Rework

New book by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37Signals.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Unless you're a fortune-teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy.  There are just too many factors that are out of your hands:...Writing a plan makes you feel in control of things you can't actually control."

"Why don't we just call plans what they really are:  guesses."  (page 19)

"If you're going to do something, do something that matters."  (page 32)

NO TIME IS NO EXCUSE--  "...the perfect time never arrives.  You're always too young or old or busy or broke or something else.  If you constantly fret about timing things perfectly, they'll never happen."  (page 40-41)

"When you don't know what you believe, everything becomes an argument.  Everything is debatable.  But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious."  (page 44)

"Standing for something isn't just about writing it down.  It's about believing it and living it."  (page 48)

EMBRACE CONSTRAINTS--"I don't have enough time/money/people/experience."  Stop whining.  Less is a good thing.  Constraints are advantages in disguise.  Limited resources force you to make do with what you've got.  There's no room for waste.  And that forces you to be creative."  (page 67)

"Creativity is one of the first things to go when you lose sleep."  (page 121)

WELCOME OBSCURITY--"Use this time to make mistakes without the whole world hearing about them.  Keep tweaking.  Work out the kinks.  Test random ideas.  Try new things.  No one knows you, so it's no big deal if you mess up.  Obscurity helps protect your ego and preserve your confidence."

"It makes no sense to tell everyone to look at you if you're not ready to be looked at yet.  (page 167)

"Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking."

"Writing is today's currency for good ideas."  (page 222)

"A good apology accepts responsibility.  It has no conditional if phrase attached."  (page 238)

And my favorite...

"You don't create a culture.  It happens....Culture is the by-product of consistent behavior.  ....Culture is action, not words."  (page 249)

How to Love One Another

Check out this link:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/07/24/how-to-love-one-another-affirm-share-and-serve/

Being Liked

"If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and you would achieve nothing."        --Margaret Thatcher

The Plan

We start a new series Sunday at Explore Church.  "The Plan" is a 4 week study of the book of Ruth.

Join us Sundays at 9:30 and 11:00!

Prayer & Providence

The following is from David Atkinson in his commentary on the book of Ruth.

Prayer is, as it were, the flip side to the doctrine of providence.  Prayer is the acknowledgment, not of the psychological benefit of some mythological exercise, but of the fact that we believe that God is there, God cares, God rules and God provides, and believe it in such a way that we are ready to do something on that basis, namely speak to him.  Providence reminds us of our creatureliness and dependence on God, and that together with all men, we stand under God's lordship; prayer is an activity by which we acknowledge that we cannot be our own lord.  Providence reminds us that everything is not ultimately absurd or meaningless; prayer is our way of expressing our 'yes' to the conviction that God is working his purposes out in nature, in men, in history.  Providence is a reminder that the Lord is a God of grace and generosity; prayer is our way of responding to his invitation to be a member of his covenant family, his son or daughter, his co-worker in this world.  Providence reminds us that the living God is not an irresistible fate before whom we can only keep silent and passive; prayer is our response to God's invitation to share fellowship with him, an expression of our union with him.

Spurgeon Sabbatical

Here are some highlights from my recent trip to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to participate in the Spurgeon Sabbatical, a ten day study with pastors from around the world.

Great seafood.  Here, fish and chips from day one!

The moon over campus.  My room was probably the third window from the left.

Dr. Scott Hafemann led our discussions.  He is the one without the hat.

Mornings in the classroom.

Surprise lunch guest, Robert Coleman.  He is the author of The Master Plan of Evangelism.  At 81 years of age he is still on fire for the Lord!  Inspiring!

Discovered this great book in the library.  It is available for check out if you are interested!

Cool picture from a local harbor.

Sunset over the same harbor.

Finally--I did some studying, resting, reflecting, and praying.  Overall--a great time!  It was a honor and privilege to be a part of this year's group!