We are launching a major new prayer emphasis in the New Year. We are calling it the Mission Mid-Atlantic Pastor's Prayer Network. Here are some of the details. Each month a brief email reminder will be sent to each pastor in the network asking for prayer requests.Their prayer requests will be kept in my prayer journal and I will diligently pray through the list each week. I will pray for everyone who shares their requests with me at jim@missionmid-atlantic.org. So, feel free to contact me at this email and I look forward to praying for you in the New Year. This is one way we at Mission Mid-Atlantic will make a difference for the Kingdom in 2010.
~ Jim
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Ten books that influenced my life in 2009
Here is a list of ten books that made an impact on my life in 2009 in no particular order.
~ Jim
- The Starfish and the Spider by Rod Beckstrom and Ori Brafman
- The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
- Joker One by Donovan Campbell
- The Apostle by Brad Thor
- Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp
- How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp
- Assaulting the Gates by Paul Borden
- A Second Resurrection by Bill Easum
- The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
- 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost
~ Jim
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Re:Light The Flame! 2010 Mission Mid-Atlantic Annual Conference
Transformational leadership nurtures relationships within the local church that enhance spiritual growth and ministry effectiveness, and it starts in the heart of the leader. God called us to lead through caring, teaching, modeling, networking and accountability, but the burdens of leadership too often extinguish the flames that drove us to ministry in the first place. Since many of us need help to reignite our God-given vision and passion for ministry, we invite you to join us for our 2010 Mission Mid-Atlantic Conference as Dr. Glenn E. Wagner, our Keynote Speaker, helps us to relight the flame of the Spirit-led life.
Date: April 23-24, 2010
Location: Grace Baptist Church, Lancaster, PA
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Glenn Wagner
Special Music: Robert and Joyce Hayes
Further information including registration, hotels and breakout sessions will be announced after the New Year. Put these dates on your calendar! Thanks!
~ Jim
Date: April 23-24, 2010
Location: Grace Baptist Church, Lancaster, PA
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Glenn Wagner
Special Music: Robert and Joyce Hayes
Further information including registration, hotels and breakout sessions will be announced after the New Year. Put these dates on your calendar! Thanks!
~ Jim
Monday, December 7, 2009
"I just went for bread!"
Last week, around supper time, I drove to a bakery a few miles from our home to purchase bread for dinner. Across the street from the bakery is a house owned by members of our congregation. As I looked at the house, which was unoccupied, I remembered a family in our church who needed a place to rent. I quickly placed a phone call to Lou Ann (my wife) which led to connecting the owners of the house with the family in need of a place to live. That connection resulted in an agreement to rent the house. And I just went out for bread!
We never know how God will use us on any given day. If I had not placed the phone call to Lou Ann, I would have missed the opportunity to serve this family in need, and the owners of the house may have missed the blessing of renting to this family. And I just went out for bread!
I want to be more intent to listen to God in the little things and open to opportunities to serve those in need. In the future, I will be more diligent to look for ways to connect those in need with the resources they need. Also, I will not minimize those seemingly insignificant opportunities because they often lead to even greater ways to serve others.
Finally, I will remember I didn't just go out for bread. I was led to an opportunity to serve a family in need. I am really glad I listened and that God used a trip to the bakery to make a divine connection!
~ Jim
We never know how God will use us on any given day. If I had not placed the phone call to Lou Ann, I would have missed the opportunity to serve this family in need, and the owners of the house may have missed the blessing of renting to this family. And I just went out for bread!
I want to be more intent to listen to God in the little things and open to opportunities to serve those in need. In the future, I will be more diligent to look for ways to connect those in need with the resources they need. Also, I will not minimize those seemingly insignificant opportunities because they often lead to even greater ways to serve others.
Finally, I will remember I didn't just go out for bread. I was led to an opportunity to serve a family in need. I am really glad I listened and that God used a trip to the bakery to make a divine connection!
~ Jim
Monday, November 30, 2009
Book Review of De-Railed, by Tim Irwin, PH.D.
I just completed reading De-Railed by Dr. Tim Irwin last night, and its effect upon me will be long-lasting. I am coming off an extended time of meetings and travel, and I am feeling stressed and stretched. Just ask my wife, Lou Ann! So, the arrival of this book in my mailbox from Thomas Nelson and Michael Hyatt was something my soul needed. Let me explain.
My work as Regional Executive Director of Mission Mid-Atlantic is primarily with pastors and churches. As I read the profiles of the de-railed leaders in Dr. Irwin’s book, I found myself applying the hard lessons to ministry settings and they fit more often than I liked to admit. Christian leaders also struggle with hubris and an entitlement mentality, and when a ministry succeeds leaders within the local church are also tempted to attribute the organization’s success to their own brilliance. This is why I meticulously read each profile, looking for lessons to pass along to our pastors. Few ministry leaders are fired because of fraudulent behavior. Instead, as is the case of De-Railed, most are let go due to failure of character.
I appreciated Dr. Irwin’s emphasis upon character over competence, and found that he argued his case in a slightly different manner than the one presented by Bill Thrall and Bruce McNichol in The Ascent of a Leader. They argue that the capacity ladder, which many leaders climb to positions of leadership, fails to keep them there, and they urge leaders to create relationships of trust and environments of grace to develop character. Irwin addresses character from a different point as he urges leaders to focus upon four character-rooted qualities (Authenticity, Self-management, Humility and Courage). He also offers an online assessment at http://www.derailedleader.com/. Complete the forty-eight questions and you will instantly receive your results with suggestions to address risk areas.
Irwin follows the profiles of six high-profile executives with a brief summary of the derailment process. Most ministry failures follow the five stages he outlined in De-Railed and begin with the same insight: Lack of self-awareness. The rest is sadly predictable. Throughout the rest of De-Railed, Irwin explores strategies to stay on the rails and to do so for a life-time.
I recently attended the Memorial Service for a Christian leader, and as I sat and listened to family and friends describe his impact in their lives, I wondered why so few leaders finish well. Dr. Irwin has helped me answer that question. Few Christian leaders finish well because they fail to practice self-awareness and put in place the metrics to guide them over the long haul. De-Railed, by Dr. Tim Irwin is a book every Christian leader will find helpful to maintain character and integrity over a life-time.
~Jim
My work as Regional Executive Director of Mission Mid-Atlantic is primarily with pastors and churches. As I read the profiles of the de-railed leaders in Dr. Irwin’s book, I found myself applying the hard lessons to ministry settings and they fit more often than I liked to admit. Christian leaders also struggle with hubris and an entitlement mentality, and when a ministry succeeds leaders within the local church are also tempted to attribute the organization’s success to their own brilliance. This is why I meticulously read each profile, looking for lessons to pass along to our pastors. Few ministry leaders are fired because of fraudulent behavior. Instead, as is the case of De-Railed, most are let go due to failure of character.
I appreciated Dr. Irwin’s emphasis upon character over competence, and found that he argued his case in a slightly different manner than the one presented by Bill Thrall and Bruce McNichol in The Ascent of a Leader. They argue that the capacity ladder, which many leaders climb to positions of leadership, fails to keep them there, and they urge leaders to create relationships of trust and environments of grace to develop character. Irwin addresses character from a different point as he urges leaders to focus upon four character-rooted qualities (Authenticity, Self-management, Humility and Courage). He also offers an online assessment at http://www.derailedleader.com/. Complete the forty-eight questions and you will instantly receive your results with suggestions to address risk areas.
Irwin follows the profiles of six high-profile executives with a brief summary of the derailment process. Most ministry failures follow the five stages he outlined in De-Railed and begin with the same insight: Lack of self-awareness. The rest is sadly predictable. Throughout the rest of De-Railed, Irwin explores strategies to stay on the rails and to do so for a life-time.
I recently attended the Memorial Service for a Christian leader, and as I sat and listened to family and friends describe his impact in their lives, I wondered why so few leaders finish well. Dr. Irwin has helped me answer that question. Few Christian leaders finish well because they fail to practice self-awareness and put in place the metrics to guide them over the long haul. De-Railed, by Dr. Tim Irwin is a book every Christian leader will find helpful to maintain character and integrity over a life-time.
~Jim
Friday, October 23, 2009
New Church Planting Display
Thanks to Ron Markloff for creating a new banner for our Mission Mid-Atlantic exhibit at the Church Planter's Conference at Liberty University next week. He and Thomas Loman will represent us at this conference. We are praying for some good contacts. Pray for safety as they travel to and from Liberty next week!
~ Jim
Monday, October 5, 2009
How To Follow Up With Visitors and Other Related Thoughts
Haven't posted in a few weeks due to a heavy travel schedule. However, here are some recent posts that I found helpful, and hopefully you will also.
Develop New Churches
One issue that church leaders struggle with is how to follow up first time visitors. Nelson Searcy has a well thought out strategy in this area. It includes a hand written note and a gas card! That's right. Learn more at the following link.
http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/blog/2009/09/30/how-to-follow-up-with-new-people/
Cultivate Church Leaders
Bill Easum has an interesting post over at his blog about the inherent problems with shared leadership in the local church. In fact, he is convinced that it doesn't work. Instead, he believes the leader needs to probe the following question. “How do I empower the congregation to share in the mission of the church?" You can read more of his thoughts in this area at this link.
Develop New Churches
One issue that church leaders struggle with is how to follow up first time visitors. Nelson Searcy has a well thought out strategy in this area. It includes a hand written note and a gas card! That's right. Learn more at the following link.
http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/blog/2009/09/30/how-to-follow-up-with-new-people/
Cultivate Church Leaders
Bill Easum has an interesting post over at his blog about the inherent problems with shared leadership in the local church. In fact, he is convinced that it doesn't work. Instead, he believes the leader needs to probe the following question. “How do I empower the congregation to share in the mission of the church?" You can read more of his thoughts in this area at this link.
http://www.billeasum.com/?p=201
Build Healthy Churches
It seems like everyone wants to make disciples, but too few are successful. Why is that? We can gather the best discipling materials out there, but fail at our most valiant efforts. Mike Anderson, at the Resurgence Blog, may be on to something when he states that the central issue in discipleship is the heart. You don't become a disciple until you deal with your heart issues. Read his brief but poignant statement here.
http://theresurgence.com/how-jesus-made-disciples-heart
Assisting Pastors and Churches in Crisis
I had the privilege of attending Certified Christian Conciliator Training at the Peacemaker Conference 2009. While there, we were introduced to Peacemaker Ministries newest resource called The Leadership Opportunity. This is an excellent resource that fills the need between leadership and conflict. I urge you to visit this link to learn more.
Good to be back and I ill add more posts this week. In the meantime, GIVE EM HEAVEN!
~ Jim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
