I have a friend who is successful and influential in his field. He owns a growing company, but he never seems that stressed out about it. I have seen him walk through some serious trials with it all, and he still remains rather calm. In other words he is driven but calm. I get the driven part, but not always the calm. I asked him how he stays laid back in the midst of it all. His answer, “I read Ecclesiastes at least once month.”
So this morning, outside of my normal personal worship routine (which of course is examen.me) I read the whole book of Ecclesiastes in one setting. It was very refreshing. It puts the pursuits in this life into perspective.
In life there is vanity, wisdom, folly, toil, hard work, fleeting joys, and a time for everything. But even through the writer of Ecclesiastes seems to ask many more questions that he answers, I love how the book is ended.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Eccl 12:13-14
Working with Bob Roberts means that you get nuggets of wisdom all the time.
A few years back I remember him saying, “Most people spend all their time and energy trying to find a way to get to the table of influence and power. Don’t worry about the table. Sweep the streets and do it with excellence. You will eventually be asked to come to the table.”
Bob’s advice has been true in my life. It turns out, it is also biblical.
Luke 19:17 - And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
It is can be difficult while you are sweeping the streets to not get distracted with all those around you are moving up to the table. Keep sweeping. Our Father, the the most influential person at the table, is looking down to and is eager to reward faithful workers in his kingdom.
Yesterday was an incredible day at NorthWood. We have been implementing what we are calling the “Time of Obedience” for the last two months. It finally feels like we are getting close to the sweet spot.
The Time of Obedience is where at the end of the service, we are giving time and space to let people respond to what God has been speaking to them. We have Alter ministers positioned in 4 places around the room to lead someone to Christ and pray for them, we open the altar for people to come pray by themselves or as a family, we have cards for people to sit and write what God has been doing in their lives, we sing, and yesterday we took communion. It is controlled chaos, but our people are responding to God, and I could not be happier!
One of the best books I read in 2008 was Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin. Quite frankly, it was 1 of 3 books that created the perfect storm that helped me gear up to release EXAMEN.me.
If you haven’t read the book, or don’t intend to, make sure you check out this video, a 20 minute TED talk summarizing the book..
There is a HUGE difference between professionals and amateurs. Experiences over the last couple of weeks have reminded me of at least two.
Professionals know how to recover. We all drop the ball, but the pro knows how to pick it up with grace and keep running. An amateur looks like a deer caught in head lights. Consequently, experience does matter.
Professionals own the problem. No matter who is at fault when a professional sees a problem, they own it until it is solved. An amateur say’s, “It is not my job to fix it.” and sweeps it under the rug.
The world is full of great ideas, but great ideas don’t change the world. Executing a great idea does.
I consider myself a “Creative Type.” In the past I have thought my perfect job would be to sit in a room and come up with creative solutions to problems. That is what most creatives want to do. However, sitting in an room and coming up with ideas is not being a Creative. It is being a day dreamer.
If you want to be Creative rockstar, come up with an idea, even if it is not great, and execute it flawlessly.
Creative genius is not about having the best ideas, it is about having the guts to execute an idea.
Ministry is built on volunteer leaders. Chances are, if you lost one of your major volunteers, life would be hectic for a while. Mike Reed, our Executive Pastor, just gave the NorthWood staff some wisdom I needed to hear. I am sure you need to hear it as well.
Treat your current leaders like they are going to be a vital part of your ministry forever.
Recruit new leaders like your current leaders are going to be gone tomorrow.
“If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship.”
The metric for successful worship has always been obedience. It is has never been cutting edge songs, media, or tech gear. Those are all great tools but not the goal.
As you plan worship, make sure you are focusing on the end goal of obedience and not all the tools you can use. Once you have focused on the end goal of obedience, use every tool at your disposal to get people there.
As you attend a worship service, make sure you are concerned with living an obedient life, not your preferences of songs, media, etc.
If you like Christmas Carols, and haven’t picked up a guitar or sat at a piano since college, there may still be hope for you and your family to have a Christmas sing-a-long.
Bobb Biehl has had a huge impact on the whole NorthWood staff, especially our pastor Bob Roberts. Bobb Biehl is known for his questions and Bob Roberts shares some of them on his blog.
These are great questions to ask yourself and others as 2008 ends and you look forward to 2009.
What is it that God has called you to do?
What is unique that you bring to the table?
What is your single greatest strength?
How are you organized to see the vision fulfilled?
How is your team organized and who is your team?
What three things would you do to give you a 50% increase in your area of work/ministry?
Do you know why you do what you do?
What are you most excited about?
What is your biggest obstacle?
What three changes in me would be most pleasing to God?
EXAMEN.me is a simple-to-use web site, provided by Worshiply, that fosters your personal interaction with God.
EXAMEN.me lets you choose how you want to interact with God by providing guided experiences that will lead you through scripture, prayers, and let you journal your experience.
What are you waiting for? Go create your account today and revolutionize how you interact with God.
About Me
My name is Brent Minter. I am a follower of Christ, husband, father, and a Worship Pastor. My life’s pursuit is to lead others in worship, not just from the stage, but in their personal lives as well. This starts with my smoking-hot wife Kari, and our 3 kids. Then it moves to NorthWood Church in Keller, TX, a truly remarkable place, where I design and lead worship services/experiences. I love the interwebs, any music that has soul, theology, hunting, learning, being the only worship pastor in America who still uses a PC I gave in, and scooters. Those who ...
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I have a friend who is successful and influential in his field. He owns a growing company, but he never seems that stressed out about it. I have seen him walk through some serious trials with it all, and he still remains rather calm. In other words he is driven but calm. I get the driven part, but not always the calm. I asked him how he stays laid back in the midst of it all. His answer, “I read Ecclesiastes at least once month.”
Working with 
