Purposeful Exile - My Journey

Sometimes a statement will really grab me, like the one I recently sent out on Twitter.  The saying seemed to provide context for the last 10 years of my life – what I call “My Decade in the Desert”. 

The statement goes like this… “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future”.   I must confess… and take responsibility for the fact that…. I have a past.  I have a past that is marked by frailty, failure, and fallout.  You see, as a pastor of 15 years, I succumbed to isolation, insulation, and insecurity – leading to a moral indiscretion that ultimately cost me my marriage, ministry, and good standing with my children and community.  Yup, sure enough… I have a past.

God saw my need for brokenness and complete consecration, and graciously invited me into the desert – to walk with him alone until I was reformed into a fit vessel for His service.  Hosea 2:14, 15 reads, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope. There she will respond [sing] as in the days of her youth…”  So, in 2003, the decade in the dessert began – a decade of intimacy and wrestling with God while being in purposeful exile – a time where God would show me I have a future.  In the sovereign wisdom and grace of God, this extended time was needed to reshape a poorly functioning clay pot into a vessel of divine pleasure and purpose.  Jeremiah 18:4 says, “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”

 

Now, I’m rejoicing that I have a future.  Having been released from exile and the desert – I am in a season of new beginnings.  With a new dependency on God, I am back in church work and relationship.  I am grateful for the work He has done in me, and blessed to experience grace upon grace with a new season in front of me.  Truly, God has provided beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of a spirit of despair [Isaiah 61:3].  “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future”.  

God's Work

This week, I will consciously give my work to God.

Excellence is a godly virtue, not just an old saying. If you try to do ministry "on the cheap," you'll forfeit ministry opportunities.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

~ Colossians 3:22-24

How fancy? How plain? Should my ministry look like a Broadway production? Or a humble storefront outpost?

The slaves of Colosse — a declining Turkish city in the days of Paul the apostle — could have been excused for doing shoddy work for their masters, who were by and large corrupt pagans or carnal Christians. Paul nevertheless admonished them to strive for excellence. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,” he said in Colossians 3:23, “as working for the Lord, not for men.”

A carpenter-slave, then, should assemble a chair the way he would assemble it if Christ himself might walk through the door for a spot-check at any moment.

A chef-slave should cook a meal — even for the crankiest customer — as if Jesus were sitting at the table.

Likewise for those of us in ministry. (Sometimes we feel like slaves, don’t we!) If Jesus were at the planning table ... if Jesus were in the congregation ... if Jesus were going to check my work later ... how would I do it right now?

So then, how should my ministry “look,” or “feel”? There’s no correct answer to the “plain or fancy” question. One person is led by the Spirit of God to present a modest, simple product, sensing keenly that this will please the Lord. The next person is led by the same Spirit to present a fabulous marvel — with the same confidence that this is exactly what Jesus will delight in.

The common denominator is hearing from God ... and pursuing that God-given vision with fervor, insisting on excellence within the parameters of God’s dream for my ministry.

People have different tastes, and they tend to gravitate toward ministries with tastes similar to their own. But regardless of taste, people respond to excellence — to the sensation that someone cared enough to give an effort their best. The excellent program you produced for radio or television, the excellent church service you prepared for Sunday morning, the excellent spreadsheet you presented at the ministry marketing meeting ... each one makes the unspoken statement: “I did this for my Lord.” And that level of quality — the passion for God that generated it — draws people. It’s uncommon in our world. People notice. And the one they notice isn’t me ... it’s Jesus.

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days...  God, I give you my work. I give you my ministry. Help me to see the face of Jesus in those I’m serving. Inspire me to give you my best; strengthen me for the sake of offering you something excellent, something worthy of you. I thank you, my Father. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

A Taste of Spiritual Beauty - Ch. 15

• Being Satisfied with God means we embrace and delight in the beauty of God diffused in all his works and words.
• Jonathan Edwards [1746] was deeply concerned that people understand saving faith, lest they be deceived by their own experiences and have "presumptuous peace"
• Fruit does not come alongside a tree and make it good, but is produced by the healthy tree.
• A mere claim to faith [James] is to assent to the truth without delighting in it.
• Faith arises from a spiritual apprehension of the truth, or from the testimony of the Spirit with and by the truth in our hearts.
• We must have both understanding and embracing through the illumination of the Holy Spirit - and thus taste Christ as compellingly attractive.
• Apprehension includes spiritual delight.
• We must perceive, embrace, and approve, from the heart, the spiritual fitness of God's threatening... leading to a revulsion of sin and a withdrawal from the danger of sinning - pressing toward God and holiness.
• A strong call for decisions for Christ may bring people to crisis without contemplation - beware the parable of the soils and the words "I never knew you"
• In saving faith, we both affirm factual truth, but also embrace spiritual beauty.

Understanding Yourself...

Questions for Self Discovery: based on reflections of A. W. Tozer


1. What do you want most?

2. What do you think about most?

3. How do you use your money?

4. What do you do with your leisure time?

5. What company of people do you enjoy?

6. Who and what do you admire?

7. What do you laugh at?

You Can't Take It With You...

Counting Forever

In the inaugural issue of the newsletter A Higher Purpose, published by the Great Commission Foundation, Campus Crusade for Christ president Steve Douglass says, “Frankly one thing that doesn’t count forever is wealth that is left over at the end of our lives, wealth unused in any worthy cause whatsoever. From a biblical point of view, you see that some day, eventually the end will come. As we read 2 Peter 3:10, we see that the earth will be burned up, there will be nothing left — just an ash heap. On that day, in the midst of all these ash heaps, the only thing a wealthy person will be able to say to a poor person is, ‘Oh look! My ash heap is bigger than your ash heap!’ Not significant!”

As we strive for significance, it is wholly appropriate that we should call others to significance as well, to join us in the quest, to make something of eternal value during our earthly lifetime.



* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.

Cry Out in the "Surprise"

This week, I will be surprised.

Life is fluid. Change is thrust upon us. Part of who you are in Christ is how you react to surprises.

Just when I think I’ve got everything figured out, something changes.

And that happens just about every day!

We look at a river, and it seems to flow along exactly the same route day after day, year after year. But in reality, the route of the river is always changing. The hardness of the rock that forms the channel, or the wind direction and velocity, nudge the water-flow against the edges of the channel. Gradually the pressure carves out a new route.

Or — suddenly — a tree falls, or a boulder tumbles down a mountain, and the water is forced to re-route instantly.

In any event, the pressure is constant, the change is constant, and our inability to prevent it is constant!

As ministry leaders, we tend to want to control events. We want to minimize risk, maximize positive potential — chart the course, see it through, celebrate success. It’s not a “power trip”; it’s passion for the mission!

But even so, it’s hopeless. The river is shifting its course. The lay of the land is different every day. A worker moves away; a terrorist act makes donors quit giving; another ministry pops up and somehow overlaps your mission.

How will I react to the surprises?

Dr. Darryl DelHousaye of Phoenix Seminary says the way to tell what’s really inside a Christian is to bump him and see what spills out. When someone yells “Surprise!”, what do I yell back?

Change is often — maybe even usually — painful. But pain is the most effective growth device in the world. The apostle Paul observes in Romans 5:3,4 that we can “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” He’s mapping out the ideal spiritual growth curve of the Christ-follower’s life. To make me more like Christ, more like God’s ideal for me, he starts with a secret ingredient: pain!

The challenge of change has an equally potent side-effect: It more or less forces us to keep turning back to God for direction. When Jesus in Luke 18 tells the parable of the pushy widow and the unjust judge, he holds up the ideal of talking with God about our problems “day and night.” Jesus isn’t giving us carte blanche. The promise of this parable is for his followers who are willing to “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1), “who cry out to him day and night” (Luke 18:7).

Ministry leadership is a wonderful source of pain, because it’s more than just new: It’s ever-new. It’s a constant source of the character-building pain of change! (Somebody say “Hooray.”) This week, someone will yell “Surprise!” I need to be ready to “cry out” to God — not just with a yelp for help in that first moment of shock, but “day and night”!

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... God, please fill me up with your Spirit, so fully that when I’m bumped this week, it will be your Spirit that people see spilling out! Amen.

1 Peter 4:12-13
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Ministry is about Relationships

This week, I will renew relationships.

God values long-term relationship. This is the essence of biblical community.

There’s nothing quite like ministry to challenge relationships.

I know God has called me; I have a God-given vision — so I naturally feel strongly about the tasks that make up my mission.

Which means that when someone disagrees, my instincts won’t tend toward listening quietly, responding gently, loving warm-heartedly. No. My instincts will tend toward outrage! Disgust! Righteous indignation!

Spend a few years in ministry, and you’ll probably have numerous opportunities for grudge-holding ... and possibly even a few die-hard enemies. Or at least a short list of people you’re not speaking to.

But God seems to value my relationships even more than he values the tasks I’m accomplishing in the course of my ministry. There’s very little in the Bible promoting hit-and-run relationships. Hebrews 13:1 says, in the New International Version, “Keep on loving each other as brothers.” In the old days it was translated, “Let brotherly love continue.” In the original Greek, the word is meno — keep on — continue. It’s an ongoing concept.

In John 13:33,34, Jesus said very directly, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Interestingly, he didn’t say people would recognize our discipleship by the accomplishment of our God-given vision for ministry. Indeed, if I have to choose between succeeding in ministry and succeeding in relationships, Christ’s priority is success in relationships!

The high value that God places on community should inspire me to go beyond the repairing of broken relationships; I need to take the initiative in finding ways to encourage long-term relationships. What is my ministry’s relationship turnover ratio? The people I serve with in ministry — my fellow-workers, our volunteers, donors and supporters — how frequently are people quitting, getting tired, feeling burned-out, drifting away? Are there ways I could make workers feel more loved ... or make donors feel more appreciated ... or make volunteers feel more valuable?

It is literally true — more than just a cliché — that my ministry would not be the same without the specific individuals who are involved in it right now. 1 Corinthians 12:18 says, “in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Each worker, volunteer, and donor is making a very real difference. They are as certainly “called by God” to my ministry as I am!

How can I express love to them this week?

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... God, help me to love the people I work with, and the people who make my ministry possible. And guide me specifically — even if it seems uncomfortable to me — into a renewal with someone whose relationship with me has been broken. Bring healing, by the power of your love; and use me, however you see fit, to be an agent of that healing. Amen.

Grab Donor's Attention Quickly

From “Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog.”

Mark Rovner points out in a recent blog post, “Our brains evolved long ago to strain through the billions of sensory inputs for a few morsels of relevant info. If we can’t eat it, mate with it, or run away from it, we ignore it.”

In other words, if we know what’s coming, and it’s not critical to our survival, we don’t care.
That means you can’t start that appeal with the same old, same old, same old.  Your first lines really matter.  If they don’t grab you,they don’t matter.  I have always spent the most time on the first line of everything I’ve written – from the time I was a journalist to today.  That’s time well spent.

Are your first lines fresh?  If they aren’t, don’t despair.  My favorite writing trick is to delete the first paragraph of any piece of writing.  I’ve recommended this for so many organizations. Take look – is it better when you skip the part that was you, warming up?  Cut to the chase.  The pursuit of what comes next is what keeps us reading.

Always Working to Gain NEW Friends

The importance of “New Name Acquisition”

Many ministry leaders want to believe that their work is so exciting that people automatically want to get involved with it. Some feel constrained just to let God bring across their path whatever new donors He desires for them. But this wasn’t the pattern Jesus promoted: He was an activist recruiter. “Follow me,” He told His disciples-to-be. He found the paralytic in the temple. When He was looking to make an impact on people, He went where they were, He got in their faces. You, too, must work at acquiring new friends for your ministry. The art of “new name acquisition” or “prospecting” is as essential to the future of your ministry as brushing is to the future of your teeth. Ministries that don’t prospect dwindle. Don’t let this happen to you and your ministry.

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, The Seven Deadly Diseases of Ministry Marketing: Confessions of a Christian Fundraiser.

Supervision / Management Tips

From the NPT…

Many supervisors view their jobs as making sure they oversee as many cringing peons, grateful to hang on to their jobs no matter how wretched, as possible. It’s the American way in 2012, isn’t it?
Carlye Christianson, senior counsel and director of special projects for the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, doesn’t think so. She sees supervision as overseeing productivity and progress, in addition to coaching and mentoring. She sees low morale, poor performance and increased turnover as problems. Go figure.
During a recent Risk Management and Finance Summit for Nonprofits, Christianson reviewed the power of supervision (as she envisions it). For example, she offered her 10 keys to effective supervision:

• Provide support for development;
• Establish an open-door policy and one-on-one meetings;
• Praise and encourage;
• Set high expectations;
• Require accountability;
• Ensure understanding and buy-in to mission and vision;
• Instill independence;
• Share;
• Create ownership; and,
• Evaluate strengths and weaknesses.

She also reviewed common supervision mistakes:

• Supervising too closely;
• Failing to keep employees informed;
• Failing to connect employees with the organization’s mission (or “soul”);
• Failing to listen;
• Ignoring team dynamics; and,
• Failing to be available.

In addition, Christianson talked about performance management, not just supervising, but getting the most out of everyone.

• Allow employees to develop to full potential;
• Allow the organization to have informed and accurate information regarding career development, training needs, etc.; and,
• Develop information in a setting that allows employees to not be defensive and to respond favorably to feedback.

A Prayer about Jesus’ Desire for Us and Delight in Us

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/2012/08/12/a-prayer-about-jesus-desire-for-us-and-delight-in-us/

A Wonderful Devotional Prayer about Jesus’ Desire for Us and Delight in Us

Thank Donors

Katya's top 10 for thanking donors...

1. KNOW YOUR DONOR: Capture information on how your donors gave and what appeal they are supporting.  Did they give in response to a special appeal or at an event?  Were they asked to donate by one of your donor champions who was running a race to raise money for your cause?  You need these details to properly thank and cultivate them.

2. ALWAYS THANK YOUR DONORS: Always.  No exceptions.

3. THANK THEM EARLY: You should thank your donors within a few days of their gift. 

4. THANK THEM OFTEN:  Thank your donors several times, over time, and keep reporting back on the difference they have made.

5. THANK THEM ACCURATELY: Make sure you have correctly spelled the donor’s name, stated the amount and date of the donation, included appropriate language for tax deductions and carefully note if the gift was made in honor of someone else.

6. EXPRESS GRATITUDE: Say how pleased and thankful you were to get the donation.

7. FOCUS ON EMOTION: Tell a short, wonderful story or use a specific example that shows what the donor is making possible.  This is important so all donors feel great – and donors new to your cause grasp what it really means.  You want to tug at the heartstrings and bring your mission to life.  Some fun ideas: Take photos of your work and slip one of those into a mailed card.  Have a beneficiary write the thank-you email.

8. GIVE THE DONOR CREDIT: Your communications to your donors should use the word “you” a lot more than the word “we.”  Give your donors credit for what you do in every piece of outreach.  Be constantly on the lookout for ways to recognize your donors – in your annual report, on your website and at your events.

9. BE SPECIFIC ABOUT IMPACT: Make very clear how you will use the money and tie that impact back to the solicitation that was sent.  If you sent an appeal to save puppies, talk about how many puppies you will save!

10. MAKE IT PERSONAL: In addition to addressing the donor by name, you want to sign the appeal from a real person.  No “dear friend” or “dear supporter” salutations and no nameless signatories!  We recommend you get creative with who “signs” your electronic and mailed letters – a board member, a volunteer, a beneficiary can add significance to your acknowledgement.

Affirm Donors

Acknowledgement...

“How exactly should you or your ministry representative actually go about presenting the organization’s case to a donor and asking for the donation? After years of working with major donors, we have come to believe strongly in a four-phase approach to major donors: acknowledgment, trust building, presenting the case for support, and the ask. The sequence is important. Most significantly, these phases keep the donor’s needs, interests, and values in view at all times.

Phase 1: acknowledgement. The foundation of your relationship with a donor, like the foundation of your relationship with any friend, is what we call ‘acknowledgement.’ In your interactions with this person, you acknowledge his value as a human being by giving attention to his life, his activities, his opinions, his values. You also acknowledge a donor’s generosity. Affirm the role he has already played in the ministry. Gratitude and appreciation are core to the relationship. You also need to acknowledge that the donor’s time is valuable. It’s a sacrifice for a donor with significant resources to take time out for interaction with you or a ministry rep. When you send a message of genuine thanks for the donor’s time, you begin to build credibility with him.”

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out my friend Tim Smith's book which develops this 4 phase approach:  Donors Are People Too: Managing Relationships With Your Ministry’s Major Contributors.

This week, I will consciously give my work to God.

Excellence is a godly virtue, not just an old saying. If you try to do ministry “on the cheap,” you’ll forfeit ministry opportunities.

How fancy? How plain? Should my ministry look like a Broadway production? Or a humble storefront outpost?

The slaves of Colosse — a declining Turkish city in the days of Paul the apostle — could have been excused for doing shoddy work for their masters, who were by and large corrupt pagans or carnal Christians. Paul nevertheless admonished them to strive for excellence. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,” he said in Colossians 3:23, “as working for the Lord, not for men.”

A carpenter-slave, then, should assemble a chair the way he would assemble it if Christ himself might walk through the door for a spot-check at any moment.

A chef-slave should cook a meal — even for the crankiest customer — as if Jesus were sitting at the table.
Likewise for those of us in ministry. (Sometimes we feel like slaves, don’t we!) If Jesus were at the planning table … if Jesus were in the congregation … if Jesus were going to check my work later … how would I do it right now?

So then, how should my ministry “look,” or “feel”? There’s no correct answer to the “plain or fancy” question. One person is led by the Spirit of God to present a modest, simple product, sensing keenly that this will please the Lord. The next person is led by the same Spirit to present a fabulous marvel — with the same confidence that this is exactly what Jesus will delight in.

The common denominator is hearing from God … and pursuing that God-given vision with fervor, insisting on excellence within the parameters of God’s dream for my ministry.

People have different tastes, and they tend to gravitate toward ministries with tastes similar to their own. But regardless of taste, people respond to excellence — to the sensation that someone cared enough to give an effort their best. The excellent program you produced for radio or television, the excellent church service you prepared for Sunday morning, the excellent spreadsheet you presented at the ministry marketing meeting … each one makes the unspoken statement: “I did this for my Lord.” And that level of quality — the passion for God that generated it — draws people. It’s uncommon in our world. People notice. And the one they notice isn’t me … it’s Jesus.

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days… God, I give you my work. I give you my ministry. Help me to see the face of Jesus in those I’m serving. Inspire me to give you my best; strengthen me for the sake of offering you something excellent, something worthy of you. I thank you, my Father. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.


Colossians 3:22-24
‘Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.’

Giving produces JOY

Joy In Giving

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,” 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “for God loves a cheerful giver.”

People don’t give primarily out of guilt. They give out of emotion, out of passion. There’s joy in giving. This is no longer just fundraising theory. It’s scientifically-documented fact. The Economist 10/12/06 says, “When it comes to anonymous benevolence, directed to causes that, unlike people, can give nothing in return, what could motivate a donor? The answer, according to neuroscience, is that it feels good.” Subjects of a study were given $128 each and told to donate anonymously to any of a number of charities. Researchers “found that the part of the brain that was active when a person donated happened to be the brain’s reward centre — the mesolimbic pathway, to give it its proper name — responsible for doling out the dopamine-mediated euphoria associated with sex, money, food, and drugs. Thus the warm glow that accompanies charitable giving has a physiological basis.... Donating also engaged the part of the brain that plays a role in the bonding behaviour between mother and child, and in romantic love. This involves oxytocin, a hormone that increases trust and co-operation.”

* Like what you just read and want to learn more? Check out, More Than Money: The Truth About High-Capacity Givers.

Morning Dedication

Almighty God, as I cross the threshold of this day I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to Thy care. Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me. Incline my heart to thy ways. Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay. May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound Thy praise. Let those around see me living by Thy Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconformed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clad in the entire armour of God, shining as a never-dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings.  Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands. May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain. In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven, and my love soar upwards in flames of fire, my gaze fixed on unseen things, my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities. May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of my Lord, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth. Order this day all my communications according to Thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day. In Jesus name, Amen. 

[from Valley of Vision] http://www.oldlandmarks.com/puritan.htm#Morning%20Dedication

Life Can Be Messy - Love Paves The Way to Victory

The enmeshed relationships we get ourselves into can be quite messy.  This story, from selected verses in Genesis, exposes deceptive hearts, competing relationships, and sacrificial love.  Let's learn to live with integrity, liberate those we love from competition by providing a love that secures, and deny ourselves in our love for others.  Who knows, perhaps a Joseph will emerge.

Gen 29:16  Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Gen 29:17  Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.
Gen 29:18  Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."
Gen 29:19  Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me."
Gen 29:20  So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
Gen 29:21  Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
Gen 29:22  So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.
Gen 29:23  But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her.
Gen 29:25  When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"
Gen 29:26  Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.
Gen 29:27  Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work."
Gen 29:28  And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
Gen 29:30  Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Gen 30:22  Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.
Gen 30:23  She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace."
Gen 30:24  She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son."
Gen 46:19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.



Observations:

• It is a messy thing to have 2 women in your life
• The first woman may conspire and deceive to take advantage of you, and your resources
• The second woman, the one who owns your heart, is worth working for - even for 7 years.
• The fruit of a loving relationship may be a great leader - Joseph
• When all is said and done, the man may walk with a limp [Jacob]- yet be blessed by God
• The man may be transformed in the process from a deceiver to a limping lover - broken, yet close to God

Considerations:

• Do you see yourself in the story?
• Are you a Jacob, needing to shed the comparison with your burly brother Esau?
• Are you content to wrestle with God for a long period, and accept that it may change you forever?
• Will you work for your Rachel?
• Will you hope in the fruit of such a love, investing together in a Joseph initiative?
• Will Rachel rest in the love of her Jacob, or compare herself with the attributes of others? 

 "We're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday.” Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Management Questions

The Management Fix Tools for Busy Managers

Great post from The Management Center – check it out and subscribe… http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d14f6e75581b6d76530f3d084&id=f27edc3bf8&e=e9bf5bd673

Hello friends,

We recently received this question from a reader:

I do regular check-ins with my staff members, but I don’t always feel like they help me understand what’s really going on and what problems might be on the horizon. For instance, today I was talking with an employee who’s working to launch a new training program. She says that all the planning is going fine, but how do I know that it really is?

Check-ins often won’t be nearly as helpful as they should if you don’t ask the right questions. What you want to do in these meetings isn’t just run down a list of project updates, but ask questions that will get beneath the surface so that you really understand what’s going on.

Here are the best questions that we’ve found to help do that.

The 3 Best Questions to Get Beneath the Surface

1. What makes you say that?

This is a good follow-up to all kind of statements — from “things are going fine” to “The venue seems like they’re not going to budge on the price.” The idea is that you don’t just want the surface statement — you want what lies behind the surface statement, and this question gets at that.

2. What do you think?

If a staff member isn’t sure how to handle a problem or move forward on a project, before you suggest a path to try, ask this question first. You might learn that your staff member suggests that solution herself — or a better one.

3. What are you most worried about?

This question can open to door to all kinds of information and concerns that you might never hear about otherwise. You might think that staff members will tell you their worries without being asked — but many won’t.

… And 15 – Yes, 15! – More

In addition to the three questions above, here are 15 more than you can use to get beneath the surface:

• What one or two things would make this week a success for you?
• How do you know you’re on track?
• How are you checking to make sure that’s working?
• How are you handling X [a specific element]? 
• What seems to be working well?  Why do you think that’s working?
• What could go wrong?
• Have you thought about what you’ll do if Y happens?
• What’s most important out of all those things?
• What kind of data do we have to inform how that’s working?
• Roughly how much of your time are you spending on that?
• What’s your timeline for that?
• Can you give me a specific example of that? 
• Can we take one specific instance and talk through how you’re approaching it?
• Can we role-play what that might look like?
• What other options did you consider?

Try some of these questions at your next check-in, and see if you don’t find the conversation more substantive and the meeting more useful.

Big Fundraising Gala or Small Event?

Posted on July 16, 2012

from benevon.com, an excellent school fundraising strategy…
Time for a Smaller Ask Event?
Has your annual Ask Event become a burden? Does it seem like nearly as much work as putting on your former gala or auction? Here’s a radical thought: maybe it’s time to focus on quality, not quantity, and significantly reduce the size of your next Ask Event.
Consider the number one measure of a successful Benevon Free One-Hour Ask Event: At least 40% of the people in attendance must have attended a Point of Entry in the prior year. When was the last time your group met that benchmark?
Next, consider this measure from our Sustainable Funding Scorecard: 10% of Ask Event guests join your Multiple-Year Giving Society (pledging at least $1,000 for five years) newly each year. When was the last time that ten out of every 100 guests at your Ask Event joined your Giving Society at one of these levels?
If you are not meeting both of these benchmarks, it’s time to reduce the size of your Ask Event. The ideal Ask Event you are aiming for has 200-300 guests.
As an example of how this problem can happen gradually over time, we work with an organization that had gotten so carried away with having their Ask Event be the biggest one in town that they had lost sight of the real objective. Their event had grown to nearly 700 people. Although they met our official formula for Ask Event success (a 700-person event would generate at least $350,000 in gifts and pledges), it was largely due to the Leadership Gift from the same corporate donor every year for $200,000. That meant their 700 people actually gave only $150,000, far less than the formula calls for. Likewise, they added only eight new donors to their Multiple-Year Giving Society.
The purpose of the Ask Event is to grow your Multiple-Year Giving Society significantly, annually, so as to have a larger pool of donors to cultivate and grow and to draw from for larger major gift, capital, and endowment campaigns. The purpose of the Ask Event is NOT to put on a great feel-good event to thank and reconnect with your donors. The purpose of the Ask Event is to harvest the newly ripened fruit, namely the guests who attended your Point of Entry Events in the year leading up to each Ask Event.
Here’s what I recommend to get your organization’s implementation of the Benevon Model back on track:

• Bite the bullet and cut your Ask Event back from 700 people (in this example) to 250-300 people.
• Do an analysis of how much more money was given at your last Ask Event, on average, by people who had attended a Point of Entry in the year prior to the Ask Event versus those who hadn’t. You will probably be surprised at the difference.
• As you call last year’s Table Captains, share your results with them.
  • Tell them that the event is not raising the money it needs to raise, largely because you are focusing on quantity over quality. As wonderful as the event was, it has veered away from its original purpose—to ask well-cultivated donors to make five-year pledges to join your Giving Society. It has become more of a social gathering for long-time supporters of the organization.
  • Tell them the statistics about the average gift size from those who had attended recent Points of Entry versus those who hadn’t.
  • Tell them that you are changing the process for next year, so as to allow your team to focus on adding more long-term donors and free up time for cultivating the donors you now have in your Multiple-Year Giving Society.
  • Tell them you will be offering two special Free Feel-Good Cultivation Events in the next year for your loyal donors (including those who attend the Ask Event more as a social event now).
• Rather than recruiting Table Captains a few weeks before your Ask Event, expecting them to fill a table of ten, focus on recruiting passionate Ambassadors who will follow through and have at least ten people attend Points of Entry in the year prior to the Ask Event. About eight to ten weeks prior to the Ask Event, invite those Ambassadors to become Table Captains and encourage them to invite their Point of Entry guests to sit at their tables.
• To get started recruiting Ambassadors, go back to the Table Captains from your most recent Ask Event and ask each of them to host a Point of Entry. They could invite the people who sat at their table at your most recent Ask Event, yet who had never attended a Point of Entry Event.
• Aim for 80% ripened fruit at your next Ask Event, not 40%. There will be attrition. 40% is your absolute minimum.
• When it comes time for them to invite people to their Ask Event tables, supplement their guest lists with any additional Point of Entry guests who may not otherwise have someone to sit with.
• In the meantime, get back to basics with your own Points of Entry. Set a goal of finding one new Ambassador during your Follow-Up Calls from every Point of Entry Event. Keep using your Treasure Map to identify groups of people who would naturally want to learn more about your organization.
• Be sure to secure your Leadership or Challenge Gift just like you did last year. Going into your next Ask Event, knowing you have that large gift in hand will give you confidence—and inspire additional giving from the 40% or more of your well-cultivated audience.

Finally, imagine having a 200-person Ask Event with 80% Ripened Fruit. That would be a good use of everyone’s time! Focus on the ripened fruit percentage, not the total number of guests in attendance.
If your emphasis is on having the biggest event in town, you have deviated from the Benevon Model.

Donors and Prayer

Prayer power

Donors are tuned in to the power of prayer. Many think of their prayers for the ministry as a significant part of their support for the ministry. The oft-repeated concept of “your prayers and giving” is not an empty cliché with these donors. They take it seriously. If anything, our communications with donors need to reinforce the importance, the value, of their prayers in support of the ministry. After asking donors to pray with the ministry about a certain need, share the outcomes — the answers to prayer — in a newsletter or other communication device.

But prayer can go in the opposite direction, too — toward the donor. We have seen donor relationships dramatically strengthened when a ministry establishes a strategy of what we call “prayer bonding.” The organization begins with whatever portion is affordable of their donors who have given more than once in the past 12 months. Break this list into 12 monthly segments (or 52 weekly segments if that works better). Distribute the names among staff members, with instructions to pray for these donors on a monthly (or weekly) basis, perhaps in a staff meeting. In that month (or week), send a letter to those donors — a smallish, perhaps monarch-sized letter, with no request for a gift — thanking them for the difference they are making for and through the ministry, and letting them know that you prayed for them. Enclose no reply device or reply envelope.

Check out, The Disappearing Donor: Where Your Ministry's Lapsed Givers Went, and Why .