Big Is The New Small

Christians You Don’t Have To Go Across The World To Experience Diversity, Simply Go Across The Tracks.  There are many different ways for congregations to connect with a diverse group of people and going on an international mission trip is not the only solution.

Most churches give both time and resources to other non-profits, outreaches, ministries and mission efforts.  As it relates to Church Diversity, ministry leaders should look at the percent of their personal outreach and philanthropic budget that goes towards local multicultural organizations.  I’m not implying that a church should cut their international missions budget, I’m just saying look local.

The reality is church organizations can make great strides in impacting church diversity by exposing their congregation to local multicultural partnerships and outreach.  Congregations can find multicultural organizations to give to, partner with and work alongside.  When Jesus said go into all the world, that didn’t simply mean go around the globe—for many churches that simply means go across the train tracks.

For those of you who may not understand what “the other side of the train tracks” means, its referring to the fact that most communities were and some still are racially segregated by a set of train tracks or a dividing street.  It can be “The Hood” on one side of the tracks and things get a little nicer, cleaner and newer on the other side.  Hood or not, many times there is just a clear racial divide.

I thought the blockbuster movie “The Blind Side” provided an excellent illustration of what happens when people go across the tracks; the experience can be similar to an international mission trip.  When Christians get out of their comfort zones and be the hands and feet of Christ in a community that’s less than a 20-minute drive from their suburban utopia, eyes are opened.  In the movie The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock plays the role of Leigh Anne Touhy.  The Tuohy’s are a Christian family led by wealthy restaurant chain owner Sean Tuohy, played by Tim McGraw.  The short and skinny on the movie is the fact that a kid from the other side of the tracks got a shot to attend a rich private school, the Tuohy’s adopt him, he learns how to read, gets his grades up, becomes an excellent right tackle, learns to protect the quarterbacks Blind Side, goes on to play college ball at Ole Miss and eventually gets drafted in the 2009 NFL by the Baltimore Ravens.

There were several scenes in the movie where Lee Anne Tuohy was heart broken by what she experienced in “The Hood” only 20 minutes from her beautiful suburban home, in an area that she never realized existed.  She had a desire to reach out, give and make a difference.  She confronted some of her rich swanky girlfriends about their negative stereotypes as she had a desire connect with and change a community that she never knew existed.  She realized that You Don’t Have To Go Across The World To Experience Diversity and Serve The Under-served… You Simply Need To Go Across The Tracks.

Why don’t we simply go across the tracks more often?  Share your thoughts!

14 Tweetable Love Quotes

1. Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!  ~Thomas Hood
2. The few hours I spend with you are worth the thousand hours I spend without you!
3. Loving is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.
4. You need trust to love, but first you need to love in order to trust.
5. Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires.
6. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.  ~Lao Tzu
7. I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.  ~Mother Teresa
8. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.
9. At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.
10. The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
11. If you want to be loved, be lovable.
12. Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence.
13. You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. ~Dr. Seuss
14. Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not. ~C.S. Lewis

Share your favorite love quotes or thoughts on any of the above!

The purpose of this post is to gather a collection of the Top Christian Podcasts.  What are the Top Christian Podcasts?  The answers reside with those of you who are reading this post.  Simply post a comment and share your favorite Christian Podcasts, if you can add the link that would be helpful information.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your comments!

READY, SET, GO!

If you want to check out some of the best blogs in Oklahoma, go check out the finalist for the 2009 Okie Blog Awards.  There are 24 different categories and too many blogs name.  The categories include everything from The Best Overall Blog, The Most Humorous Blog to The Most Inspirational.

BigIsTheNewSmall.com is a finalist in the Most Inspirational Blog Category.  To check out the entire list and cast your vote, click here.  The deadline for Voting is Sunday February, 14th at midnight and you must be an Oklahoma Blogger to Vote.

I want to personally say thank you for reading and subscribing to BigIsTheNewSmall.com.  We are only a few subscribers away from 3,000.  You keep reading and I’ll keep writing.

What are some of your favorite Oklahoma Blogs?

The term “Leader” carries a great deal of responsibility.  Once a person obtains the title of Leader, they also get the bonus baggage of “The bucks stops with you!”  No matter how you slice, sugarcoat, twist, manipulate or excuse organizational outcomes; the bottom line is that It’s Your Fault!

Leaders are generally comfortable carrying the “It’s Your Fault” tag when their team, area or organization is experiencing success.  When things take a turn for the worse, wins are hard to come by and “Big Mo” has left the building; the excuses will begin to roll.  Stop with the excuses, stop blaming your team and look in the mirror, because It’s Your Fault!

Sometimes it may not seem fair for the leader to take all of the blame, as they don’t have control over each and every variable.  Leadership is not about fairness, responsibility is just part of the game.  I had someone ask me if a particular ministry area was successful because of a particular leader or in spite of a particular leader.  My answer was absolutely because of this particular leader.  If things were failing it wouldn’t be in spite of this particular leader, it’s a two-way street.

Leaders, if your organization is failing, people are leaving, people are not being developed, people are unhappy, leaders are not rising to the top, momentum is long gone and you can’t seem to spell suczcess… It’s Your Fault! If things are great and success is happening, enjoy the season because It’s Your Fault!

There is no need to complain about the outcomes, just embrace the reality.  Next time your boss starts complaining and making excuses, simply look them in the eyes and say “It’s Your Fault!” Remember, just because it’s their fault doesn’t you mean they won’t pull a Donald Trump on you and look you in the eyes and say, “You’re Fired!”

The person who complains about the way the ball bounces, is likely the one who dropped it. ~Lou Holtz

What do you think?

Image Via: TheOatmeal.com

There are many, many things that those in the world of Twitter can’t stand.  Unfortunately most of the things are here to stay and aren’t going anywhere in the near future.  The beauty of Twitter is that it’s a take it or leave it community; however that doesn’t stop people from having their dislikes.

I decided to go straight to the horses mouth and ask the world of Twitter the following question, in the form of a tweet: “Fill In This Blank: I wish people that Twitter would stop doing [blank]! Your @replies will be a blogpost. Ready,Go!”   The responses came in rapidly and the first 55 responses are below.

55 Things Twitterers Should Stop Doing

1. ScottWilliams Stop Spamming, Stop Talking About Porn, Stop Being a Copy Cat, Stop Being Negative, Stop Using Profanity // Don’t Player Hate… Celebrate!
2. Anna_Light I wish ppl who twttr wld stp DMing me in the middle of the nite. DM get sent 2 my phone & wake me up! I stp following those!
3. mamastephf ..stop ignoring ppl who “speak” to you on Twitter, trying to be friendly. You’re probably not a rock star. Be courteous!
4. shannonodell Stop telling me what you are eating…
5. hopealot giving play by plays of whatever tv shows they are watching!
6. ejswanson 4 square
7. SassafrasHill – Not replying when you try to get to know them…having 1,000 followers & only following 10 (non-celebs)…
8. rhukill …focusing on number of followers, instead of quality of content!
9. ChrisAgne …stop unfollowing me because of who I follow.
10. DonaldOhse RT Fill In This Blank: I wish people that Twitter would stop doing [blank]! // complaining
11. CarloSerrano using it to sell lame products
12. BKSTOKES @replies would be themselves & stop trying to sale cheesy products & especially that all those promoting porn be banned
13. scottinnj I wish Twitter would stop letting spammers and porn ads on as accounts. It stinks, and I don’t like it!
14. gbussmann trying to tell me how to get 1000 followers in 20 minutes
15. russkle reposts of their own tweets.
16. MrFresh “I wish people that Twitter would stop doing RT’ing greetings to people they dont follow. Send 2 the originator only.” #lazy
17. melissamoore make you go through their facebook page to follow a link…
18. benjordan stop future tweeting. “i’m going to show you something great soon. Get ready” We are ready. Just tell us when it’s here peeps
19. meintweet answer: stop posting where you are at and tell me something interesting about your location.
20. AlexSantxo I wish people that Twitter would stop lurking and actually post something. Or delete account if not using. Kinda creepy.
21. dugasjeremy I agree with @katieniles A little personal and blogs and some RTs but all RTs cracks me up honestly..
22. CathyRigby I wish some people that Twitter would stop posting such negative Tweets! (might have to #unfollow)
23. elainedarmoc Posting multiple tweets with same or similar content.
24. CyrilJones I wish people that Twitter would stop updating their status with the current song they are listening to!
25. iambendavis talking about themselves only
26. mediapeople stop —- “critiquing the various uses of Twitter. Just UnFollow if you don’t like it. You have a choice. Let people be.”
27. mikeymo1741 Referring to other Twitter users with out @replying . Very annoying.
28. tonysteward no more hype. No more hype. No more hype.
29. chadmissildine stop dreaming small & start believing. Come on peeps, be available & help change culture!
30. EdmondActive would try to get to know others outside of their small personal circles. The world is too big a place to stay in only one.
31. Antof9 posting same thing on Twitter/Facebook. What is reason to follow/friend in both places?
32. beckylaswell I wish people would stop typing “RT “for retweets and use the retweet feature instead.
33. thegirlburgan …posting their thoughts BEHIND yours in a RT. Post BEFORE to avoid confusion of the original tweeter’s thoughts.
34. thomreagan RT I wish people that Twitter would stop self-promoting by RTing what others say to or about them & their book/music/etc.
35. ShawnaSimpson My wish – that some people would come up with an original thought and not just retweet everything, esp if I follow the source
36. amyurbach would stop only promoting bizz and start interacting with followers
37. branford …stop trying to feed their egos w/ follower counts and blog click-thrus
38. mattofact RT Fill In This Blank: I wish people that Twitter would stop [blank]! // being corporate and just talk to me… briefly
39. mdrfl sending automated happy thoughts. Send personal ones but I don’t like the auto fed ones
40. akurys Fill In This Blank: I wish people that Twitter would stop posting my DMs as tweets!!!
41. ArkieCal I have no way of replying to that, I don’t object to any tweets that I read, but I am selective in the ones that are read.
42. jermtech my answer: “I wish people would stop…” …telling me how to use Twitter! If you don’t like how I use it, unfollow!
43. CocoaPopps I wish ppl would stop using Twitter to out and out disrespect. Valid complaints, observations, okay, but just 2 b mean? #FAIL
44. DanielCBerman Random people sending me @replies with links to porn. Posting long lines of text quotes w/no context. Not listening to others
45. mandiengram Using it strictly as a Facebook fan page feed and not replying to people on Twitter. Also, sending unnecessary DMs.
46. Antof9 post what music they’re listening to. Especially 6 songs (tweets) in a row. Would like to filter those tweets out.
47. mdrfl spamming me with stuff or services for sale. Converse. Share. Don’t spam!
48. alronberg I wish people that Twitter would stop doing ENDLESS commentaries on DUMB sports games and awards ceremonies!!!
49. brightonrick I wish people that Twitter would stop pasting links to phony sites and spam
50. brookewalla I wish they would stop posted commercials for something… over and over again.. SPAM?!?!? Uuggghhh
51. ChadRArnold Vague tweets that are obvious sympathy requests.
52. mattigan the semi famous quotes from the semi famous people
53. bigonroad I wish twitter would stop tempting me to be disatisfied with my own life and career
54. BrianJRussell using Twitter primarily to vent anger/frustration #NonSarcasticSeriousAnswer
55. BrianJRussell asking people to @reply answers to ??? which will be auto generated into a blog post… jk

What do you think about this list?  Add your thoughts to this list of 55 Things Twitterers Should Stop Doing.

It seems like more and more people are using the word “integrity” these days and more often times than not they are referring to the lack of integrity.  Whether we are talking about cheating in sports, pastors falling from grace, two-faced politicians, affairs, lying, cheating, stealing etc. it all boils down to The Lost Art Of Integrity.  If an individual’s integrity is compromised and questionable, that individual becomes compromised and questionable.

We must learn to always do what’s right, even when what’s wrong is easier.  We must learn to do what’s right, even when no one is looking.  We must walk the integrity walk and not just talk the integrity talk.  We must remember that people generally won’t question your integrity, if there is nothing about your integrity to question.  We must embrace the truth that when no one else is watching or listening, God is always watching and listening.

If you have integrity, nothing else matters.  If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.  ~Alan Simpson

What do you think?  Is this becoming a lost art?

The amazing thing about the world of blogging is that we have the opportunity to access the thoughts and expertise of some of the greatest minds in the world.  My Google Reader is full of amazing blogs with content ranging from comedy, how to get things done, ministry, tech, social media, politics and the list goes on and on.  I love to find a new blog and a new great read.

As I come across a new blog that I really, really like; I find myself saying “I Love This Blog!” I’m assuming that many of you do the same thing from time to time.  There are many great bloggers, who provide amazing content absolutely free to you and I.  If you find yourself saying “I Love This Blog!” show your love.  Below are 4 ways to Show Your Love.

1. Subscribe- A subscription via e-mail, newsletter or RSS.  This is the ultimate compliment as you are basically saying, “I want to check this bloggers content out on a regular basis.”
2. Leave A Comment- Leaving a comment and engage in the conversation.  For those bloggers that allow comments, leaving a comment is always a nice way to say thank you and interact with the blogger at the same time.  It’s important to take into consideration The Twitter Effect On Blogging.
3. Tell Others-  Let others know about the blog, via Twitter (posts or RT’s), other social media or in casual conversations.  If you know someone that could benefit from or would enjoy the content of some blogs that you’re reading, share that information.  Again, the easiest way is to share the blog information is to share it with your entire Social Media network, someone in your network will definitely appreciate the content.
4. Tell The Blogger- Tell the blogger “I Love Your Blog” “I Love This Blog” “This Blog Is Tight” or a simple “Thank You!”  Show your love!

What do you think?  How do you show your love?  What blogs are you Lovin’ right now?

Guest Blogger: Jason Curlee

You know that box…that six-sided structure…that structure that you and I might have been put in along the way. Well, it’s time to get out of it.

NO!!!!! It’s time to BUST OUT OF IT. It is time that you and I throw down the gloves and throw off the chains that have been kept us from going to the next level. It is time to “Bust Out Of The Box” that has kept us from being all that God has called us to be.

I remember the time I applied for a youth pastor position at the age of 33. What I was told was that I was too “old”. At that moment I let “their” box close on me.

Another time I let an organization almost kill the dream in me so that I could fit into what they wanted out of me for “their” ministry. I let their box close on me. And I almost closed the lid.

I once had the dream of planting a church ripped from me by a person who I thought was a friend…who couldn’t lead with someone else and then tried to put me in the box “he” thought I should be in.

What or who is it that has closed the box around you?

Is it your family telling you that you need to get a job other than ministry? Is it your boss telling you, you’ll always be at the bottom? Maybe it’s someone telling you, “you can’t lead”. Maybe it’s someone not believing in you. There are so many situations that could have put you in the box.

Here is how you can get out of “their” box:

1) Change the reality within the box – By that I mean change the mind-set that has put you there. Often times the box was started by others and you began to believe it. Begin to etch out a new mind-set filled with the possibilities that are out there. Truth is…there is truly nothing out there you can’t do if you put your mind to it.

2) Bust out of the box – Chart yourself a new destination…one that is alignment with the future God wants for your life.

3) Create a new box – This is the box you define. One that is not filled with the limits of others or your organization. You can be more than others see in you. You can do more than is possible. Push back the boundaries and believe in yourself…God believes in you.

Today, you have “PERMISSION” to get out of the box. Go ahead break those walls that have been constraining you and chart a new vision.

What are you going to do to get out of their box?

– @JasonCurlee blogs at JasonCurlee.com and is all about influencing and developing others to make a difference in their world. He is currently a Campus Pastor for Bay Area Fellowship in Corpus Christi, Texas.
His blogs are about creating content that ministry leaders can find practical and inspirational as well as sharing the ministry principles and experiences accumulated since 1995. It’s about being innovative, unique, and creating content that can help you make a difference.

Guest Blogger: Charlie Loften

“If I want to go the beach on vacation and my family wants to go to the
mountains, how do we decide? Who wins? I am the leader–that means I
win. I get to decide.”

I wish that I could say that such a perspective on leadership is rare,
but it is not. Way too many people approach leadership in their homes,
jobs and elsewhere with an attitude of perks, privileges and winning.

If you are asking the question about who wins, then you have not only
misunderstood what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5 about families, but
everything that Jesus and the entire Bible have to say about leadership.
What Paul says is that being a head is a comparison to Christ being the
head of the church. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for
her.” Ephesians 5:35 (NIV). How did he do that? He sacrificed his will
and his desires in order that he might give life to his Church. The
question of what Jesus wanted was not a consideration in his decision to
empty himself and die for us. If the question had been posed to Jesus,
“What do you want?” after giving a puzzled look I imagine his response
would be, “I want what is best for my church.”

What about us? How often does “What do I want?” come up in our
decision-making and leadership? How often do we try to pass off what we
want as the best decision? “I know it looks like I’m getting what I
want, but really this is best for all of us.” If we are to be the
leaders that God is calling us to be, we need to look to Jesus’ example.
This is the example of a man who washed the dirty feet of his disciples
when no one else would, the man who told us that the first would be last
and the last first, the man who said that even though you call me Lord,
I have come to you as a servant, the man who was tortured and killed in
order to give life to those he loved and led.

Being the leader does mean that you win. You win when you lay down your
desires and life so that those you lead may have life and become the men
and women that God has called them to be. (BTW, you should probably go
to the mountains.)

www.cloften.com
www.twitter.com /cloften