Last night I led the "Finance Information meeting" for our congregation and today I started to work on the Church and Ministry dept budget here at Prairie Bible College. And so finances, budget and those sorts of topics are flying in my brain this week. And most interestingly, the LORD allowed me to hear Tony Campolo speak twice over the weekend at BreakfForth 2007 in Edmonton and he spoke about living simply - or to use the phrase I've grown up with here at PBI as a staff kid and staff member, "the simple lifestyle."
And as Dr Campolo more than adequately pointed out, most of North America, and I would include Three Hills/PBI in that too, do NOT live simply. We live Extravagantly!!! So here's a few of my thoughts so far out of the last 5 days related to Christians, Leadership and Money.
1) There are times when it is okay to be extravagant and celebrate. For example, my fiance and I are NOT going to go cheap on our wedding or the honeymoon. This is a once in a lifetime event and its worth celebrating because God says that marriage is good. Nonetheless, we are both committed to making sure that the wedding ceremony does not get more attention than the marriage, and that neither the wedding ceremony nor the honeymoon costs more than either of our annual salaries! I've seen "nice" Christian families who throw their daughter a ludicrously expensive wedding - and I can't stand it!!!
2) Christian ministries should err on the side of generosity. Far too many Christian organizations are known for their cheap-ness and stinginess with money. Whether it relates to a staff member's salary, the benefits an organization offers, or giving gifts or honorarium, those who work for the Lord will already be making a sacrifice - I don't have to make it "more sacrificial" for them. By the same token, as a faculty member at a Bible college, I do NOT expect to make what a prof at the Univ of Calgary or Univ of Alberta earns - and I'm okay with that. Christian organizations can't compete - and shouldn't try. But they don't have to be so tight they squeak (to use the words of my too generous brother, Tim).
3) Christians should "make it easy" for the Christian organizations they work for to be generous by not "demanding" corporate standards. Yes, if a business person goes away to a conference, s/he probably will get a room to themself and not have to share it with a colleague. But a Christian worker doesn't have to "claim" this "right" but can save the ministry some money by splitting a room w/ a colleague. You shouldn't have to eat your meals at McDonalds (though I personally love to do so anyway!) but you shouldn't go for steak and lobster either.
Summary comment: My life experience bears witness to the truth laid out in Scripture that when we as Christians are generous with what God gives us, He is more than faithful to take care of our financial needs (and wants) beyond what we can ask or imagine.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Miscellaneous stuff from the weekend
Just some miscellaneous things from my life this weekend to blog about...
1) My fantastic fiance, Sarah, was away with a few of her girlfriends on Friday evening and Saturday and so I had a bit more time by myself on Saturday. And though I missed her lots and was glad to see her again on Saturday evening (Flames beat the Oilers 4-0!), it was also good to have some time to read, rest, do a bit of grading and then do a fair bit of "nothing" and just veg. I strongly believe that as a leader, you need those kinda days once in a while - and not feel guilty for them!
2) I'm glad to see the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts will be meeting in the Super Bowl. Not only will it be a great matchup of defence vs offense, but lots of great leaders on both teams, including Peyton Manning, Brian Urlacher and of course, two African-American coaches, both good friends, Tony Dunge & Lovie Smith.
3) Leaders pray to know God's will - and my experience in the past couple weeks reminds me that we should be careful what we pray for! God may just answer! Mostly thinking of the recent situation in the PTC where we called someone to come and serve as our Pastor of Student & Family Ministries and after initially accepting the call, they let us know this week that they will need to decline the position. And though I'm disappointed, as is most of the church, it was also very clear to them (and to me as I read through their letter) that God was closing the door and saying "no" to this ministry for them at this time. Of course it would be terrible for them and for the congregation if God said "no" and we pushed on anyway and said "yes." So thank you, God, for answering prayer, even if we don't like the answer!
1) My fantastic fiance, Sarah, was away with a few of her girlfriends on Friday evening and Saturday and so I had a bit more time by myself on Saturday. And though I missed her lots and was glad to see her again on Saturday evening (Flames beat the Oilers 4-0!), it was also good to have some time to read, rest, do a bit of grading and then do a fair bit of "nothing" and just veg. I strongly believe that as a leader, you need those kinda days once in a while - and not feel guilty for them!
2) I'm glad to see the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts will be meeting in the Super Bowl. Not only will it be a great matchup of defence vs offense, but lots of great leaders on both teams, including Peyton Manning, Brian Urlacher and of course, two African-American coaches, both good friends, Tony Dunge & Lovie Smith.
3) Leaders pray to know God's will - and my experience in the past couple weeks reminds me that we should be careful what we pray for! God may just answer! Mostly thinking of the recent situation in the PTC where we called someone to come and serve as our Pastor of Student & Family Ministries and after initially accepting the call, they let us know this week that they will need to decline the position. And though I'm disappointed, as is most of the church, it was also very clear to them (and to me as I read through their letter) that God was closing the door and saying "no" to this ministry for them at this time. Of course it would be terrible for them and for the congregation if God said "no" and we pushed on anyway and said "yes." So thank you, God, for answering prayer, even if we don't like the answer!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Little Mosque on the Prairies
Last night I watched the new CBC show (no, I can't believe I just typed those words...) "Little Mosque on the Prairies" - and it was truly hilarious!!! In fact, I think I will have to add it to the "required watching/reading" for the show on pastoring in rural churches that I talked about in a previous post. I confess that as a non-Muslim, I wondered if the show may have been offensive, and if so, the Muslim faith is NOT what I found entertaining about the program. It was the small-town, "redneck" approach to religion and anything new in town, esp that was from "the East" - the East being Toronto!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Learning from Job Interviews
I have been involved with three job interviews this past week and they have been wonderful experiences - both in meeting new people and in learning about myself, organizations, and how to lead. For the sake of anonymity/confidentiality I will just refer to the three candidates as A, B & C. They are all interviewing for different positions and not at the same organization.
For the organization to NOT hire Candidate A would be insane. While it is a good organization, for them to have a chance to hire CandA is amazing. This would be an incredibly good hire!!! CandA was a good communicater, answered the interview questions well and also showed some good insight in the questions that were asked of the interview committee. CandA has the necessary education and experience for the position and was comfortable with the uniqueness s/he would bring to the organization.
Candidate B was fairly good in the initial interview (not for the same position as CandA) and then really showed well in a second portion of the interview. Again, s/he has the necessary education and experience and would seem to be a good fit for the organization. Most interestingly, CandB knew s/he needed a change from the current work context for both career and lifestyle reasons and believes that the new position and the new organization would help that change happen. CandB's honesty that s/he was "giddily excited" about the possibility of serving the organization in the position was refreshing - and one wondered if it was a bit too idealistic. But then again, would you really want someone joining your organization who was pessimistic or hesitant to work with you?
Candidate C had a fairly decent interview also, though it was again different from the other two. It seems that CandC has the raw tools to do a good job in the position, but s/he doesn't actually have the experience in the context. S/he certainly has the education for the position and has shown most of the skills necessary for the position but in varying contexts. I think the organization may be willing to give CandC a shot at the position on some sort of contract basis or short-term contract which would seem to be reasonable. CandC seems like a good quality individual who has good talents and would be a good person to have in the organization, but whether s/he can totally fit the job is still a question.
So that's been an interesting week. Now its off to watch Hockey Day in Canada. I'm thinking I'd like to offer an elective course sometime for pastors in rural communities in Canada. The pre-reading would not be reading at all - it would be watching 2-3 episodes of "Hockey Day in Canada" and then watching all three seasons (now available on DVD) of "Corner Gas." Here's my title for the course: Dog River Shepherding: Corner Gas, Culture & Canadiana. Any takers?
For the organization to NOT hire Candidate A would be insane. While it is a good organization, for them to have a chance to hire CandA is amazing. This would be an incredibly good hire!!! CandA was a good communicater, answered the interview questions well and also showed some good insight in the questions that were asked of the interview committee. CandA has the necessary education and experience for the position and was comfortable with the uniqueness s/he would bring to the organization.
Candidate B was fairly good in the initial interview (not for the same position as CandA) and then really showed well in a second portion of the interview. Again, s/he has the necessary education and experience and would seem to be a good fit for the organization. Most interestingly, CandB knew s/he needed a change from the current work context for both career and lifestyle reasons and believes that the new position and the new organization would help that change happen. CandB's honesty that s/he was "giddily excited" about the possibility of serving the organization in the position was refreshing - and one wondered if it was a bit too idealistic. But then again, would you really want someone joining your organization who was pessimistic or hesitant to work with you?
Candidate C had a fairly decent interview also, though it was again different from the other two. It seems that CandC has the raw tools to do a good job in the position, but s/he doesn't actually have the experience in the context. S/he certainly has the education for the position and has shown most of the skills necessary for the position but in varying contexts. I think the organization may be willing to give CandC a shot at the position on some sort of contract basis or short-term contract which would seem to be reasonable. CandC seems like a good quality individual who has good talents and would be a good person to have in the organization, but whether s/he can totally fit the job is still a question.
So that's been an interesting week. Now its off to watch Hockey Day in Canada. I'm thinking I'd like to offer an elective course sometime for pastors in rural communities in Canada. The pre-reading would not be reading at all - it would be watching 2-3 episodes of "Hockey Day in Canada" and then watching all three seasons (now available on DVD) of "Corner Gas." Here's my title for the course: Dog River Shepherding: Corner Gas, Culture & Canadiana. Any takers?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Canada Three-peats at the World Juniors
As noted a couple blogs ago, one of the best parts of any Christmas season is the World Junior Hockey Championships on TSN. And once again, for the third year in a row, its a GOLDEN celebration today after Canada defeated Russia 4-2 in the gold medal game. A couple great leadership stories...
1) Carey Price who allowed a soft goal two years ago in the final of the U18 world championships and was then cut from last year's Canadian team, not only provided solid goaltending for Team Canada, but was named the top goalie of the tournament and the tournament MVP. In other words, times of testing and hardship will come. Its how you respond that either builds character and makes you stronger (or makes you give up).
2) Brent Sutter coached the last two world junior champions for Canada and last year Craig Hartsburg was one of the assistant coaches. This year Hartsburg was the head coach and did a fantastic job keeping the Canadian team focused and playing well. Hockey Canada seems to do a super job of succession planning!
3) And last but not least, how can you NOT be proud to be a Canadian when your Prime Minister is interviewed live during the first intermission and provides good hockey analysis, and yet is so clearly cheering on the team, and even is glad to make jokes when James Duthie (TSN announcer) says, "we profusely apologize for any troubles caused in the economy this afternoon by Canadian hockey fans skipping work to watch the game" and PM Stephen Harper replies, "oh that's okay. I imagine I'm not gonna get too many answer to some of my phone calls today either!"
1) Carey Price who allowed a soft goal two years ago in the final of the U18 world championships and was then cut from last year's Canadian team, not only provided solid goaltending for Team Canada, but was named the top goalie of the tournament and the tournament MVP. In other words, times of testing and hardship will come. Its how you respond that either builds character and makes you stronger (or makes you give up).
2) Brent Sutter coached the last two world junior champions for Canada and last year Craig Hartsburg was one of the assistant coaches. This year Hartsburg was the head coach and did a fantastic job keeping the Canadian team focused and playing well. Hockey Canada seems to do a super job of succession planning!
3) And last but not least, how can you NOT be proud to be a Canadian when your Prime Minister is interviewed live during the first intermission and provides good hockey analysis, and yet is so clearly cheering on the team, and even is glad to make jokes when James Duthie (TSN announcer) says, "we profusely apologize for any troubles caused in the economy this afternoon by Canadian hockey fans skipping work to watch the game" and PM Stephen Harper replies, "oh that's okay. I imagine I'm not gonna get too many answer to some of my phone calls today either!"
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