A professor stood before his class of twenty senior organic biology students, about to hand out the final exam. “I want to say that it’s been a pleasure teaching you this semester. I know you’ve all worked extremely hard and many of you are off to medical school after summer. So that no one gets … Read more
A tour guide was showing a tourist around Washington, D.C. The guide pointed out the place where George Washington supposedly threw a dollar across the Potomac River. “That’s impossible,” said the tourist. “No one could throw a coin that far!” “You have to remember,” answered the guide. “A dollar went a lot farther in those … Read more
An elderly lady was stopped to pull into a parking space when a young man in his new red Mercedes went around her and parked in the space she was waiting for. The little old lady was so upset that she went up to the man and said, “I was going to park there!” The … Read more
A large passenger plane is on its way across the Atlantic. It flies consistently at 800 km/h at 35,000 feet when suddenly an F-22 Raptor appears. The pilot of the fighter jet slows down, flies alongside the Airbus, and greets the pilot of the passenger plane by radio: “Airbus flight, a boring flight isn’t it? … Read more
I used to work in an art supply store. We sold artists’ canvas by the yard, and you could get it in either of two widths: 36 inches or 48 inches. Customer: “Can you please cut some canvas for me?” Me: “Certainly, what width?” Customer (confused and slightly annoyed): “Um, scissors??”
The shopkeeper was dismayed when a brand-new business much like his own opened up next door to his left and erected a huge sign which read … BEST DEALS. He was horrified when another competitor opened up on his right and announced its arrival with an even larger sign, reading … LOWEST PRICES. The shopkeeper … Read more
It looks like the current average tenure of pastors in local churches is about 3.5 years. That may not be long enough to really bring about a change. Longevity in a ministry role isn’t a silver bullet, but it does offer some really good things both to the pastor and the church. Before we get … Read more
“You cannot lead a strong organization without extraordinary clarity.” A. Stanley As church leaders, we are bombarded with “have tos”, “how tos” and “must dos”. There’s no way we can do everything. That’s why clarity is so important. Take heart – You don’t need to do extraordinary things. You need to do ordinary things extraordinarily … Read more
Faith in Christ goes beyond high school. The transition from high school to college is a monumental time in life – the first real opportunity to live out one’s faith. Here’s a bit of practical advice to share with college students in your life. Find a campus group that focuses on Jesus and his word. … Read more
If your community isn’t talking about your church – then do something to get the conversation going. We’re not going for things like, “What’s going on down there anyway?” We don’t want bad publicity. We want things like, “I think the church is hosting that” or “Have you see what First Church did?! Wow!” Every … Read more