un-acted upon is only a dream or words in a strategic plan.

E-Eating and Exercising - Ouch!!! Once again I need to review what and how much I eat and to set aside time for exercising -other than pushing back my chair from the desk or exercising my hands on the keyboard or remote control.

D.R.I.V.E into the NEW YEAR and the road should be an enjoyable and effective one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Following the Star

I have been using an online Advent meditation, "Following the Star" http://www.followingthestar.org/.
The meditation music along with the reminder to "Be Still"

in this busy season has been very helpful and inspiring.

When I was serving in the local church I usually read a story to the pre-schoolers about "Quintilius" the star. It is a cute story of small, insignificant star in the universe that is chosen to shine on that first Christmas night. Little Quintilius had to work extra hard to shine that night, so hard in fact that he burst into a million pieces. The story suggests that Quintilus still shines in each of us as we share the news of Jesus birth today. (It is one way to explain why Quintilius no longer shines. )

What was the Christmas star? Planets aligning? It is a matter of debate. Another Advent resource I have used is the Hubble Advent calendar and offers views into the mysteries of space. www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/12/hubble_space_telescope_advent_1.html
It provides spectacular pictures of our galaxy and galaxies beyond. It shows the beauty and vastness of space. The power and majesty in those pictures suggests the first Christmas Star could have been a unique galactic event. The pictures also serve as a reminder that planet earth is not even a pin head in the millions of galaxies. Yet God chose to come to earth and dwell among us in Jesus Christ -Emmanuel. Whether that first star was little "Quintilius" , planets aligning , or a unique cosmic event, it served as a sign that God was doing something special on planet earth.

Like many of you we have a star on our tree. As you look at the star on your tree( or perhaps an angel), let it serve as a reminder that God not only did something special that first Christmas night, but God can and wants to do something special in our lives even today. That God still desires 'peace on earth to all of good will' . That God can use the least of us as well as the vast universe to share good news to the poor and release to the captive. That the promise of "Emmanuel" is still ours today.

Have a Merry Christmas and Hope Filled New Year

Hubble Advent December 23

Professionals and Passion

Last evening our Parish Resource Center Board of Directors held its first meeting of the new fiscal year. We began with a dinner with the PRC staff. It was a great time for staff and board to get to know each other better. Boards and staff are all working for the same mission but they do not often meet together.

As Board members and staff introduced each other and shared a little about themselves it was very evident that they all held one thing in common. They are all passionate and believe in the mission of the PRC. You may say,"I would hope so", but this is not always the case in many non-profits. It is a 'job' or it a 'place to volunteer' because it is the thing to do.

Several years ago, I learned a basic principle about staff and board from Bill Easum. You can train people and teach them skills, but the passion for the work comes from within. He would suggest always hire someone who has a passion for your mission, you can often add the needed skills.

We have a professional staff at the PRC; educated and talented. But what makes the difference is their commitment and passion for the mission. We have a Board of excellent professional and business people who have much to offer, but it was a real joy to see their excitement and passion for the work of the Center.

Quality and professionalism are important, but they are worth little in the long run with out a passion for the mission.

Cash For Clunkers

The "Cash for Clunker" program seems to be a success. More than 600,000 older, fuel inefficient cars have been traded in for newer, more gas efficient cars. It seems to have been great for car dealer and the customer. However, I read about one person who was tempted to trade in for a new car , but did not do it ; she loved her old clunker and just could not get rid of it , even if it was a gas guzzler and inefficient.

I wonder if we need a 'Cash for Clunker" program for the local church. In my last post, I suggested that maybe a church should look at the programs it currently offers -What programs, people, or projects produce the most stress, pain, or financial pressures? What should a church stop doing because it is no longer effective? Are there any 'clunkers'???

The truth is most congregations have a hard time stopping or dropping a program or ministry. We just love it too much to let it go. May be a cash incentive would work? Now I doubt if there are any denominational funds for a cash for clunker program, so I am not sure from where the funds would come. But the truth is when we continue ineffective programs it is already costing a congregation valuable resources- time, talent, people, and money.

Any thoughts?

Health Care for Churches

Health Care reform is dominating the news. Whatever one's view on the various proposals, it is clear that there is need for reform of the health care system as well as the need for the average citizen to live a healthier lifestyle. This got me to thinking about health care for the church.

How is your own spiritual health? Do you have a balanced spiritual diet? Are you running on empty; are you growing weary in well doing? Are you exercising with the spiritual disciplines that can strengthen your well being? What brings you joy in life? What feeds your soul, your mind, your body? Is it time to take some spiritual inventory in your life?

What about your congregation? What programs, ministries, projects, people bring about the most joy; that add spark and life to you and your congregation? On the other hand, what programs, people, or projects produce the most stress, pain, or financial pressures?

What is the ratio between the amount of time your members spend sitting in meetings or groups as compared to being out in the community in mission and ministry? Is there a ministry or project that could 'stretch' your church and in turn strengthen it?

I would invite you to email or stop by the PRC for a 'check up' or a 'check in' with one of our consultants who could help you think through some of these questions. For susbcribers to the PRC 'health care system' , it will not cost you anything extra ; it is part of your susbcriber fee!

Let me know.

Looking at the evidence

I have been called (summoned actually) to serve on jury duty this week. Whether I am chosen or not remains to be determined. Being called to serve as a juror is an important part of our judicial system. It takes citizens from their normal routines , sets them apart in a small group, asks them to examine the evidence ( the facts) , come to some conclusions, and a decision. These decisions affect the lives and directions of the people in the litigation.

This process reminded me that it would good for church leaders to take time from the normal routine of church life, to ask a small group to look at the evidence, the facts, of church life, and come to some conclusions and decisions about the ministry and mission of the church. Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great" states that companies, organizations, that move from good to great are willing to take a realistic look at their situation, face the cold hard facts, (look at the evidence) in order to make decisions that will help the organization become great. The principle is called the Stockwell principle after the Vietnam POW James Stockwell who realistically looked at his difficult situation, but was also hopeful of being released. Other POWs who simply lived in the hope, or wishful thinking, that they would be released at any time often did not survive their imprisonment. The difference was looking honestly at the facts.

Has your church taken time out of its normal routine and looked at the evidence, the cold hard facts? It could make a big difference in the future direction of your church.

Len Sweet at the PRC

About 70 people had "Conversation and Coffee" with Len Sweet today at the Parish Resource Center in Lancaster, PA (http://www.parishresourcecenter.org/) .

It was great!!! Len challenged us immigrants living in the "Google World" to grasp the importance of image and experience as over print and reason. For most of us who were 'born' ( at first I typed 'book' -talk about Freudian typing) in the Gutenberg age, we need to learn to communicate the gospel in a image world. I would invite you to a conversation on some practical ways we can do this.

Len spoke about young adults 'twittering' during a speaking engagement he had and the tweets were posted on a screen. One said, "Len has lost me , are you following what he is saying?" Instead of blowing that statement off, he noticed it and responded to it. It allowed for further dialogue and connection with his audience. To many of us that is 'foreign'. But as I thought about it, in the black and pentecostal traditions, the 'amens' and 'shouts' and the 'talking back to the preacher' are the 'tweets' in those traditions. They help the preacher to know he/she is on target; it is their instant feedback.

Do you have ways you have made your worship/ministry more image enriched? How are you communicating in a "google' world. What are your questions/concerns. Let's chat.

Dave

davidloughery@parishresourcecenter.org