Tag: Arguing

Posted on

Avoid Strife And Live Honourably

The Purpose of Life is Intimacy with God: What Is It & How to Pursue It

Someone once said challenges are merely distractions meant to keep us from pursuing our destiny. Maybe someone at work isn’t as friendly to you as you’d like. Maybe you have a neighbour who always parks in front of your house and blocks your driveway. Those things may be frustrating, but they have little significance when you look at the big picture. You can’t allow the little things to open the door to strife in your life. 

Scripture tells us, just before David fought Goliath, his brother Iliab tried to confront him. David knew that arguing with Iliab wasn’t even worth his time and strength. He knew his real battle was with Goliath, and he didn’t want to be distracted. So he “turned away” from Iliab and kept his focus on what he was called to do. In our own lives today, most frustrations aren’t worth our energy. When we avoid strife, it is a mark of honour. 

Today, turn away from strife and other distractions that the enemy will send your way. Keep your focus on what God has called you to do. As you do, you will live in honour before God and man. With integrity you’ll move forward into the destiny God has for you! 

“It is an honour for a man to cease from strife…” (Proverbs 20:3, AMP) 

Let’s Pray

Oh Jehovah, thank You for shielding me from evil and for Your hand of victory in my life. Father, give me the wisdom and courage I need to walk away from people who just want to cause conflict and strife, and cause me to lose sight of my focus and destiny You have prepared for me. God, I want to be a person of integrity at all times, I love You and bless You, in Christ’s Name! Amen.

Posted on

We Need To Change How We Talk About The Bible

I like to win arguments. I like being right. I like showing people that I’m smart. I like using my knowledge and proving a point. It’s fun. I enjoy the rush it gives. And it may be one of the most destructive things I can do as a Christian.

“The defeat of the intellect is not the object in fighting with the sword of the Spirit, but the acceptance of the heart. In this case, therefore, I drew back.”

– George MacDonald

The mentor of the famous C. S. Lewis shares just what is wrong with Christians fighting, bickering, debating back and forth until there is one winner.

That isn’t the point.

The Bible isn’t somethign we use to defeat or destroy, belittle or beat  a brother or sister in Christ. It isn’t a weapon for us to weld to prove how excellent we are at exegesis. It isn’t a stool or an escalator we get on to elevate ourselves above the rest of the Body of Jesus.

If it is, we need to check ourself. Before we wreck a lot more than ourself.

The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God is not for destruction or defeat. While it does pierce through to the heart, dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12), the end goal of the Bible is not the demise of anyone.

The disciple Peter spoke well to this matter, when asked if he wanted to depart from Jesus,

“Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.“”

– John 6:68

While this first applies to the words of Jesus, it does extend to all the words of Scripture. They are words of life. They are words that do not destroy or defeat or diminish. They are words that encourage, strengthen, and build up.

After all,

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

– 1 Timothy 3:16-17

If we are discussing, digging, debating, theorizing, or theologizing with the intent to win, we have failed. And we need to step back.

MacDonald says, “I drew back.”

Like a retreat, a purpose full pause, a chance to reflect and re-evaluate what he was doing.

I think I need to do that more often. I’m sure a lot of Christians do, but I’m thinking about myself for a second.

I am smart, but I know there have been times I have used my knowledge, my wisdom to trounce other Christians, belittle them to elevate myself. I have argued people into corners, made them second guess what they believed just to prove I knew better than they did.

That’s not the point. That’s not what the Bible is supposed to be used for. And there is nothing about that kind of action or attitude that is Christ like.

I need to draw back a lot more often than I do.

This isn’t an anti-debate or anti-intellectual statement or quote either. The mentor of C.S. Lewis? How could a man that taught one of the greatest Christian thinkers be anti-intellectual?

No. MacDonald saw in himself, and I’m sure in others, that while debate and figuring things out is of great value, rightness isn’t the end goal.

A renewed mind and an upright spirit are. The repentant heart.

are your conversations, your debates, your theologizing changing hearts or earning you victory points?

One is in line with the heart of Scripture, the word of God.

The other may be the most destructive thing you can do as a Christian.

This article first appeared on Christian Thought Sandbox.

Posted on

Why Should I Hire a Project Manager for My Church Project?

Is it worth hiring a project manager when any seemingly knowledgeable pastor or church member might do?

The truth is, project managers can be a valuable asset to any organization. Whereas the average church member who is only familiar with certain tasks might be overwhelmed by the complexity of major organizational assignments, project managers are trained to handle programs with elaborate factors such as high budgets, increased manpower and layers of duties.

An Astounding 97% of Organizations Believe Project Management Is Critical to Business Performance and Organizational Success. (Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers)

On the flip side, some professional bodies disagree, arguing that professionals like pastors, marketers, and accountants are able to manage projects just as well as any project manager with some effort.

Barely over Half (56%) of Project Managers Are Certified  (Source: Wrike)

“It’s a raging debate,” said Tony Marks, author of the 20:20 Project Management guide.

“Some industries, such as oil and gas, are hesitant to hire outside project management specialists because they may lack industry knowledge. Instead, these industries prefer to employ technical experts and put them through project management training.”

“The danger is that these  people  are more likely to get  sucked into their comfort zone dealing with the nitty-gritty and technical detail they understand and are fascinated by when they should be managing the project,” said Tony Marks.

In addition to being trained to juggle tasks efficiently, project managers spend an enormous amount of time honing their skills. Much more goes into the craft than obtaining Prince2 or APM certifications.

According to Mike Savage of Thales Training and Consultancy, the International Project Management Association requires its professionals to have at least 15 years of experience and training. The association has four grades from D to A. At the A level, project managers must have a minimum of five years project management experience, five years of program management and five years of portfolio management.

“So to Say That Anyone Can Be a Project Manager Is like Saying Anyone Can Be a Brain Surgeon, Said Savage.”

But just because there are individuals specializing in project management doesn’t mean non-specialists can’t learn the techniques as well. Ian Clarkson of training course provider QA encourages everyone to learn project management practices.

“The skills, leadership, planning and stakeholder engagement techniques are vital to all disciplines,” he said.

“Projects which are run by engineers with project management training are less likely to be successful than the reverse,” said Lloyd’s Register energy program director Roger Clutton. “If there is a lack of technical expertise that will show up in the risk assessment. But a lack of project management skills is much less likely to be detected.”

With that, it seems that the argument on whether or not hiring an outside project management is necessary will continue. But the debate only seems relevant to rival professions as there is projected to be 15 million new project management jobs within the decade. (Source: Project Management Institute).

No matter how you look at it, though, it seems that trained and experienced project managers  must be  worth their weight in gold.

 

 

As seen on