My Advice to Churches: Part 5, Go Bilingual
Every church in Texas should become bilingual. Or at least give a nod to Spanish-speakers.
For example, how hard would it to be to have Spanish translations on all the PowerPoint slides for praise songs, scripture readings and announcements? Change nothing in your service, just add the Spanish on the PowerPoint slides. How hard is that?
A small change, but a quantum leap in spiritual formation in pushing against xenophobia, racism and nationalism.
Talk to the Children When Fencing the Table
Unbelieving children who leave the worship of their church on the Lord’s Day need to know far more than they were barred from the Lord’s Supper table. They need to know why. More specifically, they need to know the gospel. During the fencing of the table, it would be wise to ask for the attention of the children and call for them to pay close attention to the practice and the teaching during the Lord’s Supper. The gospel of Jesus Christ should shine clearly and brightly from the Lord’s Table in such a way that it proclaims the Lord’s death with a joyful anticipation of his return.
What Was the Shape of Jesus’ Cross?
The traditional “Crux Commissa” shape of Jesus’ cross is, in fact, the most reasonable inference, but to be fair, this inference is only slightly more reasonable than the “T” shaped “Crux Immissa”. The least reasonable form of crucifixion structure from the historic evidence of the Bible and the non-Biblical texts is the “Crux Simplex” described by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Creating a Zero-Based Church Schedule
- Most churches have too many activities and programs and ministries for their members.
- Over the years, those churches have added many things to the calendar without subtracting many or any.
- Attempt this exercise. Start with a blank calendar.
- Now, fill in the calendar with only those activities you feel will really move the church forward.
- Look at those activities that didn’t make the cut.
- If you do this every year, your leadership will become more and more aware of how precious the resource of time is for your members.
Stop Telling People Your Goals. Tell Them Your Plans.
Describing how I plan to run a marathon, and how I bought running shoes and joined a gym and created a training plan, certainly makes me feel good, but it also makes me feel like I’m already part of the way there … even though I haven’t trained at all.
Declaring what we want to be and how we will get there causes us to somehow feel we are farther along the path of becoming who we want to be, and therefore less motivated … even though we’ve actually done nothing but talk.
I’ve culled 10 lessons from my experiences that week, which help fuel my optimism. I hope that they, along with the rest of our coverage, inspire you to embrace your own future. We never really know what’s going to happen next; but if we focus on what we can control—and our own reactions to the world around us—we can find meaning and create impact, bringing to life the dreams we all share.
Warren Buffett Says If You Hire People on Intelligence but They Lack This Other Trait, Don’t Bother
To safeguard from hiring bad apples, throw them a curveball when they’re expecting a fastball, to catch them off guard. Ask a question like this one:
If we ever got into a bind with a client, would you be willing to tell a little white lie to help us out?
That’s what one high-level CEO routinely asks to test out a candidate’s integrity. If you are asked that question and say yes, expect a short interview and your parking stub validated early. A no indicates a high degree of integrity and a possible good hire.
Apple Health data used as evidence in murder trial
Hussein, who owns an iPhone, declined to give authorities his passcode when arrested. However, investigators hired a local company, which was able to gain access to the device. They then searched his Apple Health data, and were able to ascertain more details about his activities that day, such as the number of steps he took and the kind of activities he was engaged in.
Authorities are particularly interested in activity registered as “climbing stairs,” which correlate with the time during which Hussein may have been dragging his victim down a river embankment, and then climbing back up again after disposing of her body. Investigators replicated these movements, and found that the Health app recorded the information in the same way as was shown on his iPhone.
Stranger pays for Arizona girl’s birthday cake in memory of her late daughter
Kyle Jauregui took to Twitter to thank to a stranger who paid for his sister Madison’s birthday cake.
Jauregui posted a picture showing a card from the stranger that revealed how this random act of kindness served a purpose for one grieving mother, Ashley Santi.
Santi’s infant daughter died in 2008 and as a way to honor her daughter, Santi decided to pay for a birthday cake on her daughter’s birthday.