The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
Last night I brought a message in our Fusion service called, "We've Been Chosen to Change the Atmosphere." In this message I gave the illustration of the difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. A thermometer simply measures the temperature in the room, but a thermostat sets it. We have been called to set the temp, not measure it. The atmosphere should change for the better simply because we walk into a room. There's no telling what will happen when a Holy Spirit anointed, prayed up, activated Christian walks in on the scene.
Last night one of our Celebrators, Minerva Sanabria brought up an excellent point. She said that when we first come to Jesus we are basically all thermometers but when we get involved and begin serving that's when we begin to move from thermometer to thermostat. Involvement and investment of ourselves makes all the difference. I agreed and added that it's interesting to note the pattern of your typical criticizer in Christiandom. They typically resign everything, have little to no place of ministry service, and begin to measure everything around them to a large degree. Opinions are such easy things to throw around. (They are so lightweight, after all -- they don't necessarily have to contain anything with biblical weight.) Thermometers have quite a lot to say about churches, preachers, the quality of what is provided, and have high expectations ad nauseum, but little to no investment.
Suffice it to say I love hanging with thermostats, but then again probably most people do. We all love being with people who are a SOLUTION. They are not only atmosphere changers, but also world changers and history makers. Anyone can sit back and talk about all that's wrong with something, (or what they think is wrong) but it takes a person of character and perseverance to actually BE a solution. (That always takes involvement, which, by the way, is more than sitting in a man cave writing blogs in your underwear.)Did I just say that?
Last night one of our Celebrators, Minerva Sanabria brought up an excellent point. She said that when we first come to Jesus we are basically all thermometers but when we get involved and begin serving that's when we begin to move from thermometer to thermostat. Involvement and investment of ourselves makes all the difference. I agreed and added that it's interesting to note the pattern of your typical criticizer in Christiandom. They typically resign everything, have little to no place of ministry service, and begin to measure everything around them to a large degree. Opinions are such easy things to throw around. (They are so lightweight, after all -- they don't necessarily have to contain anything with biblical weight.) Thermometers have quite a lot to say about churches, preachers, the quality of what is provided, and have high expectations ad nauseum, but little to no investment.
Suffice it to say I love hanging with thermostats, but then again probably most people do. We all love being with people who are a SOLUTION. They are not only atmosphere changers, but also world changers and history makers. Anyone can sit back and talk about all that's wrong with something, (or what they think is wrong) but it takes a person of character and perseverance to actually BE a solution. (That always takes involvement, which, by the way, is more than sitting in a man cave writing blogs in your underwear.)
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