I spent most of my career in the business world. I was always extremely active and in leadership roles in church and other civic activities, but I earned my living in a for-profit environment. During those years, as an outsider looking in, I believed non-profits had so much to learn from the world of business.

Having spent the last 7 years in full-time ministry, I realize my perception wasn’t completely accurate. I still agree most churches and other non-profits can learn business principles from the corporate world, but now I realize the for-profit world can equally learn from the world of non-profits.

From my experience in the two worlds, here are a few examples where we can learn from each other:

Non-profits can learn from for-profits:

• Business management
• Structure and systems
• Strategy
• Performance evaluation
• Marketing

When it comes to making a profit and producing results, the for-profit world has mastered the task…or at least attempts to do so. Survival and success in this world depends on balancing everything from cash flow to employee performance results in an effort to show a profit to the bottom line.

For-profits can learn from non-profits:

• Purpose
• Mission
• Values
• People-building
• Social responsibility

In the non-profit world, the emphasis is on achieving the purpose of the organization. The focus of attention is not necessarily (actually not usually) on business principles as much as human principles. Success is determined more in accomplishing a mission than on realizing a financial gain. Non-profits advance people over profit.

I see a win/win situation when these two worlds collide. For-profits can be even more profitable when they invest in people and work towards the vision, even sometimes at the expense of immediate profits. Non-profits can continue their mission more effectively when they practice healthy business principles.

My questions is: How do we get these two worlds together more?

Are you currently in the non-profit or the for-profit world? Have you experienced both? Do you see other ways we can learn from each other?

I have been a runner off and on for years, but for the last several years, I have been more avid about the pastime.  I usually run in any city where I travel.

Recently I was running in Philadelphia and the thought occurred to me how much I love that city for a run.  That got me thinking about some of the great running experiences I have had in other cities.

Here are my favorite cities in which to run, in order:

1. Chicago
2. Philadelphia
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Reston, VA
5. New York City

Do you know of a great city in which to run?  Tell me where I am missing.

I have grown accustomed to criticism.  When I was in business, it could come from employees, former employees, customers, suppliers, or the public.  When I served in political office, every vote seemed to bring critics from the opposing side.  Now that I am in ministry, I have learned that criticism comes from outside and inside the church.  I suppose it is a part of culture.

Our first reaction to criticism is to lash out in anger towards it.  It is normal to want to defend ourselves, correct inaccuracies and promote the truth.  While I believe we should always speak truth in love and correcting false statements against us may have a place, I do not believe responding to criticism with anger is ever appropriate.

Here are three reasons why:

It’s not right.

I always hear the example of Jesus in the temple, but Jesus wasn’t dealing with their criticism of Him, but their misuse of the temple.  (And He apparently took time to think through His response according to John 2:15…He made a whip…how long does that take?)

It may be true.

The fact is that as hard and untrue as criticism may be, often there are things in the criticism for us to learn, which we may not have noticed without the criticism.  (See a similar post HERE.)

It doesn’t work.

It backs people into a corner and ultimately produces more criticism.

Jesus had the best remedy for handling criticism:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28)

What do you think? Is this something hard for you to do?

Yesterday I shared a message on a familiar story from Luke 15.  We use Truthcasting to archive our video messages. I’m thankful they no longer require you to login to view.  Watch yesterday’s message here.  Just a program note for those that were present for this message, we used the second service and there was a technical problem that kept us from using my opening illustration.

Here is a principle I have learned in years of ministry and life experience.

Everything is relative to the context in which you live.

What I mean is that one person’s experience is unique to them and cannot be understood fully apart from living in that exact set of circumstances and surroundings.  You can’t compare your circumstances to another that easily.

That means that to that person, though the situation may not seem as severe or as important to you:

• Pain is pain
• Heartache is heartache
• Stress is stress
• Leadership is leadership
• Trials are trials
• Pressure is pressure
• Fun is fun
• Disappointment is disappointment
• Fear is fear

That also means that:

A 13-year-old boy trying to balance school, baseball and girlfriends can feel just as overwhelmed as a 42-year-old CEO trying to manage a company and build a family.

And a pastor in a church of 50 people can feel just as much stress as a pastor in a church of 20,000.

That’s a good reminder next time you are tempted to compare your struggles with another.

Every person’s situation is relative to the context in which they live and the experiences they have in life.

Have you been guilty of comparing your situation to another person’s situation?

Operation Serve! What an experience! I am so thankful to be a part of Grace Community Church and for all that serve! Let’s not allow this to be a once a year experience. Find ways to continue to take Christ’s love to the streets of our community!

Enjoy this video from the 2009 Operation Serve.

Adam Bayne is out new children’s pastor at Grace Community Church.  He’s a nut and has added a whole new element to our staff.  Check out his latest video he’s using to inspire children to love church. Crazy!  (Adam’s the pirate BTW.) Keep in mind, the point of this is to gain children’s interest so they will listen to what we ultimately want to teach them. Guess what? It works.

I’m asking my readers to pray with Grace Community Church today.  We are attempting to do over 30 projects with over 1,300 people in an attempt to show our community the practical love of Jesus.  We call it Operation Serve.  Pray we have true servant’s hearts, that God receives glory, that our people our safe, and that weather allows us to work with limited interruption. We love our community!  I will share more later.

You can read what our local newspaper wrote about us HERE. (The only correction is that we are 4 years old, not 5 years old.)

As a church planter concerned about spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but consistently meeting people who have no interest in what they believe Christianity to be, this appears to be an important movie. My friend Michael Hyatt was the first to recommend this movie, which would be enough to encourage me to watch it. After watching the trailer, there is no question I will put this movie on my “must see” list.

Have you seen this movie? What do you think after watching the trailer?

I love big vision. I love those who help accomplish big vision.  Recently I’ve been inspired by the energies of The Change Group.  They are true Kingdom builders.

If your organization needs help with financial management or with bookkeeping services, consider talking about outsourcing those needs with my friends at The Change Group.

For one monthly fee organizations can receive:

• Quarterly CFO Consulting
• Monthly Financial Dashboard
• Weekly Bookkeeping

I posted HERE about two things every organization must have.  The Change Group can completely take care of one of these two needs, allowing you to concentrate on accomplishing your vision without stressing over details that must be done.   This is not only a cost saving, but also an efficient way of handling your church, small business or non-profit’s financial needs.

Check out my friends at The Change Group today by clicking HERE.