Time Well Spent

Recently I was asked to participate with two other churches in town in recording daily "Message Minutes" for a local radio station.  I enjoyed doing this several years ago when I was pastor at Paoli United Methodist Church so I jumped at the chance.

I love radio.  As an Amateur Radio operator, I have been talking into microphones for about 40 years.  My "radio shack" is set up in a spare bedroom at the parsonage and has grown over the years to include, among other things, a studio microphone like the "big boys" have, a studio mixer and computer audio recording and processing equipment.   So I decided this time that I would record my messages in my "home studio" instead of scheduling time in the recording booth at the radio station.

It has been a enjoyable experience.  With no pressure from anyone else looking over my shoulder, I am free to record and re-record each spot until I get it "right."  (sometimes as many as 5 - 10 times on some spots if mt tongue gets tied.)  Then I can simply edit the clips on my computer, and email them to the radio station.  

My how things have changed since the days of reel-to-reel tape recorders and cart machines! 
The last time I did this (the mid-90's) we just started a reel-to-reel machine running, did a count down for each "take" and if you flubbed, you kept the machine running and just started over with a new countdown.  Then the studio tech would find the "good" takes and dub them over to an endless loop "cart" machine that made cartridges about the size of an old 8-track tape that the DJ would play at the appointed hour.

Now I have my mike mixer connected to a USB port on my computer, and record to a data file that I can edit and enhance digitally with a piece of software.  Then I can convert it to any of a number of different data formats which can be emailed to the station.  All without leaving my home office/studio.  And instead of shuffling papers, I can read my script from my computer screen or iPad.  Isn't technology wonderful!

It has saved me a bunch of time and effort.  But it still takes most of the morning to write, record, edit and email five one-minute devotional minutes. There is no "gadget" that will replace the hard work of wordsmithing this pastor's thoughts to fit a 60 second radio spot.  (It's hard enough to make them fit into the time slot allocated for a Sunday morning sermon!)

But it is enjoyable and rewarding work.  And my prayer is that the pay-off will be that this effort, and that of two other local pastors, will touch the lives of some folks who may never darken the door of any of our churches.  If it does, it is time well spent and I am happy to use the talents developed through my hobby in order to help someone else.

How about you?  Is there some talent or ability that you have developed through your hobby or recreation activities that God can use to touch someone else?  You might need to be creative in how you apply your gift. but that just makes it all the more fun!

Jump in and have fun touching people's lives!

I'll see you in church!

Pastor Ken

Enjoying the Journey...

Do you like taking long trips? I love them. We have often taken two or three weeks at a time and headed out west to places of grandeur. We have visited the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone Park, the Black Hills, Badlands, Glacier National Park, the Grand Canyon, the Canadian Rockies, Mount Saint Helens, Redwood National Park, and many others.

While many people might just fly to their destination, Dee and I enjoy taking our van or RV so that we can enjoy the scenery and make “accidental” discoveries along the way. Some of our most cherished memories are of these spontaneous “side-trips” along the way to our main destination.

When we return to one of our favorite places, we will often take an alternate path just to see what else we can enjoy along the way, and to discover more of the beautiful country with which God has blessed us. The new discoveries along the way enrich the journey and often become the jumping off point of future trips.

On one of our side trips we visited a site along the old Oregon Trail. So many covered wagons had traversed the trail that in some places the wagon wheels had carved ruts in the limestone that were 6 feet deep!

Life in the church is often like that. We are all on a journey to spiritual maturity and faithful service of God’s Kingdom. Some people have traveled by the same path for so long that they can’t even see the scenery any more. Their lives are in a “rut.” They repeatedly do the same thing in the same way, whether it is their method of Bible Study, the way they pray or sing, the way they talk to others about God, or the things they think a church should or should not do in order to reach the people in their community for Christ.

Some people grew up traveling the same trail that their parents did, never having seen the scenery outside of their ruts. They have no idea that there are other vistas, other side-loops, new routes to take. They have no frame of reference, other than their own experience, from which to see new possibilities. In other words…they don’t even know they are in a rut. They just keep plodding along thinking “this is the way it is supposed to be.”

It is time to explore the trail …

This year, I will be joining eight of our lay leaders on a spiritual journey called the Fruitful Congregation Journey.  It is a 9 month process of lay and clergy leadership development during which the group will study 8 strategic books on spiritual growth, congregational health, faith sharing, strategic planning, effective communication, and missional focus for the church. The group will also meet with leaders from 5 other congregations in our District who are also taking the “journey.”

The process is designed to help us all look beyond our own “ruts” and learn from the experiences of our sisters and brothers in Christ who are leading effective, faithful, fruitful congregations.  It has been said, “It is hard to think ‘outside the box’ if you don’t even know you are in a box.”

My prayer, and I hope you will join me in this prayer, is that we will be able to better understand the lives and needs of the people in our community whom God has called us to love and serve. And that we will discover more effective ways to reach them for Christ. 

That is the destination. But this isn’t a quick trip. It is going to be a long, but enjoyable journey. You will hear stories along the way from the members of the team.

So far, Mark Haase, Delbert Frazier, Jody Willis, Rick Dawson, Bill Sponsler, and Tony Ortman have joined the team. I have two others who are giving it prayerful consideration. 

I invite you to pray for them: Pray that God will open our eyes and ears so that we can see and hear what God wants us to learn and communicate it effectively to the rest of the church.

I’ll see you in church!

Pastor Ken Wells

Negotiation Fever...?

As I write this, it seems the whole nation is infected with “negotiation fever.” 

The NFL Team Owners and the NFL Players Association have been negotiating for 18 weeks, as millionaires and billionaires argue about how to split up the pot of gold raked in by high ticket prices and lucrative television contracts.

They finally agreed to a deal on Monday that promises that the fans won’t have to endure this drama for ten more years. Let’s hope so. We can continue to plan for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Maybe the Colts will be there?

Colts Quarterback, Peyton Manning, and team owner, Jim Irsay, are negotiating a deal that will make Peyton the highest paid player in the NFL.  Rumors are this will amount to $20 Million a year, in addition to endorsements and appearance fees.

Some say that is an obscene amount of money. But at least the Manning’s make good use of their earnings. Peyton and his father, Archie, recently gave $50 Million to build the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent on 86^th Street. It is a wonderful children’s hospital.

Meanwhile, President Obama and members of congress, primarily Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are playing a political game of chicken to determine how this nation is going to settle the debt crisis without further damaging the economy, and who is going to pay for it.

The stakes are high and the risks are very real. But most Americans don’t really understand the positions of each politician, or the divergent economic theories behind them.  So most people are stuck in the role of “cheerleader,” rooting for their favorite politician or party, hoping that their “side” wins, denigrating the other “side” as being either “incompetent leaders,” or members of the “Party of NO.”

Unfortunately, this is how much negotiation happens these days. Rather than seeking a position that satisfies both sides, we tend to “go for the throat” and seek to destroy our opponent and win at all costs, often sacrificing our own integrity in the process. The cost to our nation, or to our relationships with others in our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, or our church are often unacceptably high.

When we seek to win the fight rather than solve the problem we usually create additional problems. When we seek to destroy our opponent rather than help them save face, or find a solution that both sides can live with, we usually end up building up walls of resentment and hostility that make negotiation more difficult the next time.

So how can we do a better job in our own discussions with others?  Here are a few simple rules.  (simple to state, but difficult to follow.)

1) Remember in all things, to “speak the truth in love,” and respect each other. Treat the other person as YOU wish to be treated.

2) Seek first to listen and understand the other person’s position. Don’t just listen enough to find a weakness in their argument. Seek to understand the principles behind their position. Don’t assume that you know their reasons or motivations. When we assume, we are usually sadly mistaken.

3) Ask yourself if there is anything in their request to which you can agree. Let them know this up front. 

4) State and explain your own position clearly and calmly. Ask them if there is anything in your position to which they are willing to agree.

5) Negotiate the more difficult points after you have agreed on some common ground.

6) If things start getting too heated, or too personal, call “time out” and cool down. Remember why you are negotiating. Remember that you must attack the problem, not the person. Name calling, blaming, put-downs, intimidation and all the rest have no place in a Christ-like negotiation.  Let love rule!

Good luck . . . And may we always agree to disagree agreeably!

I’ll see you in church!

Pastor Ken

Failing Forward...

I created this blog back in 2006 and made a single post. Then got busy and forgot about it.
When attempting to set up a new blog at my new church in order to begin using the new "Social Media" as part of my ministry, I discovered this one. So I am going to try again.

Sometimes a great idea is just not timely, as in the case of my first attempt at blogging.
Sometimes a good project may be started at the wrong time, when there are too many distractions, too many obstacles, or other priorities that make it impossible to pursue.

Many churches get stuck in the "We tried that already" syndrome. Many good ideas fail because:

1) it was the wrong time to try it. (either the wrong day or time, there were other things going on in the church or community that deluted the impact, or the church or community were simply not ready to receive this idea)

2) there are other issues the church needs to deal with first, (like a building program, a crisis or conflict in the church, a major campaign, etc)

3) the wrong people tried to to it and were not capable.

4) other priorites bumped the idea down the list into obscurity.

5) there were other issues in the community that overshadowed a churches program/ministry.

Failure is commoon in ministry. Not every good idea works the first time.
A professional baseball player that is put out 7 out of ten times is considered a star because 3 out ot 10 is batting .300 and is a very respectable batting average.

It has been said that if a church is not succeeding (or an individual for that matter) in it's goals or growth, perhaps it is not FAILING often enough.... meaning it is not trying enough things for success to happen.

John Maxwell, church consultant and visionary leader, wrote a book called "Failing Forward" in which he posited that the only true failure is the failure to learn from an unsuccessful venture. If we learn from our mistakes, we have grown, not failed.

I was once at a workshop with Kennon Callihan who said we should adopt the attitude that says, "We have never failed, but we have made some very excellent mistakes!"

Have you made any "excellent mistakes" lately?

When you or your church tries something that didn't work, or someone has an idea that has been attempted before.... Rather than squelching the lessons, ask, "What did we learn from this attempt? Might this work another time in a different way? Is this the time for another swing of the bat?" Give it a thought, then give it a shot!

Another thought.... When someone in your church, your office, or you circle of associations strikes out on a project, what is your reaction? Do you heckle and put him or her down? Or you you encourage them to look at what happened, learn from it, and grab the bat for another try?

It may make a major difference to them... and to you! Don't give up!

I'll see you in church!

Pastor Ken

My First Blog

Welcome to the Twenty-first Century!

There are a lot of tools out there to communicate the good news.

It has been the history of the "people called Methodist" to use the latest in technology to spread the gospel. John Wesley called himself a "man of one book," (the Bible) but he utilized the printing press better than any other church leader in his day. He had printed myriads of inexpensive, easy to read booklets and flyers designed to teach doctrine, challenge people to Christian action, motivate and inspire the Methodists, and defend the movement from attack from opponents.

I hope to use this blog to do the same.

I want to encourage dialogue, but insist that we follow the principles laid down by our founder:

"In Essentials - Unity; in Opinions - Diversity; but in all things - Charity."

I will post musings, stories, discussion points, and personal opinions, with the hope that we can all grow together in God's grace.

I'll see you in church!

Pastor Ken