Thursday, March 7, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Say Yes to the Fundraiser
My wife is a very generous person. Loves to give gifts. Loves to support friends' kids, neighbor kids, and other kids with their various fundraising initiatives.
Me? Not so much.
I'm thankful I learned the discipline of tithing and giving at an early age, but I still have harder time than she does with spontaneous giving.
A few weeks ago a couple middle school aged boys from the neighborhood came to my door. They were raising funds for their wrestling club. Jerseys, equipment, that kind of thing. I listened to their pitch, and since I didn't know them nor had a passion for wrestling, I said no. They were disappointed, but thanked me for my time, and went to the next house.
I normally have no problem saying no something like that. Because, I didn't even know them! That's short-term thinking.
Later on though, I had some long-term thoughts. These boys were middle school boys in my neighborhood. An activity such as wrestling teaches them sportsmanship, hard work, and discipline. Belonging to a team gives them a group to be part of and a common goal to work towards. Being part of an extra-curricular activity such as wrestling gives the boys a better chance of achieving better grades and staying out of trouble (like egging the homes of people who didn't give to the wrestling club!). That's long-term thinking.
Obviously, we're not able to or supposed to support everything. I know too often in my thinking my default is 'no'.
I wish I could go back and give to those boys, but truth is, I haven't seen them since. But, when the opportunity comes again, I'll say yes to the fundraiser.
Me? Not so much.
I'm thankful I learned the discipline of tithing and giving at an early age, but I still have harder time than she does with spontaneous giving.
A few weeks ago a couple middle school aged boys from the neighborhood came to my door. They were raising funds for their wrestling club. Jerseys, equipment, that kind of thing. I listened to their pitch, and since I didn't know them nor had a passion for wrestling, I said no. They were disappointed, but thanked me for my time, and went to the next house.
I normally have no problem saying no something like that. Because, I didn't even know them! That's short-term thinking.
Later on though, I had some long-term thoughts. These boys were middle school boys in my neighborhood. An activity such as wrestling teaches them sportsmanship, hard work, and discipline. Belonging to a team gives them a group to be part of and a common goal to work towards. Being part of an extra-curricular activity such as wrestling gives the boys a better chance of achieving better grades and staying out of trouble (like egging the homes of people who didn't give to the wrestling club!). That's long-term thinking.
Obviously, we're not able to or supposed to support everything. I know too often in my thinking my default is 'no'.
I wish I could go back and give to those boys, but truth is, I haven't seen them since. But, when the opportunity comes again, I'll say yes to the fundraiser.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Thank You for the Email
One of the best classes I took for my business degree was Business Communication. The whole point of the class was to draft memos (I know, using the word 'memo' dates be a bit), letters and other business correspondence. Our professor would drill us on all kinds of communication- responding to letters from angry customers, memos where you have to give employees bad news, and letters you would send to vendors or suppliers with whom you had a dispute over a price or damaged product. It was a great class, and even though email has replaced memos and letters, I still use the skills learned in class every day.
Out all of the things I gained from this class, none has been as important as starting most (if not all) communication with the words "Thank you". Now it's easy to thank a raving fan for her note of appreciation, but what do you with do the customer who wants to bite your head off? How do you thank him for that?! By thanking him for the communication. Our prof would say here you have a real customer, someone who has taken the time to write you, and while you may not agree with the contents of the communication, you thank the person for the communication.
Staring at a difficult email or a critical letter? Start with thank you.
Out all of the things I gained from this class, none has been as important as starting most (if not all) communication with the words "Thank you". Now it's easy to thank a raving fan for her note of appreciation, but what do you with do the customer who wants to bite your head off? How do you thank him for that?! By thanking him for the communication. Our prof would say here you have a real customer, someone who has taken the time to write you, and while you may not agree with the contents of the communication, you thank the person for the communication.
Staring at a difficult email or a critical letter? Start with thank you.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Return Your Messages
"Thank you so much Brian, I truly
appreciate it!"
That was the email I got from someone I did not know asking a request I was not able to help with. You would think, though, judging by her reply that I had helped solved her problem. I didn't. I simply took the time to reply to her email. I wonder how many emails she had sent with her request and how many went unreturned- not even bothering to give her the courtesy of a reply.
The lesson is simple- return your messages- whether it's email, text, or Facebook.
And while my email inflow is relatively small compared to others, the reason people send you email (outside of spam or reply all is for a response). So if you're so big or busy to respond, you either need to outsource responding or not receive messages.
That was the email I got from someone I did not know asking a request I was not able to help with. You would think, though, judging by her reply that I had helped solved her problem. I didn't. I simply took the time to reply to her email. I wonder how many emails she had sent with her request and how many went unreturned- not even bothering to give her the courtesy of a reply.
The lesson is simple- return your messages- whether it's email, text, or Facebook.
And while my email inflow is relatively small compared to others, the reason people send you email (outside of spam or reply all is for a response). So if you're so big or busy to respond, you either need to outsource responding or not receive messages.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Does Testing God Lead to More Tests?
Recently read the story of Gideon from Judges 6 (and following). Always a good read. One of the more well-known parts of the story is Gideon's testing of God with the wet and dry fleeces. What I found interesting this time through the story was noticing God's testing of Gideon (by lowering his army from over 10,000 soldiers to a mere 300) followed Gideon's testing of God with the fleece.
From a casual reading of the text, God isn't upset with Gideon over the test of the fleece. I think God can handle our testing. But I wonder what happens if Gideon simply obeys and skips the whole wet and dry fleece event. Does God still narrow the army? Or does the story change somewhat because Gideon obeyed right away instead of needing proof before continuing with obedience?
From a casual reading of the text, God isn't upset with Gideon over the test of the fleece. I think God can handle our testing. But I wonder what happens if Gideon simply obeys and skips the whole wet and dry fleece event. Does God still narrow the army? Or does the story change somewhat because Gideon obeyed right away instead of needing proof before continuing with obedience?
Friday, March 1, 2013
Referring Church Shoppers
We often get calls- I'd say several a month- asking if our church has a certain children's program or uses a certain version of the Scriptures. Most of these calls are sincere- they're not looking to pick a fight and are genuinely seeking a church that has what they are looking for.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
And so I have two possible responses with these callers- I can simply say 'no' and then end the call. Or, I can say no and then refer the caller to churches that do offer the specific program or use the certain version of the Scriptures.
I most always choose to refer the caller to churches I know who offer what they are looking for. The caller is almost always pleasantly surprised and thankful for the referral.
In churches, and is in almost any other place in life, there's a tendency to get territorial and competitive. And there have been times in the past when I have felt territorial or competitive so I had a different response to those calls. I would either try to a) convince the caller that what we offered as a church was as good if not superior to what they were looking for or b) argue with the caller (especially with the caller looking for a certain version of the Scriptures).
Both responses were non-productive to say the least. While trying to sell your stuff or picking a theological fight may make one feel good in the short term, the best long term strategy is to simply be helpful.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
And so I have two possible responses with these callers- I can simply say 'no' and then end the call. Or, I can say no and then refer the caller to churches that do offer the specific program or use the certain version of the Scriptures.
I most always choose to refer the caller to churches I know who offer what they are looking for. The caller is almost always pleasantly surprised and thankful for the referral.
In churches, and is in almost any other place in life, there's a tendency to get territorial and competitive. And there have been times in the past when I have felt territorial or competitive so I had a different response to those calls. I would either try to a) convince the caller that what we offered as a church was as good if not superior to what they were looking for or b) argue with the caller (especially with the caller looking for a certain version of the Scriptures).
Both responses were non-productive to say the least. While trying to sell your stuff or picking a theological fight may make one feel good in the short term, the best long term strategy is to simply be helpful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)