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.
We got back Saturday night from Santa Rosa where we got to enjoying being together with our family. Normally we only get to be with one or the other, but not both.
Angela flew out to California on a Tuesday night redeye flight from Nashville. She spent a few days with Jonathan, Dani, and boys, and then she came home with me and Bev today, Saturday. We get to keep her until week’s end when we take her back to the Oakland airport.
Family is a pleasure, and we always relish the rare moments when we’re all together. Those moments are especially wonderful because of our lovely children.
I got a letter from AAA recently announcing that I was quickly using up my free tows. It was a sobering moment.
Last week I went out to start my Honda, and nothing happened. Fortunately Bev was home for vacation, so I didn’t have to rent a car. I knew that I was going to have to make a change in vehicles, a thought I didn’t relish.
I e-mailed a friend of mine and told him that I needed to buy a car and what my budget was. He referred me to one of his salesmen who then showed me their used car stock in that price range. I wasn’t thrilled by the choices.
It’s hard to believe that 2007 is now a scant 5 days away. We’re planning a New Year’s Eve party at our house to welcome in the new year. However, we’re also planning the next steps that LifeSpring will be taking in order make more Mercedians aware of us and our mission.
So as we near the end of this year, I have some prayer requests that affect the outcome of what we do. The first is that we get 501(c)(3) approval very soon. In order to get the non-profit status you have to complete a 50-page packet of information and exhibits which are sent to the IRS along with $750. And then you wait. Please pray that they will expedite our application and get us past this hurdle quickly.
The second request is that I (Bruce) be able to find a good, dependable car soon. I have been grateful for the little Honda that I have been driving, however, it has reached the tipping point of becoming too expensive to maintain. I need something dependable. Soon.
The third request is that LifeSpring turn the corner and begin to see guests in large numbers come to our services. Guests that are in our target, that is. A friend of mine (in our target audience of 20-39) was commenting recently that he doesn’t read the paper, listen to the radio, or do some of the other traditional things that people of the Boomer generation do. So we’re looking for that magic combination of things that gets the attention and curiosity of the people we’re looking for.
The final request is that we be able to replace the salary we’ve lost due to the depletion of support funds. Please pray that financial support for LifeSpring comes soon. This is urgent.
We expect that 2007 will be a wonderful year of growth. We love the progress we see in our team of people, both as a community of friends and also as people who are grasping the importance and scope of what we are doing.
Please pray for us. Blessings to you in 2007.
About three weeks ago I resigned my post as moderator of Ordinary Attempts. I found out that if you want to have a top notch blog with a large readership and lots of commenting, you have to invest huge amounts of time developing that–time I didn’t have.
So I told the good folks at Off the Map that I was going to have to turn over the reins. December 22 was my last day as moderator of that site, and I must say that I feel unburdened in my new status of former moderator.
One of the benefits of the resignation is that I now have some time to give to this blog. Not that I’m going to pour lots of time here, but I will be able to make more regular contributions about what is happening at LifeSpring and Merced.
Unlike the last several months, you can now expect to see semi-regular postings here. I look forward to sharing our happenings with you.
Bev is getting a new window for Christmas. The family room of our house had a nasty slider that opened to the backyard. The track of the slider was corroded, and the aluminum frame was dull and tarnished.
Earlier this week Russell, the glass guy, came and installed the new window. And what a difference it made! Bev has floated around the house and is looking forward to finding a treatment, painting, and doing other decorating. Getting rid of the old slider was like exorcising the remnants of the former owners.
Having a lovely place to invite people is pleasant. Since moving to Merced our house has become Grand Central Station, and we’ve enjoyed the added entertaining room that it has given us.
Our daughter is coming next week, and she is going to be Bev’s decorating consultant. I plan to make myself scarce as they start to slap paint and rearrange rooms.
The window won’t make our home more hospitable. But it will be nicer to look at.
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