Gratitude & Wealth

Bill Couchenour | Monday, November 21, 2011

There are a couple of important dates for me this week. First of all, its my anniversary (Love you, Baby!). The other is Thanksgiving - my favorite holiday. I'm not sure why that is, but who could argue with a day of family, food and football. Honestly, though, I think it's the fact that Thanksgiving is just about that - thanksgiving. There's not usually the hustle and bustle of a holiday like Christmas. Instead, it's just sitting back, reflecting and simply being grateful for what we have.

We are reminded in Psalms 107, 118 and 136 to “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; his love endures forever.” I am glad that God is truly great and truly good. Paul encourages us on how to live together in Ephesians 5 by instructing us to “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (my bold). Even when we pray we are told in Philippians 4 to bring every detail of our needs to God “with thanksgiving.”

An attitude of gratitude is a good way to live.

That’s because there is a direct correlation between your level of gratitude and your level of happiness. Above a certain level of subsistence, there is no (or perhaps a negative) correlation between your level of net worth and your level of happiness. Luke reminds us that, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Look at the people around you – wouldn’t you agree? There are secular confirmations from Maslow to the Harvard Business Review. The HBR had one of the best articles on compensation I’ve ever read. The article groups all the ways we try to inspire people in a workplace into “Intrinsic Motivators” and “Hygiene Factors”. Money was a hygiene factor, meaning it needed to be at an appropriate level but, beyond that level, it wasn’t effective at motivating people.

How wealthy are you? I encourage you, whatever you’re going through, to spend time with God everyday this week telling him what you’re thankful for.

LIVE THANKFULLY!

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You Are Not Alone

Bill Couchenour | Monday, October 03, 2011

Is there a burning passion to see Jesus change your city? Do you find your heart troubled when you see the statistics documenting the decline of the church in the U.S. in the face of such great need? Are you questioning why it seems we’re creating consumers of “Christian” goods and services rather than real disciples of Jesus? Have you ever had that sense that something is not quite right with the way we’re doing church? Do you feel a kind of holy discontent you don’t fully understand? As Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix:

“I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?”

I talk to pastors, church leaders and everyday Christ-followers all the time that have that “splinter in the mind” - that sense that God wants to do something more, something different, something amazing. Just last week, I spoke to a pastor of a church with 1,700 in weekend attendance who was struggling with the reality that his church was producing consumeristic, materialistic, self-focused Christians. He had a sense that he might be alone in trying to figure this out. He was thrilled to hear that he was not alone.

The truth is God is working through many people to resolve the splinter. One initiative I’ve had the privilege to be a part of is Future Travelers www.missional.com. Thirty mega/multi-site churches are working right now to understand how to use the prevailing model of the U.S. church to launch a movement. To understand how to develop real disciples of Jesus. To learn how to move from simple addition to multiplication. You are not alone but, as Morpheus said to Neo, you have a choice:

“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Take the red pill and live out the promise of Ephesians 3:20.
The Holy Spirit wants to take you beyond what you can ask or imagine.

If you’re looking for resources or you want to talk more, please feel free to contact me directly at wlc@cogun.com.

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The Story of Quarry

Bill Couchenour | Monday, August 29, 2011

Quarry Community Church is bringing the hope and compassion of the Gospel to Monticello, MN, about an hour northwest of Minneapolis. Lead Pastor, Michael Grose, and his team are doing a great work for Jesus. You get a glimpse of what they stand for with the analogy they use of a “quarry” (click here for the full Story of the Quarry):

The quarry is a place where you seek to find rocks.
The church is a place where you seek to find lost people.

The quarry is a place where rocks are formed, shaped and hewn for a specific purpose.
The church is a place where new believers in Jesus Christ are mentored and discipled to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

The quarry is a place where rocks are sent out to build something outside the walls of the quarry.
The church is a place where people are built up to be sent out and minister wherever God has called them.

The church is in the process of purchasing a building owned by the city. It was originally built as a bowling alley and over the last several years has fallen into disrepair. We are working with them to renovate this facility to develop needed ministry space and I had a chance to visit them, personally. We’re right at the crux of discerning vision, determining priorities and developing financial plans. It is always thrilling for me when I can be close enough to the vision to feel it.

I love this part because this is the very heart of what we do. The facilities are only tools for ministry but, because of the size of the capital expenditures, the facility decisions are critical. And I am more convinced than ever that bringing the right team into the room with the right process from the beginning results in the best facility decisions for church construction or renovation. I see this approach imitated by many under a variety of names but the “right team” and the “right process” are difficult to duplicate.

Please pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Monticello and the surrounding area.
May God use Quarry CC in a powerful way!

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The Internet at 30,000 Feet

Bill Couchenour | Monday, August 08, 2011

I was on a flight recently working on my computer and quietly complaining to myself about how slow the internet connection was. Then it dawned on me:

I’m sitting in a relatively comfortable seat (though I could use a little more leg room) flying at 600 mph and at nearly six miles above the earth.
AND I HAVE INTERNET ACCESS!

Funny how we take the opportunities in life for granted.

My preference when flying is always an aisle seat. Easy in, easy out – just like riding a bus. If necessary, I’ll take a window seat (anything to avoid the dreaded middle seat). But, when I do need to take a window seat, I am always amazed. At some point, I stop working long enough to look out the window to realize I am in the clouds. When you come through the clouds on the descent, you can see for miles. I try to imagine how many people, how many dogs, even how many insects are in the area of the earth that I can see at the moment. I think about the circumstances and the stories that would be represented by the thousands of people in this area of the earth. Then I realize that, as big as that area of the earth is, it’s a relatively small area on a relatively small planet in one of countless galaxies in the universe. And I again, get a glimpse at how much bigger God is than I had allowed Him to become in my everyday life.

Funny how we take the bigness of God for granted.

I can still remember an evening years ago when an architect friend of mine and I were driving back from a meeting in Florida. The sunset was spectacular (as many in Florida are). I remember the evening not just because of the sunset, but also because of our conversation. We were realizing that as spectacular as the sunset was, it was free. If it could be captured and ransomed, it would be priceless. Neither of us could afford it, yet God gives it to us for free. That led us to realize that the priceless blessings in life are, in fact, free. A brilliant blue and orange sunset. The aroma of fresh cinnamon bread. The taste of our favorite food. An embrace by a loved one. A simple, heartfelt “I love you.” The grace of an awesome God.

Funny how we take the priceless blessings of life for granted.

Pause, for a moment. Is there anything you’re taking for granted today?

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If the pilot says, “Never mind, we’re good to go”, should you be worried?

Bill Couchenour | Monday, August 01, 2011

My first flight was cancelled. We actually boarded, pulled away from the gate then sat on the tarmac until we heard the pilot say over the intercom, “Sorry folks, we’re having trouble with the flaps. They may tell you the flight is delayed but this plane isn’t going anywhere today.” We limped back and deplaned. They rerouted me through Philly on a fairly uneventful flight. But the flight from Philly to home (last one of the night) was delayed. We eventually boarded then waited for 9 people that were coming over from a Frankfurt flight. The pilot said it would just be a few minutes because the Frankfurt flight was already in. Nearly an hour later the Frankfurt 9 joined us and we were finally on our way. We pulled away from the gate and stopped – again.

The message from the pilot was genuinely heartbroken: “Folks, I have bad news. We have a mechanical problem and we have to go back to the gate.” The plane felt like it decompressed under a collective groan. We didn’t move for a couple minutes when the pilot came back on to announce, “Never mind, we’re good to go.” I strained to discern whether or not he was satisfied that the mechanical problem was truly resolved or if it was some sort of bravado. I found myself wondering about the personality profile of the pilot.

Often times in life we’re faced with whether or not this is a time to press on through the pain or pause and heal.

I have been faced with that question many times throughout my years in sports. Is it an injury or just soreness? My high school football coach taught me to assume it was just a temporary pain. In his mind, there wasn’t anything a little athletic tape couldn’t fix (I guess that’s why I stayed in another play after breaking my wrist in two places). There have been times when a good run actually healed the pain in my back. But there have been times when I pushed it too far and my wife had to gingerly help me into the back seat so she could drive me to the emergency room.

If I run with a knee injury I can do some damage to my body. But that’s nothing compared to the damage that can be done running through life with an injury to my soul. How about you? Are you going through a difficult time right now? Is it one of those times where you just have to grit your teeth and gut it out with God’s help? Or have you had a soul injury? If so, now’s the time to heal. I encourage you to listen in prayer, seek Godly counsel and get the injury healed. Jesus, the great physician for our bodies and our souls, is waiting for you now.

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What I’ve Learned From Uphill Battles in the Past

Bill Couchenour | Monday, July 25, 2011

This has been a incredibly difficult economic time in the US. There’s not one of us that, if we haven’t lost a job, doesn’t know a family member or friend that’s become un or underemployed. It has touched us all. And, the truth is, no one knows for sure when or how fast we will rebound. When it does come back no one can be sure what will have changed permanently. What we do know is that, from a business perspective, it’s going to be an uphill battle for a while. I’ve been in some uphill battles before and here’s what I learned:

A) Prayer changes our surroundings: I had one of my most difficult years, personally, in 1995. I had moved my family during some economic uncertainty leaving behind all my business contacts and connections. It was a move that I was convinced God wanted us to do but scary along the way. It was touch and go throughout the year and that kept us close to God in prayer. That December I received the best Christmas gift ever! My brother had kept track of answered prayers from throughout the year a pulled them together into a single file. It was confirmation of how God had been working in very specific ways. That file started a “God folder” of answered prayers I keep in a drawer immediately to my right. God is not a Genie that is there simply to grant our wishes but prayer changes things. (BTW – when people get three wishes from a Genie, why don’t they ask for more wishes when they get to the third wish?)

B) Prayer changes me: – I learned that security outside of God is an illusion. I learned that our circumstances tomorrow are guaranteed by no one but the promises of God for joy, peace and wisdom are true. And, when we let him, he does use all things for our good. I was different, I am different because of prayer during those days.

C) There are 2 ways to live - Fearfully & Frustrated or Purposefully & Prayerfully: Often I am tempted to live fearfully (which usually means I’m trusting in something other than God). When that happens I get frustrated with everything and everyone around me. But I can live Purposefully recognizing the great opportunity/responsibility God has given me to serve. And I can live Prayerfully asking for God’s direction and wisdom and finding his peace and joy. I know the choice is up to me and I choose Purposefully & Prayerfully. I still wake up at 4:00 am from time to time tempted with fear. But, when I do, I use that time to talk as intimately as I know how with God. It’s a choice that becomes easier to make over time.

What do you choose?

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Using Bamboo for Church Structures

Bill Couchenour | Monday, July 18, 2011

I was interested to find out that they utilize bamboo scaffolding for construction in Hong Kong. It struck me as odd that they even use it for skyscrapers. As it turns out, bamboo is incredibly strong. In Oxford studies from the 1920’s they proved bamboo to be similar in strength to steel. Add to that the fact that bamboo plentiful, cheap, renewable and lightweight and it’s no wonder it’s used throughout Asia.

A new friend, Chris Weinand, used the metaphor bamboo scaffolding recently in a way that captured my attention: We need to use bamboo scaffolding to build our church structures.

Think about the life cycle of a church. A church typically begins with a vibrant, compelling story. The atmosphere is electric. There is excitement and sacrifice. People seek God’s wisdom and guidance through prayer and the scriptures. As the church grows there’s a need for the scaffolding of procedures, practices and processes. Unfortunately, somewhere down the road it starts to become about the procedures, practices and processes and not the ministry. If the story is not redeemed and retold, the scaffolding strangles the structure. The challenge for most churches is that their scaffolding is made of steel and becomes undistinguishable once it’s intertwined with the structure. That makes it very painful for churches when they realize they need to change the scaffolding to be true to the story. More often than not they don’t change, they slowly pass away.

But what if we built our procedures, practices and processes out of bamboo? What if we saw them as temporary from the beginning? Means to an end.

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The Qualities of a Life Well Lived

Bill Couchenour | Monday, July 04, 2011

Several weeks ago I was thinking about the qualities of a life well lived. You know, one that has no regrets, is able to be present in the moment and builds a foundation for the future. Here are the attitudes/actions I think (at least my current thinking) produce a life well lived:

1) Prayer (asking and listening so that God may work through me)

2) Focus (Clarity on the broad goals and what they mean to me today/this week)

3) Wisdom (gathering promised divine wisdom as well as the wisdom of counselors)

4) Integrity (everything done with purity and wholeness; words, actions and attitudes line up)

5) Passion (not always expressed emotionally but a gut level connection with God’s purpose for my life)

6) Service (This is the posture God would have me take in my life and work)

7) Faith (a strong belief that God is passionate about my good regardless of what I see at the moment)

Let me be clear, these are what I aspire to, not what I live every day. But I pledge to you that I will, in God’s strength, live these qualities this and every week. If our primary purpose is to bring glory to God, this is probably a good start. But…

…what did I miss?

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How do you build Trust in your organization?

Bill Couchenour | Monday, June 27, 2011

Last week we saw how trust can significantly improve financial results, creativity, innovation and adaptability of an organization. But, how do you build trust? I remember something Warren Bennis and Joan Goldsmith wrote a few years ago that captured my attention1:

“…most of trust comes not from a particular technique, but from the character of the leader.”

Bennis and Goldsmith go on to say that, “In order to create trust you need four ingredients.”:

1) Competence – People need you to be competent at what you do. As Christ-followers we should always be striving to be the best we can be. One of my all-time favorite quotes comes from Dorothy Sayers:“The first demand on a carpenter’s religion is that he makes good tables. What use is anything else if in the center of his life and occupation he is insulting God with bad carpentry.”

2) Congruity – People need you to be a person of integrity. The word “integrity” implies wholeness. In other words, your thoughts, words, actions and intent all need to be congruent. “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart” (Psalm 15:2).

3) Constant – People need to know what they can expect from you. They need to know that in the heat of battle you will act in a manner that’s in keeping with what they see from day-to-day. It doesn’t mean you can’t express emotion or that you can’t change your mind. It means that you won’t do either of those in a way that catches them by surprise. Live your guiding principles. “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).

4) Caring – People know that you genuinely care about them. They need to know that they are not simply a means to an end. The roots for this is found in one of the two most important commandments given to us by Jesus (Matthew 22:39) and the benefits far outweigh the efforts not to mention the additional strength when we knit ourselves together in a vision (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

If you have influence over anyone (including, perhaps especially, volunteers) in an organization, you are a leader. And that means we are responsible for the four ingredients above that speak to character, not technique.

“The trust factor is a social glue that binds commitment and promotes action necessary to produce results.
Without it, you can’t win.”

1 from Learning To Lead – A Workbook On Becoming A Leader by Warren Bennis and Joan Goldsmith

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A Strategy for Golf and Church Facilities

Bill Couchenour | Monday, June 13, 2011

In a recent conversation with one of our guys (Richard Chancy), he suggested that churches should consider a strategy for planning facilities that comes from golf:

“A conservative approach and
A cocky swing”

I like that in this context – Almost universally, the vision for a given church will exceed what they can afford in facilities to accomplish that vision. I don’t think that’s a bad thing – our vision should outpace what we can physically realize at this point in time. However, from time to time, a church leader will leverage that desire to plan facilities well beyond what they can conceivably afford. The rallying cry in that situation is usually, “You need to have faith!” True, but when does faith become presumption?

God has ordered the physical world according to laws and relationships. On some occasions, He will act miraculously in a way that goes against those laws and relationships. Gravity is one of those laws that impacts us every day. If I contemplate jumping off a 10 story building, there’s no doubt in my mind that God can save me. There is also no doubt in my mind that, if He doesn’t, I’m a pancake. So, before I jump off that building, I want to make very sure I have heard from God and I am acting out of faith, not presumption.

The financial world, likewise, is ordered by laws and relationships. If you spend more money than you take in, you go broke - it’s just math (and God made math). There are a number of dangers associated with designing a facility beyond what the church can afford. First, the lost time and lost momentum can take a toll on a church, and you spend more money in the design and subsequent re-design. And there are extra costs for other reasons, including inflation, to consider. Per the ENR (Engineering News Record Index), the inflation in the construction industry over the past year has been 3.63% which means it will conceivably cost a church with a $4,000,000 project over $12,000/month for every month of delay. Also a 50,000 sq. ft. facility that was cut down from 75,000 sq. ft. is different, and probably not as effective, as a facility that was originally designed for 50,000 sq. ft. There can be other dangers, but perhaps the worst is when the project dies, and the physical limitations and/or the turmoil created by the failed program thwarts the growth of the church.

Please understand that I’m not saying you shouldn’t think big. On the contrary, I want you to DREAM BIG!!! I’m only suggesting that you consider the cost when it comes to the needed facilities for your next phase. If God provides the funding in a miraculous way, it is more desirable to scale up than to cut back. Over the years we have been introduced to hundreds of church construction projects that have stalled or died because they over estimated what they could afford or under estimated the cost. The result can be devastating. Here’s a good faith/presumption test: ask yourself, “Am I willing to put everything I own, personally, as collateral for this project?” If the answer is , “Yes”, then perhaps it is faith. If the answer is “No”, it’s more likely presumption, so take a conservative approach and then a cocky swing.

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Gratitude & Wealth

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You Are Not Alone

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The Story of Quarry

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The Internet at 30,000 Feet

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If the pilot says, “Never mind, we’re good to go”, should you be worried?

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What I’ve Learned From Uphill Battles in the Past

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Using Bamboo for Church Structures

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The Qualities of a Life Well Lived

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How do you build Trust in your organization?

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A Strategy for Golf and Church Facilities

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