I’ve had “Blue” on sale for a few weeks now. First I went to Craigslist.com. Merced now has its own page there. Pretty cool.
I got a nibble or two at Craigslist, but no bites. Then I put “For Sale” signs in Blue’s windows as he sat in front of the house. (I’m assuming that Blue is male.) I’ve gotten several nibbles since then.
I had lunch with friends today. I met them months ago through business connections, but the relationship grew beyond that to friendly regard. We don’t get together very often, so it was pleasant to do so today.
One of Bev’s co-workers invited us to come hear him play at a local night spot. The band was going to play reggae music. We had been intending to do that for the past several months, so this was a good excuse and motivation to do so.
We got there about 10:00. The band was really good, and it was fun watching the crowd dancing and having fun. I knew fairly quickly that this was a place I want to return to.
Today I had two meetings to attend, one early this morning and the other in the late afternoon. The groups were highly diverse in membership, and the individuals very busy and responsible people.
Despite their differences, the members share a common interest and love of Merced city and county. You will see them all around town at various functions because they care about what happens here.
One of the groups is responsible for leading a program for developing high school leaders. Some of them just came back from a retreat with glowing reports.
The other group was invested with the responsibility for writing a mission statement for a business organization. That conversation was interesting and fun.
It is impressive to see the collaboration, passion, and determination of both groups. Any organization would be blessed to have people like that working for them.
Groups like this are more effective than individuals working alone because of their shared wisdom, insight, and experience. Effort increases exponentially. That’s a good way to work.
I recently had an interaction that caused me to think about the important matter of church DNA. DNA is the basic character of the congregation including what she values and how she goes about accomplishing her goals.
For several years I have believed that the leadership of a church is largely responsible for how members see themselves as well as the mission and methods of that church. For example, if the leaders do all the work themselves, the members come to see themselves as spectators or passengers rather than contributors.
One view of leadership, that I disavow, is that leaders sit at the front or top of an organization and dictate. In this view, the leader is the one invested with knowledge and wisdom and operates like a dispenser. Those who follow his/her leadership are trained to be dependent and weak. They often become discouraged and eventually quit.
Another view of leadership sees leaders as equippers and encouragers. They operate at the rear of the organization giving the people in their charge the opportunity and power to work. In organizations like this, people feel invested and responsible. This helps them to develop strength and energy.
The second kind of leadership takes time to mature. Failures will occur. By its nature this style of leadership is slower, but it develops a more mature membership.
John Maxwell says, “If you think you’re a leader and no one is following, then you’re only taking a walk.” Equipping leadership is true leadership that develops strong loyalties and follow-ship.
That’s the kind of leadership LifeSpring values.
A friend of mine sent me an automated message this past weekend. It invited me to become one of his “connections” on a networking website.
I had registered on the site a year or more ago at the invitation of a guy in the last city I lived in. But I didn’t give it much thought or attention at the time. However, when the recent invitation came I decided to “connect” again.
Adam Moore has been really busy making additions and changes to the LifeSpring Church website. And the site is becoming much more dynamic and interesting.
The newest change is the addition of an archive and subscription section where you can download recent editions of our Sunday newsletter, Currents. If you want to be on the e-mailing list for Currents, use the subscription menu. You’ll then be automatically added to our weekly mailing.
Coming soon is a podcasting link where sermon audio will be stored. You’ll be able to find the last month’s sermons for downloading to your iPod.
We think these additions will give guests to our site a good sampling of what LifeSpring is like. On the site guests may get our newsletter, hear the sermons, or even read what other LifeSpringers are saying. It’s a good introduction.
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