Too often as churches, our focus is on making violins. I wonder what would happen if we lived in the world of the violinist and considered how they would play the instrument. Check out this short video telling the story of violin maker Sam Zygmuntowicz.

What is the biblical evidence for Jesus resurrection?

1. Jesus predicted his resurrection
   Matt. 12:38–40; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34; John 2:18–22
2.  Jesus died on the cross
   Matt. 27:45-54; Mark 15:33-39; Luke 23:44-48; John 19:28-42
3. Jesus was buried in a tomb that was easy to find
   Matt. 27:57–60
4. Jesus appeared physically alive three days after his death
   John 20:17; John 20:20–28; Luke 24:36–43
5. Jesus’ resurrection was recorded as Scripture shortly after it occurred
   1 Cor. 15:3–4
6. Jesus’ resurrection convinced his family to worship him as God
   Acts 1:14; 12:17; 15:12–21; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7, Gal. 2:9; Jm. 1:1; Jude 
7. Jesus’ resurrection was confirmed by his most bitter enemies, like Paul                                            Acts 7:54–60; Acts 9; Phil. 3:4–6

Jesus Paid it all - OH YES!

A great article by Rick Warren: Organising your Church on Purpose and Giftedness

Organize Your Church on Purpose and Giftedness

Structure doesn’t cause growth; the structure of your church determines how fast you’ll grow and the size to which you’ll grow. There is no clear organizational structure in the New Testament, and I think God did that intentionally so the Church can adapt to different stages, ages, and cultures. God gives us broad principles and not narrow rules. There is no perfect structure.
As we study Scripture, we learn two general principles about organizing and structuring for growth. First, God wants us to organize around the purposes for which he created the Church. And, second, God wants us to organize around the gifts of our members. Purpose and giftedness determine how you should organize your church.

Here are some advantages to a simple, gift-based structure:

It focuses the church on ministry, not maintenance. When organization is emphasized, ministry becomes the focus. I heard about a grease factory that, as it became more and more successful, had to build more machinery to produce the grease. But, they also had to use more of the grease on the machinery they were adding. Pretty soon, they closed the marketing department because all the grease was being used on their own machinery.

If you streamline your structure, then you can maximize ministry and minimize maintenance. If you cut out about half of your meetings, your church would be more effective. I noticed the other day that my peach tree is covered in peaches; in fact, there might be 50 small peaches blooming on one branch. This week, I’m going to have to go out and remove about half of them. If you want big fruit, you have to get rid of about half of what you already have. That’s true in ministry, too: You have to focus if you want big results.

It makes better use of talent. I remember many years ago when we were looking for land for Saddleback Church, I asked people who had a background in real estate or development to show up at my office the next night. There were 14 guys who showed up, and I didn’t know half of them. They went around the room, introduced themselves, and said why they should be on the task force. The first guy said, “My name’s Tom, and I buy all the sites for Kmart.” You’re in, Tom. The next guy says, “Last year I did $91 million in land acquisition.” You’re in. Next guy: “I’m vice president of First Interstate Bank.” You’re in.
All the guys were highly qualified — far more than me. I said, “I believe God wants us to have 50 acres of land for our church; your task is to go find it. God bless you. Meeting dismissed.” That’s what you call liberating the members for ministry. I’ve had this philosophy for more than 30 years, and Saddleback has gone far beyond what I could do because I released people to do what they are good at doing.
The more successful a person becomes, the more impatient they will become with meaningless meetings. The last thing you want to do is put a go-getter on the flower committee. Committees discuss what they want other people to do; ministries just do it.

It builds morale. Why? Because ministry is more fulfilling than maintenance.

It allows spontaneous growth. If someone has a burden for ministry, then they can start it. We call this the “You’re It” principle. I can’t tell you how many people come to me and say, “Pastor, what the church needs is …” My job is to release and equip the saints for ministry. When people see something missing in your church, they’re often revealing their giftedness. Don’t treat it as a criticism; realize that they are revealing their passion.
In 1992, a young guy named Shane came to me and said, “This Internet thing is really going to take off, and the Church isn’t doing anything about it.” He wrote a three-page, critical letter about how we weren’t getting anything done. So, I hired him. As a result, Saddleback was the first church in the world on the Internet. Instead of getting defensive, I said, “Take it. Run with it.”
Don’t go around popping bubbles all the time. I’d rather someone try and then learn that it can’t be done than for me to tell them that it can’t be done. And, it may be that they are finally the right person for the ministry that has failed in the past.

Sometimes we start ministries from sermons. One time I did a message on how we need to care for one another. I thought, “We should start calling people just to see how they’re doing.” And I said, “I’m going to start a ministry right now called ‘Care Callers.’ If you like to talk on the phone and want to go through the directory and call people up and ask for prayer requests on my behalf, then please sign up on a card.” We didn’t do any long-range planning, but we started a valuable ministry.

It promotes growth. Structure will be as creative as you allow it to be. If you allow people to expand and stretch, then you’re going to have a creative church. But if you have bureaucracy — “We’ve always done it this way” — then creative people are going to leave your church. They’ll go find a place where they’re allowed to blossom.

It allows more efficient decision-making. Have you ever seen a church waste time on a trivial decision? Often, the more trivial the decision, the more time it takes to resolve the issue. In congregational meetings in small churches, decisions are often based on the popularity of the speaker. Also, the smaller the church, the more power the most negative person has. Many churches operate by management objection. The most negative person in the church is allowed to kill an idea.

A simple structure is more stable. The more complicated a structure is, the easier it is to break. How do you simplify your structure?

• Reduce the number of meetings you have in your church.
• Reduce the number of items you vote on.
• Release ministries to make their own decisions.
• Let your budget determine your priorities. The way you spend your time and your money determines what’s important in your church.

HOW TO HANDLE BAD NEWS

I appreciated being sent this today by a good friend and assured my heart that The Lord hears, knows and is with us in the challenges in life we face.
Hezekiah...spread it before the Lord. 2 Kings 19:14
The Bible says: 'Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: 'O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone...have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see...save us...that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone' (vv. 15-19 NKJV). Hezekiah was in a hopeless situation. An army of 185,000 soldiers was amassed against him, planning to destroy him. But in answer to prayer, God sent an angel to wipe every one of them out. Sometimes bad news comes in the form of a letter, an e-mail or a telephone call. It can come as the sound of screeching tires and broken glass, a lump in your breast, a court date, or a pink slip at work. Bad news knows no class lines, gender or age. It comes to us all.  So what should you do when you have a problem you can't resolve and can't escape? Do what Hezekiah did: take it to the Lord in prayer. Spread it out before Him. But go to Him first, not last. When you do that you honour Him as 'Lord' of the situation and He will respond to you. God's promise is: 'He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him' (Ps 91:15).

An Amazing Story

7 questions that help you get unstuck

Read an excellent artilce today by Tony Morgan - Enjoy!
 

Feeling stuck? Here are the key questions you need to answer to help you get from here to there.

1. Where are we going? This is the vision question. You can’t get unstuck until you know where you want to be. If we don’t answer this question, we tend to stay mired in our current circumstances.
2. Why are we going there? This is the values question. The values and principles behind the “why” will provide the purpose and passion to pursue the vision.
3. Who will go with us? This is the people question. Who will be on the team? Who will take the lead? From my experience, “who” should always precede “how.”
4. How will we get there? This is the strategy question. Until you answer this question, you may have many people who buy into the vision but are left stuck guessing what to do.
5. What do we have available? This is the resources question. How much will it cost? How much time will we need? What physical space is required?
6. Did we make it there? This is the measures question. People and organizations who are stuck typically avoid answering this question honestly. They’re content to stay stuck or whine about their situation.
7. Where are we going next? This is the re-vision question. There are plenty of organizations who have previously experienced success and then failed to answer this question. They’re the one-hit wonders.

These questions can help individuals who feel like they’re stuck in life. They can help organizations who are stuck. They can help people who feel stuck in their relationships (dating, marriage, parenting, etc.).
If you don’t happen to be the boss, figure out what you can change within the freedoms you do have. Start there. Change what you can change.

And if you claim to be a leader, don’t blame your boss (or your wife or your kids or your coach…). It’s not going to help you to whine about your circumstances. Not only is it not very becoming, it also just reinforces your level of stuckness.

Which of these questions do you need to answer today?