-
Planning Like Jesus this Year
Meet Michelle Oney. She’s the Director of Development at Josh McDowell Ministry and has a passion for strategic planning, developing people, and making the most of every opportunity to share the gospel. From the Old Testament with Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, and David to the New Testament with Jesus and Paul, the Bible is full of examples of leaders who strategically planned in order to accomplish what God had called them to do. As we look to planning for 2016, we can’t just look at what worked and what didn’t last year. We don’t have to rely on brainstorming, ideation, skill, experience, or creativity. Of course we may use some of…
-
Managing Our 2016 Expectations
Back in the saddle of weekly activities, 2016 is already barreling along, the stock market and the weather jerking around like a bull in the Houston Rodeo. (Or…maybe that should be a bear?) Whether we write down our goals and vision for the year ahead or not, we all have this picture of the way we'd like things to be. And then life happens. Here are some reminders to think about, pray about, as we try to live on purpose when life starts bucking around: We hold our expectations with open, God-trusting hands. Like Nehemiah, we may long to see certain outcomes and ready strategic plans for the moment when…
-
Live Out Your Purpose
Do you want your life to make a difference? Look around you. How satisfied are you with your life? What about purpose? Do you seek to live out your purpose? My drive to succeed as a college student was solely to find purpose in changing the world. I wanted to have an impact on others so badly that I worked really hard. Never mind my pursuit of excellence in my education, I served at church and I even adopted a child from Guatemala—okay not really, I just sponsored one. Even though I barely had enough money to eat in college, I still made sure Manuel had his monthly donation.…
-
Strategic Planning in the Church
The Table podcast covers strategic planning and mission in the church this week. Many churches get set into a routine and move from week to week with no clear long term goals. How does a church move past that kind of routine? Aubrey Malphurs discusses this on our podcast over the next two weeks. He also covers how important planning and developing leadership is. I think it is a very useful discussion. Here is the link: http://www.dts.edu/thetable/play/reshaping-church-mission-vision/ Let me know what you think of what he says. In particular, it is developing leadership that sometimes is lacking. What kind of a program do pastors have for encouraging growth and involvement…
-
A Vision of the Person You Can Become
My 20-month-old granddaughter epitomizes the value of vision. Because we don't live nearby, it is often months between our visits. The changes are remarkable at that age. What makes a baby want to grow and progress? Where does she get the vision to want to learn skills such as walking, talking, dressing herself, and feeding her doll? A child's vision comes from watching her parents. When we talk to our kids, they begin to echo the sounds. As we dress them, they want to do it themselves. As they experience the love of parents who feed and protect them, they care for their dolls—and eventually their own children. So…
