I am a list guy. People are often amazed about my ability to remember things. Honestly, God did truly bless me with a powerful memory. As I am getting older I find that the memories are fading or getting combined with similar experiences. One way that I fight my loss of memory is keeping lists. Personally, I do not use anything electronic for most of my lists. I hand write a great number of things because I believe that also helps me to remember.

I have all kinds of list. I have a “to buy” list of item. Living in Alaska I do not get to the story very often so I write down what I need. I have a “wish list” of items I do not need but hope to purchase one day. I have a “to do” list. This comes in two forms. One is a list of things I need to do right away (within a week) and other is a list of things I need to do in the next 6 months to a year. I have a list entitled “At home” and it is filled with jobs I need to do at home or repairs that are in the near future.

Then there are other lists that make me more productive. I have a list of ideas for future blog posts. Currently I have over a dozen ideas that are in development. I also keep a list of the sermons that I listen too. I write down key ideas, illustrations and any useful thoughts. I also do something similar with the books I read. These two lists I keep on the computer in a Word file for easy reference. Finally, it is not exactly a list but I type in ideas and experiences into illustration files. Many times these start as a few lines hand written in a notebook and then they are typed out in extended form in my computer.

Why do I tell you all this? Simply because this is my key to productivity. This is how I write sermons, Sunday School lessons, blog posts, teach class at a Bible Institute and lead a couple of organizations all while raising 4 sons. I try to never let anything slip from my memory. I do not trust that my brain can remember everything by itself, so I help it out by keeping list after list. Then I take those lists and put them into a notebook and I am always ready for the next project.

A simple idea but I promise you that it works.

Today I opened my blog reader (feedly.com) and started reading through the new posts. I noticed an interested thing on two different post.

First – Seth Godin on HIS BLOG wrote a post about “Cracking the Pottery.” The idea is that he writes three blog posts for every one that gets published. He deletes the three that are substandard and tries to only use his best.

Second – Rich Birch over on his blog UNSEMINARY wrote about his first 300 blog posts. He mentions a rule called the 70 / 20 / 10 rule. It is inspired by Jonathan Mann – “The Song a Day Mann” – who produces a new song every day … 7 days a week … and has been doing it since 2009. He says that about 70% of his posts are mediocre … 20% are terrible … and only about 10% of them are great. He says that ratio doesn’t really change weather is writes once a day, once a week or once a month. So his goal is to write as much as possible as often as possible and the end result will some good stuff.

Both posts present two very different views of writing. I am more in the second camp – as you can tell from reading my posts:) I write and write and hope that some of it is good. I hope that more than 10% is good, but that might be overly optimistic.

So today – I thank you reader for continuing to read and always giving me a another chance!

Sometimes when reading the Bible, something catches your attention that you have never noticed before. That happened to me while doing some reading in Genesis.

Genesis 42:1 (New International Version)
“When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you just keep looking at each other?'”

I had never noticed this verse until now. Jacob (also called Israel) was living during the time of a great famine in the land. He learns that there is grain in Egypt – it was actually stored up by his son Joseph – but he says this pointed line to them. “Why do you keep looking at each other?”

I love it. There is this biting sarcasm of reality. Jacob’s sons know where the solution to their problem lies. God has provided what they need in Egypt, but all they do is sit around talking about what they should do. Or as Jacob says with a sarcastic tone, “They are just looking at each other.”

This verse is a reminder that God often has a solution to our problems, we just need to stop sitting around and do something. We could sit here and look at each other or we could get up and do something. Which one will we chose?

Yesterday to close my sermon I shared something I have had in my files for years. When I first heard it from a preacher he credited a former preacher named Bob Moorehead. I really do not know the original source, but it is still worth repeating. It is titled “Before you say ‘I quit'”

“I am standing for the healing of my marriage! I won’t give up, give in, give out or give over till that healing takes place. I made a vow; I said the words; I gave the pledge; I gave a ring; I took a ring; I gave myself; I trusted God; and said the words and meant the words…in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad; so I’m standing now, and won’t sit down, let down, slow down, calm down, fall down, look down, or be down till the breakdown is torn down!”

“I refuse to put my eyes on outward circumstances; or listen to Prophets of doom, or buy into what’s trendy, worldly, popular, convenient, easy, quick, thrifty, or advantageous. Nor will I settle for a cheap imitation of God’s real thing. Nor will I seek to lower God’s standard, twist God’s will, rewrite God’s Word, violate God’s covenant, or accept what God hates, namely divorce.”

“In a world of filth, I will stay pure, surrounded by lies, I will speak the truth. Where hopelessness abounds, I will hope in God. Where revenge is easier, I will bless instead of curse, and when the odds are stacked against me, I’ll trust in God’s faithfulness.”

“I’m a stander, and I won’t acquiesce, compromise, quarrel or quit. I have made the choice, set my face, entered the race, believed the Word, and trusted God for all the outcome.”

“I will allow neither the reaction of my spouse, nor the urging of my friends, nor the advice of my loved ones, nor the economic hardship, nor the prompting of the devil to make me let up, slow up, blow up, or give up till my marriage is healed up.”

AMEN!

I ran across this picture today and I thought it was great. (Click to enlarge) Enjoy

Jon Acuff over at Stuff Christians Like posted this photo of a quote. I like it. Click on the picture to read it bigger.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned in over 20 years of ministry is stated simply: “Every ministry must function in its own setting.” I believe God has your Church (and mine) in a unique city with unique people who are uniquely gifted to reach a unique group of people. The key to great ministry is understanding your own context and community and then unlocking your own potential.

I was reminded of all of this today when I checked the Church answering machine. (Yes, we still have a machine!) The message was from someone who is coming to Alaska for the summer and they were upset that the Church they wanted to attend over the summer does not have any “small groups” meeting over the summer for them to attend. Did we have any programs that would meet their needs?

Well, I had to chuckle because I realized that this person was bring their thinking from the lower 48 into Alaska. In Alaska, for most Churches, Sunday morning attendance swells in the summer. We have “snow birds” who return from the winter. We have guests from all over the world. We have people moving into our community. It is a great time for Sunday morning outreach. We try hard to capitalize on this time of growth and prosperity.

The flip side of that is that all other programs cease in almost every Church. Summer is the time to get out in Alaska. There is May & June bear hunting. There is the red salmon run in July. Hopefully the silver salmon will arrive in August. Businesses are open. Sales are high. The sun shines nearly 20 hours a day. Life in Alaska is busy, busy. Many long time Alaskans depend on this time of year to make all their money and stock their freezer for the long winter ahead. As a result, Churches shut down almost all activities outside of Sunday morning.

When I moved here I did not understand this context. I expected big crowds on Christmas and Easter, but they did not arrive. I saw crowds in the summer and tried to plan activities for them and they failed. It was a completely different world than what I normally experienced. I needed to learn the context of this people in this community in this part of the state.

Now all of that is easy to see in Alaska, but I can guarantee you that it is true in your Church and community too. You are in a unique city with unique needs and you have unique Church filled with uniquely gifted people ready to meet those needs. The question is, “What is our context and how can we use that for the greater glory of God.”

I really enjoyed THIS POST by Steven Furtick about one of the worst verses in the bible.

Read and Enjoy:)

Last week I showed my boys a video clip from a Church in Las Vegas. It was funny, current and somewhat edgy. When the video clip was over my kids asked “Why doesn’t our Church do more stuff like that?” It was a simple question that I have heard not only from my kids but from people in every Church I have worked for. People see another Church doing something fun or cool or productive and they immediately think that our Church should do it.

The problem with this thinking is complex, but the biggest issue is a matter of purpose. The Church that produced the clip is a Church that is trying to reach total non-Christians every Sunday morning. Their gatherings are more of an introduction to Jesus and the Church than a time of reflective worship. My Church, on the other hand, gathers each week to worship, praise, pray and communion together because of our similar faith. We both have the same beliefs and similar goals, but vastly different methods.

This issue gets even bigger when I talk to other Churches about their programming. For example, they have a youth group that is trying to “reach out to lost teens in their community” and they do it with a praise band and sermon. The purpose simply does not match the method. I see this with VBS programs, teen programming and outreach in general. We are trying to use Christian methodology to reach non-Christians and I do not think it works very often.

Lately, one of the biggest questions I am asking of all of our programs is simple, “What are we trying to accomplish?” Is this program for fellowship, discipleship, worship or evangelism? Then I ask, “Is this the best program to accomplish that goal?” As a result, this year we are moving around out normal programming and seeking to add some new events.

I don’t have all the answers to Church growth by any stretch of the imagination, but I am learning to ask the right questions. Most Churches do not need to do more, they need to do smarter.

During the month of March the world focuses its attention on college basketball. Sometimes it is easy to forget about the young men represented on each team and their own personal journey. Here is a story worth watching about a player at Michigan State and his special friend. Enjoy it – it will touch you deeply – but bring a tissue.