Great Quote Thursday

It is the start that stops most people- Anonymous

HD Conference- Part 2

More from the HD Conference

From a session on facility administration led by Dan Dorner, Senior Associate Pastor at FBC Woodstock:

• Any warm body won't do
• Hire people with a call
• Hire the faithful
• Hire people who understand the priorities and necessities of time, money and space
• Always redefine "necessary"
• Begin with the end in mind

From a session on young adult ministry led by Wes Cantrell, the Young Adults Pastor at FBC Woodstock:

• Young adults are interested in small groups, causes and interaction.
• Focus on the unchurched, not competition between churches.
• Good leaders produce followers; great leaders produce leaders.

HD Conference- Part 1

Earlier this month, I attended the HD Conference at First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia. Here is some of what was shared:

Johnny Hunt-

• People don't take God's Word seriously because they plan to do nothing with it.
• Alot of people just audit church; where will they be on graduation day?
• What are we doing with what we know?

Ken Ham-

• The seven C's of history: creation, corruption, catastrophe, confusion, Christ, cross, consummation.
• Noah built a boat too large, out of obedience, but also because God is gracious and made room for others.

Book Review- Pyro Marketing

Mass marketing is dead. That's what Greg Stielstra states in his book, Pyro Marketing. Stielstra claims the best way to understand marketing, the way its messages are sent, received, acted upon and spread, is to think of it as fire. Pyro Marketing, he explains, features four steps:

1. Gather the driest tinder: promote to the people most likely to buy;
2. Touch it with the match: give them an experience with your product or service;
3. Fan the flames: help them tell others;
4. Save the coals: keep a record of who they are.

Many of the concepts presented in the book have been shared in other formats but the fire analogy seems quite applicable. Though at times the book is a bit repetitive and some of the sections on brain activity are more in-depth than is easily readable, Pyro Marketing is thought provoking in its attempts to challenge the reader to seek new, more effective ways to market products, goods and services.

Fun on Friday

Our next door neighbor is a nice man. But he mowed his yard this week. He's great at mowing. Me, not so much. I knew I'd fall behind this summer. I just didn't know the mowing cycle would start in March.

I keep thinking that eventually this season of American Idol will get better. That someone will stand out. That if I watch long enough, I'll have a favorite. But I'm beginning to think that's not going to happen.

Since the Kentucky Wildcats' basketball games are on TV all the time, I would love to watch one game without the networks showing us Ashley Judd at least 10 times a game. Enough already.

Why is it that when you order pizza, it always seems to end up costing more than you expected it would?

Great Quote Thursday

Army Chief of Staff George Marshall to General Dwight Eisenhower during the middle of WWII:
"I want to see the solutions, not the problems".

No Offseason

Over the course of the past year, my oldest son has been involved in various youth sports: spring soccer, summer track, flag football in the fall and basketball during the winter. We've allowed him to try different sports to see what he likes to do. So far he likes everything.

Each sport has had a distinct time frame or slot on our family calendar. From preseason practice through the schedule of regular season league games to the post-season awards event, we've penciled in each seasons' starting and ending date. Recently, our basketball season finished in late February and soccer practice begins next week.

While our family has enjoyed each athletic season, we've also enjoyed the breaks that have occurred between each season. The offseason. The time "off" for weeks without practices and/or games. The breaks in the schedule have been nice.

But parenting is entirely different. In parenting, there is no offseason.

Here's the Point: As I think about the change of athletic seasons and the offseasons that accompany them, as a parent, I'm reminded of Ephesians 5:15, 16: "Be very careful, then, how you live- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity". We try to always look for teachable moments, to make the most of every opportunity, with our sons. Times to encourage, support and build-up them up, not always simply to correct or discipline them. Because, as a Dad, there is no offseason. Making the most of every opportunity is imperative for every parent, as the last words of Ephesians 5:16 remind us- "because the days are evil".