jump to navigation

Cheers Factor (part 2) November 23, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , ,
add a comment

Continuing from last’s post topic, I want to tell you what we added that helped us keep the “Cheer’s Factor”  from dying within our community of believers.

We added something called “Friends”.

Friends is our small groups ministry.  I believe people participating in small groups it is the best way to grow closer as the church grows larger.    On the first and the third Sunday night of every month, Faithco meets in smaller groups in homes all across our city and county.  Friends is a place where people can feel accountability, belonging, and care.  While it may be easy to get lost in the crowd during weekend worship, Friends makes sure that people stay connected to others within the church. 

There is something very powerful about believers meeting in homes.  I have found that believers meeting in homes is where people develope close relationships –something that is difficult to do at weekend worship gatherings.  

Although I would not consider our Friends ministry ”house church”, I think Friends ministry resembles and fulfills a lot of the house church functions since it is His church gathering in homes.  Then, once a week the church comes together to celebrate on a grander scale. 

Basically, I believe we are called to fellowship –the connection and enjoyment or doing life with other believers.  If you don’t experience the Cheer’s factor within your life, take a chance, sign up for Friends or some other small group in another church you may attend.

Cheer’s Factor November 19, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership, Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
add a comment

I haven’t blogged in a couple weeks.  I’ve been away on a planning retreat.  Thanks for your patience.

In my last blog, I discussed the importance of investment into friendships.  Today I want to talk about something that I have discovered through our church that has helped cultivate friendships -real friendships.

In the early stages of our church as we began to grow, we noticed that we were losing something I like to refer to as the “Cheer’s Factor” –you know, where everyone knows your name, and they are all so glad you came.  It is that sense on community that we feel when we are with people we know and love.  When our church had 50-150 people it seemed that we did everything together.  All the announcements were to everyone in the church, and it seemed that everyone attended all church functions.  We went to all baby showers. We visited all sick people. We attended all weddings. Everyone came to all events.  This was great because we were experiencing the friendships, the fun,  and the excitement of community within our church. 

However, something bad happened — we kept growing.  Growing isn’t bad, in fact it is an awesome thing; however, it was bad for the Cheer’s Factor in our church.  The Cheer’s Factor was not so much a factor anymore, especially after our attendance grew beyond what our auditorium could hold.  Then, when we added a second worship experience, it seemed like the Cheer’s Factor was completely gone, and it would be all but gone had we not added something to our church community that saved the Cheer’s Factor.

I’ll tell you what we added later.  If you attend faithco, you probably already know.

Friends -Who Needs Them -(part 3) November 11, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , , , ,
add a comment

As I mentioned earlier, I was once confronted by the fact that I wasn’t a good friend. 

One way that we can measure just how good of a friend we are, is to look at the quality (not quantity) of the friends we have. 

Do you have good friends: friends with integrity who will confront and be honest with you -friends you can count on in times of trouble.  What is the quality of your friendships?

Can I say that this will depend on you?  Your level of quality friendships will be determined by your level of investment and committment.  Quality committed friends will take investment, mostly time. 

So, who is the good friend that you have been neglecting?  You need her/him and you don’t want to lose his/her friendship.

Friends -Who Needs Them (part 2) November 10, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , ,
add a comment

Do you know anyone who you would consider a “worthless friend”?  You know…… that person in your life who brings nothing to the table of your friendship.  He calls you and when you ask him “what’s up?” he replies, “nothing, I was bored so I thought I’d call”.  You don’t know why you are even friends with this person, and you feel that your friend is the only person who is benefitting from this dysfunctional friendship.

Do you sit down at lunch with a friend who does nothing but talk about herself and her problems without asking about you?  If she does ask about you, it is just to be cordial, but there is no sincerity in her voice or questions.

Sometimes you may think ”Why am I even friends with this person?”

The issue is not with your friend as much as it is with you.  Why?  I believe it is because you have forgotten one of the most important aspects for every good friendship:  Confrontation.

I read something the other day that talked about friends and confrontation that said “friends stab each other in the front“  In other words, friends confront each other when necessary. 

Too many times we let things in our friendships that need to be confronted go on too long.  We don’t confront because it my cause an awkward or uncomfortable moment in the friendship.  Remember this next sentence and remember to do this in love:

SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.

Plain and simple.  If we don’t confront our friends with what is bothering us then we will grow to despise them, which will in turn destroy the friendship.

So I ask you today, what friend of yours needs to be confronted about something you have let go on too long?  Do it.

Friends -who needs them? November 3, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , ,
2 comments

Not too long ago, for the first time in my life I asked myself how good of a friend I was.

It has occured to me that I am not that good of a friend.   Why?  Why am I not such a good friend?  I have had to ask myself this question because although I may not be a good friend, I would like to have good friends. 

The bible mentions true friendship in Proverbs 18:24:  

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.  ESV

I guess if a person has too many friends, it probably isn’t a good thing.  I suppose it is better to have a few good….close friends.  

I’m learning that if I am to have good friends, I will need to be one.   

What is a good friend?  How do I become one?  Why does it matter? 

I hope to answer these questions in my next few posts.

 

Are You Leading? Part 7 October 27, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
add a comment

As we finish this series of posts, I want to share the third tip that I believe will help you lead your own life efficiently:

3.  Control your phone.  There is no such thing as a smart phone.  They don’t have personality traits or IQ’s.  They are our servants that should be around for our beckoning.  However, many times they control us.  I can’t tell you how many times I have been talking to a person about a life changing issue (keep in mind he asked me for some of my time) when his phone rang (or played a sample of some country music song).  Then, he lifted up his index finger to interrupt our conversation and said “I’ve got to get this”.  Next would follow a couple of sentences about things that could have been taken care of after our conversation. 

My sister told me something I’ve held on to for years: “Just because my phone rings doesn’t mean I have to answer it”.  Great advice.  Don’t get me wrong, we should be prompt to return calls and be available to people who need us.  We just need to make sure that we control our phone schedule and our phone does not control us.

There are so many other tools for leading others by first leading ourselves.  For more resources, you could google “time management” which would give you a sea of things to read….which would probably take up more of your time.  I suggest picking up the book “Today Matters” by Maxwell.

In summary, most people are influenced by other people.  We possess the ability to influence others for the cause of Christ or any other worthwhile cause.  However, leading others begins with leading ourselves. 

So, are you leading?

Are You Leading? Part 6 October 22, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , ,
2 comments

Continuing with last post’s topic of leading ourselves through attacking our days and staying focused….here’s the next tip:

2.  Shut your door.  I’ve found that leaving my office door open or closed sends a certain message to people on the outside.  I used to leave my door open at all times when I was working, but almost everyone for any reason would stop by my door and say or suggest something that would completely throw me off my train of thought or task.  It’s not that I want to be left alone.  In fact, the opposite is true and therein lies the problem.  I enjoy the people I see and work with ever single day.  I’m easily distracted with what they are saying and doing to the extent that it can keep me from what I should or must do.  When I shut my door, it sends a signal to everyone that I’m working on something that must be done.  People may still interrupt, but it is usually brief. 

Maybe you don’t work in an office setting.  Maybe you work at home, or somewhere else.  Can you shut your door to the interruptions?  How can you send a message to others that what you are doing is important enough that needs your full uninterrupted attention?

Are You Leading? Part 5 October 20, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , , , ,
add a comment

I hope you are all still reading this blog even though I challenged you to skip your lunch last post.  The idea isn’t to work harder; it is to work smarter and more efficient.  If we are going to be leaders worth following, we are going to have to first learn to lead ourselves.  That’s the point of this series of posts.  Lead yourself so you can lead/influence others at home, work, or in the community.

Today, I want to talk about attacking the day and staying on course.  So much of our daily goals and duties don’t get completed because of  unplanned interruptions and distractions. 

How many times have you set out to finish something in a day only to be interrupted before you even got started?  Then, after you’d finished the unplanned interruption, there wasn’t enough time to do what was supposed to be important.  Sub sequentially, you leave your workday feeling disappointed with how little you got accomplished and upset because you will now have to start the next day running behind.  I can articulate this so well because it has happened to me many times.  It can happen to me daily if I don’t attack my day with a sense of mission. 

Note: Over the years I’ve heard and read some good teaching on daily routine.  One of the best I’ve read is “Today Matters” by John Maxwell.  Some of what I’m writing here is from this awesome book.

Here are a few things that I do to help me stay on course each day.

1.  Plan your work day the day before.  Although I have a weekly schedule that can be viewed a year in advance, daily tasks are only put on my calendar a few days ahead.  Many things can change, but I almost always look at my schedule and make some changes the evening before I leave work.  The next morning, I look at the day’s schedule and prioritize the things that I should get done.  The key is to know what you are going to do before you get to work.  Remember, if you don’t plan your day, someone else will (I can’t remember who said that). 

I’ll post more in a couple of days.

Are You Leading? Part 4 October 14, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family, Leadership.
Tags: , , , , , ,
add a comment

We recently discussed planning our days in segments and having clear “stopping points”  for our meetings and days.  Today I want to talk about another tip that has helped me lead by managing my time. 

Ready?  Here it is:

Skip Lunch. 

Okay, before you discard what I am about to write, finish reading. 

Yes, of course eat, but does it really take 1-1/2 hours?  I found that on days when I needed to absolutely get something done, skipping lunch was the easiest way to stay on task.  You can bring your lunch or take your lunch with you to work.  Either way, it only takes 10-20 minutes to eat and get back to work.  I know that there are people who work on the clock who are paid by the hour.  This point may not apply to you; however, to those who are paid salary or by the job, I think this point is a good one.   

As we were discussing saving time at faithco, I challenged our team to skip lunch as often as possible.  We needed to stop loading up in cars together and taking an hour and a half or so at Chili’s.  One of my goals as their leader is to get the most out of them in a work day and get them home as early as possible to their families.  I asked them: “Wouldn’t you rather spend that extra hour at home with your family?”  Not only can you save time, but you will eat better and feel better if you plan to skip your lunch and eat at work…..so skip the enchilada platter and have a sandwich in the break room.  You will save time, stay focused on your work,  and you won’t feel like taking a nap when you get back to your job.

The Youngest Preacher Ever! October 12, 2009

Posted by Travis Hurst in Church Life, Family.
Tags: ,
2 comments

This kid has got it:http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=50803915154