I don’t have a lot of time today, but I do have one thought to share.  I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week, and I’ve come to this conclusion: 

Good Friday is only “good” because of what happened on Sunday. 

Isn’t that true?

I’m not trying to say anything controversial, but to me, Friday is really not that good.  In fact, Friday is bad. 

I know what some of you are thinking.  “Matt, Friday is great because Jesus paid for our sins on that day!”  I understand where you’re coming from, but think about this with me.  Without Sunday, Friday is really, really bad.  Right?

Paul said it this way, “And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.”  1 Cor 15:17 (NLT)

So, if Sunday doesn’t happen, Paul says that Friday isn’t any good. 

Just a thought for you to chew on.

See you Sunday!

Today, I want to help some of you out.  I want to try and simplify your life and add more time to your day…I want to introduce you to Google Reader. 

I love to read and follow other people’s blogs.  And I’ve found that it’s a whole lot easier to do this with Google Reader. 

With Google Reader, I am able to scan through 80 blogs or so each day by taking advantage of the Really Simple Syndication (RSS).  RSS helps me to know what’s new on other people’s blogs without actually having to go the actual sites themselves. 

I thought some of you might like to try it.  Here’s how you do it.

I recently finished up a series on Wednesday nights called, “Judge and Jury”.  As is usually the case, this series probably helped me as much as it helped anyone else.  (I’m the most judgmental person I know!)  Anyway, for those of you who missed these teachings (or for those who just need a refresher), here are a couple of the takeaways from each week.

Week #1

“You will be judged by others in the same way and with the same weight as you yourself judge.”

“When you’re holier-than-thou, you’re holier-than-no one.”

“When we don’t deal with the plank in our eyes, we lose leverage with the people who have dust in theirs.”

“Only when I come to terms with my own sinfulness, am I able to be help someone else come to terms with theirs.”

Week #2

“Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do for someone else is address their sin, not to condemn them, but to rescue them.”

“The way you live your life affects the people you’re connected to in this church.”    

“People who don’t know God also don’t know any better.”

Week #3

“To be alive is to be judged.”

“The most natural thing to do when you are unfairly judged, is to return the favor.”  

“Judgmental people never go away.” 

Every year, we try and put together an Easter postcard that will pique the curiosity of those in our community who don’t call Southside their home.  This year’s postcard is no different.  Rather than describe it for you, I figured I would just give you a sneak peek.

Here is the postcard in all its glory.

So what do you think?  Do you like it?  Do you think people who don’t go to church at Southside or anywhere else for that matter, will like it?  

Perry was on his game again, and during this session, he challenged staff and specifically spent a lot of time addressing senior pastors, using Exodus 4 as his passage. 

Here are some of the notes I took:

#1  If you want to make it for the long haul, deal with your pride and insecurities.

“When we’re successful, sometimes we think it’s because of something we did.” 

“It’s not my job to keep everybody happy.  It’s not my job to take an opinion poll every time God speaks to my heart.”   

“If you’re called, you just don’t quit.”

#2  Use your staff

“There are a lot of staff members who think that their senior pastor exists for them to lean on, when in reality, the staff members exist for the senior pastor to lean on.”

“Senior pastors, treat your staff with respect.  Smile at them.  Give them a ‘side hug’ every once in a while.  Honor your staff in various ways.”  

“Staff, you’ve never felt the weight that a senior pastor feels.  You don’t know what he has to deal with on a daily basis.”

#3  Take God-directed risks 

“I didn’t say, ‘Take stupid risks!’  I said, ‘Take God-directed risks!’”

“We’re never going to get where God wants us to go by playing it safe.”

“Pick up the snake by the tail and watch what God can do.”

#4  Understand that at times it’s going to hurt

“Sometimes ministry affects us in personal ways that hurt”

“Ministry always hurts!”

#5  Follow “His” leadership

Cherie Duffey is the Children’s Ministry Director at NewSpring Church.  Her breakout session centered around leading preschool and elementary children.

It wasn’t really a note-taking kind of session, but I did write down a few things.  Here are a few of the observations I made as I was surrounded by about 200 crazy children’s ministry volunteers.

·         They use upcoming animated movie releases to connect with kids. 

·         It’s important to know what’s going on in a kid’s world.  Subscribe to blogs and magazines that talk about children’s stuff (i.e. Nickelodeon Magazine)

·         They write their own curriculum based on what they perceive the needs of their children are.

·         Their biggest challenge is to make everything cohesive, to bring everything together.

·         Occasionally, they will do a series that will coincide with what the adults are learning about in “big church”.

·         Their volunteers show up 45 minutes early and they get the VIP treatment when they do.  They use this time to keep everyone informed about what’s happening in the children’s ministry. 

·         Evidently, we are not the only church that has a little “Tasmanian Devil” running around.

·         In the middle of a crazy Sunday, don’t forget that you love children.