Math Through the Years

1. Teaching Math In 1950s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

2. Teaching Math In 1960s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math Today

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s ok).

Thanks Mom

Having just celebrated Mother’s Day, I returned to the office today and started checking my weekend’s worth of emails.  My Mom sent me an email.  Attached to this email is a game that is humorous, frustrating and fun at the same.  Thanks Mom!  Enjoy.

National Day of Prayer 2009

As our country is in the midst of some troubling times both morally and economically.  There is no better time to pray for our country than today.  Of course we should pray for our elected official at the local , state and national level on a daily basis, but today is a day to focus on prayer for the United States. 

The focus verse for this year’s national day of prayer is Psalm 33:22           

Let you steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Our hope for the future; our hope for life is truly found in no one but God.  take some time today and pray for our country.  We are walking down a treacherous path.  Our country does need another economic bailout or stimulus, it needs to return to God!

7 Practices for Effective Ministry: A Review

Anything that Andy Stanley writes is going to be good.  From Visioneering and Like a Rock to The Next Generation Leader and It Came From Within, Andy knows how to communicate and communicated effectively.  7 Practices of Effective Ministry was co authored by Reggie Joiner, former Executive Director of Family Ministries at North Point and now with reThink group ( which, by the way, puts out incredible children’s ministry curriculum that engages the family, like no other curriculum current produced), Lane Jones, Executive Director of Membership Development at North Point and Andy Stanley, Sr. Pastor of North Point Community Church.

The overall them of the book is based on the sport of baseball (my love for the sport make this book an instant classic). The first 10 chapters, are written as a story of a struggling pastor, who’s name is Ray.  Ray is discouraged, as the church grows it seems that more and more “stuff” is hindering him from his first love.  Ray wonders which direction the church should move, in the story it’s the prospect of starting a school at the church.  Ray is discouraged and has the chance to go to a baseball game.  While he attends the game he has the chance to meet a man and they strike up a conversation that introduces the 7 practices.  Chapters 10-16 go in depth and explain  the practices in greater detail and  how they can be implemented in the local church. 

I think the overall strength of this book is the style in which it is written.  Reading it makes you feel as if you’re sitting at a table having a casual conversation over lunch with authors.  The book is easy to read and the practices are easy to understand and easy to implement.  The practicality of the book is another strong point.  You can definitely see the vision and ministry philosophy of North Point Community Church flowing through the book.

Rarely have I read a book and immediately implemented what the book was saying, but with this book the 7 practices really do help you engage and have a greater, more effective ministry.  I’ve read books before that say that they will give you insight and thought into how to accomplish more in ministry, yet by the end of reading, they come short of the goal then set out to write about.  Not his book; this book hit a grand slam in the practicality department.

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a refresher course on why ministry is done and how effectively ministry can be done with a few simply adjustments outlined in this book.

The Incredible Shrinking Church: A Review

After I finished reading the new book by Dr. Frank Page of Taylors (SC) First Baptist Church I was encouraged.  I was encouraged because I could see how some simple, yet monumental shifts in perspective and thought could bring about a reversal of current trends within the church. 

In writing this book, Dr. Page confronts an issue that is very relevant for today’s church; the loss of momentum and the ever dwindling number of people who attend church.  Dr Page’s assessment of the church was a reminder of the stark reality that the majority of churches and denominations have plateaued or declined at a staggering rate. 

There were several things I liked about this book. 

• The book is easy to read and the thoughts, while challenging, do not require a Ph.D to grasp.
• Dr. Page used real examples of how, through his leadership, churches that he led reversed the trends of shrinking.
• The book dealt with leadership issues that I believe are desperately needed in churches today:  Issues of making sure that right people are in place to implement changes that are needed.  Creating a vision or goal and being dedicated to seeing and reaching the goal, through prayer and seeking God’s will for the church.
• I appreciated the fact that Dr. Page discussed replicating leadership.  Bringing people on board who could strengthen the overall vision and goals of the church can be of great benefit to the leadership of the church.  Great leaders raise up other great leaders for the reason of accomplishing what could not be done on a singular level.
• I enjoyed reading about other churches such a Xenos Church in Ohio and Summit Church in North Carolina that redirected their vision, went through  time of redevelopment and emerged from the process stronger and more effective for the kingdom.
• One statement that leaped off the page when I read it was, “A church that’s just getting by, not losing members but not really going anywhere spiritually should be an embarrassment to Christians everywhere.” OUCH!

My favorite chapter of the book was Chapter 9.  This chapter hit the target with where I am in my personal walk with God presently.  It addressed the need for strong evangelism.  One point that Dr, page made was that no matter how large a church becomes, there is still a need for a strong evangelistic emphasis.  Dr. Page writes, “Growing churches have to develop and nurture people-centered ministries that are outwardly focused.” 

The only negative to this book is that it ended.  I  really enjoyed reading this book.  This book is one that will be quoted and refered to often.  I believe that this book should be required reading for anyone who has a desire to do ministry either professionally or in a lay leadership role.

Final thoughts on Franchising McChurch

Here are my top 10 statements from Franchising McChurch. 

10.  The hard truth: God cares more about the holiness of the congregation that than He does the size of the congregation.

9.  Churches best display the glory of God when they reflect the holiness of God, and they best way to demonstrate the difference between God’s way and the world’s way is when the don’t just look like the world.

8.  Many churches simply cave into whatever process, whatever program, whatever worked to get people in our doors.

7.  Humans cannot produce God-sized result.

6.  Theotainment is an attempt to utilizeentertainment to fill the spiritual needs of church attendees.

5.  One of the most problematic elements of the multi-site movement is the forfeiture of a local church autonomy.

4.  Lack of size does not always mean God is displeased with a church.

3.  Size is not an indicator of spiritual growth or maturity among attendees.

2.  God does not measure success by the size of your congregation so long as you are focused on the things God called the church to be.

1.  The American church has lost its understanding of the power of God’s word..

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely defeat of  the french at the battle of Puebla on May 5, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin.  Although it is not the date of Mexican Independence, as many think, it is a day to celebrate the heritage and pride of the Mexico.

The Meaning of Stones

Picture this scene:  The Israelites are getting ready to cross the Jordan River and enter the promised land.  Forty years earlier the Israelites had been faced with the same situation and they chose to not enter the land out of fear.  After wondering the wilderness (desert) for 40 years, time had come to cross the river and take the land.  Moses was dead and Joshua was not in charge. 

I can only imagine the excitement and anticipation that the people must have felt the night before crossing the Jordan and taking the possession of the land that had been promised for hundreds of years.  The day finally arrives and the people cross the Jordan.  The water of the Jordan part and the Israelites cross on dry land.  Once those who are carrying the ark of the covenant hit the opposite side of the Jordan, the waters begin to flow again.

After the Israelites had crossed, the 12 men who had been selected to carry a stone each across the Jordan and represented the 12 tribes set up a monument of stones just s God had instructed Joshua to do and Joshua instructed the tribes to do.  The stones were to be a visual reminder of the goodness of God; a reminder of what God had done for His people.  Joshua said that when the children asked what the stones meant, the families were to tell the children what God had done for them.

God is continuing to work in lives today.  He is always at work in people’s lives.  As Christians, it is our job to help direct people to where God is at work. We should be a light that shines brightly for God.  When our children ask what God is doing in our lives, we should be able to tell them all the great things that God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.  To know where God is at work, we must be focused on Him.  When we are focused on God’s activity in the world, His heartbeat becomes our heartbeat; His will our will; His desires, our desires.  What do the stones mean? They mean that God is an active God who cares about and loves people!

Franchising McChurch: A Review

     I’m going to something that I’ve not had to do since graduate school.  I’m going to review a few books that I read during my blogging sabbatical.  I’m not a professional book critic and I’m not doing this because I have a desire to dissect a book to its bare skeletal framework.  I’m doing this because, for the three of you that read this blog, I want you to know that there are some really great books out there right now.  These books are thought provoking and offer the reader a chance to engage the author in thought rather than simply flipping on the TV and watching a show.  Obviously I cannot review ever new book that comes on the market (I’ll let the pros do that).  I’ve picked these books because I think that they present topics that are relevant to where I’m at in life right now.  These books are book that I have looked at in the bookstore for several weeks.  Each time I looked at these books I had the thought of buying them, but something stopped me (mainly money).  The first book I’m going to review is entitled Franchising McChurch: Feeding Our Obsession with Easy Christianity, by Thomas White and John M. Yeats.  Both White and Yeats are professors at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth , TX.  While their areas of expertise differ (Thomas is an Associate Professor of Church History and Yeats is the VP of Student Service and Communication and an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology) the two work well in presenting a glance into the such issues as

• “the blurry line between entertainment and evangelism”
• “a marketing approach to ministry”
• “the warped yardstick for measuring church growth”
• “feel good messages that avoid truth”

The book begins by staring the story of the Dick and Mac McDonald who owned a small burger shop in San Bernardino, Ca in the 1950’s.   The McDonald brothers made milkshakes and used an invention called the multimixer.  A guy selling multimixers, by the name of Ray Kroc found out that the McDonald’s used eight multimixers at their burger shop and he had to go meet them.  The rest is history; McDonald’s was born.  The thing about McDonald’s franchising is that you come to expect certain things.  You can eat at a Mickey D’s in a terminal at LAX and the fries will be look, taste and small as a McDonald’s in Brooklyn, NY.  The shakes, the Big Macs, and the items on the dollar menu will taste the same in Dallas as they do in Sioux Falls, SD.

Thomas and Yeats’approach in the book deals with the  danger of “franchising” the local church and thus taking away from the individual work of a church; the work that God has specifically designed for the people in the community where the church is located?  The writers explore the various topics.  Chapter One really stuck with me (not because it was simply chapter one).  This chapter dealt with efficiantcy vs. effectiveness.  Aspects of an efficient churches can be both positive and negative.  Positive in that the efficient use of space can aid people as they move from a time of Bible study into a cooperate worship service.  Traffic flow, parking, helpful directional signs all provide a positive for an efficient church.  Thomas and Yeats write:

“Efficient organizations work toward obtaining results.  Their production  results that reflect the aims, goals and mission of the organization.  The difference is that where the effective organization works together as a whole to achieve the stated goal, the efficient organization strives for rapid obtainment of the goals, sometimes at the expense of the totality of the organization.” 

Effective churches strive to accomplish the work of God in their communities without making efficiency the ruling aspect of the congregation.  Is there a place for efficiency in the church?  Yes; when dealing with budgets, schedules and individuals.  Efficiency should not; however, be the rule when dealing with development of spiritual maturity.  I believe that it you should have a picture or idea of what you desire your congragation to look like spiritually.  When I design a program or event in my ministry, I ask myself if this program or event will help people grow to be more spiritually mature.  I have a goal to help parents and children become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  I have to realize that the goal is not to move families from one program to another and in affect, work efficiently.   I’ll take working effectively any day of the week.

I think that Thomas and Yeats delivered a super-sized home run with this book. The topics of discussion were well thought out and were written in such a way as to allow the reader to think through various points of view.  In no way did Thomas and Yeats bash any particular church, rather they presented concern over some perceived weakness and problems in church methodology; they simply opened the lines of communication for a debate.  This book is very appropriate in this day in church history.  At the end of each chapter there is a summery of main thoughts and questions that can be helpful though provokers.  For a great book review that takes a differant approach to the book other than the one I’m offering, read the book review by Tim Rogers.

Where ya been?

It’s been some time since I last posted on this blog.  During my blogging sabbatical some great things have happened in my life.  Here’s a brief synopsis of a few…

1.  Two weeks ago  I was  able to baptize my little girl.  It was one of the most moving experiencing in my life.  To see her growing in her love, obedience and knowledge of God is incredible.  I think the crown accomplishment of a parent is to see their child come to an understand of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and to commit his or her life to God.

2.  Our family celebrated my youngest sons 1st Birthday (thanks Eema for cleaning him up after he destroyed the cake!)

3.   Our Children’s Ministry has witnessed 10 children commit their live to Christ.  God is so good. he’s definitely at work in our children’s ministry.

4.  I Started P90X with my friend.  It’s intense!  The first few days I couldn’t life my arms, no joke; it tore me up!  I’ve missed some days and during a layoff, you can sure tell that you’ve missed. 

5.  I had the chance to read 4 four books in the past few weeks.  I often go on reading marathons, where I read several book  in a short time. 

6.  I started painting my kids playhouse (the trim work is still incomplete)

7.  I stained my deck!

8.  Started cleaning out the garage ( this is a big deal!)

9.  Enjoyed many events and ministry opportunities at church.

I know that these things might not mean much to you but they have been great.  The time I have take off from blogging has been great, but I’m ready to write again.