help

I have always been self-reliant.

I would never ask for help…with anything. Homework assignments in college, projects at home or work…anything. I used to think this was an admirable trait. But recently, I found out that it was the trait that has been holding me back.

God put us on the planet with other humans for a reason: to interact and be part of a community. It’s that community that brings us closer to Christ, and brings us closer to each other. We are hear to support each other, and help our fellow man to achieve greatness; to become the people that our Creator meat for us to be.

If we can’t rely on each other, then we are but an island. And, as the old saying goes, no man is an island.

After 43 years on this planet, I finally get it. It’s easier to lean on a thousand shoulders than stand on your own.

why?

Why does it take 4 hours to see a doctor at an emergency room on a Thursday night when there’s only 12 people in the waiting room?

Why does the nurse, the doctor, the sign in person, and three or four other hospital workers have to ask you the same 37 questions about latex allergies and how the pain feels on a scale of one to ten?

Why does every size hospital gown leave a smidge of butt showing in the back?

Well, these questions are funny and aggrevating, but guess what? None of them matter when someone you love is in the hospital.

One moment you’re joking about the wildest circumstances, and the next you’re being told by the doctor that it’s more serious than they first thought.

Nothing else really matters at that point. Nothing at all.

Christ told us not to worry about things that aren’t important.

Boy, was he all over that one, or what?

 

why do christian movies stink?

O.K., the title to this post may not be fair. But, if you love the movie industry, you must agree that a vast majority (95%-99%) of Christian films stink.

Now, I’m not talking about the big budget Hollywood extravaganzas, such as The Ten Commandments or Passion of the Christ. I’m talking about the movies made in the past two decades produced specifically for the “church going” market. Duds like “Time Changers” and “Facing the Giants.”

Those are all well-intended flicks, but they’re awful because they are not relevant and in order to appeal to what they feel is their target market, they use dialogue that only Ned Flanders could appreciate!

LifePointe staff & stuff

One thing about being on a church staff is that you are thrust into a scenario unlike anything you’ll find in the “real world.”

I have been in sales in corporate America for 21 years. Each sales staff is made up of “x” amount of people, all there to do one thing…make money.  There are different & conflicting personalities, personal agendas, and huge egos. Sure, they are all there to “promote customer service” and “increase awareness of the company in the community”, but beneath that, there are always ulterior motives.

A church staff is different. Just like in corporate sales, they’re there to find ways to promote their product (God), and ways to increase customer satisfaction (keep the congregation happy), and to keep the church mission on track (to help others develope a connected relationship with God).

But, beneath all of that, lies…well, nothing else. Sure, you’ve still got some conflicting personalities and some egos to deal with…that’s just human nature. But when the agenda is the same for everyone, then the group works.

I know that many times I like to think that running the church like a business is the best way to go, but then, I step back, look at the fellow staff I deal with, and know that it could never be run like a business.

It’s so much better.