God has a kingdom and it's funded through tithes and offerings . That being the case, as leaders we better have a solid grasp and biblical understanding of what they are (and aren't). For an Old Testament Israelite, tithing was the returning of the first 10% of their gross income to God through their local church to fund God's work on this earth. Let me explain this definition piece by piece, making application along the way. 1. Tithing was returning, not giving. The tithe was recognized as … [Read more...]
Reward What You Want Repeated
I don't recall who taught it to me, but I've been living by "reward what you want repeated" for years now. As often as I can I reward a behavior I see one of my staff exhibiting that I would like them to keep doing. Here's just one example. Each time my staff find a way to save money, I give them 20% of the total savings to keep for themselves. I don't care if it's $10 or $10,000, they get 20% of whatever they save the church. And let me tell you, my staff finds ways to save our church money! … [Read more...]
How to Evaluate Requests for Financial Support
Awhile back I read a book called The Google Story by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed, where I learned something very interesting regarding what top investors look for when considering investing financially in a start up company. Ideas that solved real problems The potential to produce real profits Bright, passionate and capable founders When Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin needed to raise money so their new company could expand, the investor evaluated them by these three things. I … [Read more...]
How to Communicate Vision
Proverbs 29:18 says “Without a vision the people perish.” And I heard in a resource I listened to by Rick Warren that the number one responsibility of leadership is to continually clarify and communicate the vision of the organization, and that you will never see your vision become a reality unless you can communicate it to others. But how exactly does one communicate the vision? Well the book of Nehemiah has a lot to teach us about vision, specifically about how to communicate vision. Check … [Read more...]
Preparing a One Point Message
When preparing a one point message I use Andy Stanley's approach laid out in Communicating for a Change. Here's the five parts to cover in a one point message: The ME section. In the ME section of the message you share how you personally relate to the topic. The WE section. In the WE section of the message you share how the audience relates to the topic. In this section you want to pose a question your audience wants answered, create a tension they need resolved, or point to a mystery they … [Read more...]
Preparing an Expository Message
Here's an eight step process I created for developing and delivering an expository message: Decide. First, you prayerfully decide what passage you'll preach on. Dig. Second, you study (dig) like crazy! Discover. Third, you discover the big idea (what's this passage about in one sentence). Divide. Fourth, you divide the passage into points (when applicable). Develop. Fifth, you develop each point by explaining it, illustrating it, and then applying it. Detail. Sixth, you detail the sermon … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- …
- 28
- Next Page »