Monday Morning Musings

• Spent the weekend with the team of overseers and Daniel Floyd at Life Point Church over the weekend. I've never been treated with such undeserved honor in my entire life. If you live within a 4 hour drive of Fredericksburg, Va, you simply MUST visit this church.
• I'm going to urge Daniel to consider hosting a "weekender" for church planters and pastors.
• I'm planning something in 2011 that's quite scary. I must get a high off risk or something. What's wrong with me?
• Yesterday was my son Cody's 1st birthday, and we made him spend it stuck on I-95. We owe that little bugger.
• The Monday morning e-mail to all of my Dream Year participants today was called "Your Idea Needs a CEO." It's about the conflicting roles of ORDINARY YOU and CEO YOU in pursuit of your dream. Wish I could post it here, but then what would Dream Year be for?
• When we use other churches as the benchmark for creativity, we produce "churchy" ideas. There are higher forms of creativity we need to be looking at.
• Just under 50 tickets left for STORY.
• Why is Starbucks trying so hard to sell me Via? Why would I want coffee that looks like a condiment?

Comments

[Chris]

Wouldn't it be cool if the "churchy" ideas were actually inspired by God? If that was the case, why would anyone look anywhere else?

[Matt Bowman]

Have you tried Via? it's actually pretty good for instant coffee. i use it when my wife & kids are away visiting so that i don't have to fool w/ making coffee for one.

[Kyle Reed]

I hear you on the Sbucks thing. The best part though is that I get so many free samples I never need to buy via. But I guess they are trying to be something else by offering sandwhiches, instant coffee, and free wifi.

[Brneton Balvin]

Ben I think your pursuit of risk is based on your faith and trust of God and longing to see him show up, and its one of the things that makes me admire you the most.

[perrin]

"When we use other churches as the benchmark for creativity, we produce "churchy" ideas. There are higher forms of creativity we need to be looking at." Great thought! Gotta capture this one!

[Ben Arment]

thanks for the comments mi amigos

[David, justopenthebook.com]

Re: "When we use other churches as the benchmark for creativity, we produce "churchy" ideas. There are higher forms of creativity we need to be looking at." - Well said. I recently attended a Bible study with Dr. Henry Blackaby, who said the same thing for individuals - we shouldn't be measuring our faith and obedience by just being a better Christian than the person next to us in Church, but against the great followers of Christ - people like Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, etc. Our calling is to follow God, not just one-up another man or organization.

[Jamie Limato]

I work for starbucks and I refuse to push that crap. It's good but the sales goals on this stuff is ridiculous. Seems to me that they have traded simple for complex. I say if you have a great product like their original stuff and you provide great service then people will buy. People can see right through when we are trying to be something that we aren't.The gimmicks gotta stop...even in churches.

[Mike O]

> I'm planning something in 2011 that's quite scary. I must get a high off risk or something. What's wrong with me?

> When we use other churches as the benchmark for creativity, we produce "churchy" ideas. There are higher forms of creativity we need to be looking at.

Is this something along those lines?
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/07/confident_but_not_really_sure.html