Mars Hill Rocks The United Center
Oh my God – the choir just finished singing "The Presence Of The Lord" and had 25,000 people standing to their feet! God is awesome!
Mars Hill @ The United Center
Wow, what an incredible day!
Mars Hill is about to compete against 3 other choirs in Verizon Wireless’ “How Sweet The Sound” Gospel Choir competition. If we win, we will represent Chicago in Atlanta, GA.
We’re already claiming victory in Jesus’ name!
Mars Hill, I’m proud of you!
This week's Leadership Gems
Often I run across information that I believe to be vital for church leaders. Since I believe in the "learn & return" principle, I plan to share information that I believe would help church leaders lead their respective churches, ministries, & organizations.
THIS WEEK'S GEMS:
Churches
need to establish a three month emergency fund of cash reserves to be
used during a financial crisis. The church’s emergency fund will allow
the church treasurer/financial secretary or finance committee time to
develop a course of action when a financial crisis occurs. <Read More>
More important than theological orientation is the religious character
of the congregation and clarity of mission and purpose, the survey
highlighted. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about
what they are to be doing. <Read More>
WHY PEOPLE DON'T ATTEND CHURCH
Compared
to regular churchgoers, the Unattached are: more likely to feel
stressed out; less likely to be concerned about the moral condition of
the nation; much less likely to believe that they are making a positive
difference in the world; less optimistic about the future; far less
likely to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in its principles;
substantially more likely to believe that Satan and the Holy Spirit are
symbolic figures, but are not real. <Read More>
The Truth Does Hurt…Pt. 3
LEADERSHIP CAN BE EXHAUSTING!
As I shared last week, at Mars Hill, we have been trying to get our minds and hearts around some of the data that points to unmet expectations. What do you do when not as many people are inviting their friends…not as many are growing in Christ…not as many are tithing…not as many are reading their Bible…not as many are attending…and not as many are being baptized?
These questions are very real for us right now, and over the next few days I will share some of the stages of unmet expectations I have recently experienced…
WHEN WE EXPERIENCE UNMET EXPECTATIONS, WE TEND TO BLAME OTHERS.
It's the fault of the congregation. They stopped giving. They stopped inviting their friends. They think they're mature and deep, but they aren't contributing to the cause.They are whining but not helping.
MY RESPONSE: In our frustration, we tend to blame the people. Sometimes we might even design messages with a prophetic tone to get them to be better, stronger and more committed. Rather than lead them through the difficulty, we preach them through it.
Three down…two to go…
The Truth Does Hurt…Pt. 2
LEADERSHIP CAN BE STRESSFUL!
As I shared earlier this week, at Mars Hill, we have been trying to get our
minds and hearts around some of the data that points to unmet
expectations. What do you do when not as many people are inviting
their friends…not as many are growing in Christ…not as many are
tithing…not as many are reading their Bible…not as many are
attending…and not as many are being baptized?
These
questions are very real for us right now, and over the next few days I will
share some of the stages of unmet expectations I have recently
experienced…
questions are very real for us right now, and over the next few days I will
share some of the stages of unmet expectations I have recently
experienced…
WHEN WE EXPERIENCE UNMET EXPECTATIONS, WE TEND TO QUESTION THE DATA. Perhaps the stats are wrong. Maybe we didn't ask the question in the right way. I bet a certain category of people refused to take the survey and so the results are skewed.
I once heard someone say, "figures don't lie; but liars know how to figure."
MY RESPONSE: When we don't like what the data says, it is so easy to question its' validity. We look deep for one anomaly – one thing that sticks out. We find the one piece where we can cast doubt on the data…thus causing a large shadow over all the findings. Here's the problem: It makes it easier to say everything is okay. We tend to say, "The problem isn't the church – we're good, it's the data."
WRONG!!!
It's like the person who continues to squeeze into clothes/shoes that are too small – the data says either loose weight or go to the next size.
Two down…three to go…
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