I was blessed by Bishop McGee's message on Wednesday evening - "Right Person, Right Place, Right Time." A good word and a timely word for our fellowship. Then on Thursday morning he brought the mail with an insightful look at District Connection. GOOD STUFF!!! (wish we had these on CD)
Convention is a great time to reconnect with pastors and leaders from around the state. Our "productive" lives can prevent us from connecting like we should. I regret that I've not done as good as I had hoped this year in staying connected. I did reconnect with some brothers who I admire and respect.
My heart was ready to bust Sunday morning as I shared on "Moving From Success To Significance." This was the second message in our series on "Favor Factor." The real emphasis was placed on allowing God to grow you spiritually even in the work place. I was thrilled by the response in the altar and the decisions to GROW, DEVELOP and PURSUE that process.
God will grow you at work through:
- Problems
- God is far more interested in my character than He is my comfort.
- He's far more interested in perfecting me than He is in pampering me.
- He wants me to GROW UP!
- So along comes the problems in life that teach me character.
- God wants to develop character in me so I don't end up being a character you read about in the funny papers. (Loony Tunes)
- While you're working on your job, God's working on you.
- People
- He uses people to cultivate, teach and deepen the love that I have.
- He will put people around you who are the exact opposite of you.
- His purpose is to get us to LOVE the unlovely.
- Demanding People
- Dishonest People
- Disagreeable People
- Defensive People
- Demeaning People
- The more I learn to love unlovely people, to respond like Jesus would to people who don't deserve it, the more I grow spiritually.
- Pressure
- Almost every time that we get under pressure, it's a direct result of not having our priorities in order.
- So God uses pressure to clarify my priorities and teach me to live a responsibly, balanced life.
- How can I improve at work?
- Here are some practical ideas:
- Keep your promises.
- Meet your deadlines.
- Work without supervision.
- Practice cost control.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for people.
I love this church! I'm pumped up about next Sunday's "FALL HARVEST FEST!" We still need volunteers to help achieve our vision! Sign up at the HUB this Wednesday night or click here.
Also, we have 101 kids enrolled in our Fall UPWARD Basketball & Cheerleading league! I am so excited about this!
I'm headed to Dallas, TX this evening for the NPN conference (Navigational Pastors Network)! I'm gonna reconnect with some of my friends and sharpen my perspective. I appreciate your continual prayers.