“No one will ever agree to do that job; it is just too small and seems so easy and unimportant.”

I have heard that statement more than once by someone in a place of leadership who is trying to recruit volunteer team members.

I believe the opposite is really the disease in ministry organizations; we make jobs too big.

Sure it may seem that it is easier to recruit people to a seemingly important job, but often those seemingly important jobs are really overwhelming because they are really a group of tasks put under one title.

In recruiting volunteers for ministry positions I believe we must communicate the following:

1. There is no such thing as a volunteer position in a ministry. All positions are places of service that are filled with people who are called by God for that service.
2. The mission of the ministry, first as the whole and then more specifically the sub-ministry. Ex: whole = church; sub = children.
3. How the position fits into the big picture. This is often where we fail by not helping the recruit see how important the ‘small’ job may be and how if not carried out successfully can bring down the ‘big picture.’
4. The requirements of the position. (What skills are needed; how much time is required.)
5. What is expected if they say yes to the position? (What is the expected attitude; when are they expected to be on the job)
6. Our appreciation of their commitment.

Once we have recruited and got a person in place in a new ministry position we must then:

1. regularly check up on them to make sure they are thriving
2. continue to provide resources
3. ask for their input about the ministry
4. if needed give them a chance to re-evaluate their commitment and if needed find them another place to serve

There is no such thing as a small ‘ministry position’ because every position is important.

There is no such thing as a volunteer position because every position is a place where people called of God serve.

In “Patton, The Pursuit of Destiny” by Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin we find a brief biography of General George S. Patton Jr. The authors reveal to us the man Patton which cannot be separated from the General. From stories of his childhood, family history, military training and service to our country we find a man whose passion was to be a great military leader.

In the examination of Patton we are given insights to leadership, not just military leadership, which can be a reminder of how to lead people and teams to meet goals and overcome challenges. We also see in the examination of Patton a man, like all other men, who had flaws, which when left uncontrolled caused him not to be able to be a the leader he desired.

I feel that the authors of this book on Patton did an adequate job in relaying details of his life and career to help us see the person and his passion. There were times, during the chapters that focused on WWII, that I felt a little lost in the details of the war. There were pages of military detail that recounted how Patton’s decisions affected his subordinates. I do not know if this detail was necessary to support the thesis of the book.

I am glad I read this book and have filled a few pages in my notebook of the positive leadership lessons that were re-enforced through the study of George S. Patton Jr.

This book review is a part of my participation in the blogger book review service Booksneeze, through Thomas Nelson Publishers. As a part of my participation in Booksneeze I was given a copy of the book to review.

This question has surfaced each week in my worship planning: what story are we telling in worship? Bryan Chapell in his book Chirst Centered Worship states his conviction that each worship service should be a re-presentation of the gospel. This is not the ‘gospel’ as evangelical tool but the ‘gospel’ as the story of God revealing His glory and grace and our response to His revelation. This week we chose to re-present the Gospel in this way:

GOD’s GLORY

Call to Worship

Psalm 118:24
spoken by the worship leader
using this scripture helped the congregation see how the first song was based on scripture

Songs

Today is the Day
-a choir feature with orchestra
-God is in control, we have a lot to rejoice in
-God never changes, we can put our trust in Him
Shout to the Lord
-there are songs that come and go from our play list. Then there are others that will stay around for a long time, Shout to the Lord is one of those songs.
-a response to the opening song, it is here we voice our praise

Welcome

GOD’s GRACE

Scripture

Romans 10:8b-12
-a reminder of God’s provision for salvation
-not only used to speak to the congregation about God’s grace but as an intro to baptism

Song

Jesus Paid It All
-starting on the words of the bridge (O praise the one who paid my debt) as a response to baptism and reminder of our freedom in Christ
My Savior My God
-again a reminder of God’s gift of salvation, one that we will never understand but gladly accept.

Sermon

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This post is my contribution to the blog carnival Sunday Setlists which can be found at www.theworshipcommunity.com

Tomorrow for many is a designated day for worship. What it really should be is another day of worship, a continuation, in a group setting, of what has taken place every other day.

Today on my twitter feed I watched the tweets fly with random thoughts about worship. Here are some to them and some more that I have added.

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Worship is an act which implied further action is required … Service (@mxmarsh)

If “worship” does not drive you to action it is not worship (@mxmarsh)

Congregants… thrown down your scorecards before you gather to worship God tomorrow. It’s about God’s glory, not your amusement (@scottywardsmith)

Here is a blog post to check out: See new blog post “2 b read b4 Sundays“  Have a gr8 day of worship! (@brucefrank1)

Do not worship and serve things men create, make it your thing to worship and serve the Creator of men!

“We design our worship to proclaim the gospel so that others can see His glory dancing in our hearts–and join the dance.” Chapell (@michaelhsmith)

“every generation & people group ness to believe that it can contribute to the continuing life & worship of the church” Chapell (@michaelhsmith)

“The chief goal of preachers should be to say what the Holy Spirit has said in the Bible.” Chapell (@michaelhsmith)

The church of Jesus Christ requires both continuity w/the past & creativity n the present 2 give testimony 2 the power of the Holy Spirit (@michaelhsmith)

Don’t allow what’s wrong with you to keep you from doing what’s right in worship! Don’t let nothing keep you from the throne! (@altheforce)

During the time our children live in our homes we tell or read them a variety of stories from Good Night Moon to David and Goliath. Each story has its significance for the particular stage of development. As we tell these stories we are engaging in a most important activity, spending quality time with our children. We are also teaching them about what we believe by which stories we use.

Just recently I have been reminded that I told my children stories but I neglected an important one: my salvation story, the account of how and when I accepted Christ. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying…I am not saying that I didn’t tell my children about God or Christ or how they can have a personal and continuing relationship with Him. My wife and I did share that important reality and thankfully both my children have entered into that amazing relationship.

What I can’t remember sharing is how and when I made that decision. Obviously I couldn’t share my story with them until they were old enough to understand, but it is a story they needed to hear and I believe more than once.

As we read through the Old Testament and Psalms we can find numerous accounts of the same story, the story of God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt and their captors. God felt that this story of His faithfulness needed to be repeated so He made sure it occurred often in His Word.

The story of God’s love for me and how He invited me to know Him personally is a story that I need to tell. I need to tell my children and someday I need to tell my grandchildren.