Mountaintop Christmas CD

Tomorrow morning at Mountaintop we will begin distributing the 2013 edition of Mountaintop’s Christmas Invitation CD.  The idea behind the CD is simple – use it as gift to help you invite someone (or lots of people) to come and join us in our celebrations this Christmas.  Our goal is that together we will extend 6,000 invitations to be a part of our celebration on Christmas Eve.

The “big idea” behind the CD is that it is a tool to help us make invitations but it’s almost a testimony to the incredible musical talent that God blesses Mountaintop with each week.  Philp Oswald and our band members have put together an incredible collection of sacred and fun Christmas songs.  As much as we want you to give the CDs away as invitations you are probably going to want to keep one for yourself – the music is amazing.

But remember the real purpose of each CD is to be the start of a conversation that helps someone take a step toward a better life this Christmas.  So take some CDs and do what angels and shepherds have been doing for more than 2,00 years - proclaim the good news of great joy of Christmas!

Christmas Music

On Sunday we will begin distributing the 2013 edition of Mountaintop’s Christmas Invitation CD.  The idea behind the CD is simple – use it as gift to help you invite someone (or lots of people) to come and join us in our celebrations this Christmas.  Our goal is that together we will extend 6,000 invitations to be a part of our celebration on Christmas Eve.

The “big idea” behind the CD is that it is a tool to help us make invitations but it’s almost a testimony to the incredible musical talent that God blesses Mountaintop with each week.  Philp Oswald and our band members have put together an incredible collection of sacred and fun Christmas songs.  As much as we want you to give the CDs away as invitations you are probably going to want to keep one for yourself – the music is amazing.

 

As the CDs head out I am reminded of the other talented artists I’ve worked with and some of the Christmas Music they’ve recorded.  Brian Mann’s Simple Carols and SimplyChristmas are must downloads for your Christmas playlists.  Ben and Jenna Kuykendall’s Christmas EP is simply beautiful.

Music is a great way to share the good news of Christmas –  be sure to get your Mountaintop CD this Sunday and pass it on!

Failing to meet the expectations you are poorly communicating.

In a conversation last week I was reminded of one of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learned.  It came from a member of my staff a few years ago.

I had become VERY upset with two members of our team.  Because they were caught up working on an important project they failed to attend a meeting that, though optional, was equally important to me.  I felt it demonstrated a lack of commitment to the team and poor priority setting.  When I brought the two of them into my office to discuss their failure he began the conversation with an unforgettable observation:

Doug. I feel as if I am failing to meet the expectations that you are poorly communicating.

Think about that statement:

I am failing to meet the expectations that you are poorly communicating.

Ouch.

He was exactly right.  The two of them had completely failed to meet my expectations, BUT I had done a lousy job in clearly communicating those expectations.

It’s a lesson that I need to be reminded of constantly.   I can tend to be fairly intuitive so I expect that everyone else is equally intuitive and will understand what is expected without having to be told directly.  Sometimes I go so far as to expect staff to read my mind to know what I expect from them.

The truth is it’s a good thing that no one can read my mind – but that means I have to make sure I am communicating clearly - especially when it comes to performance expectations.

So the next time someone (staff , friend, family member) fails to meet your expectations, stop and ask yourself if your poor communication is part of the problem.

What are ways you’ve found to clearly communication expectations?

How to Pray for the Persecuted Church

This Sunday, November 10 (and in some places last Sunday, November 3) churches all around the world will pause to remember and to pray for the many believers who are persecuted -- imprisoned, even killed -- for their faith. Since Jesus laid down His life, 43 million Christians have become martyrs. Today 200 million people face persecution for believing in Jesus and 60% of those people are children.   Each year thousands are killed for no other reason than their belief in Jesus Christ.

In September 85 people were killed when a church was bombed in Pakistan.

In October at a church in Egypt – 4 people were killed – including 2 children – while attending a wedding.

Last year in Kenya, gunmen entered two churches on a Sunday morning as people were gathered to worship and killed 15 of the worshippers.

Because the New Testament was written to persecuted believers, it is filled with examples of how to pray for our brothers and sisters under attack. Here are 5 examples from Ephesians:

Please pray persecuted believers would know the hope God gives (Ephesians 1:8).

Pray the Holy Spirit would strengthen them (Ephesians 3:16).

Please pray persecuted believers would know how much God loves them (Ephesians 3:17)

Pray they would know how to share the gospel (Ephesians 6:19).

Please pray persecuted believers would fearlessly tell others about Jesus (Ephesians 6:20).

To create additional ways to pray from the Bible, take any book from the New Testament (except the gospels). Search for verses with the word "pray." Then use those verses to create prayer requests, just as in the 5 examples above.

Along with the example prayers in the Bible, there are some practical needs persecuted believers would love your prayers for:

Please pray persecuted believers would have access to a Bible.

Pray they have the courage to remain in their homeland.

Please pray for believers who have been rejected by family and friends.

Pray that God would surround them with a new Christian "family" who loves them and supports them emotionally and physically.

Pray for God to be an advocate for women who are socially vulnerable or have lost the custody of their children because of their faith.

Please pray that God would provide persecuted believers with jobs and safe places to live.

Learn more ways to pray for the persecuted church and read news alerts on current crises by visiting the Web site for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.