Gallup Articles

Just spent a bit of time on gallup.com. Although I don't have much time for it, every now and then I spend a bit of time browsing various news and polling sites.

Couple of items caught my attention:

The Next Generation of Leadership. Understanding "states of mind" is essential to leadership. Quality and price are not as important as they once were. You'll notice at The Coastlands that while we're not lazy or sloppy, "quality" or "excellence" are not the highest priorities. Having an authentic connection with God and other people is our highest value. As you read, replace any reference to "money" with people's time and energy (that's what we spend around here since don't have much of the green stuff). Our end goal, our "GDP growth" is the number of leaders we've inspired and mobilized to spread the love Jesus to people who don't yet have it.

U.S. Clergy See New Lows in Honesty Ratings. In our culture, clergy are only seen as honest by only 50% of our population, the lowest rating Gallup has ever seen. I think this is driven primarily by two forces: scandals and skepticism. The scandals part is obvious. The other part is that fewer people believe what we're preaching. As ministry-minded people, we're in a situation that Jesus found Himself in (accused and disbelieved). So what's the answer? Do what He did! Instead of just preaching at people (which is how the church got itself into this mess in the first place), now we demonstrate God's love through selfless love and service. We earn authority in people's lives by serving them with integrity and skill (not just worldly skill, but Kingdom skills too, see Psalm 78:72).

Staff Christmas Party

Love working with our staff to serve our church family... This silly song was our thank you to our staff for their efforts in '09. Enjoy! If you can't see the video below, you can check it out on YouTube here.

A Party Atmosphere

We have a lot of fun around The Coastlands. Lots of eating, lots of laughing, lots of enjoying one another. It's a little taste of heaven. Everything we do is about enjoying the feast God has provided and inviting others to join in the festivities.

Because of God, we can party no matter what our circumstances:

Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife. Proverbs 17:1

A piece of crust with love and peace and joy is a feast. But a seven-course meal with people who are all trying to prove they are better than one another is a dungeon.

I hope to be like that… someone who enjoys the gifts God gives along with others. When we acknowledge that every good thing is gift from Him, we are released to enjoy with delight in our hearts—thanking God and sharing His gifts with others. However, if we think that our hard work has provided the feast, then we are driven, we resist sharing, and we manipulate, judge, or envy the others God has seated around the table.

If God is our Provider, then He can transform a simple crust into a banquet of delight as I offer Him thanks and share it generously with others. But if I'm trying to take care of myself, then I’ll always be striving (and “strifing”).