Donations Down

It was in the newspaper on Monday.  Contributions to non-profits are down because of the economy.  That is not good news if you are a non-profit and exist on the largesse of others.
I just attended a workshop on the subject of building relationships that will, in turn, result in a strong financial base.  Let’s Have Lunch [...]

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Connector

Our Chamber sponsors a monthly “connector” for our members.  These connectors are held at various City businesses which provide refreshments and a great opportunities for networking and visiting with business friends.
Today’s connector was held at our local Servicemaster.  A few months ago, Servicemaster moved to a new and much larger location, so this connector gave [...]

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DNA

I was told by church-planter-trainers that it is important to be very intentional about setting the DNA of the new church.  Prior to that time I had never really thought about DNA and whether a church had it.  But I’ve decided they all do.  And once set, there is no changing the DNA.

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Networks

Several months ago, maybe even a year, a guy e-mailed me and asked to have coffee.  He just wanted to find out more about LifeSpring.  The visit was pleasant.
We got together for coffee a couple more times, and then he moved back east.  It was a short relationship, although it has continued via e-mail and [...]

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Second Sunday Social

Today was the date of our Second Sunday Social. LifeSpring has been scheduling these regular monthly get togethers for the past several months, and we only change the date when it interferes with the kind of social we want to schedule.

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Weddings

I really enjoy conducting weddings. My most recent occurred at a local museum. The individual that was first asked to conduct the wedding couldn’t, so I was asked if I could take his place. It was an honor to be asked. Weddings are deeply personal occasions, and to be asked to [...]

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Table Talk

At LifeSpring Church we believe that everybody should be able to participate as fully as they would like.  So we give people ample opportunity to volunteer to lead congregational prayers, read scripture, and provide the Lord’s Supper meditation, which we call the “table talk.” 
When we started doing this over a year ago, you could [...]

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New Barna Book

I just bought a new book called unChristian.  I found out about it through an electronic newsletter and was intrigued by the premise of the book.  Author David Kinnaman works for The Barna Group, an organization that provides primary research and tools for churches and parachurch organizations.
My interest in the book began because of a [...]

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Christmas Parade

Today, December 1, was the day of Merced’s annual Christmas parade.  The parade route went down Main Street right past Playhouse Merced.  LifeSpring was invited to put up a table inside the Playhouse entry way, right next to the sidewalk.  We all thought that was a good idea, although we didn’t know what to expect.
In [...]

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Teamwork

One of the greatest sins a “leader” can commit is to work alone.  Good leadership equips, empowers, trusts, and releases.  The best way to do this is through teams, and this is a good definition of team.  “A team is a group organized to work together to accomplish a set of objectives that cannot be achieved [...]

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