Over lunch with two great, smart and wise people today, I commented that the developing concept of UrbanLife becomes more incarnate everyday. I'm an ideas-and-vision person and I thrive in this stage of the game. But even for me, this feels really good to be moving UrbanLife out of my head and giving it structure, leadership, focus and direction.
If it worked for God to have The Word become flesh and live among us, then there must be something to the work of taking an idea and making it real and fleshy. (Not that I'm claiming that this ministry is the next best thing to Jesus...maybe sliced bread, but not the holy one.)
Here are some fleshy updates about UrbanLife:
- UrbanLife has a mission statement (or a vision, depending on how you define the two things) -- UrbanLife seeks to build community and deepen spirituality among young urban professionals while helping them attain God's highest ideals for their careers, finances, relationships, self-growth, and connection to the world (mission and environment).
- We are entering the development phase of the virtual home for UrbanLife--a fully functional cutting edge website that will be interactive, informative and inspirational. A leading national company is working on this project--SiteOrganics.com--and it is the generosity of the people at St. Andrew who are making this possible.
- The first programming cycle for UrbanLife will begin mid-October and run for 4-6 weeks. The kick-off for this first programming cycle--a community-wide Blessing of the Pets--will occur Sun., Oct. 7, at 5:30 pm in Reverchon Park, off of the Katy Trail.
- Plans are in the making now for an on-going Sunday morning class led by me for young, urban professionals. Cell/home groups will be formed out of this large class.
- The branding of this ministry is in full development as well as logo development. Can't wait till I get to share it with you.
As this ministry begins to take more structure, I spent some time today reflecting on what leadership means and how it is best practiced in the unique culture of church life. This new experience will test and push me to become a more effective leader and in the words of my mentor Jim Dorff, it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that my effectiveness can be transformed into excellence in the kingdom of God. (I like relying on God, Jim...thanks for the reminder!)
One of the people at lunch today was Don McMinn with the Leaders Summit. I am very impressed with how Leaders Summit is organized and what they offer corporations, individuals and religious groups (the quote above is from their website). Others have come across this connection realizing that the best leader in our world today is a servant leader. I believe that developing leadership skills, however you serve with whatever job title, is part of what it means to becoming a Jesus-follower in this world today.
Want to assess your leadership skills? Take the Leaders Summit's free assessment by clicking here.
In my next blog posting, I will tell you more about why I think if John Wesley were alive today he would be a life coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment