Welcome to the conference room Jesus, hope you brought your TPS Reports.

I was listening to an old Mike Yaconelli (R.I.P.) talk the other day and something that he said really just struck a chord with where my heart is at. He said something along the lines of how it was wrong that churches are using secular models as primary ways to run their churches. He picked out how many churches, for example, decide that the best way to run their church is off of a business model. Perhaps like a business model that has been successful for many CEO's in the culture around them. 

There always seems to be a problem when you try to run a church based off of a secular model. It removes itself from the Bible. After speaking with a brother of mine about his church, it hit me to think about how much churches get together and have staff meetings with the purpose to talk and strategize business with their staff. Organization and balancing of a budget, goals, strategic plans, visions, and so on becomes the main focus of the staff. 

I really believe (and Yaconelli spoke about this) that what church ministry staff people have to do is throw all of that out the window and have their staff meetings based on the souls of the people leading the ministry. Not just a simple prayer request or joy report but an authentic conversation with how people in the ministry are doing in their life, relationship, and time with God. How far can the sheep go if the shepherd is sick, beaten down, tired, or lost.

Im tired of being around churches that have lost focus on the gospel and the hearts of sinners who need to constantly be reminded of the cross and the wonderful grace we have through Jesus. And what a relationship means. We should spend staff meetings discussing this, praying about this, praying for each other, confessing sins, reporting our soul condition and praising God.

While many "Leadership" books are out their to teach us how to make our "companies" so successful, we do not need this in the church. We cannot accomplish anything alone. We need Jesus, we need the cross, and the victory is already His. 

Lord save us from our methods, programs, business plans, fiscal budgets, pie charts, statistics, PDA's, Laptops, Conference Rooms, TPS reports, and anything else that gets in the way of us as a collective group of ministers to focus on what is most important: Bringing glory to you, the condition of our hearts and souls, the condition of our neighbors whom we often ignore, the poor, the widows, the lost, worshiping you, reading your word, doing what it says, prayer, living lives as a daily sacrifice to you. 

-Cheers