I am not a techie, but I am Mac guy, so I was mesmerized, like many of my techie friends, with Apple’s new iPad. This week when Steve Jobs introduced it, I felt an instant urge to hold one. Did anyone else get that urge? (Please don’t give me an idolatry lecture…I know my priorities…I’m not obsessing, but I am fascinated.) Being one that is always looking for ways to improve my productivity, I can see how I would make use of such a product.

You are a leader. You worked hard, experienced some sense of success and now you like where you are in your career. You have finally figured out the system, got the right staff or team, and there are no current problems. Life is comfortable.

This time of year, many typically reflect on the year that is gone and wonder what lies ahead in the New Year. Sadly, many of those same people will end 2010 no better off than they ended 2009 or any other year, because they will continue to repeat the same mistakes and live out the same bad patterns and habits they have always lived.

Even so, in my position, I often have to say “No”. I have to consider the amount of money and energy expended as it relates to the entire church organization. Honestly, there are times I feel like the dream killer more than I get to be the dream enhancer, because I often have to be the “No” voice, but the fact is, as with any organization, we operate with limited resources and sometimes saying no is the right decision at the time. In these times, I have to walk the delicate balance between saying yes and saying no.

Change is necessary, however, if organizations want to continue to improve and grow. The simple fact is that change requires a certain amount of faith. Faith is much easier to believe, and even to preach, than it ever is to live by.

You will be surprised how much more you can accomplish when you use the rifle approach to planning instead of the shotgun.

A couple times a year we do an extended weekend retreat. This weekend we are headed to Nashville for an all staff planning retreat. An added twist is that our spouses will join us on Friday night for fellowship and then on Saturday morning for a special brainstorming session. (We think they may have better ideas than we do!)

In the four years Grace Community Church has been a church we have received much praise from people that love what we do. Hundreds of lost, hurting people have chosen to unite with us. We have had some previously churched people join us who felt we were a better fit for them or their family, but mostly we have reached people who previously did not attend church. Most exciting to us is that we have baptized more adults than children in our four years, indicating to us that we are truly evangelizing and not just helping people swap churches. It has been a wild, exciting, thrilling time watching God shape us over these first few years.

Either:

* They fail
* Nothing changes
* They shine

As a former business owner, I recognize and appreciate good customer service. On our recent vacation to the Southwest, being free from the normal distractions of work, I was even more in tune with the good and bad of customer service we received. Perhaps it was because I was looking more closely than normal, but I honestly believe we saw extremes.