A Word to the Wise: What’s your purpose, your God-given mission where you serve?
 
No one drifts toward their purpose, only away from it.
 
Like a ship at sea, staying on course requires constant correction.
The difference between those who fulfill their purpose and those who don't isn't in having fewer distractions - it's in having a disciplined approach to realignment.
The best leaders understand that this discipline comes from three things: the confidence to begin, the commitment to continue, and the consistency to adjust course when they've strayed.
While many have the confidence to start, fewer commit to regular reflection. And fewer still maintain that commitment when the winds blow hard.
One leader we know keeps a simple note on his desk: "Is what I'm doing right now moving me closer to or further from my purpose?"
It's not about never getting knocked off course - it's about how quickly you notice and correct for it.
When was the last time you checked your heading?
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Admired Leadership Field Notes, 1.18.25, Drift Demands Redirection

A Word to the Wise: Trevin Wax
 
Joy suffers whenever we are too big and God is too small.
The fuel of joy is gratitude, and the fuel of gratitude is wonder.
But wonder gets stifled by entitlement, and gratitude disappears when wonder dies.
 
We cannot be truly grateful for fleeting moments of happiness if we believe we deserve each and every one of them. We must see ourselves as graced before we can be grateful.
 
It is only when God is at the center of our existence, when He is big and we are small, when we see ourselves as ordinary people in a world of extraordinary marvels – only then do we discover the joy of gratitude.
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Trevin Wax, 1.19.16, Maybe You’re Unhappy Because You’re Too Big and Bored

A Word to the Wise: by D. L. Moody
 
“A holy life will produce the deepest impressions.
Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.
Confessions should only extend to parties sinned against.
Look out for the devil at the foot of the mountain.
If you want to get hold of an audience, aim at the heart; and there is nothing that will warm up the heart like the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The Life of Dwight L. Moody, by W. R. Moody

A Word to the Wise
 
“The next time you scratch your head while trying to figure out what is causing a lack of urgency or action, consider that the team may be waiting for a decision or strategy. Now, do your best to give it to them.”
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Admired Leadership Field Notes, 12.27.24, The Signs a Team Is Waiting for a Decision or Strategy

A Word to the Wise from Dan Reiland:
 
The main reason people don’t become church members is they are afraid you want more from them than you want for them.
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Dan Reiland, The Main Reason Folks Don’t Become Church Members, read 12.16.24

​A Word to the Wise: 
 
Main Motivations for Attending a Small Group
The following is a list of reasons why a person may participate in a small group. 
Reflecting on your own experience, would you say any of these are true of you? 
Top 3 answers for “very true” are shown.
I wanted to learn more about Christ? 75%
I wanted to learn more about scripture. 71%
I wanted to develop deeper expressions of my faith. 69%
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Barna Discipleship in Community Report, 12.9.24 Highlights

​A Word to the Wise: “Churches exist out of a promise. Associations exist out of permission.” Johnny Rumbough, AMS, Lexington Association, Lexington, SC

​A Word to the Wise: How Prayer Fights Back Against Trouble (Kie Bowman)
Most Americans pray, and many pray every day; but what do we pray about? Not surprisingly, according to Lifeway research, 74 percent of Americans pray for their own needs and difficulties. Predictably, most people pray for their own problems, since troubles and challenges are common to everyone. 
 
Of course, over and above the challenges most of us face, each of us has a long list of personal troubles unique to us. Our relationships are fragile, we worry too much, and we struggle with personal temptations. In light of all this trouble, what should we do? In reality, there are only two ways to face troubles: God’s way or your way, and God’s way always involves prayer. 

​A Word to the Wise: You Can’t Life-Hack Your Way to Holiness (Trevin Wax)
 
The center of spiritual formation isn’t about what you do or the practices you adopt—it’s about the Spirit forming you into Christ's image. The spiritual life is more about learning to abide in Christ than about following a pattern or liturgy, however helpful your practices may be. The point isn't just to do your duty but to trust the Spirit to transpose your desires and transform you into a different kind of person over time.
 
Spiritual growth requires attention. And attention is our most precious resource. Prayer is hard, often boring, and sometimes excruciating. Sitting in silence before God while our thoughts flit about can be a painfully revealing process of where our hearts are drawn. Kyle Strobel warns that we might turn to tools and techniques as a way to avoid a genuine encounter with God. Blaise Pascal noted that humanity's problems stem from our inability to sit quietly alone in a room. If that was true in his day, how much more so in our age of endless distractions?
 
Life hacks prioritize speed and efficiency, and they promise quick results. Yet those who walk with grace over decades often seem unhurried. They don’t obsess over tools or methods. They embrace each moment as a gift, focus on the person before them, and don’t view prayer as a productivity tool but as a way to commune with God. Setbacks and distractions aren’t obstacles to spiritual growth but part of the process of renewal.
 
I’m grateful for the tools and techniques that aid in spiritual growth. But I’m even more thankful we cannot life-hack our way to holiness. The Spirit is essential, not peripheral. His work is mysterious, not manageable. Miraculous, not marketable. And for sinners in need of his sanctifying work, that’s really good news.
Trevin Wax, 11.12.24, excerpts from: You Can’t Life-Hack Your Way to Holiness

​A Word to the Wise: The Practice of Accepting Disappointment (Tim Challies)

One of the most important habits you can develop is the habit of accepting that life is full of disappointments. One of the best ways to grow in contentment is to accept the inevitability of discontentment. One of the ways you can be most joyful in life is to be realistic about life, to know that the people in it will so often fail to meet your expectations. Having admitted all of this, you can embrace it as the way life is and even the way God means for it to be.
 
The right response is to understand that nobody and nothing can live up to your expectations and that nobody and nothing is meant to…
 
God’s gifts are good and are meant to be enjoyed. Yet none of them can deliver all that they promise. Each of them brings a level of satisfaction but also a level of disappointment, a sense of beauty but also a sense of longing for more…
 
So when you encounter life’s disappointments, do not be surprised and do not be dismayed. Do not allow them to cause you to turn aside or turn away from those who love you and those God has called you to love. Learn to accept them as an inevitable reality of life in this world. Instead of resenting them, embrace them and allow them to deepen your love and your longing for the only One who will never let you down.
Tim Challies, 10.28.24, The Practice of Accepting Disappointment