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Weekly Mind Dump 8.28.11 (Special Hurricane Edition)

• God gave me a great message to share, and after 4 weeks out of the pulpit, I was so excited to teach yesterday!
• I also have some good friends in town for the weekend that live in the Middle East, and I couldn't wait to introduce them to our church.
• Who could imagine that after moving from South Florida to CT, we would have to cancel our church service yesterday due to a hurricane?!?
• Fortunately, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm and didn't do much in our area (we never even lost power, though some surrounding us did and had basements flooded, etc.).
• Hurricane TV watching yesterday included such gems as my first viewing of Dog the Bounty Hunter and a rewatch of Josie and the Pussycats (the movie). -Remember Matthew 7:1!
• This past week I accepted an invitation to serve on the board of directors at my daughters' school. It is an honor and an irony considering I was sent to the principal's office so frequently when I was in school!
• It struck me this week that when a catastrophic event occurred people went through massive preparation so they would be alright with whatever happend and yet many of these same people have gone through zero preparation to be ready for eternity even though we all  face a certain and deadly personal storm someday.

Casting the Vision to your church's accounting department

(This post is an excerpt from "The Top 3 Accounting Mistakes Churches Make." Pastors and church leaders who work with the finances can get the full report for FREE here.)

I know this may seem weird. We tend to think of casting the vision as something we need to do to raise money, not to help those who manage the money we already have! But pastors, you must understand the heart and mind of your accountants here. They have been wired and trained to manage the resources they are entrusted with as efficiently as possible This means they have an eye to sniff out waste and trim the fat that they perceive in an organization. You want that!

My wife Rebecca has been called a pit-­‐bull with lipstick for her tenacity in areas like this! However, sometimes they will see things they have identified as wasteful and it creates a burden for them. Then when they do the right thing and share that with their pastor or manager, they find their concerns are simply dismissed. Often frustration is then amplified instead of buy­‐in being generated because a pastor or leader didn’t take the opportunity to cast vision.

For example let’s say money is tight and the accountant is upset because the church spent a substantial amount of money on muffins, bagels and coffee last year. A wise pastor would then point out how those hospitality items created opportunities for first-­time guests to stay and get connected and for regular attenders to stick around and experience fellowship opportunities with other believers after service, which resulted in numeric and relational growth in the church. Accountants need to bring you into their world, but you need to bring them into your world too.

(Get the rest of this report here.)

Weekly Mind Dump 8.14.11

• My staycation began on Friday...woo hoo!
• On Friday I watched the movie "Rio" with my girls. It is one of the most fun, not to mention gorgeously animated, kids' movies I have seen in awhile!
• This was a sad week of goodbyes.
• Some good friends and a core family at Calvary, the Leonards, are moving to Florida this week; we'll miss you guys tremendously!
• There were some even more bittersweet goodbyes as 2 friends graduated from earth to Heaven this week.
• Dr. Bob Beatty was one of my bible college instructors. He even made classes like hermeneutics and church history fun!
• Ray Ramos was a friend that was a great example and encouragement to me in my early Christian years. On Thursday afternoon I read a quote on Facebook he posted by Bono. Three hours later I learned he died of a heart attack. 
• I found myself thanking God more this week and hugging my family a little tighter and a littler longer.
• Since I had the Sunday off I visited my friend Michael Larkin's church, Catalyst in Middletown. They do an excellent job, and my family and I had a great time worshipping God with them today. (In keeping with the theme of the week; the message was about Heaven.)
• Michael went out of his way to welcome, honor, and thank us. We were very moved and excited that we could play a small in helping him and this great church get off the ground.
• I'm looking forward to hearing the message Nicholas taught at Calvary this morning. Even though I had a great time visiting another church, I really missed our church family!
• This week I am working on a top secret writing project this week...shhh. :)