Surface To Soul

Today is my youngest son’s 11th birthday. As our family celebrates the gift he’s been to our family, I’m reminded of the 10 things I hope I do as a father.

1. Tell my 2 boys daily that I love them, am proud of them, and that they’re loved unconditionally by God.
2. Spend time with them doing the things they love and value and to see life through their eyes.
3. Help them see life through the eyes of Jesus and to find ways to be a blessing to others every day.
4. Remind them that they can make a difference in the lives of others through their words and actions, and through their time, talents and treasures.
5. Create meaningful moments with them that they’ll cherish for the rest of their lives.
6. Pray for them daily and teach them to pray often and to be aware of God’s presence in their life.
7. Show them how to love and respect women by modeling a loving relationship with my wife.
8. Teach them to be curious about life, see life as an adventure and view every experience as a learning opportunity.
9. Acknowledge my fears and regrets, reminding them that it’s okay to be vulnerable, to make mistakes. They’re sufficient “as is” and do not have to apologize for who God made them to be.
10. Teach them how to live fully each day – to be fully present, always grateful and with a sense of wonder.

What are your hopes for your children? I value your insights.

My dad and I had a favorite fishing hole where we could almost always catch our limit of fish. I remember a time when we took the boat out to this location and we immediately caught several fish. Action tapered off quickly though which hadn’t happened before. Then I realized that I had never thrown out the anchor.

This memory reminds me that congregations must continuously pay attention to their mission, vision and values in order to avoid suffering from mission drift. Some congregations I work with that have remained mission-driven seem to do several of the items below:

1. State their mission, vision and/or values as part of each worship experience.
2. Recite their mission, vision and values at staff and leadership team meetings.
3. Regularly evaluate programs, meetings and activities in light of the mission, vision and values.
4. Create annual reports and presentations that focus on the fulfilling the mission, vision and values.
5. Write newsletter articles and website content that reflects the mission, vision and values.
6. Regularly share stories about members who help fulfill its mission, vision and values.

A pastor recently shared, “We assumed that our members knew what we were about and what anchored our words and actions, but we quickly found out that it was not the case.” Would your members be able to recite your mission? vision? values?  Would you be able to do so?

Some congregations create a “Soul Script” that summarizes what they want members (and leaders in particular) to know and pay attention to.  What causes your congregation to drift from its primary mission?  What might you do to ensure that your congregation is sufficiently anchored?

I was brainstorming with some leaders recently about what they were hearing as to why visitors weren’t coming to their congregation, or why they weren’t bothering to return. Listed below is the “Top 10″ of a rather lengthy list.
1. A website that’s outdated, boring and not user-friendly.
2. Signage, internal and external, that’s inadequate.
3. Members that fail to greet guests and engage them in conversation.
4. Asking guests to stand during worship to be recognized.
5. Lack of user-friendly worship bulletins (hard to follow the service)
6. Hymns/songs they had a hard time singing.
7. Sermons/messages that left them grasping how to apply it to their setting.
8. Uncomfortableness around communion (Am I welcome?).
9. Nobody invited them to hospitality time.
10. Members seemed oblivious to their presence.

I’m curious about what you’ve seen prevent people from experiencing extravagant hospitality and what you’re currently doing make your homes and congregations welcoming environments.  Download the Hospitality Toolkit for ideas about how to enhance hospitality  in your setting.

In the spring edition of the Lifelong Faith Journal, there’s an article by Linda Staats about the Generosity Project that explains how important the practice of generosity is to the daily expression of our faith. She suggests that the faith practice of generosity is best formed in households, with the support of the congregation and all generations. She reminds us that, as Christians, our lives, identity and decisions are shaped by God’s Story in Jesus. I hope that you will take a few minutes to download the Spring Edition of the Lifelong Faith Journal and learn how congregations can equip individuals and households, so all may grow in their capacity to recognize and respond to God’s abundant grace. You may download the Lifelong Faith Journal at lifelongfaith.com.
Please share ways that you are encouraging households to talk about generosity and issues of stewardship.  What might do in the future to demonstrate the practice of generosity for individuals and households?

At VFM, we often encourage people to take “shuffle steps towards transformation” – small, consistent steps toward desired outcomes.  This typically shows up when the people we coach set and achieve daily, weekly, and monthly goals.  The coaching approach to spiritual vitality becomes transformative when other paid and volunteer staff also begin setting goals (usually 30-day) that are REVIEWED regularly. Leaders are encouraged to REFLECT on what we’re learning in the process of setting and achieving goals, leading to even better results in the future. As leaders REFOCUS their efforts on new goals, the coach helps people identify what RESOURCES are needed to achieve their goals along with identifying where these resources will come from.

For more information on this process, please read the article, “A Coaching Approach to Spiritual Vitality.”

I’m an avid book reader and am a sponge for new ideas.  I believe that leaders are learners and need ongoing dialogue with other leaders and as well as new insights from books and resources. I’m curious what you’ve been learning lately and what books, experiences and conversations you’ve had that stretched your thinking and challenged your assumptions.  Listed below is my most current listing of recommended resources.  Please share what resources you’ve found helpful related to learning to lead, practice faith and fulfill one’s vocation.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rx89entalbc1j8s/RecommendedResources_130331.pdf