The Management Gap
I just got back from a Leadership conference. Very well done with speakers from all over America.
At these conferences, I try to come away with a new business principle that I want to work on. This time it's hard to pick just one, but one had a huge impact on me. It's all about trust; although on the surface it may not appear that way.
Andy Stanley explained how we as managers have 2 concepts that present themselves to us each day. Expectations and Experience.
We all have expectations that we have for our company, our employees and ourselves. We hopefully communicate them in such a fashion/manner that our expectations turn into great experiences.
Hopefully these experiences fulfill our expectations. But often they...
Step 2 to Church Failure: Foundational Issues
It seems understandable for a church to take the leap from Step 1 (Hubris) to Step 2. When your organization realizes great success, and you arrogantly attribute that gain as something you deserve, the church leadership starts to think they can do anything.
That's why Step 2 is the “undisciplined pursuit of more”. More what? Everything!
Churches (as well as individual Christians) exhibit this in two ways: 1) they fall into the trap of materialism and 2) they pursue growth faster than they should.
Sadly, materialism has crept into the Church like it has in Americans and Canadians. The economic disasters of the last year hopefully have taught us a huge lesson. Even back in the book of James (chapter 5) cautions us...