The Generation Y Worker

While I was on a break at work the other day, I picked up a magazine called Oregon Business. As I flipped through the pages of a publication I didn't really want to read, I came across an article that caught my attention. The title went like this: "How to satisfy the Generation Y worker." That statement struck me as backwards so I began to read.

One of the first things I learned was that I am a member of Gen Y. According to the article, this is the generation born between the late 70's and 1990. I was born in 1980.

Please understand something, I know that a lot has changed from the generations of the World Wars to my generation. One of those things is character. My generation lacks it. What I didn't realize is the degree to which it is lacked and how proud Gen Y is about it. In fact, it is something that should be accepted and catered to by previous generations according to the article I read. Click here if you would like to read the article yourself, but be ready to fight the gag reflex.

The article refers our "high self-esteem" that "results from years of parental encouragement." The author warns companies that "club membership isn't enough for these workers; they need reasons to feel loyal to a company." A few tips are then provided to help businesses attract and retain Gen Y workers.

Here are the tips:
1. Provide mentoring
2. Allow autonomy
3. Embrace current technology
4. Be flexible

Here's my take: as I said earlier, the whole premise of the article is totally backwards. When I saw the title, the first question that came to my mind was, "Since when is it the responsibility of the employer to satisfy the employee?" Isn't it the duty of the employee to satisfy the employer? That's why the employer hired him/her, isn't it? I'll tell you the only thing that should be necessary to satisfy any worker: a paycheck. The nature of this article and how it reflected on my generation literally made me sick to my stomach.

I wonder what Gen Z will be like...

A Record Setting Knife

When I saw this record setting Swiss army knife, my first thought was: Simple is good. Have you ever felt like you had more tools than you really needed? For the record, this knife has 87 tools. I saw this picture, laughed and wanted to share it with you. What does it make you think of?

Coffee Creek Update

I just got home from the service at Coffee Creek Correctional facility. I have blogged previously about the ministry we have in the local ladies prison. God is still blessing in a tremendous way. There were 120 ladies in attendance tonight and 3 trusted Christ as their Saviour.

It is a huge blessing to be able to go in there each week and preach God's Word. The ladies are so appreciative of our willingness to come. They are also extremely receptive to preaching. I can't think of another group I'd rather speak to. Please pray that God will keep His hand on this unique ministry.

A Thought about Thinking

I am in the process of preparing to teach a class on preaching to a group of about a dozen men in our church. This Saturday, I am going to give the guys a lesson on the introduction of a message. When I was in Bible college, Dr. John Goestch taught us an outline for the introduction that he has used almost every time he has preached since he took homiletics at Maranatha.

Dr. Goetsch taught us that one of the key parts of the introduction comes in the form of a question. He calls this aspect of the introduction the propositional statement. Let's say you are preaching on the subject of the will of God, you might as a question like: "Do you know God's will for your life?" or "Are you seeking God's will for your life?" Dr. Goetsch taught us that questions make people think more than direct statements. I wholeheartedly agree.

As I was preparing for the preaching class, a succinct thought came to my mind. I don't know if I am the originator of this statement, but I know that I've never heard it put quite like this.

Think about this statement:

You can't make people change unless you can make them think.

It hit me as simply profound.

It's a Girl!

Perhaps you know that my wife is about 6 months pregnant. Well, she went to the doctor today for the ultrasound and we found out we're having a girl! If you don't know my son, you can get to know him here. Now that we'll have a boy and a girl, we might be done.

Here is something for you to pray about: choosing a name for our new baby. I think my wife and I will need marriage counseling before this is all over. I like the name Elena. She wants to name the baby Jocelyn. I'll keep you posted on the results of this fight...err...discussion.

Kim brought home some pictures from the ultrasound and one of them is absolutely hilarious. The way the machine took the picture makes our baby look like Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then that means nothing to you. If you do know what I'm talking about (i.e. you are a Star Wars junkie), then you are laughing right now. As soon as I can scan that photo, I'll add it to this post. Stay tuned for that, you'll like it.

On the serious side, pray for my wife and I about having another child at home. When I told my pastor that Kim was pregnant, his first statement was this: "One is fun, but two is like twenty." We're excited about the new baby, but we also realize that the responsibility doesn't just add up, it multiplies.

Elevator Scare (Prank Wednesday)

Enjoy the video! All the man is doing is screaming as the elevator door is closing. Simple, but very effective.

DISCLAIMER: I can't speak Spanish. I don't know what the text says at the bottom of the screen, therefore I am not accountable for it. :)

(FYI: I'm thinking I might cut back to bi-weekly or once a month postings for Prank Wednesday. If I don't do it every week, I guess it won't be Prank Wednesday anymore. Anyway, I just don't want this to be the thrust of my blog. I just want to have a little fun.)

Milestone for Timberline Baptist Church

November 4th, 2007 will be a historical day for Timberline Baptist Church. Tomorrow morning, we will have our first Sunday services in our new building. God has blessed TBC in a powerful way in its first six years of existence. The church sits on 7 acres of land and will move in to a 2.8 million dollar, 20,000 square foot building tomorrow. We are truly entering a new chapter in our history. I'm glad to be a part of it.

Please pray that our church will continue to be a lighthouse for the Gospel in Sherwood and the surrounding areas. Also, pray for the final details on the building to be completed without problems over the next few weeks.

Japanese Crowd Prank (Prank Wednesday)

You may not have known this about me, but I LOVE a good practical joke. My favorite kind are the ones that scare people half to death. I'm starting something today that I want to continue as long as possible. Every Wednesday, I will post a practical joke video. There is admittedly and openly no spiritual or mental value to any of these posts. I am doing this for the sole purpose of getting my fix (and so you can get yours...you know you have one).

Here is my first practical joke video...enjoy!

Your Labor is Not in Vain

Whenever a Christian is busy serving God, it's very easy to convince yourself that what you are doing really isn't making any difference. When you start thinking this way, you need to remind yourself of the promise found in 1 Corinthians 15:58.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Like many promises found in the Bible, there is a condition. Your labour will not be in vain "in the Lord." If you are trying to serve God in the power of your flesh, you will not make an eternal difference. However, if you serve with God's power and blessing on your life, you can claim the promise of this verse. You may not see the results you wanted or thought you might see, but God promises your labour will not be in vain. In other words, your labour will not be empty or pointless. There will be fruit. God promises.

Years ago, a young man named Shawn was attending Bible college. He was coming home for one weekend and his pastor asked him to preach for the Sunday morning service. Shawn immediately got excited about the opportunity. You see, he had many unsaved relatives living in and around his hometown where the church was. He worked and prayed. God blessed his efforts tremendously. Many family members were in attendance that Sunday morning including his parents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. All of them were unsaved.

Shawn stood and preached a powerful Gospel message from John 3. The title of the message was, "Ye Must Be Born Again." The desire of his heart was obvious. He desperately wanted his family members to get saved. When the sermon was over and the invitation was given, not a single one of his relatives responded to the message of Christ. Every one of them walked out of church that day as lost as when they came in. Understandably, Shawn left the service very discouraged.

What Shawn didn't know was that there was a 16 year old boy sitting on the front row in church that morning. That was the first time that boy had ever attended a Bible preaching church and it was the first time he ever heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the invitation was given that morning, that 16 year old boy left his chair to pray at the steps to the platform along with many others. The boy didn't even really know what he was praying. He just knew he needed what that young preacher was just talking about! A deacon from the church came and put his arm around the young man and asked him if he could pray with him. They went back to the pastor's office and a few minutes later, the boy received Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

The young man went on to get involved with the youth group. A few months later, God called the boy to preach. When he was 19, he went off to Bible college himself to train for the ministry. After graduation, God moved him to pastor a church in the Bay Area of California for 3 years. Recently, God moved that man and his family to Sherwood, OR to serve in a local church. Currently, that man is typing this blog post. That 16 year old boy was me!

Shawn preached that message from John 3 on June 9th, 1996 at Florence Baptist Church in Florence, MT. Even though he didn't see the results he wanted to see from his efforts, his labour was not in vain. God kept His promise. I'm eternally grateful for the fact that Shawn was faithful to preach God's Word. I'm glad he laboured.

Even when you don't see fruit for your labour, remember the promise of God. Your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Computer Crash!

It has been a few weeks since I have posted a new entry on this blog. One of those weeks was not by choice. Let me give you a little piece of advice: don't download a duplicate file finder and let it do its thing without carefully checking which files it's going to delete. I made that mistake and the program proceeded to delete files that were vital to the livlihood of the Microsoft operating system. My computer was in the hands of the Geek Squad for 5 days.

My computer is back up and running great. Not a whole lot has happened in the last week or so. Our church is looking forward to moving in to our brand new building in just a few weeks. You can check out the progress at our website. God bless and thanks for reading!