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Pray For Israel

Israeli forces returned fire into Syria today with some warning shots, according to the Jerusalem Post.  "The IDF fired a warning shot at the Syrian military on Sunday, after a Syrian shell landed in the Golan Heights for the second time in recent days."

Israel has not fired at Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

"In the midst of Syrian infighting, a mortar shell fired by the Syrian army struck near an outpost at Tel Hazeka," IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai said.  The shell failed to cause injuries or damages.

"In light of the policy instituted by IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, a warning round was fired back into Syria.  We don't believe it caused injuries or damages," Mordechai added.

America's ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, issued a statement in support of Israel's actions on his Facebook page.

"Our thoughts are with the residents of southern Israel, who continue to be bombarded with missile attacks from terrorist organizations in Gaza.  The United States supports Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens from these attacks," writes Shapiro.

There appears to be no further statement from the State Department at this moment.

[from Weekly Standard Blog by Daniel Halper]

What Search Committees Are Looking for in a Pastor

A few years ago, Pulpit & Pew Research on Pastoral Leadership shared a fascinating report: "What do Lay People Want in Pastors?"

Demonstrated competence and religious authenticity.
Search committees want pastors who have the ability to do the work required and a genuine religious life that brings together both "head and heart."

Good preacher and leader of worship.
Regional leaders and lay leaders differ regarding what constitutes good preaching. Lay leaders generally care less than judicatory officials whether the sermon reflects careful scholarship and organization and are concerned instead that it relates to their own life and engages them personally.

Strong spiritual leader.
Lay leaders want a pastor with a deep commitment to religious beliefs and an ability to inspire spirituality in others. But many judicatory executives regard this as problematic because of the difficulty of determining who will be a good spiritual leader for a particular congregation.

Commitment to parish ministry and ability to maintain boundaries.
Lay members and search committees generally expect their pastor to be primarily devoted to ministry and take minimal time for other pursuits. This criterion, Lummis suggests, is a key place where lay visions of ideal ministry run counter to current thinking among those who counsel clergy about the importance of maintaining boundaries and the need to find time for other interests.

Available, approachable, and warm pastor with good "people skills."
Regional leaders across denominations cited the pastor’s ability to show church members he or she likes and will care for them as an essential quality search committees try to find. This quality, however, can be situationally specific to the culture of a particular church or region.

Consensus builder, lay ministry coach and responsive leader.
Lay leaders want pastors who are responsive to their concerns, pastors who can initiate ideas to revitalize the church, while soliciting opinions of members and engaging them in putting ideas into operation.

Entrepreneurial evangelists, innovators and transformational reflexive leaders.
This area often presents a disconnect between what churches say they want and what they really want. Many say they want a pastor to help grow the church but don’t want to undertake or think about the necessary changes that will be required.

[from Revitalize Your Church by Mark O. Wilson]

Schuller vs. Crystal Cathedral

Schuller and his wife, Arvella, seek more than $5 million.  Meanwhile, the outcome of the trial will have an impact on creditors who have been waiting to be paid since the Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

"We're just hoping that it's soon over, so we can just move on," said John Charles, chief executive officer of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries.  "It's been painful for both sides."

Carol Schuller Milner, a Schuller daughter who along with her husband, Tim, also has claims in the trial scheduled in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, said: "This is really grieving us.  We don't pursue conflict.  We believe in reconciliation."

The elder Schullers filed a number of claims for breach of contract and copyright infringements.  The largest claim seeks damages for the rejection of an agreement between them and the ministry written prior to Rev. Schuller leaving his post as senior pastor in 2005.

In that agreement, the church agreed to provide for Robert H. and Arvella Schuller until their deaths.  It included payments of $119,000 per year in housing allowance, $20,065 for insurance annually and $198,000 per year to Schuller's corporation, Robert Harold, Inc.  Both Schullers are in their 80s.

Starting in late 2008, as the ministry faced an economic downturn and a decline in donations, the Schullers were paid less.  When the ministry filed for bankruptcy, all payments stopped.  And in the reorganization plan, the agreement with the Schullers was rejected.

Payments also stopped to Carol and Tim Milner.  She was employed for $10,000 monthly to do work related to her father's intellectual property.  He worked as an independent contractor on various services, including fundraising and arranging the reverend's speaking engagements.  Their claims total approximately $189,000, according to court documents.

The elder Schullers have been criticized for using their power and influence over the years to give themselves and their children generous salaries, housing allowances and other benefits, even after the church began to struggle financially.

Carol Milner disputes the idea that her parents and siblings are wealthy or took advantage of the church.

"People have said the big, bad Schullers took all this money, but in reality we were running a $60 million organization.  And we gave it our all," she said.

"My parents did not become wealthy as the result of the church," Milner said.

[from the Orange County Register]

Five Difficult Challenges Pastors Face

1. Responding graciously to someone right before you preach.  The pastor has put hours into the sermon.  He has prayed for God's power for that moment.  He is focused on God's Word and its proclamation.  All of his energy is devoted to the upcoming moment.  Then someone rushes up and drops a bombshell on him on the way to the pulpit, or hands him a piece of paper and says, "Pastor, you need to announce about the garage sale we're having this week."
2. Knowing what do with a staff member who is not making a vital contribution to the church.  Many churches will not let leaders make the tough decision of letting a staff member go, even if he is not really productive and obviously an ill fit for the ministry and the church.  Such a move is considered "un-Christian" and will not be tolerated, even if it would ultimately be best for that staff member.  Many pastors have lost their own jobs when they made such a move.  So we often move those persons to innocuous, low-accountability positions, even though we know it is poor stewardship.
3. Loving a person in the church when that person is your critic.  We want to be Christ-like and love people unconditionally.  I admit that I often saw those people through their critical words instead of seeing them through the eyes of Christ.
4. Preparing more than one quality sermon a week.  When I was a pastor I had to prepare a Sunday morning sermon, a Sunday evening sermon, and a Wednesday evening Bible message.  Frankly, it took all I had to prepare one good message.  I know many churches no longer have the Sunday evening preaching service, but tens of thousands of pastors still prepare more than one message a week.
5. Doing the funeral of a person who was not a Christian.  We can always hope the person had a deathbed conversion of which we are not aware.  And we can always preach messages of comfort to the family and friends.  But it is extremely difficult to talk about the deceased if he or she was lost.

[from Rick Warren's Podcast for Pastors and Church Leaders. by Thom S. Rainer]

Today's Quote

"It is important for your volunteers to understand that their service – no matter how big or small – is an integral part of a much bigger picture."

[By - Nelson Searcy, (Connect: How to Double Your Number of Volunteers (p. 76))]

Love

A wise old minister once said Love is. . .

Slow to suspect - quick to trust
Slow to condemn - quick to encourage
Slow to offend - quick to defend
Slow to expose - quick to shield
Slow to reprimand - quick to forbear
Slow to belittle - quick to appreciate
Slow to demand - quick to give
Slow to provoke - quick to reconcile
Slow to hinder - quick to help
Slow to resent - quick to forgive.

[ from Revitalize Your Church by Mark Wilson]

Why Parenting Is More Important Than Schools

Given all the roiling debates about how America's children should be taught, it may come as a surprise to learn that students spend less than 15% of their time in school.  While there's no doubt that school is important, a clutch of recent studies reminds us that parents are even more so.  A study published earlier this month by researchers at North Carolina State University, Brigham Young University and the University of California-Irvine, for example, finds that parental involvement — checking homework, attending school meetings and events, discussing school activities at home — has a more powerful influence on students' academic performance than anything about the school the students attend.

[From Time Magazine]

Leadership Development

What does the "expert" leader look like?  Moreover, how would we know we are in the presence of an expert leader?  The National Research Council (NRC) (2000) suggests the following as attributes of experts. Which do you think apply to leadership?

• Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices (NRC)
• Experts have acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reflect a deep understanding of their subject matter (NRC)
• Experts' knowledge cannot be reduced to sets of isolated facts or propositions but, instead, reflects contexts of applicability: that is the knowledge is "conditioned" on a set of circumstances (NRC)
• Experts are able to flexibly retrieve important aspects of their knowledge with little attentional effort (NRC)
• Though experts know their disciplines thoroughly, this does not guarantee that they are able to teach others (NRC)
• Experts have varying levels of flexibility in their approach to new situations (NRC)

So does any of this sound like an expert leader?  Which of the bullets apply?  Which may not?  More important, what are additional attributes of an individual who is displaying expertise in the ream of leadership?  Lord & Hall (2005) would suggest that there are six specific skill domains when it comes to leadership:

1. task
2. emotional
3. social
4. identity level
5. meta-monitoring
6. value orientation

So this is interesting ... do you think that the leader needs to show expertise in each of the six domains outlined by Lord & Hall?  Seems like a tall order, but perhaps that's is truly being asked of a man or woman who has chosen to take on a formal or informal leadership role.  What do you think?  It’s an amazing conversation.


[Developing the "Expert" Leader from Center For Leader Development by Scott J. Allen]

Suggested Actions During and After Hurricane Sandy

During and immediately after the storm:

1. Check on your neighbors and vulnerable members of the community and your congregation.
2. Find out and distribute information about where to get help immediately and in the short term including phone numbers of the local municipality and the Red Cross.
3. Provide hospitality for first-responders and people immediately affected by the storm.  If possible, open your church building as a place to wash up, use the telephone or internet, get a hot meal especially for those who have lost electricity, rest from the elements, and more.
4. Offer prayer for people who are suffering and open your sanctuary for prayer and meditation.

Prayer for Hurricane Sandy Victims

"God of renewing love, sustain those who are suffering in this storm.  Walk with all whose lives are being impacted now and in the aftermath as they seek to rebuild following the disaster.  Bring hope in the midst of despair.  Grant patience and endurance to those who bring aid and assistance.  Assure all of your presence in this time.  In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen."

Thank You!

The Power of a Compelling Vision

Little Jimmy’s mother came into his room one night to tuck him into bed, and found him staring out the window, into the evening sky.

“What are you doing, honey?” she asked.

“I’m looking at the moon.”

“Well, Jimmy, it’s time to stop staring at the moon and go to bed.”

“Mommy, one day I am going to walk on the moon.”

“Sure Jimmy, now go to bed.”

32 years later Jimmy (James Irwin) actually did it!  He reached the moon on Apollo 15.  Not only did he step on the moon’s surface – one of the very few humans to accomplish this feat – but he also drove the first Lunar Rover.

First, Jimmy dreamed it – then, Jimmy did it!  There is tremendous power in a compelling vision.
An unknown philosopher said, “Do not follow where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

So, how do we find a compelling vision?

• Look Up. Pray and listen. All faith-inspiring dreams come from above.
• Look Down. What have your failures and painful experiences taught you? Failure isn’t final if you learn something from it. The greatest growth occurs in the darkest valleys.
• Look Inside Yourself. Explore your unique gifts, passions and abilities. Do you love your work? If not, what kind of work would you love? What activities give you energy (green light) vs. activities that drain you (red light).
• Look Around. What is your current reality? What needs to be changed? What first steps should you take? What are your friends telling you? How would you advise someone else in your situation?
• Look Back. Where have you been successful in the past? What has given you the greatest reward and fulfillment? Has there ever been a moment when you thought, “I was born for this”? What have you learned from your experiences?
• Look Ahead. Where do you want to go? Will the path you’re currently on take you there? What do you hope to accomplish in life? What do you want to have written in your obituary? What action must you take now to achieve your goal later?

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, and power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[from Revitalize Your Church by Mark Wilson]

Episcopal Church approves same-sex blessing rite – USATODAY.com

Episcopal Church approves same-sex blessing rite – USATODAY.com

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