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...
And they still...haven't found...what they're lookin' for... [everybody sing now...] and they still...
You would think after three times people would realize that they still haven't found what they're looking for and perhaps, just perhaps...the problem is THEM.
You can apply this principle to anything, really. Have you ever met someone who switches jobs more often than most women change shoes? This is usually the way it goes: they get a new job and can't wait to tell everyone how amazing it is especially compared to their last one. How long this goes on varies from person to person but the important thing to note is that whether it be a few months to a few short years, suddenly everyone at their current job (who was once so wonderful) is now an idiot, they are miserable, and can't wait to get out of the place. But wait...dun dun dun dun, du duhhhhhh! [trumpets blowing] they just got a new job...and wait til' you hear -- these people are amazing! They have never been happier in their life...and so on it goes with this perpetual cycle until suddenly at some point the idiots at that job all come out of the closet.
I believe this really DOES happen at least once in everyone's life. We have all had at least one bad experience in our lives. But if it keeps happening to you at some point you have to ask -- AM I THE PROBLEM? And I don't think most of these people ask this question, otherwise they wouldn't keep going around this merry go round and taking their family on it to boot, searching for God knows what.
I'll close this post with a story some of you will find very amusing and others will probably think I'm the pastor/pastor's wife from hell. And really, I'm quite secure and fine with that, so knock yourself out getting your panties in a bunch.
Years ago there was a guy who was in a church choir that I directed and he was exactly like what I described above. I think he had about 13 jobs over the time period that we pastored him. On and on the cycle went. All of this would be accompanied by him giving prayer requests at choir practice about "Satan attacking him." The spiel would go something like this: "I need you guys to pray for me. Satan is really coming against me...things at my job are hard. You can't even imagine the idiots I'm working with and what I have to go through. I'm so sick of it and I have resumes out and job applications everywhere just trying to get out of there and I need you guys to stand with me for a breakthrough because I am just at my wits end trying to deal with this and Satan has had a field day with all this, and I'm just sick of it."
After hearing this for the umpteeth time, I responded with, "Tony, (not his real name) I think God and you would get along a lot better if you just quit referring to Him as Satan..."
[Go ahead, laugh...you know you want to.]
He was pretty frosted that I said that but here's the thing...Satan wasn't "on the prowl" with his situation, he wasn't a "target of the devil" and the people he worked with or for were not all bad. The truth was, Tony had issues and never dealt with them and God kept trying to get his attention. He needed to look inward for once and stop blaming the devil.
Satan gets a whole lot more credit for these things than he deserves. Many times the devil is off bothering somebody else, and the worst enemy we have is -- OURSELVES.
If something keeps taking a dive in your life whether it be your marriages, your job, your satisfaction with your church, your friendships or anything else -- try looking inside for a change.
*** By the way, [trumpets blasting again here] I have an exciting announcement to make tomorrow and it's has something to do with my work!! Check back first thing in the morning to see what my big news is!!! ****
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