The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
This blog was written a while back by my friend, Pastor Leanne Weber, on her daily blog. I'm copying it with her permission here. It's excellent. I rarely if ever print somebody else's entire blog post here on mine, but I make an exception when I find something, well...exceptional. And this is something I believe qualifies. It must have struck a chord out there because in short order, she had a comment from Brad Stine himself with a rebuttal about it, on her blog. Here are Pastor Leanne's thoughts on this topic...By Rev. Leanne Weber
I hear that phrase thrown around quite a bit. That the church has become "feminized." That Christian men have become "sissified." But no one can really give me a clearcut definition of what that means.
Are we talking about men who don't grunt, scratch, and watch every sport on TV known to man? Do we mean men who would rather spend a night at the opera than at a monster truck rally? [Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with sports or monster trucks (I personally love watching the giant trucks smash the tiny little cars!).] Are we talking about men who defy the stereotypical "man" image - men who put the toilet seat back down for their wives? Men who can cook? Who realize that both they and their wives share a home, contribute to the weekly mess that piles up, and therefore, should share the responsibilities of cleaning up said mess?
Why is it that a woman can put on a sports jersey, paint her face whatever team colors she prefers, and watch a football game with her husband, and people think that's just fine - and even encourage it, but if a man accompanies his wife on a shopping trip or to the theatre, he gets comments like, "Boy, she's got you whipped!"
Maybe men are too "feminized" when it comes to worship. We emotionally-charged women should be the ones crying, on our faces before God, while our husbands stand there stone-silent and expressionless. It's really a lose-lose situation. If a man attends church and gets involved, then he's "feminized" or "sissified." Coerced into service by his pushy wife. If he stays home like the manly man he's supposed to be, then he's backslidden and we pray for his soul.
Why can't John Eldredge, Brad Stine, and all the rest just let our men be who they are? Who came up with the definition of what a man or a woman is "supposed to" be? I prayed for a husband who was not a sports fan...who did not go out hunting and fishing...someone who would be my companion and enjoy the same things I enjoyed. And God gave that man to me. Of course we have some separate interests - we are not clones of each other!! But so stinkin' what if my husband likes to watch ice dancing with me? Who really cares if directing a theatrical production fills him with more adrenaline than attending a football game? What skin is it off anyone's nose? He's exactly what I asked God for, and I, for one, would not be happy if he went to a "Godmen" or "Promise Keepers" rally and came back all excited about going fishing with the boys! Promoters of these rallies say that wives are so happy and thrilled when their husbands come home and "take leadership" and stop being "sissies."Well...here's one wife that they do NOT speak for!!
My husband and I are both adults - according to God's Word, we are spiritual equals, and together, work to run our household. Neither of us lording it over the other. When we have children, they will see us as a unified team, and they will not live in a house where one person's word rules - mine OR his! And until someone can give me a clearcut definition of how the church has been "sissified" - other than some lame diatribe about flowers decorating the sanctuary (To me, flowers celebrate the beauty of God's creation - what is so wrong with a man appreciating that? Would these people prefer that we decorate with gun racks and deer heads? What does that say about our church? About our God?) - then I guess my husband and I will just keep doing whatever it is that we do. Because it seems to be working quite well!!!
Why is it that a woman can put on a sports jersey, paint her face whatever team colors she prefers, and watch a football game with her husband, and people think that's just fine - and even encourage it, but if a man accompanies his wife on a shopping trip or to the theatre, he gets comments like, "Boy, she's got you whipped!"
Maybe men are too "feminized" when it comes to worship. We emotionally-charged women should be the ones crying, on our faces before God, while our husbands stand there stone-silent and expressionless. It's really a lose-lose situation. If a man attends church and gets involved, then he's "feminized" or "sissified." Coerced into service by his pushy wife. If he stays home like the manly man he's supposed to be, then he's backslidden and we pray for his soul.
Why can't John Eldredge, Brad Stine, and all the rest just let our men be who they are? Who came up with the definition of what a man or a woman is "supposed to" be? I prayed for a husband who was not a sports fan...who did not go out hunting and fishing...someone who would be my companion and enjoy the same things I enjoyed. And God gave that man to me. Of course we have some separate interests - we are not clones of each other!! But so stinkin' what if my husband likes to watch ice dancing with me? Who really cares if directing a theatrical production fills him with more adrenaline than attending a football game? What skin is it off anyone's nose? He's exactly what I asked God for, and I, for one, would not be happy if he went to a "Godmen" or "Promise Keepers" rally and came back all excited about going fishing with the boys! Promoters of these rallies say that wives are so happy and thrilled when their husbands come home and "take leadership" and stop being "sissies."Well...here's one wife that they do NOT speak for!!
My husband and I are both adults - according to God's Word, we are spiritual equals, and together, work to run our household. Neither of us lording it over the other. When we have children, they will see us as a unified team, and they will not live in a house where one person's word rules - mine OR his! And until someone can give me a clearcut definition of how the church has been "sissified" - other than some lame diatribe about flowers decorating the sanctuary (To me, flowers celebrate the beauty of God's creation - what is so wrong with a man appreciating that? Would these people prefer that we decorate with gun racks and deer heads? What does that say about our church? About our God?) - then I guess my husband and I will just keep doing whatever it is that we do. Because it seems to be working quite well!!!
Comments
Worship is what it is... I think we forget worship is not about us and everything to do about Him. It's getting out of your comfort zone and giving Jesus what's due him.
Male or female.
Again, it's not about you...remember that and I think we'd be alright.