Eager, Expectant, and Early from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.
Church of the Week: Ft. Hamilton Hospital Chapel, Hamilton, Ohio
Today's church of the week is the multi-faith chapel at Ft. Hamilton Hospital, in Hamilton.
The chapel used to be located on the first floor, very near the main entrance, but it has been moved to the second floor near ICU. While not at all easy to find anymore, it is a nice little place for prayer. 
I had occasion most recently to pray here while in the hospital visiting a friend undergoing surgery (which was wonderfully successful, praise God!).
Four Essential Leadership Truths
From ShaneDuffey.com comes this excellent post on Four Essential Leadership Truths from (surprisingly enough) the New Testament book of Philemon: Over the past several months I have been chewing on four critical leadership principles that I believe God showed me as I read through the book of Philemon. As you may know, the book of Philemon was written by Paul and in this book (which is just one chapter) Paul is appealing to Philemon on behalf of a dude named Onesimus (we’re just not very creative with names anymore, are we?). It’s out of Paul’s appeal to Philemon on how to care for Onesimus that the four leadership principles emerge.
(These principles are offered from the vantage point of leading in ministry, however, my experience leading outside the ministry supports the truth of these principles regardless of the type of organization. The second principle is specific to ministry, but if as leaders we execute the other three well, we may just lead someone in the most import direction… to Jesus.)
As I lead, I should…
1 – Share my Faith
Philemon v6
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
Anyone in leadership that is trying to lead well wants more knowledge. Leaders want to make good decisions that lead to team victories and increase team morale. Most of the time these victories come from the leaders effectiveness in creating the right environment or process that allows the individuals on the team to succeed. In this verse Paul say that if I am active in sharing my faith that I will “have full knowledge of every good thing…”.
How do I share my faith as I lead? I don’t think this means walking each team member down the “Romans Road” everyday, but do I think its as simple as leading by living out what I say I believe in as a follower of Christ. As a leader, I’m not one person at church and another at home and another at work. I walk the talk and as I instruct/challenge/discipline my team, I do it through the filter of my faith in Christ.
2 – Trust God
Philemon v8-9
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love.
If you are in the position of a leader (there is a difference between being a leader and being in the position of a leader – other posts address this issue) then you can demand actions from your team. What Paul is demonstrating to me in this verse is that although he could demand action (because of his position), he is choosing to appeal to the Spirit that lives inside of Philemon.
To me, the biggest win I can achieve as a leader is to cultivate an environment where each person on my team carries out his/her role not out of duty but out of faith (Colossians 3:23). The primary benefit of leading in ministry is that each person on your team is a follower of Jesus (at least in theory). If I am following God’s direction to lead “by sharing my faith” then I need to trust God’s work in the person I am leading. Over time if I find that the person I’m leading is not responding from their own faith, but begrudgingly out of duty or not at all, then I have someone who rightfully needs to be led off my team or out of my organization.
3 – Invest in the Person
Philemon v14
But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.
Simply, in this verse Paul is seeking Philemon’s buy in before any decisions or actions take place. My own experience has shown me that if I invest time into my team by seeking their input on a particular decision or course of action, then I am more likely to get their best effort in the execution of that decision. If I choose to not invest this time into my team, then there will be unanswered questions or confusion or a process that isn’t as good as it could have been with their input. That’s just bad and egotistical leadership.
4 – Serve the Person
Philemon v18-19
If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul… will pay it back.
My team needs to know that I will stand up for them no matter the personal cost to me. It is clear from this verse Paul is willing to go out on a personal limb for Onesimus. For me, if I don’t think my leader will take a bullet for me or seek to put himself out for me then I am slow to do the same for him. If I want to be led with that type of commitment, why would I not think I should lead with that type of commitment?
Leaders must first be servants of those they lead. Securing leadership equity (the need to call in and have something done with no questions asked by the team) will only happen if the leader earns it. I have found that the only way to earn that equity is through serving each individual on the team in a way that lets them know they are not on an island and that they are safe under my leadership. Leaders go first, take bullets, deflect criticism, and make sure the people on the team feel served… a guy named Jesus thought this was a good leadership principle too (John 13:1-17).
Leadership is as easy (and as challenging) as sharing our faith, trusting God, investing in our team and serving our team. And, its as easy (and challenging) as simply loving those you lead.
Preaching with an iPad
The recent Jesus Im Fokus conference in Germany represented the first time I've preached from an iPad (I saved my message scripts as PDFs and loaded them on the iPad before leaving home, opening them in iBooks).
It worked very well--for me and my style, at least. I speak from a full manuscript, but am not bound to the words on the page.
The iPad's size makes it about perfect for holding in one hand, yet keeping the document size large enough to see at a glance (I use 16-point New Times Roman in my scripts; the screen size of the iPad, which shows a full page at a time in the portrait mode makes it smaller, of course, but still a good size).
Before speaking, I locked the screen aspect (so the document wouldn't turn as I moved the screen), and turned the "sleep/auto-lock" off, so the screen wouldn't go dark if and as I departed from the script or spoke from memory.
I also kept a printed script on hand, in case, I dunno, some Satanic electronic anomaly affected my iPad, making it impossible to use. But that didn't happen.
I have also wondered in the past if the glow from the lit screen would be a distraction, but I asked several people if they even noticed it, and they said they didn't. And one of my listeners, a young man who owns an iPhone but said he'd always wondered why he would need or want an iPad, too, said watching me speak with the aid of an iPad actually answered his question, somewhat.
His observation underscored another reason I have hesitated--and still may do so. I have worried that using an admittedly expensive device in preaching might pose a mental or spiritual obstacle to some people, particularly to those who could never or would never make such a purchase. This didn't seem to be the case this past week, but could in other venues, even in my own church.
In any case, I realized two disadvantages, nonetheless--I couldn't make handwritten notes on the page to revise the wording or remind me of something (which I do all the time, and had to do in each of my conference talks). I just had to remember the changes. The other disadvantage was, I had to turn the page (elegantly, with a quick swipe) after EVERY page, whereas in hard copy I print front & back of every leaf, making it possible to see two pages at a time and keep page-turning to a minimum.
However, I don't think either disadvantage limited my effectiveness at all--just my perfectionistic preferences.
All in all, it was a great success from my perspective, and allowed me maximum mobility and flexibility in delivery.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
It worked very well--for me and my style, at least. I speak from a full manuscript, but am not bound to the words on the page.
The iPad's size makes it about perfect for holding in one hand, yet keeping the document size large enough to see at a glance (I use 16-point New Times Roman in my scripts; the screen size of the iPad, which shows a full page at a time in the portrait mode makes it smaller, of course, but still a good size).
Before speaking, I locked the screen aspect (so the document wouldn't turn as I moved the screen), and turned the "sleep/auto-lock" off, so the screen wouldn't go dark if and as I departed from the script or spoke from memory.
I also kept a printed script on hand, in case, I dunno, some Satanic electronic anomaly affected my iPad, making it impossible to use. But that didn't happen.
I have also wondered in the past if the glow from the lit screen would be a distraction, but I asked several people if they even noticed it, and they said they didn't. And one of my listeners, a young man who owns an iPhone but said he'd always wondered why he would need or want an iPad, too, said watching me speak with the aid of an iPad actually answered his question, somewhat.
His observation underscored another reason I have hesitated--and still may do so. I have worried that using an admittedly expensive device in preaching might pose a mental or spiritual obstacle to some people, particularly to those who could never or would never make such a purchase. This didn't seem to be the case this past week, but could in other venues, even in my own church.
In any case, I realized two disadvantages, nonetheless--I couldn't make handwritten notes on the page to revise the wording or remind me of something (which I do all the time, and had to do in each of my conference talks). I just had to remember the changes. The other disadvantage was, I had to turn the page (elegantly, with a quick swipe) after EVERY page, whereas in hard copy I print front & back of every leaf, making it possible to see two pages at a time and keep page-turning to a minimum.
However, I don't think either disadvantage limited my effectiveness at all--just my perfectionistic preferences.
All in all, it was a great success from my perspective, and allowed me maximum mobility and flexibility in delivery.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
PRIME
We're going to try something new at Cobblestone. And something old. Starting on the first Sunday in Advent, November 28, we're going to add a fourth weekend worship celebration to our weekly schedule. Called "PRIME," it will offer worshipers a quiet, contemplative, thoughtful style of worship every Sunday morning for that rich and meaningful season.
Each PRIME will combine ancient and modern elements of worship, including responsive readings, corporate prayer, periods of silence, and a more contemplative style of music. Also included in each PRIME will be a shortened version of the Bible message featured in the later worship celebrations of that day, corresponding to the Advent teaching series.
It will be a new experience for all of us, and one we pray will draw us all closer to God, and present an enriching worship option for the Cobblestone family. So join us at 8:00 a.m. on November 28, December 5, 12, and 19...for PRIME!
Church of the Week: The Chapel at Warwick Castle, Warwick, England
In 1068, William the Conqueror built a timber castle on the banks of the River Avon in order to consolidate the Norman Conquest in the Midlands and Northern England. In 1088, William appointed Henry de Beaumont (1088-1119) Constable of Warwick (at some point, Beaumont changed his name to Neville). Five generations of his descendants held the title of Earl of Warwick, occupying that castle. Around 1260, a new castle of stone was constructed on the same site, and it was here (in a castle greatly improved during the fourteenth century) that Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick during the War of the Roses, earned the title, "The Kingmaker" for his role in deposing both Henry VI and Edward VI.
The current chapel is due to the efforts of Sir Greville in the early seventeenth century. It is built on the site of the old chapel, founded in 1119. Until 1900, the families of the Earls of Warwick worshiped in this chapel. 
The lovely Robin and I visited this chapel in 1995, along with Aubrey and Aaron. 
The medieval stained glass windows in the Chapel were presented by the Earl of Exeter in 1759. There are also Flemish wood carvings which date back to 1740.
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