Weekly Devo Thought Wk 3-4

GCI's annual youth event - War Cry is coming up July 6-10 and you can still walk up and register at Liberty University. This has been a unique event in that we are developing a band that represents what I believe is close to the heart of God - all peoples, tribes, nations, and tongues. With that in mind, we have put together a band to represent all different musical styles and tastes. When we come together and use our unity we get exponential results. Scripture speaks of the power of unity in the body and that is what he hope to accomplish, musically. It should go without saying that the enemy would love nothing more than to see this endeavor fall flat on it's face, so I covet your prayers over the band and the upcoming trip.

Remember to do what you do and do it well, but also make room for other expressions. More to follow - peace.

Devotional Wk. 1-2

Hello, gang. You know how we like to talk about the Sovereignty of God until it comes time to actually put it to the test? Well, I am in that place right now. I sit in a hotel room in Atlanta, GA facing the biggest audition of my life a scant few hours away and I have my doubts. At the end of the day, though, doesn't it say in Matthew 6 that "or how can you, by worrying, add one length to hair on your head? Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring enough trouble of it's own." (I paraphrased). Now, this doesn't mean I haven't done a little prep work, but it's nice to know that He is the Creator of the Universe and He has His best plan mapped out for me. So if I do well, He gets glory. If I don't, then He has some other way to glorify Himself. So nice to know that all I have to do is love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and then just relax and enjoy the ride. Wonder if He has Hollywood in my future? Chat it up - let's hear how you appreciate and apply the Sovereignty of God.......

New Small Group Cycle

Welcome to the weekly devotional thought small group at Manna Church. Would love to know who is following and who will be contributing this time around - let's sound off in the comments section - name and how you found us.

Direction

This will become the Weekly Devotional Thought blog in the Manna Church summer small group cycle and my christophermfletcher.wordpress.com blog will be my personal blog.  Don't get confused. 

Pace

Ideas are good.  Creativity is great.  I think that each of has more creativity than we give ourselves credit for AND we could use more of YOUR ideas.  But if you don't have time to think about the next best thing, you won't ever have these great ideas.  The trouble lies in your pace.  If you only have enough time in the day/week to get the pressing things done, then maybe you are doing too much.  If you never have time to crack open a book, or sit at your desk for 10 minutes and try to figure out how to do this job better/faster/stronger, then your pace is too fast.  Acknowledging that I am right will do little to solve the problem, either.  I know I am right, and you know that I'm right.  It is going to take the woman or man with enough guts to force themselves to start thinking past today and stop just doing the same things over and over again.  Try new stuff.  Fail at it - even.  The best ideas seem to come after a lot of other mediocre ideas have been tried and flushed.  Why not slow down and try something new?

It is my job......

Good customer service training teaches you to respond to a problem by assuming that it is your job to fix that problem for your customer. Sometimes, this means that you solve the problem yourself. Other times, you direct the customer to the person who can solve their problem. Take note - if you presume that it is your job, be careful to solve the person's problem the first time. If you cannot adequately solve the issue, best to not attempt and fail, but put the person through to someone with the knowledge to solve the issue. Example - I had to update the data plan on my iPhone by calling my service provider. As a member of a corporate account, I have to have the password and social security number on the account in order to authorize changes. I spoke with a customer service provider who asked for the prompts and I informed him that I did not have the information that he needed. He stated that he saw the problem, it was a simple fix and he felt "it was his job to correct the issue." Trouble is, he didn't have the technical know-how to fix the problem the first time. His "simple change" lead to a snowball effect that rendered my phone useless for a 12 hour period. The following morning, I re-contacted my service provider and ran into a lady who stuck with the party line "I am sorry sir, but without the necessary information, I cannot confirm that there is a problem with your phone, nor advise you on how to fix it." This is AFTER a 45 minute wait, mind you. Lesson learned? Of course. Presume it is your job, but take care that you consider the ramifications of your decision. If you are not informed, best to direct the person to knowledgeable party. Had the first customer service provider simply informed his supervisor and appealed on my behalf, I would have left the short conversation with positive feelings toward this service provider. As it stands, I am more annoyed than anything.

If it ain't broke.......

You know the end - "don't fix it." I think this phrase is one of the worst that I have ever heard. Does it have merit? Sure, in some cases, but not in most. Think about it - if the event that we did last year wasn't broken, why fix it? If the outreach wasn't broken last year, why fix it? If we adopt this as our mantra, what changes?

Sadly, due to pace, a lot of churches adopt this as our party line. "Well, we are busy getting ready for the next thing, so I'll do EXACTLY what I did last year." BUT....... we want to make sure that we have a flashy design and that we inform the church body "better than last time." And we think that this will solve our problem and wonder why attendance at said events stagnates/declines. If I slap a new design and label on an old and stale cookie, who is going to eat the thing? Why would you do things exactly the same? Think on it - do less, do it better, and think about marketing AFTER you have a killer product.