1. No matter how bad things are You can always make them worse.
This is a big lessons I’m learning from the current economic crisis. We borrow a little more and a little more and later say “hey, maybe that wasn’t a good idea to spend that debt there….lets spend it over here”. We, the USA, and WE, the church, can’t spend our way out of debt. As leaders in the church we have to do 2 things really well. 1. Be efficient with the resources God puts us over. Thats money, but its also people. 2. Cast vision well. Not because people give to a vision, which we do, but because getting us to rearrange our finances to be part of what God is doing is one of the best thing you can do for us.
2. The on most Dependant on the things of this world…loses!
Today’s Drudge Report headline reads “Hugo To The Rescue”. The greatest nation in the history of the world is at the mercy of a handful of dictators because, instead of heading the signs 50 years ago, we have chosen to be dependant on people who won’t be inviting us to Sunday lunch anytime soon.
We do the same thing. A few weeks ago I was with a young church leader and he asked me if it was just an inevitability that “passion dies with age”. It doesn’t, we sell our ability to live with passion. We sell it, and purchase the “American Dream” with the cash. Debt kills Passion
3. The one who collaborates best….wins!
Zig Ziglar is one of my all time favorite people. One thing he says often is “Help enough people get what they want and you’ll have everything you want”. I’m convinced that people are coming back to church during this time because they are hurting, and they’re looking for something more. They need hope. And God through His son is that hope. Collaborating with these people means not treating them like they are “lost” but hearing what their needs are. Then we do our best to meet their immidiate need and bring them into relationship with Jesus. For a good example of this read the story of Jesus healing the blind man. He met his immediate, although temporary need to see (because these bodies don’t last for every), and developed influence with him which brought him into relationship with the creator.
What are you learning from these Tough Economic Times?
Collaboration – real collaboration, not simple cooperation – is the key to maximizing opportunities.