I rarely hear God described as ‘persistent,’ but I’ve lately learned just how persistent he is. On several occasions over the past two years, circumstances have caused me to recall a difficult time from when I was in college. ThoseRead more…
More Serving? or Better Serving?
When we talk about serving, it’s almost always about “more” serving — its quantity. As volunteers retire, leaders need to replace them with more volunteers. When new ministry opportunities arise, leaders need more volunteers to make them happen. People inRead more…
“Come Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest . . .”
“Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let your gifts to us be blessed.” As I grew up, my family said this prayer at dinner each evening before dinner, and I still use it regularly at meals. Recently it occurredRead more…
You Can Be/Grow a Volunteer Champion
Imagine a world in which every Christian church, no matter its size or budget, had an acknowledged volunteer champion in their midst, a leader who helped people use their God-given gifts in their Lord’s service within and beyond the church;Read more…
Review: Every Good Endeavor
Pretty much the highest praise I can give a book is that it is both deeply thoughtful and highly readable. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Tim Keller (2012) earns that praise. Deep and thorough, itRead more…
Review: But Now I See. . .
Sometimes life throws us a curve — health or job changes, a world-wide pandemic, a midlife crisis. They often cause us to wonder if and how it all fits into God’s plan for us. In But Now I See: FindingRead more…
Add a Little More Joy to Your Serving
If we’re driving, we need to know how much gas is in the tank. When we’re serving, it can be equally helpful to look at how much joy is in our tank! Let’s do a self-check. Do you look forwardRead more…
Add a Little Jesus to Your Serving
“I never thought of that as serving Jesus!” I hear this a lot. We all tend to equate ‘serving Jesus’ with volunteering that is at church or that is specifically religious. But St. Paul says, “. . . whatever youRead more…
Simplify Your Serving
Some of us don’t need to be encouraged to serve. We’re serving at church and elsewhere so much so that we’re running nonstop. If you’re overwhelmed by obligations, if a relaxed family dinner is a rarity, if you say ‘yes’Read more…
The Jungle Cruise and Insubordination
What can we learn from Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise? What Laszlo Bock has to say here about employees is actually MORE true of volunteers. Empowerment can be key in keeping volunteers, particularly the highly skilled ones. How does a leader ofRead more…
What’s Your Joy Level?
Have you measured your joy level lately? We count the miles we jog or the steps we walk and we track our bank accounts. What if we quantified our daily joy? Our joy goes up when we’re praised at work,Read more…
On Your Feet
Note: This is the fourth in a series of five reflections. The series begins here. If God’s calling us to specific tasks (see Eph. 2:10), how do we know what they are? It sounds like a high-stake guessing game. What jobRead more…
He’s Calling You
Bartimaeus was blind. And noisy. He heard Jesus was nearby and, to get his attention, he started hollering. People nearby told him to hold down the noise. But he just got louder! And when Jesus noticed and asked for Bartimaeus,Read more…
A Question: Is a Retreat Worthwhile?
I am thinking about hosting a winter retreat for my church’s volunteers. Do you think it’s worth it? — a reader Response: Is a retreat worthwhile? Jesus certainly thought so! “Then, because so many people were coming and going thatRead more…
Good Stuff: God’s bookkeeping = All Grace!
Do you set goals? Do you track your progress in reaching them? About 5 years ago, our senior pastor began working with staff who report to him create annual goals and regularly review progress on those goals. It’s been aRead more…
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