Thursday, August 27, 2009

Volunteer Appreciation

I am truly grateful for the volunteerism that happens at Jubilee Church St. Louis. Week in and week out, hundreds of hours are logged collectively by more than 120 people. The other day I got curious and figured out that if we paid minimum wage for every volunteer hour (and most of our volunteer jobs are worth far more), it would cost the church nearly $100,000 per year! But more than saving a few bucks, the high level of volunteerism has enabled us to reach more people and participate more in life transformation. Our children's ministry, that is almost exclusively run by volunteers, has effected the lives of hundreds of kids. All of our graphic designers are volunteers and have helped us communicate our message and have been instrumental in attracting and gathering. Our Sunday morning teams are all volunteers and show such great hospitality and create a warm friendly environment (which, by the way, is the first thing people mention in describing our church). And the list of life-impacting volunteerism goes on and on.

Some might say, "God doesn't need us. He can build the church just fine on His own." To that, I would say a big, "Amen!" However, let us never use God's sovereignty as an excuse for our apathy. God could do it all by Himself, but He hasn't choosen to do it that way. It must be that it's such a thrill and a joy to participate in changing someone's life for all eternity, He wanted to let us in on it.

So if you have every volunteered at Jubilee, thank you for doing so. If you haven't joined the fun yet, what are you waiting for?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Leaders Wanted Audio and Notes

If you missed Leaders Wanted last Saturday, but would like the audio recording as well as the notes and worksheet, you can download them separately below:

Session One Audio
Session Two Audio
Session Three Audio

Notes

Worksheet

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Leaders Wanted

The popular view of leadership is that is for the select view - Ghandi, Obama, Martin Luther King, and William Wallace quickly come to mind. No doubt these men are (were) very powerful leaders. However, I would contend that 99% of all leadership comes from the middle and not the top. Everyone is in a position to provide leadership for their family, their workplace, their neighborhood and the church. You just have to understand your role and how you can best play our role.

For the Christian, leadership is more than just a possibility, it's a calling. We are instructed by Jesus to go into all the world and make disciples (lead people). In Matthew 5, Jesus said that we are to be salt and light. That is we are to be an influence in society for his glory. Therefore, I believe it is crucial that we undertand what it takes to be a leader and to be the most effective leader we can be.

If you're in St. Louis this Saturday, I will be doing a seminar on leadership titled, "Leaders Wanted" from 9 am to noon at Jubilee Church St. Louis City. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

August Bible Reading Plan

Here is the August Bible reading plan for all of you who use it. If you don't, I hope you're using something to help you read the best book ever written!

I'll begin a new one in September