quote
Posted by wagardner - 14/11/07 at 12:11:00 pm“The work we do is a reflection of who we are. If we’re sloppy at it, it’s because we’re sloppy inside. If we’re late at it, it’s because we’re late inside. If we’re bored by it, it’s because we’re bored inside, with ourselves, not with the work. The most menial work can be a piece of art when done by an artist. So the job here is not outside of ourselves, but inside of ourselves. How we do our work becomes a mirror of how we are inside.”
The E-Myth Revisited
I love the USA
Posted by wagardner - 14/11/07 at 01:11:00 amI know that this blog is usually about my readings but I also share videos etc that I come across. To tell the truth I can’t help but love things about the flag and patriotism.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZFkZiwMLZ4&rel=1&border=0]
What do you think
Posted by wagardner - 13/11/07 at 07:11:00 pm[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCMHmThV8tw&rel=1&border=0]
Area Independent Baptist Churches
Posted by wagardner - 12/11/07 at 10:11:00 pmControl or Accountability
Posted by wagardner - 12/11/07 at 03:11:00 pmI just noticed on Travis Snode’s blog that he mentioned an article on Control Freaks. I immediately went to read the article to check myself out. I never fare as well as I want but always need to be thinking about it. I enjoyed the article and invite you to go and read the article.
Notice that this idea of control keeps our churches to about 200 in attendance. I do not want that for my ministry and I know that you do not also. Read and let’s learn so that we can continue to grow.
Youth Ministry
Posted by wagardner - 12/11/07 at 05:11:00 amAt last June’s Founder’s Conference, Roy Hargrave delivered a powerful message that got me thinking about why so many churches lose their young people. (That wasn’t the theme of Dr. Hargrave’s message, but he brought up the subject in one of the points he made.)
Here’s a really brief summary of some of my thoughts on the matter:
The very strategies many churches adopt to try to keep their young people involved in the church are the main reasons they lose so many of them. The dominant philosophies of youth ministry today are spiritually lame or worseand almost completely counterproductive.
Specifically, it’s time we faced the fact that systematically dumbing down the teaching ministry and ramping up the party atmosphere while isolating our young people from the rest of the body is not a very good strategy for increasing the rate of retention among our youth.
Think about it: Youth ministries (not all of them, of course, but the vast majority of squidgy evangelical ones) deliberately shield their young people from the hard truths and strong demands of Jesus. They tailor their worship so worldly youth can feel as comfortable in the church environment as possible. They squander the best opportunities of those formative student years by minimizing spiritual instruction while emphasizing fun and games. They let their teens live with the false notions that believing in Christ is easy, sanctification is optional, and religion is supposed to be fun and always suited to our liking. They fail to equip their high school students for the rigorous defense of the faith they will need in college. They neglect to integrate them as young adults into the adult community of the church.
And then they wonder why so many young people abandon the church about the same time they leave home.
How hard can it really be to understand why the “Youth Specialties” approach to student ministry has been such an enormous failure?
Come home
Posted by wagardner - 10/11/07 at 03:11:00 pmAdoniram to his wife
Posted by wagardner - 09/11/07 at 11:11:00 pm“January 1, 1811. Tuesday Morning
It is with the utmost sincerity, and with my whole heart, that I wish you, my love, a happy new year. May it be a year in which your walk will be close with God; your frame calm and serene; and the road that leads you to the Lamb marked with purer light. May it be a year in which you will have more largely the spirit of Christ, be raised above sublunary things, and be willing to be disposed of in this world just as God shall please. As every moment of the year will bring you nearer the end of your pilgrimage, may it bring you nearer to God, and find you more prepared to hail the messenger of death as a deliverer and a friend. And now, since I have begun to wish, I will go on. May this be the year in which you will change your name; in which you will take a final leave of your relatives and native land; in which you will cross the wide ocean, and dwell on the other side of the world, among a heathen people. What a great change will this year probably effect in our lives! How very different will be our situation and employment! If our lives are preserved and our attempt prospered, we shall next new year’s day be in India, and perhaps wish each other a happy new year in the uncouth dialect of Hindostan or Burmah. We shall no more see our kind friends around us, or enjoy the conveniences of civilized life, or go to the house of God with those that keep holy day; but swarthy countenances will everywhere meet our eye, the jargon of an unknown tongue will assail our ears, and we shall witness the assembling of the heathen to celebrate the worship of idol gods. We shall be weary of the world, and wish for wings like a dove, that we may fly away and be at rest. We shall probably experience seasons when we shall be ‘exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. We shall see many dreary, disconsolate hours, and feel a sinking of spirits, anguish of mind, of which now we can form little conception. O, we shall wish to lie down and die. And that time may soon come. One of us may be unable to sustain the heat of the climate and the change of habits; and the other may say, with literal truth, over the grave–
‘By foreign hands thy dying eyes were closed;
By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed;
By foreign hands thy humble grave adorned;’
but whether we shall be honored and mourned by strangers, God only knows. At least, either of us will be certain of one mourner. In view of such scenes shall we not pray with earnestness ‘O for an overcoming faith,’ etc.?”
Mr Judson asks for his wife’s hand in marriage
Posted by wagardner - 09/11/07 at 11:11:00 pmI have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world ? whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death? Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?
Death of a podcast
Posted by wagardner - 08/11/07 at 03:11:00 pmTony Morgan, over at his blog, discussed the end of Yahoo! podcasts a while back. The service shut down, and it begs the question: Is podcast listenership in decline? He lists a few barriers to the success of podcasts:
You can’t scan through a podcast to find the good stuff.
It’s tough to carve out time to listen to podcasts.
Other things like videos and reading sound more fun than listening to someone talk.
Podcast quality often stinks.
They don’t lend themselves to viral distribution.
Why in the heck does this matter to church marketing, you might ask. Well, podcasts for weekly sermons are integral parts of many churches. Some churches even podcast more than just weekly messages. We have to ask ourselves if this form of media is something we should continue to pursue, and if so, how should we improve the state of the podcast?
I see two potential “Save The Podcasts” schools of thought here. Firstly, you might think that podcasts are fine how they are. They were all the rage for awhile as people were testing them out, and now they’re settling down to only those looking for serious depth and theological meat through technology. Secondly, you might think that podcasts just need a little makeover. The most popular podcasts sit around ten minutes in length and are well-produced. Let’s look at these two briefly.
Podcasts are fine how they are.
In a world of blogs, bits, slogans, phrases and quips, they are a defender of the theological and the deep. The workhorses of the technological industry. There’s obviously a market for deeply satisfying podcast material. I’ve met folks who like to run to the sound of solid exegesis or like to be spiritually satisfied on their long drive to work. This can give your church appeal beyond just the community and can be so important for edification of believers. Maybe if you don’t think podcasts are worth your breath, you should at least consider these people.
Podcasts just need a little makeover.
In a world of blogs, bits, slogans, phrases and quips, they are the the technology that showed up to the race without shoes. Churches ought to podcast straight and to the point–maybe sermon highlights, inspirational thoughts or news and updates from the staff. There’s people out there who get a little squeamish at the idea of a 45-minute sermon (cheers to you, Kevin), and we need to give these individuals a gateway to our churches. Let’s not forget about these people, either.
So maybe one or the other podcast is especially effective for your audience. Maybe both would be best. Or heck, maybe podcasts are dead and neither one is worth a second look. Either way, as podcasts get older (relatively speaking, of course), it’s time to ask ourselves again how we’ll be using this technology.
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