Calm Down!

Calm down!

Luke 24v45 - "And He opened up the eyes of their understanding, that they might comprehend the scriptures" 

My prayer today is that every-time we open up the bible it will like when Jesus felt so passionate about what He wanted to tell the disciples in Luke 24. In v 36 He said "Peace to you" calming their thoughts. So when you open up His Word today, calm down then ask Him to open up your understanding. Its very easy to get bent out of shape  being a volunteer in church. Sometimes i have a huge laugh about the stupid things I throw my toys out for...lol





Always be reminded of who you doing it for, why.... In an instance your mood will change.

Have a blessed day friends!

Gliss

Finding yourself in the Volunteer Ministry: City Lights doing City Life in Dubai

Finding yourself in the Volunteer Ministry: City Lights doing City Life in Dubai: Last week Tuesday a few of the guys in City Lights got together for indoor cricket in Al Quoz.  The place is called INSPORTS and if...

City Lights doing City Life in Dubai

Last week Tuesday a few of the guys in City Lights got together for indoor cricket in Al Quoz. 

The place is called INSPORTS and if you didn’t receive any proper directions it’s quite easy to be in the office park and still don’t find it. But once inside you discover that its quite a cool place.

INSPORTS is Dubai's fully air-conditioned Indoor Sports Facility. This indoor sports center offers the community in general the facility for indoor cricket, football, basketball, hockey, table tennis and others; all in a professionally managed environment which includes coaching. Schools reserve the facilities during the day and the evenings are structured to meet bookings by members / nonmembers or alternatively for people like us to just come and have fun. The obvious advantage of this sports facility is that it is fully operational year round and is fully air-conditioned for the long hot summer months and dusty evenings like tonight. Huge thanks to H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum who is the president of the Dubai Sports Committee for developing and improving sports facilities such as INSPORTS!

Now I have to say that we have real professional players like Adam and Clint. Geeze these guys are scary! Lol. I seriously couldn’t even see the ball at times. The rest of the guys were good, they made me look okay; at least for the first 30min. Being hopelessly unfit, not having had any form of cardio activity for at least 7 months I was on the brink of passing out lol!!! Luckily Lindi were on hand to doctor me with some sugar and take my place on the pitch.

Events like these I believe is important for City Life. I’ve long liked the idea of men getting together and helping each other get by in life. As far as I can tell from reading history, it used to be a lot more common for men to do this years ago than it is today. Fraternal organizations, labor unions, sports leagues and at the extreme monasteries come to mind. I wonder sometimes what it is that finally broke these institutions. Could it be mass media and home entertainment? Too many hours at work? Maybe a combination of these.

I think it’s time for those of us who have the time and inclination, to start thinking about putting aside more time for stuff like this. And rather than make them overly churchy or ideologically based, I think the first order of business should be to simply offer people a place where they can get away from the world for a bit and calm their nerves. No competition over women, no workplace stress: just friendship, some understanding and an opportunity to show people that Jesus loves and cares about them.

Have a great week!

Gliss

Who's your Engineer?

The Engineer

July 23, 2012

Hi Everyone. Yes its been a while. I was inspired to write again after I received such a refreshing revelation about 3 days ago.

I spent the day with Ricardo & Lizelle who are nice friends that are in the music industry. While having dinner Ricardo made a statement. He said he does not understand why the quality of the musical arranging and lyrics went from being so good to really average in a space of a year. This was a comment about a dvd I borrowed him a while ago.

We went on chatting a bit about it but left it hanging. Later when I was home I thought about it again. That’s when I got a word from within…

God took me back a year ago when I was on fire with the things of God. He showed me that I’m still the same person, with the same servant heart and talents and abilities. But then I had a different engineer. I allowed and surrounded myself with people that sharpened the gift within. Now I’ve stopped surrounding myself with those type of engineers that used to push me, sharpen me and encouraged me.

This could be the reason why the band on the cd went from being real sharp to quite average. They changed engineers!

Who is your engineer today? What tools (fruit) do they have? Who is their source?

Stay blessed and keep connected.

Blessed to be a blessing!

Glisson

This is what I'm made for!

I've been a volunteer in the local church since 1994, that’s back when I was in Standard 7. Interesting is that I really only got saved in 1997. It’s probably because of my church upbringing. Growing up I went to Sunday school, then youth, then I moved to another town and became an altar boy (my first volunteer encounter). The list goes on… lay minister, crusade psalmist, youth leader, choir leader, choir member, front vocal, worship leader, church board member and currently an open lounge facilitator at City Lights.

My mission is and will always be to equip and get people ready so they can serve God effectively, leading people to Christ trough their gifs & talents. Now if you have never assisted in ministry as a volunteer you would probably raise your brow by now, thinking “that is a bit much”. No not al all.

This is what it’s all about.

The above is the answer from many volunteers when asked why they do it. Whether it be helping to teach kids, change nappies, pack chairs, feed the poor, take clothe to a shelter and event sing in the choir.

The gratitude on the faces of people, the deep sense of appreciation, knowing that you have done something good for someone who can never repay you, that you might never see again, is what brings a smile to your face after a long day burning in the sun assisting with meals for the homeless.

We live in a radical world

Here is God’s idea of what our world should be like:

·         When He said we should love the Lord our God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength and our neighbor as ourselves, He was calling us to trade our ritualized religion for a genuine relationship with God, to offer others the same kind of attention, honor, and compassion we give ourselves.

·         When Jesus punctuated His teaching with concern for the poor, the powerless, and the oppressed, He was describing a new value system.

·         When He said take up your cross and follow Me, He was describing in graphic terms that following Him would require sacrifice, long hours, hardship and death to something selfish inside of us.

Are you a part of it or the cause of it?

Just recently when I went on vacation back to South Africa I attended our local church in Johannesburg quite regularly. Watching the team at work, ushering the people in, singing their hearts out on the platform and serving in the lounge; everything inside of me wanted to be on their side and not on the receiving side.

What they were doing was excellent worship to God and service to men. Yes many times we need to be served, but for me it’s more about being the cause of someone giving their hearts to God, having a great time in worship, and getting a smile on their faces. It’s much better being the cause of it, than just being part.

I want to encourage you as we are moving in a new building this week at City Lights; to put your hands to the plough and make someone’s day, bring a smile to someone’s face and experience what I have described above, the love of God. Know that you are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath and whatever you put your hands to will prosper!

From Dubai... with love

From Dubai with love….

Exactly 54 days ago arrived in the chilly United Arad Emirate called Dubai. Some may have asked themselves “Why Dubai”. Why leave behind a wonderful job in Johannesburg, the best friends in the world and my greatest passion “ministry”. Well you will find out after the next year or two. But for now I am going to share my experiences here with you.

This week I want to share with you an experience I had last night at a Gloria Jean’s Coffee shop at the Business Bay Towers in downtown Dubai. Business bay is quite a trendy area where you will find many expats climbing the corporate ladder. The Executive Towers are located on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road worth a whopping 2.5 billion AED. It consists of 10 high-rise freehold residential towers, one commercial tower, one luxury hotel tower, and a two-level shopping mall. The residential towers are labeled from A to M, with 28 to 52 storeys. Amenities at The Business Bay Executive Towers will include a plaza level (courtyard), swimming pools, jogging track, clinics, health clubs, children's playgrounds, fountain yards, gardens, and covered walkways. So it’s quite a posh area although still under construction.
Business Bay is also where a lovely couple Ramsay who is a full time musician and guitar technician and his wife Elena who is an executive at Emirates Airlines live. They have become really good friends to me over the last few weeks while here. They basically took me under their wings, shared with me the in and outs of Dubai culture and lifestyle. So every Monday we get together at their place at 19:30 for an Open Lounge evening with other friends and new comers to Dubai. It’s pretty easy to get there; I just get on top the train close to work and get off about 200 meters from their Tower.
So back to Gloria Jeans. I walked in as normal to get a quick take-away cuppachino just outside Tower K. Waited for 5 minutes for the attendant to finish his mobile conversation with I suppose a staff member. Kinda listened to what they talked about… Anyway I then put my order, he rang it up. 16 Derms, took out 50 derms and gave it to him. Suddenly he just gave me a stare. I asked him what’s wrong and he asked me if I don’t have anything smaller. I checked and said, ok, let me give you 56 derm as it’s the smallest I have. Then he gave me a grin and still paused before he took the money while telling me that this is his last four 10 derm notes.
At that moment I had to really hold myself back, as the place was quite small with many people sitting chatting away. And I still had my company (Melia Dubai) golf shirt on. Not the right time to make a scene. But it really made me think about service in general. Daily you see tons of adverts of company wants you to buy their product. Why… Because somewhere along the line they lost the ones they had and now have to try and convince us to come back. But as far as I’m concerned they Gloria Jean’s (doesn’t matter how nice the coffee is) has lost me. I’m the customer who will never come back. That’s my defense from being pushed around. And I will share this experience with my friends, and they with theirs…

So the not so shabby colored guy with the Melia Dubai golf shirt is important after all hey… Till next time. Adios!

Unleashing the power of the Volunteer

Hi There

Often the most difficult part in volunteer ministry is to find an area that you are real comfortable in. That fulfils you. That area that makes you smile after you pack up and go home. It is only after 15 years that I know that I know that this is what I love doing. Events and worship ministry makes me tick. It stirs my senses; it makes me want to know more.

The road to get here was one full of adventure. Many people often tell me they are so frustrated in what they are doing in their local church. My answer is always, “Then why are you still doing it?”

I’ve been involved in the church as a

-          Altar Boy

-          Sunday schools teacher

-          Prayer Group Leader

-          Youth Leader

-          Choir director

-          Prison Ministry

-          Worship Team

-          Creative Team

-          Guest Lounge assistant

-          Home Cell Leader

-          Special Events Co-ordinator

-          Hospitality Team

This is has been a journey and might I say I learned so much, made so many mistakes but it all lead me to where I am today. At the moment I’m a worship leader at our local church at Rhema South Family Church in Johannesburg South Africa. A multi cultural church that sees over 4000 people come through our doors on a Sunday. I’m a full time Events Manager at Rhema South Family Church, but my role in Hospitality is that of a volunteer. It’s my reasonable service. I’m a VOLUNTEER AND I LOVE IT!!!

Using your skills to find your passion

I said before that we often encounter people in the ministry that always looks like it’s a burden serving. The hostess that just don’t have the patience for a crying baby during the church service, with the distressed mother that already feels so embarrassed trying to calm the baby down. In the beginning I use to laugh at all of it, but after a while I started asking myself questions as to why is it that way. Why is it that certain departments seem to flourish whilst others seem to struggle in certain areas?

My opinion is that we don’t all speak the same language in the church. Yes we have different departments, e.g.: car park, ushers, greeters, visitors lounge, Info centre, councillors, intercessors, worship team ect... the list goes on and on. What do I mean by same language? How great it will be if we all start speaking the same language at church! Picture yourself as a first time visitor at Change Bible Church. The moment you enter the car park you are greeted with a friendly smile, get directed to a parking bay. You then get out of your vehicle and the next thing you see is a smiling greeter waving your way directing you to the entrance of the church. You then get greeted in a friendly manner: “Good morning and welcome to Church”. On entering the building the smiling ushers or hostess greets you again with: “Good morning and welcome to Church, kindly take a seat towards the middle of the isle”. Pastor Musa gets to church and the security assistant meets him at the pastor’s entrance with: “Good morning Pastor Musa, welcome to Church”. Can you notice something here? Yes we speak the same language. It won’t be long and the whole church will receive each other the same way. We hereby create a culture called a “Kingdom Culture”

Here is a few way thing I believe may hinder us to all speak the same language.

1.       Flaws in the church organisational structure

Allowing different departments to run of their own vision that does not align to the CHURCH Vision.

2.       When one department becomes less important that the others.

3.       When stats becomes the measurement of success and not the accomplishment of the vision.

Here is a few ways that will help us get to a place where we will be able to function as a whole person, an individual that will love what you do.

1.       Ask yourself what makes you passionate.

Passion: an outburst of strong emotion or feeling / a strong or extravagant desire. The things that make you want to always go back.

You can have a positive passion and negative. Negative passion is the one of sexual lust. Make sure it’s directed in a positive way.

Energy flows from passion.

A God given passion is an area of intense interest, something that lies buried in every one of us. As a leadership team it’s our duty to build a nation of people that will lead to the lives of people being changes for the better.

-          Have a one on one with every volunteer, sharing the church vision and most importantly, try and ascertain their passion. Build a relationship with every volunteer. This in turn will impact the people that come into contact with the volunteer. This is what creates a healthy church.

2.       Connect your spiritual gift with an area of passion.

This is the key to ultimate effectiveness and fulfilment in serving. It’s also one of the keys to maintain energy in serving.

Nobody will have to fire you up and constantly motivate you to stay involved and serve.

3.       Keep the Vision in front of you daily, read it to yourself every Sunday morning before you get ready for service ect.

This is what will keep you going. It will bring into remembrance why we do what we do, especially on the day when you just don’t feel like it. When the flesh is rebelling, when everything just seems not to be working with you to get to church.

4.       Try something different

It amazing that some volunteers serve in a area that is totally contrary to what they do in their workplace. Warren Barrett , who is the CEO of Shandon Bizz, the company that is the brains behind SARS E-filing and many other major business solutions not just is South Africa but in many African countries, serves as a front vocal and prayer co-ordinator in the worship team. As a pastor your first motivation is to ask a person like him to join the church board as an advisor, or business person’s ministry head and to assist in creating multi million rand job opportunities for unemployed people in the church. He chose not to serve in a capacity like that in church. Yes he is good at it, but when he comes home he has had enough of computers and finds it rewarding to just sit back and practice his vocal arrangements and lead people in worship.

This e-mail highlights one reason why some people seek to serve outside of their area of professional expertise:

“During the week I do buy out deals in the marketplace. On Sundays I serve in a room full of three year olds. The simplicity of teaching lessons- and changing occasional diapers keeps me centred when I start to get a big head from cutting a 3 million deal at work. Serving children keeps my heart soft and my feet on solid ground.”

5.       Try something familiar.

Darren is a skills trainer and motivational speaker, Glisson is a events manager, Kim is an ex retail executive, Quintin is a ex bouncer, Mathew is an police reservist. What do all of these people have in common? They are all part of the hospitality team at Rhema South.  They take what would be normally seen as just a normal guest speaker visit to the local church, and transform it into a memorable event.

There are many untapped recourses in the world and in the church that is just waiting for us to discover it and them. We should be tenacious in offering our expertise.

You will probably be turned away at first because church leaders won’t understand what you are offering or how to use you. But keep working to help build understanding. Keep on moving. If you don’t find a serving opportunity in one area of ministry, seek one elsewhere. Don’t give up.

6.       Have a common sense approach.

Ministry should flow from the gifts, interests and skills of the people God has brought to your congregation.

Look at the biblical mandate of the church and pray that God bring to them the balance of the gifts necessary to create a whole and healthy body. Have a unique flavour that is based on passion and life experiences of its members.

In closing. I would not presume to offer a template of how to shape and build your church. Every congregation needs to answer several key questions:

·         Who has God brought to us?

·         What are their unique contributions?

·         How the Spirit of God does seem to be leading?

·         What does common sense say?

Recources: The Volunteer Revolution – Bill Hybels@2004