Praise God, Praise Volunteers

The reality is we all need cheerleaders in the stands.

Not the cheerleaders at NFL games (preferably someone who is fully clothed), but someone who is there to give us some recognition once in a while.

It is in Christians DNA to give glory to God (even if it is fake).  That is what we do.  All glory, praise, honor, ect. goes to God.

So, we need to be careful that we don’t forget about volunteers.  We need to show our appreciation to volunteers and give them a well done or a great job.  I don’t think God is afraid of Pastors or Churches giving praise to people, but we tend to get uneasy when the ”praising of people” thing is discussed.

I think that we should take Romans 12:10 to heart.

“Honor one another above yourselves.”

Point # 3 – If it’s deserving, GIVE IT!

Can’t Get Enough of…

We all need volunteers and guess what?  We’ll never have enough volunteers to complete our vision (if you do, then you may want take a closer look at your vision).

 Point # 1 — Don’t Beg

Either way, begging for volunteers is not a good idea.  People are attracted to ministries with a vision, and once we resort to begging for help we are sending a message that our ministry is dying (that’s the appearance).  I am not saying we don’t ask for volunteers (that is just stupid), I am saying we need to be more calculated in the way we present different opportunities.

Point #2 — Simplicity is Key

The next thing I have noticed when dealing with volunteers is that they get overwhelmed.  What we tend to do when our volunteer base is low, we ask more out of our volunteers.  What we need to remember is that when responsibility gets to complex or appears impossible, people have a tendency to ignore it.  You may have to take a complex ministry role and turn it into 2 or 3 smaller, simpler roles.

What They Don’t Teach in College

So far in my short student ministry career (if you could call it that) I have found that one of the more difficult tasks youth pastors face is…dealing with volunteers.

There are so many questions that arise when you are talking about how to best recruit, train, encourage, empower and love on volunteers but guess what they don’t teach you in college.

Yup, how to deal with people.  Some of the smartest people I know will not be able to excel in the world because they have always relied solely on their intellect.  Supposedly, from someone much smarter than I, our IQ accounts for only 20% of the factors that lead to career success.  Mark Batterson says “I don’t care about your GPA…[we] look for a sense of humor.  If you can’t laugh at my jokes, we can’t work together.”

All that to say, while we learn many different things in college, we don’t learn how to best deal with volunteers.

So you guessed it, the next couple of posts are going to be about volunteers.  Stay tuned!

WWJD

The Bible makes it clear to us that Jesus was no Brad Pitt, or Matthew Mcconaughey or better yet, Taylor Lautner from Twilight (go team Jacob!).  Can’t lie, I picture Jesus looking like Taylor when He comes back.  Jesus will be riding a white horse, shirtless (I’m thinking 300 style 12-pack), with a great big sword.  It’s going to be awesome!

But what I need to know is how Jesus dealt with His unibrow while He was here on earth. 

Did He painfully pluck the pesky hairs or did He cheat a little and just speak them away?

This brings me to a few pointers I have for guys in ministry.

1. No Unibrow
2. Take care of the chest hair that is fighting its way out of your shirt
3. Grooming, grooming, grooming
4. Please no crazy toe nails (I know we can’t see’em but still)

Ohh yeah, and always have gum in your pocket, always!

God Given Vision Begins and Ends with…

God.

I believe in dreaming BIG and I hold tight to Ephesians 3:20–

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

I truly believe in Ephesians 3:20 and 1 Corinthians 2:9 (no eye has seen, heard, or conceived what He has ready for us), but why?  I desire to be great, to do great things, but need to keep my motives in check.

The vision God has put in your life begins with Him, but…it also ends with Him.

Motive check–is my dream a means to please God or is God a means to fulfill my dream?