CHICKEN MANAGEMENT?( and No- I am not talking about the COLONEL)

Hi again blog fans, supralapsarians, pre-trib dispensationalists, and Hannah Montana fans! It's that time again... yep sorry..it's time for some of those ramblings from the rural renaissance man, some observations from the agrarian agitator- do'nt be angry.. I just wanna stir things up a little- and get us to thinking bout some things. So, slide your straight back chair up.. a little closer.a little more.. closer.. there.... ok now feast on some crumbs from a poor man's table... Lately , I have been thinking about some of the ways people are choosing to deal with the tough economic times...we are ALL in this together-WE see whats going on . These tough times are going to turn out to be a tremendous blessing for lots of folks.. yep.. I said it( well, actually I typed it)..cause you see- Businesses, institutions of learning, churches, organizations( ok.. you get the idea .. right???) are going to have to make some changes if they intend to grow.. or even survive.. of course managers,bosses, leaders have ALL the pressure squarely on their shoulders. They want to survive, they want to produce, they want THEIR bosses to be pleased with their work.. so... some of them resort to creative ways to manage people.. some times bosses try what SAM WALTON called " Chicken Management"!! in other words, make sure that everybody acts CHICKEN when the boss , manager, crew leader, principal, head master____ ( insert in this space the guy that makes you really nervous when he drives up)is around- you know ...make the employees AFRAID of you- their FEAR will make them WORK harder because they wanna see the angry guy happy... Sam Walton knew that "chicken management" does not work... FEAR paralyzes people.. IT is IMPOSSIBLE for a person to do a good job when they are uncomfortable.. and yet some institutions bring in the guy that curls up his lip like an angry Elvis, rules by intimidation,fires the body guards one day, then buys them a cadillac the next day-he plays little head games with his "inferiors".. oh yeah the BIG guys like him because for a little while it works.... things look good.... but chicken management kills morale, hurts production, and destroys team"spirit"..good, responsible workers start bailing out... they are not willing to pay the price ...Its ALL so sad... I know LOTS of great bosses, leaders, managers, principals,head masters,______( insert here the guy that you are GLAD to see drive up).. they make you feel comfortable! They know how to lead and manage. I have a friend named Jake who is a great boss to his employees. He took a college class for Business Administration and the first day the professor asked everyone to raise their hand if they wanted to be " Business majors so that they could boss people around and tell them what to do".. well, several of the students raised their hands, and the professor promptly told them that if they raised their hands, they didnt need to be in his class" because being a BOSS is really about SERVING OTHERS, being a LEADER is really about being a SERVANT... You equip people to use their talents, you encourage them in their abilities, you serve them by HELPING them to serve others. Servant/Leader...??? yeah.. that's it.. Servant Leader... like I said my friend Jake is a great servant leader.. I know LOTS of good bosses.. most of them really did'nt have to take a course, read a manual, or go to a seminar so that they could be good managers... most of them are effective leaders because they had a great servant leader who encouraged them.. in fact a lot of them learned from the Same Man..He's the Ultimate SERVANT LEADER.. Some of you might Know Him.... so any way the bottom line is :STOP the chicken management, stop the intimidation, serve people, love people, encourage .. I know what some of yall are thinking, " wow, Clay- this is all just common sense..." oh really??? is it?????Is it REALLY??? -- well Friends, thats about it for today- I hope you enjoyed the crumbs off this poor man's table.. oh yeah be sure to clean up after yourself.. and you BETTER do a good job.. or I am going to curl up my lip like an angry Elvis- no cadillac for YOU!

THE FIRST CHURCH OF JERUSALEM WORSHIP TEAM MEETING #4

Here we go again Blog-fans, Marcionic Dualists, neoplatonists, and race fans... it's time for another trip back in time to the Early Church in Jerusalem. It has'nt been long since Jesus ascended to the Throne in Heaven- Paul's letters are being accepted as Scripture and the early believers are attempting to worship in Spirit and in Truth.. So lets crawl in the Delorean, load up the flux capacitor with some plutonium... and lets go...



Elder James- Ok, everyone , I call this meeting to order- I want to congratulate the music ministry on the recent changes that were made- The Praise singers are FINALLY getting color-coordinated on the Tunics.. it really helps to create the mood...uh.. for Worship.. and I really like the way that you installed the giant scroll on the wall of the church so that everyone can see the words to the Psalms and spiritual songs.. I know there have been some complaints from some of the older members! They say that we are'nt singing enough of the OLD Psalms.. but lets throw one or two old ones in and keep em satisfied...



Deacon Simeon- uh.. Elder I do'nt want to interrupt but some of the congregants are saying that they miss using the Song scrolls that we have in the pews..! It was easy for them to learn the tunes to the songs.. you know some of our people read music.. and the Hymnal scrolls were working out good for lots of folks..some of our people are learning to read music and it would really be helpful if...



Elder James- Ok Deacon, we will take all that into consideration- ok lets move on.. as everyone knows the recent economic downturn in the Empire has hit us all... our attendance is down.. we've gotta do something to bring in the people... I recently heard about a congregation that bought one of the old coliseums from Caesar - they refurbished it, they are packing the place out.. and the really surprising thing is this... The Teaching Elder Jo-el NEVER mentions SIN, The blood of Christ, Holiness of God.. or really any thing that resembles scriptural teaching about the atonement.. He mostly reminds people to stay "positive", do'nt worry,be thankful, and they will be happy.. thats really about it.. and MAN, He is filling that coliseum every Sunday... when he was asked by a reporter from the Jerusalem Times if Jesus was the only way to Heaven.. he danced around that question so skillfully, you would have thought he was a Philadelphia Lawyer.. Cicero would have been proud.. now I am NOT saying we go as far as this guy to soften our message.. but maybe we should just lighten up a little....Would anything be wrong with easing up just a little ??? Would it???

THE REASONS FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION- J. GRESHAM MACHEN

J. Gresham Machen would'nt fare very well in todays world of cool hip Bible teachers- He probably would'nt wear a brightly colored Hawaiin shirt in the pulpit- heck- he probably would'nt be able to "put on" that sparkly white TV preacher grin for more than a second... much less for an entire church service-and todays sermons that show us "How to Be a 5 star personality for God's Glory " would never come from his lecturn or pulpit.. he was'nt a cool hip dude... Machen was a SCHOLAR.. a visionary, and a defender of the TRUTH of God's Word.He was a Professor of New Testament at New Testament at Princeton Seminary until 1929. Machen left that seminary in obedience to the Biblical command to seperate from unbelief, and he founded another. He helped launch a new Presbyterian denomination after being expelled from the mainline Presbyterian Church because he took a stand for inerrancy, infallibility, Virgin Birth, Sola Scriptura,and the importance of Christian education- In a previous post, we saw that Machen encouraged Christian schools for two reasons: Maintenence of American Liberty- and the Propagation of the Faith. Many Christians do not realize that in the19 20s and 30s, attacks upon Christian education were occuring at an alarming rate-Laws were enacted in some states that prevented Parents from educating their children at Home or in Church affiliated schools- Machen did not sit on the side-lines. He encouraged Christian parents to become involved in the POLITICAL/ JUDICIAL ARENA. These Christian families answered the call.. what did they do??? They contacted their representatives, the hired Lawyers, they worked together to make sure that their CONSTITUTIONAL rights were not being violated. They wanted to make sure that future generations would not be denied the right to HOMESCHOOL and/or start Christian Schools. Are'nt you glad that the Christian parents in the past sacrificed so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today?? They did'nt sit around waiting for the RAPTURE- They did'nt try to "shirk" their responsibility of being salt and light by saying ," are'nt things going to get worse before Jesus comes back??? .. You do'nt polish the brass on a sinking ship-Is'nt Jesus' kingdom a SPIRITUAL KINGDOM- we are'nt supposed to get involved in "political stuff" are we????" NO- THEY DID"NT SAY THESE THINGS... The Christian parents of yesterday knew that JESUS IS LORD of EVERY AREA OF LIFE.. The WORD of GOD IS THE STARTING POINT FOR EVERYTHING WE DO!!! Many Christians today subscribe to an eschatology of DEFEAT-" we ca'nt change the world, we are'nt supposed to change the world, besides I am really busy reading the "LEFT BEHIND" SERIES...and oh yeah.. I do'nt have time to get involved, I am doing a study on "10 Reasons Jesus is coming in 2010".. BLAH, BLAH... it goes on and on- and the really sad thing is that this week- BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVISM OF CHRISTIANS OF THE EARLY 1900s - hundred's of thousands of Christian young people get back to their studies in CHRISTIAN schools and Homeschools, they will have a BIBLE lesson, and their BIBLE lesson will be seasoned with a smattering of neoplatonism, a dash of Manicheanism( google it.. spelling might be wrong- sorry- I'm only a High School graduate) , and they will wash it all down with a huge glass of pre-trib defeatism.ALL MEANT TO TEACH THEM THAT TRYING TO CHANGE THE CULTURE IS FUTILE.. they will be taught that things are supposed to get worse, there is nothing you can do to change the culture, The Rapture is happening soon!! DEAR READER... do you see the IRONY in this??? I am glad that the Christians of the 1920s and 30s did'nt believe in this "gospel" of Defeat... if they had believed it, we would'nt have our Christian school and home schools where we have these enlightening Bible lessons that tell us that we should'nt try to change the culture.. hey wait a minute........ ok , sorry yall.. I can tell by the old clock on the wall that it is time for me to sign off now... MORE ABOUT MACHEN and Education later.... besides.. the new LEFT BEHIND movie is on.. I gotta watch..