I was driving behind a white taxi in Lima yesterday. I noticed that the taxi driver had a Jesus fish hanging from his rear-view mirror. Very nice, I thought. A brother in the Lord. But then I noticed the rear bumper on the taxi. The rear bumper had a pair of identical stickers on it, each featuring a cartoon delinquent extending his middle finger and grabbing his crotch.
To paraphrase Fred Rogers from "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" fame: "Can you say 'Mixed messages?' I know you can!"
A Jesus fish, a raised middle finger, and a crotch grab. Yeah, that pretty much meets the definition of a mixed message.
Are you sending out any mixed messages in your ministry? Perhaps you think that people only see the "Jesus fish" side of your ministry - the good-and-worthy spiritual side - but are you doing anything else that may be sending out a mixed message to your community? You may not be raising your middle finger or grabbing your crotch - at least I hope you're not! - but maybe there's a bad association that you're a part of, or maybe your ministry doesn't have as positive a street rep as it should, or maybe the people involved in your ministry come across as cold, indifferent, uncaring, condescending, arrogant, or holier-than-thou in the community.
You may have the greatest ministerial vision in the whole world, but if the vision is being trampled by a bad or mixed message, then you'll never accomplish it. Make sure your vision and message are on the same track. Make sure that when people view your ministry, they see the Jesus fish, and only the Jesus fish, and nothing else.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Law & Sausage
There's an old saying in the USA, particularly popular among lawyers and butchers (no jokes about how they're one in the same!), and it goes like this: "If you like law or sausage, don't watch either one being made."
I've worked as a lawyer and I've visited various slaughterhouses. I've watched both law and sausage being made. The old saying is a true one. It can be a very messy process to watch either law or sausage being made, but we generally like the end product.
I've decided that ministry is the same way, too, particularly after our Mary/Martha time last weekend. After the Sunday services were over, several people came up to me and told me how much they had enjoyed the music, the teaching, the Christmas decorations, etc. They had no idea how much sweat equity had gone into putting it all together early on Sunday morning. They didn't see the "messiness" that went into "making" the Sunday services, but they did like the end product. A lot. Just like law or sausage.
It's probably unlikely that you will ever fully avoid Mary/Martha moments in your ministry. It's probably unlikely that you will ever fully avoid law/sausage moments in your ministry. But even as you wallow in the messiness of it all, remember that there are still a lot of people who are going to enjoy, and be blessed by, your end product.
I've worked as a lawyer and I've visited various slaughterhouses. I've watched both law and sausage being made. The old saying is a true one. It can be a very messy process to watch either law or sausage being made, but we generally like the end product.
I've decided that ministry is the same way, too, particularly after our Mary/Martha time last weekend. After the Sunday services were over, several people came up to me and told me how much they had enjoyed the music, the teaching, the Christmas decorations, etc. They had no idea how much sweat equity had gone into putting it all together early on Sunday morning. They didn't see the "messiness" that went into "making" the Sunday services, but they did like the end product. A lot. Just like law or sausage.
It's probably unlikely that you will ever fully avoid Mary/Martha moments in your ministry. It's probably unlikely that you will ever fully avoid law/sausage moments in your ministry. But even as you wallow in the messiness of it all, remember that there are still a lot of people who are going to enjoy, and be blessed by, your end product.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Mary & Martha
We started our Christmas series at FRC-Lima on Sunday, called www.TheGiftRevolution.com. It's a big series and it's a big vision that we have to change the world in 25 days, by committing random acts of kindness for strangers and having them pay it forward, and yesterday was the kick-off in Lima, Peru.
Yesterday reminded me a little bit of an Opening Night on Broadway. We arrived at the cinema at 7:00 AM, loaded with lots of extra stage decorations, including gift-wrapped boxes, Christmas trees, Christmas lights, brightly-colored stars and peace signs, among others, and we raced around for two hours to get everything set up, plus have a special time of prayer and Communion with our leaders, plus do a final music practice, plus check and re-check all of the audio and video, etc., etc., etc. The time flew by, almost too fast.
Frankly, there were moments when it got very hectic, as we raced against the clock to have everything ready before we opened the doors for the first service, and of course we were fighting against last-minute snafus and technical difficulties. I could feel frustration creeping into my bones as the time got short and the hour grew late.
At that same moment, all of a sudden I heard the names of two people being whispered into my soul: "Mary and Martha."
And then I got a nudge from the Holy Spirit: "Be like Mary, not like Martha."
You're probably familiar with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. They were two sisters who were hosting Jesus at their home in Bethany one day. Martha spent all of her time involved in the preparations for Jesus' visit, while Mary sat at his feet and listened to everything that he said. Martha got mad, and told Jesus to tell Mary to lend a hand in the kitchen. Jesus told Martha that Mary had it right, and that Mary had chosen to do what was better.
I was more Martha than Mary yesterday.
It's very easy to get that way in ministry.
Everyone reading this blog post wants to excel in service and execution, but the risk that we run as ministers is that we fall into the trap of focusing solely on execution, and not at all on worship and adoration. That's the trap that we were falling into yesterday.
Obviously our adoration for Jesus Christ should lead us all to serve Him and to serve this world - that's a large part of what our Christmas series is all about - but we also must make sure that such service and execution is properly balanced, and should never be done at the expense of worship and adoration. It's easy to get distracted by total preparation and execution, and we have to guard against allowing our God-honoring priorities to get out of whack. We can never forget that, even as ministry leaders, we must never miss the opportunity to just sit at Jesus' feet and listen to his words for us.
Be more like Mary. Be less like Martha.
Yesterday reminded me a little bit of an Opening Night on Broadway. We arrived at the cinema at 7:00 AM, loaded with lots of extra stage decorations, including gift-wrapped boxes, Christmas trees, Christmas lights, brightly-colored stars and peace signs, among others, and we raced around for two hours to get everything set up, plus have a special time of prayer and Communion with our leaders, plus do a final music practice, plus check and re-check all of the audio and video, etc., etc., etc. The time flew by, almost too fast.
Frankly, there were moments when it got very hectic, as we raced against the clock to have everything ready before we opened the doors for the first service, and of course we were fighting against last-minute snafus and technical difficulties. I could feel frustration creeping into my bones as the time got short and the hour grew late.
At that same moment, all of a sudden I heard the names of two people being whispered into my soul: "Mary and Martha."
And then I got a nudge from the Holy Spirit: "Be like Mary, not like Martha."
You're probably familiar with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. They were two sisters who were hosting Jesus at their home in Bethany one day. Martha spent all of her time involved in the preparations for Jesus' visit, while Mary sat at his feet and listened to everything that he said. Martha got mad, and told Jesus to tell Mary to lend a hand in the kitchen. Jesus told Martha that Mary had it right, and that Mary had chosen to do what was better.
I was more Martha than Mary yesterday.
It's very easy to get that way in ministry.
Everyone reading this blog post wants to excel in service and execution, but the risk that we run as ministers is that we fall into the trap of focusing solely on execution, and not at all on worship and adoration. That's the trap that we were falling into yesterday.
Obviously our adoration for Jesus Christ should lead us all to serve Him and to serve this world - that's a large part of what our Christmas series is all about - but we also must make sure that such service and execution is properly balanced, and should never be done at the expense of worship and adoration. It's easy to get distracted by total preparation and execution, and we have to guard against allowing our God-honoring priorities to get out of whack. We can never forget that, even as ministry leaders, we must never miss the opportunity to just sit at Jesus' feet and listen to his words for us.
Be more like Mary. Be less like Martha.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Gift Revolution
One of the ways that we are getting intentionally international at Flamingo Road Church is through our Christmas series, which encourages people to commit random acts of kindness for strangers, with the intention that the gift recipients then do the same for someone else. It has already become viral all around the world. For more information, check out our website at www.TheGiftRevolution.com, and join the revolution!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
YouTube
YouTube is slowly taking over the world. Videos from every corner of the planet are on the website. US President-elect Obama used it very successfully to get his message across during the presidential election.
You, too, can leverage YouTube for more growth and impact in your international ministry. Simply film whatever ministry or project you are involved in, and then go online to www.youtube.com and follow the simple instructions about how to upload your video. Within a few hours, your video will be available for all the Internet world to see!
If you search for "Flamingo Road Church" on YouTube, you'll find several of our FRC-Lima videos, filmed all over Peru. There are videos of our baptisms in the Pacific Ocean and in the Amazon River, as well as videos of our various service projects in the shantytown of Pachacutec, in the girls' orphanage in La Victoria, and in the Amazon jungle with the Yagua native tribe, among others. More than 20,000 people have viewed our various videos on YouTube. Some of the viewers have left comments. Some of the comments are good. Some are not. Some of the comments are down right nasty! Some folks delete the negative comments, but we don't. We welcome them, because at least it initiates the dialogue, and that's something we're not afraid of. As well, here at FRC-Lima, we're firm believers in the deep-rooted theological doctrine that says, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."
(I can't quite locate that in my Bible, though. Maybe it's in one of the more contemporary versions.)
You, too, can leverage YouTube for more growth and impact in your international ministry. Simply film whatever ministry or project you are involved in, and then go online to www.youtube.com and follow the simple instructions about how to upload your video. Within a few hours, your video will be available for all the Internet world to see!
If you search for "Flamingo Road Church" on YouTube, you'll find several of our FRC-Lima videos, filmed all over Peru. There are videos of our baptisms in the Pacific Ocean and in the Amazon River, as well as videos of our various service projects in the shantytown of Pachacutec, in the girls' orphanage in La Victoria, and in the Amazon jungle with the Yagua native tribe, among others. More than 20,000 people have viewed our various videos on YouTube. Some of the viewers have left comments. Some of the comments are good. Some are not. Some of the comments are down right nasty! Some folks delete the negative comments, but we don't. We welcome them, because at least it initiates the dialogue, and that's something we're not afraid of. As well, here at FRC-Lima, we're firm believers in the deep-rooted theological doctrine that says, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."
(I can't quite locate that in my Bible, though. Maybe it's in one of the more contemporary versions.)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Little Miss Sunshine
Dorcas and I were at a print shop in Lima yesterday, trying to have some special promotional cards printed up for our big Christmas series that starts this Sunday.
It was a very frustrating experience.
From the moment we entered the print shop until the moment we left, the young woman at the counter did everything that she could to discourage the sale.
She told us about 100 different times and in about 100 different ways how they couldn't print the promo cards for us. The stock was too heavy. The stock was too glossy. The lettering was not clear enough. There were pixel problems. Her boss was at lunch. So was his assistant. The proof couldn't possibly be done for another day or so. There was no way in the world that they could guarantee that we'd have the cards before Sunday. Etc., etc., etc.
It was a mind-boggling performance!
There we were, trying to hand over a small chunk of the church's money to the young woman in return for a few promo cards, and she was doing all that she could to stuff the money right back in our pockets!
Maybe the young woman was just having a bad day, or maybe she had received some bad news, or was dealing with a bad personal situation, but her customer service skills were among the worst I've ever seen, anywhere in the world.
We even tried to help her out by showing her how it all could be accomplished, and easily so, but all she kept doing was shaking her head and saying no.
Wow.
Her attitude was the pits. Her attitude was costing her employer a lot of money, too.
I wonder how often we are guilty of the same thing.
International ministry is not for the faint of heart. It's filled with roadblocks and potholes, and even James Bond might be fighting against you (read yesterday's "007" blog post for more info). The enemy is going to keep banging you over the head, and trying to get you to throw in the towel, or at least trying to get you to become less effective in your ministry because of a bad attitude.
Charles Swindoll has said, "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life ... The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it ... We are in charge of our attitudes."
What has happened to you today? How have you reacted to it? How has your attitude impacted your international ministry today, in either a positive or a negative way?
It was a very frustrating experience.
From the moment we entered the print shop until the moment we left, the young woman at the counter did everything that she could to discourage the sale.
She told us about 100 different times and in about 100 different ways how they couldn't print the promo cards for us. The stock was too heavy. The stock was too glossy. The lettering was not clear enough. There were pixel problems. Her boss was at lunch. So was his assistant. The proof couldn't possibly be done for another day or so. There was no way in the world that they could guarantee that we'd have the cards before Sunday. Etc., etc., etc.
It was a mind-boggling performance!
There we were, trying to hand over a small chunk of the church's money to the young woman in return for a few promo cards, and she was doing all that she could to stuff the money right back in our pockets!
Maybe the young woman was just having a bad day, or maybe she had received some bad news, or was dealing with a bad personal situation, but her customer service skills were among the worst I've ever seen, anywhere in the world.
We even tried to help her out by showing her how it all could be accomplished, and easily so, but all she kept doing was shaking her head and saying no.
Wow.
Her attitude was the pits. Her attitude was costing her employer a lot of money, too.
I wonder how often we are guilty of the same thing.
International ministry is not for the faint of heart. It's filled with roadblocks and potholes, and even James Bond might be fighting against you (read yesterday's "007" blog post for more info). The enemy is going to keep banging you over the head, and trying to get you to throw in the towel, or at least trying to get you to become less effective in your ministry because of a bad attitude.
Charles Swindoll has said, "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life ... The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it ... We are in charge of our attitudes."
What has happened to you today? How have you reacted to it? How has your attitude impacted your international ministry today, in either a positive or a negative way?
Monday, December 1, 2008
007
James Bond was our enemy at the cinema on Sunday morning!
At the last minute, cinema management decided to schedule a corporate screening of the new James Bond film in Cinema 5, which is the cinema that we normally use for our pre-school and children's ministry on Sunday mornings. So we had to scramble big-time. All of our set-up and pre-school and children's ministry leaders and volunteers had to hustle to move everything at break-neck speed from Cinema 5 to Cinema 7.
Or maybe I should say from Cinema 005 to Cinema 007.
It was a pain and a hassle - it's not like Sunday mornings before the services aren't busy enough! - but in the end our troops pulled it off in fine fashion, and all the FRC-Lima kids had a great time.
Flexibility is the key, my friends.
International ministry is going to keep you hopping, and if your neck of the international woods is anything like Peru, then that's also going to mean a lot of last minute switcheroos and late-breaking curveballs.
Don't bail out of the batter's box. Stay focused on your goal and vision. Smack down all of the distractions and last-minute problems that the enemy is going to throw at you.
Even when they involve James Bond!
At the last minute, cinema management decided to schedule a corporate screening of the new James Bond film in Cinema 5, which is the cinema that we normally use for our pre-school and children's ministry on Sunday mornings. So we had to scramble big-time. All of our set-up and pre-school and children's ministry leaders and volunteers had to hustle to move everything at break-neck speed from Cinema 5 to Cinema 7.
Or maybe I should say from Cinema 005 to Cinema 007.
It was a pain and a hassle - it's not like Sunday mornings before the services aren't busy enough! - but in the end our troops pulled it off in fine fashion, and all the FRC-Lima kids had a great time.
Flexibility is the key, my friends.
International ministry is going to keep you hopping, and if your neck of the international woods is anything like Peru, then that's also going to mean a lot of last minute switcheroos and late-breaking curveballs.
Don't bail out of the batter's box. Stay focused on your goal and vision. Smack down all of the distractions and last-minute problems that the enemy is going to throw at you.
Even when they involve James Bond!
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