• You can have change OR stability.
• You can be conservative OR bold.
• You can have low cost OR high quality.
• You can have creative autonomy OR consistency and control.
• You can invest for the future OR do well in the short term.
• You can be idealistic (values-driven) OR pragmatic (profit-driven).

Their research found that instead of being oppressed by the “tyranny of the or,” highly visionary and effective companies liberated themselves with the “genius of the and.”  They had the ability to accomplish both and instead of one or the other at the same time.  Rather than being forced to pick one way over another these companies figured out a way to pursue both.   Somewhere along the way I discoved this idea and often find myself looking for both and opportunities.

Dr. White points out in his blog post that It’s not only a need in business; it’s a need for the church.  He list eight areas where church often find themselves stuck with either or instead of embracing a both and approach:

1. Relevant and Orthodox. 
2. Contemporary and Traditional. 
3. High-Tech and High-Touch. 
4. Multiple Locations and One Church. 
5. Topical and Expositional. 
6. Evangelism and Discipleship. 
7. Growth and Assimilation. 
8. Vision and Reality.

Adapted from James Emery White blog post on Church and Culture.

• 65,810,415 WordPress sites in the world (at time of writing)
• Over 100,000 new WordPress sites are created every day!
• Powers 14.7% of Alexa Internet’s “top 1 million” websites
• Used in 22% of all new websites

At the center of WordPress’s success has been its ease of use, clean styling, and open-source ethos, as outlined in a VERY early version of WordPress.org.

The beauty of WordPress is that it works for corporations (driving the likes of Wired, CNN, and The New York Times), as well as for smaller blogs and businesses.

Most have set up a standard WordPress site using a free theme, but how many have managed to:

• Fully understand WordPress’s underlying code
• Manipulate its server-side capabilities
• Customize it for a wide range of projects
• Harness its powerful APIs, plugins, and other extensions.

The WordPress Anthology by Mick Olinik and Raena Jackson Armitage is the new book from SitePoint. Its 336 pages offers web developers a broad base of WordPress solutions, putting you in control of this impressive CMS. Jam-packed with proven tips and techniques, you’ll discover how to effectively use WordPress.

 

The barracks where Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy were kept in the Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck were terribly overcrowded and flea-infested.

They had been able to miraculously smuggle a Bible into the camp, and in that Bible they had read that in all things there were to give thanks, and that God can use anything for good.

Corrie’s sister Betsy decided that this meant thanking God for the fleas.

This was too much for Corrie, who said she could do no such thing.  Betsy insisted, so Corrie gave in and prayed to God, thanking Him even for the fleas.

Over the next several months a wonderful, but curious, thing happened.  They found that the guards never entered their barracks. 

This meant that the women were not assaulted. 

It also meant that they were able to do the unthinkable, which was to hold open Bible studies and prayer meetings in the heart of a Nazi concentration camp.

Through this, countless numbers of women came to faith in Christ.

Only at the end did they discover why the guards had left them alone and would not enter into their barracks.

It was because of the fleas.

This Thanksgiving, give thanks to God for every good and perfect gift (James 1:17), but also thank Him for how He will use all things for good in the lives of those who trust Him (Romans 8:28). 

In this time of declining home values and rising unemployment; in a time when many are facing physical and emotional challenges; there can be little doubt that such a trusting prayer of radical gratitude will be challenging to consider.

But when you feel that challenge, take a moment, and remember the fleas of Ravensbruck.

And thank God anyway.

 

“In America we are closing 7 more churches a day, than we are opening!! -Charles Arn”"The United States of America remains the third largest unchurched nation in the world!

“Church Planting is the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven! -C. Peter Wagner”

“In 1900 there were 27 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 1950 there were 17 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 1996 there were 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans. -George Gallup

“Evangelical churches have failed to gain an additional 2% of the American population in the past 50 years. In other words, we are not even reaching our children! -George Barna

“Estimated America Unchurched Population – 195 million (January 1996, Gallup Princeton Religion Report).”

“Half of all churches last year did not add one new member through conversion growth. -Charles Arn”

“During the last 10 years, the combined communicant membership of all Protestant Denominations has declined by 9.5% (4,498,242) while the national population has increased by 11.4% (24,153,000). -ASCG Journal of Church Growth”

 

John C Maxwell has a great post about a friend who sent him a story that offers perspective to our lives.  It’s a great story and worth five minutes to read and another five minutes to ponder.  In short,  a man bought 1,000 marbles and put them in a clear container. “Every Saturday he would  take one marble out and thrown it away. He discovered that watching the marbles diminish, he focused more on the important things in life. This allowed him to be more aware of the his time on earth and helped keep his priorities aligned with whats most important.   The point is we can’t choose whether we will get any more time or marbles, but we can choose what we do with it if we are watching.

From The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player