Dear friends,
What are you anticipating for 2018? In life? In faith? In family? In your church?
I write to you from Medicine Hat, Alberta, where Karen and I are visiting her mother and other family. It is cold! Tomorrow’s high is expected to be minus 25 degrees, with a wind chill of minus 37 degrees.
One of my routines here is to rise early at 6:30 AM, and hike about 2 kilometers to the local Tim Horton’s. This week, I have been bundling up for this cold trek, but it is worth it! Once there, the service is very friendly, the coffee and oatmeal are hot, and I enjoy time to read and to catch up on emails. It is worth the effort, and I am rationalizing that the calorie input and burn is a wash!
I am enjoying this temporary routine. The people are genuine, and I have had a chance to meet a few of the locals. I hope to have a coffee and chat with the manager tomorrow – he is brilliant at welcoming people and setting a positive atmosphere and work environment for the employees. He could have possibilities to be a great pastor…
When I observe this Tim Horton’s experience, I have been thinking about what I am reading in, “Who Moved my Pulpit,” by Thom Rainer. He speaks of three major components to the role of a “change leader.”
Along similar lines, Tony Morgan, from the Unstuck Group writes of, “7 Frustrating Symptoms of Doing Ministry Without a Strategy.”
frustrating-symptoms-ministry-without-strategy/?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=59335110&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–NaME2BTR6aqDekNJxRg4io9ZTzBQRfjAkNs6zs3CXcJBQeGO0XYKyNSHG8aezL7YRjABZzM73tWszq20LFX6aCIFbAg&_hsmi=59335110
Please take a moment to read this, before you launch into 2018.
As we all know, there is much more to leadership than simply a “vision” or technique. There must be a compelling and prayerful conviction of what God is calling us to and the patience to work with people and not “use” them in arriving there together.
May God bless you and others through you in 2018!
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Thank you for your prayers and kind words regarding the passing of my mother, Christina Stewart on December 20. We will be holding a memorial service at 1:00 PM on Friday, January 5 at North Delta EFC. All are welcome. Please see the attached announcement.
