Like a miniature modern day Billy Graham, the 9-year-old boy in Nepal stood in line with his little finger marking the Scripture passage, impatiently waiting his turn at the microphone to share with the other 800 youth what he just learned in his small group Bible study.
As part of the e3 Partners church planting movement in Nepal, these youth had just been trained to lead and multiply “I am Second” small groups. In three short months now, these youth have gone on to train hundreds more and start small discipleship groups across Nepal. Pastors are calling our e3 leader in Nepal begging for more training, saying, “Whatever you did to our youth in September, please come do more…we don’t even recognize them anymore they are so on fire for sharing the gospel, making disciples and starting small groups!”
What if you could rewind the clock of time? Turn back the pages of history? Knowing what we know now, wouldn’t you want to financially support Jonathan Edwards to ignite the Great Awakening? Or get behind William Carey’s mission to India, launching the modern Missions movement? Maybe sign up to support Hudson Taylor’s pioneering work in China, the seed of which has now multiplied through martyrs’ blood to hundreds of millions of believers in that great land? Or, how about this…help fund the first short term mission trip of that new guy named Paul?
Well, you can’t go back to the past, but you can look to the future! Today you have the opportunity to partner with a 21st century Paul, a modern day Taylor or Carey. Or, a budding Billy Graham. In fact, you have possibilities before you to have a reach and impact unheard of in history…possibilities unimaginable to any of the great fathers of our faith, including the Apostle Paul himself!
Empower the modern day heroes of our faith by helping to equip and mobilize hundreds of thousands of Christian workers and leaders who are changing this world for good! Through e3 and I am Second you can partner with pastors and church planters in some forty nations to reach the unengaged, unreached people groups of their country…as well as penetrate the great urban centers of the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. And empower their new churches to minister to the needs of hurting people through e3 initiatives such as I am Second, HIV/Aids Hope Project, Medical Missions, Micro-finance initiatives and deaf ministries - to mention only a few of the ways we equip our partners in the field to carry on sustainable holistic ministry to the spiritual and physical needs of people.
You can impact the future, change this world for good and touch eternity. Pray, give and go with e3 Partners. Because… Christ is first!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Father's Day 2010 - In The Company Of Men
IN THE COMPANY OF MEN
A tribute to Godly fathers and men who shape the lives of young men
Curtis V. Hail ©2010
It was a golden moment as dawn broke over the east Texas pond. Ghostly silhouettes of men and boys slowly took shape through the rising mist. Scattered along the banks of this small fish-laden lake, these fathers and sons were fishing for nothing more exotic than some perch, maybe a bass if lucky. But fishing was only the pretext for something more sacred. The expedition was really about a rite of passage where a father passes down to his boy a love of the outdoors and skills to experience it for a lifetime. It was also about learning the special fellowship of men pursuing a common mission in some hidden corner of God’s creation. For it is among the fellowship of men that boys learn the best of being a man.
The dawn’s quiet sublime was broken only by my side-splitting laughter. It seems that the precious nature of our shared experience was not lost on my 10-year-old son, Clint. As he thoughtfully reeled in his fishing line, he looked up at me with wide-eyed innocence, earnestly uttering infamous words that remain a standing family joke, a source of good natured ribbing.
“Dad, this male bondage is really fun isn’t it?” Male bondage! He clearly meant “male bonding,” but even at that, where did a young boy get it? For all the humor of it, Clint had actually understood something very important. He had sensed the value of moments like this for fathers and sons, and he had also grasped something even deeper. Though misspoken, he eloquently captured the preciousness of fathers and sons sharing these experiences with other like men. Hunting, fishing, camping, scouting … wherever fathers spend time with their boys and men of good cheer, this is where boys learn best to be men of character and depth.
My wife, Amy, and I had a peculiar philosophy of child-rearing. One of our tenets was that children learn to become adults by hanging out with adults, not with their peers. We deliberately included them in adult church, adult activities and adult conversations with ourselves and others. We exposed them to people of significance, like visiting missionaries whom we often hosted in our home, to let them grow a mature Christian worldview. Kids are kids, so what are they going to learn from each other, really? They need that socialization to be sure, but only from adults do children learn to become an adult. And the better the adult input you make available to your kids, the better the adult output you get from your kids. We were blessed on both counts.
It worked well enough for our two older daughters, so when our son was born, I determined that Clint and I would start early venturing to the field and stream as father and son. And, on occasion, we would make it a group outing with other good men of Christian faith and character. Not just with Godly coaches, teachers and sportsmen was Clint privileged to travel.
He also spent extended times with missionaries, pastors, national leaders, interpreters and guides on many mission trips from Argentina to Russia, from Portugal to Uganda. He began his missionary journeys with us at age five in Puebla, Mexico, where he came to faith in Christ. The following year at age six he began to mimic what he saw the adults doing, as he took a bilingual Gospel tract on his own to share with the hotel doormen while I organized our team for the day’s work.
Such was the life journey that formed the young man we handed over to the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 28, 2004. Having graduated high school a few weeks previously, he then embarked on a new leg of the journey to manhood … a road that would test everything physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually that had come before. But it was because of the influence of these men – this forging of manhood through the press of the character and faith of significant men upon him – that I had cause for hope that he would stand the test.
I stood on that historic Plain in front of Washington Hall overlooking the mighty Hudson River as the sun set on an emotional day having seen my son exit my life and irreversibly enter upon his own. A life now that would be challenging beyond compare and that would inevitably lead to another field some day, a field of battle in a dangerous land called Afghanistan. I thanked God that night for the company of men that had produced the young man I proudly called son. I thanked God that they had prepared him to join this new and very different fellowship of warriors. It was in that moment that I penned these words to my son, his first letter received during boot camp as a West Point Cadet.
In The Company Of Men
Curtis Hail to son, Clint – June 28, 2004
It is upon a splendid mid-summer's eve
a grown man now, our boy does leave;
as the parade recedes across that hallowed plain,
a storied part of West Point’s most ancient fame …
In the company of men.
His broad shoulders and square jaw fade from our sight
into that long gray line that led us to victory in many a fight;
I wonder through tears where did our boy go,
from whence did this man’s man suddenly grow …
In the company of men.
All boys grow up, but not all to be men
and that in our day is too often our sin;
what we should learn from history, from the wisdom of God’s good book,
where boys grow to become men, if to its pages we would but look …
In the company of men.
From boys, a boy learns at best to be brute
or for girls he may learn even to be cute;
from mother a boy learns to love and to plan,
but one sure place does a boy learn to be a man …
In the company of men.
Don't be satisfied with just any sort of ‘Sam’
shoot for the stars and pray up a rugged gentle man;
duty, honor, country are noble ideals high to be held,
by hands forged in discipline, tough love its strong weld …
In the company of men.
As the boy's visage wanes, the memories repair
my heart buoys remembering those golden days fair;
recounting the countless ways, though much is a blur,
that my boy became a man, the ways by which it did occur …
In the company of men.
Fishing trips with fathers and sons, or sometimes just the two alone
we organized gear, baited hooks, waited, and waited still under moons that shone;
on piers, on boats, in streams and lakes, we oft fished with men of true valor,
though guides sometimes smoked or spat and spoke in blue color…
In the company of men.
Hunts of every sort filled our autumns and springs as though we hadn't one worry
dove, pheasant, turkey, duck, geese and deer, such were our quarry;
more misses than kills never did matter, tales were told, lies were swapped all in good humor,
the joy of stories, jokes, or glowing silence around a dying camp fire making souls warmer...
In the company of men.
Upon the gridiron of competition, the fields of practice and play, were your lessons first learned for in the crucible of feigned battle that confidence and trust and self-reliance were best earned; preparatory were these disciplines for the heat of real battle and stiff trials of hard life,
the strength of body, mind and heart gained in sport steeled you for the coming strife…
In the company of men.
Coaches who screamed and pushed, or teachers who went for you that extra mile
all those who believed in you more than you believed in yourself, now wear a big smile;
Many a fine woman without whom you'd be lost, taught you from grades first to the last,
yet it was strong men who gained your respect that are most key to your present and past …
In the company of men.
In the pew you heard great men of God preach from His Word, telling the salvation message
and in church you saw that true manhood is reflecting the Son - God’s perfect image;
in teaching you learned truth, in liturgy history, in worship beauty, the joy of father's faith,
God's mantle someday will fall, so use training and gifts in His service to take your own place...
In the company of men.
On the mission field you lived and worked, and there you learned most
from men named Eduardo, David, and Patrick who will gladly die right at their post;
faithfulness, servant-hood, and unceasing labor, of such are their characters’ trait,
which if emulated is the path to your own Divine destiny, not just victim of some blind fate …
In the company of men.
The mother's knee and wise, strong counsel is as surely critical to this man's evolution
but this tribute to the company of men is to counter today's sad, dangerous revolution;
too many little princes, too few young kings, raising little boys to be big boys not as young men,
in their life is a hole, no mighty men of God a model, which is today our great sin …
In the company of men.
So I thank God for that company of men who made my boy a real man
I’ve no credit for what God, Mom and other men have done, what only they can;
it’s not pride I feel for that suggests that I might somehow share in the credit,
its happiness for this young man I feel, knowing to Whose ledger goes all debit …
In the company of men.
Now into another company of men I entrust the boy turned man
and the stakes have skied, for its now a matter of his very life that is at hand;
but this company of men has long been his dream, his vision, his ambition,
so for a lad to live out his boyhood dreams, is indeed a man’s finest condition …
In the company of men.
But it is not now, nor ever truly was, a company of men in whom I trusted
for its the Creator of man and the Lord of all men in whom our faith is best vested;
He gave the boy the mother, sisters, women and a company of men he did well need,
so on this eve and a plain now his home, I trust God to make my son a man they shall heed ...
In the company of men.
Clint Hail, West Point class of 2008, serves as an officer in the 10th Mountain Division, U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan in 2010.
Curtis Hail is President & CEO of e3 Partners Ministry, an international church planting ministry.
A tribute to Godly fathers and men who shape the lives of young men
Curtis V. Hail ©2010
It was a golden moment as dawn broke over the east Texas pond. Ghostly silhouettes of men and boys slowly took shape through the rising mist. Scattered along the banks of this small fish-laden lake, these fathers and sons were fishing for nothing more exotic than some perch, maybe a bass if lucky. But fishing was only the pretext for something more sacred. The expedition was really about a rite of passage where a father passes down to his boy a love of the outdoors and skills to experience it for a lifetime. It was also about learning the special fellowship of men pursuing a common mission in some hidden corner of God’s creation. For it is among the fellowship of men that boys learn the best of being a man.
The dawn’s quiet sublime was broken only by my side-splitting laughter. It seems that the precious nature of our shared experience was not lost on my 10-year-old son, Clint. As he thoughtfully reeled in his fishing line, he looked up at me with wide-eyed innocence, earnestly uttering infamous words that remain a standing family joke, a source of good natured ribbing.
“Dad, this male bondage is really fun isn’t it?” Male bondage! He clearly meant “male bonding,” but even at that, where did a young boy get it? For all the humor of it, Clint had actually understood something very important. He had sensed the value of moments like this for fathers and sons, and he had also grasped something even deeper. Though misspoken, he eloquently captured the preciousness of fathers and sons sharing these experiences with other like men. Hunting, fishing, camping, scouting … wherever fathers spend time with their boys and men of good cheer, this is where boys learn best to be men of character and depth.
My wife, Amy, and I had a peculiar philosophy of child-rearing. One of our tenets was that children learn to become adults by hanging out with adults, not with their peers. We deliberately included them in adult church, adult activities and adult conversations with ourselves and others. We exposed them to people of significance, like visiting missionaries whom we often hosted in our home, to let them grow a mature Christian worldview. Kids are kids, so what are they going to learn from each other, really? They need that socialization to be sure, but only from adults do children learn to become an adult. And the better the adult input you make available to your kids, the better the adult output you get from your kids. We were blessed on both counts.
It worked well enough for our two older daughters, so when our son was born, I determined that Clint and I would start early venturing to the field and stream as father and son. And, on occasion, we would make it a group outing with other good men of Christian faith and character. Not just with Godly coaches, teachers and sportsmen was Clint privileged to travel.
He also spent extended times with missionaries, pastors, national leaders, interpreters and guides on many mission trips from Argentina to Russia, from Portugal to Uganda. He began his missionary journeys with us at age five in Puebla, Mexico, where he came to faith in Christ. The following year at age six he began to mimic what he saw the adults doing, as he took a bilingual Gospel tract on his own to share with the hotel doormen while I organized our team for the day’s work.
Such was the life journey that formed the young man we handed over to the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 28, 2004. Having graduated high school a few weeks previously, he then embarked on a new leg of the journey to manhood … a road that would test everything physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually that had come before. But it was because of the influence of these men – this forging of manhood through the press of the character and faith of significant men upon him – that I had cause for hope that he would stand the test.
I stood on that historic Plain in front of Washington Hall overlooking the mighty Hudson River as the sun set on an emotional day having seen my son exit my life and irreversibly enter upon his own. A life now that would be challenging beyond compare and that would inevitably lead to another field some day, a field of battle in a dangerous land called Afghanistan. I thanked God that night for the company of men that had produced the young man I proudly called son. I thanked God that they had prepared him to join this new and very different fellowship of warriors. It was in that moment that I penned these words to my son, his first letter received during boot camp as a West Point Cadet.
In The Company Of Men
Curtis Hail to son, Clint – June 28, 2004
It is upon a splendid mid-summer's eve
a grown man now, our boy does leave;
as the parade recedes across that hallowed plain,
a storied part of West Point’s most ancient fame …
In the company of men.
His broad shoulders and square jaw fade from our sight
into that long gray line that led us to victory in many a fight;
I wonder through tears where did our boy go,
from whence did this man’s man suddenly grow …
In the company of men.
All boys grow up, but not all to be men
and that in our day is too often our sin;
what we should learn from history, from the wisdom of God’s good book,
where boys grow to become men, if to its pages we would but look …
In the company of men.
From boys, a boy learns at best to be brute
or for girls he may learn even to be cute;
from mother a boy learns to love and to plan,
but one sure place does a boy learn to be a man …
In the company of men.
Don't be satisfied with just any sort of ‘Sam’
shoot for the stars and pray up a rugged gentle man;
duty, honor, country are noble ideals high to be held,
by hands forged in discipline, tough love its strong weld …
In the company of men.
As the boy's visage wanes, the memories repair
my heart buoys remembering those golden days fair;
recounting the countless ways, though much is a blur,
that my boy became a man, the ways by which it did occur …
In the company of men.
Fishing trips with fathers and sons, or sometimes just the two alone
we organized gear, baited hooks, waited, and waited still under moons that shone;
on piers, on boats, in streams and lakes, we oft fished with men of true valor,
though guides sometimes smoked or spat and spoke in blue color…
In the company of men.
Hunts of every sort filled our autumns and springs as though we hadn't one worry
dove, pheasant, turkey, duck, geese and deer, such were our quarry;
more misses than kills never did matter, tales were told, lies were swapped all in good humor,
the joy of stories, jokes, or glowing silence around a dying camp fire making souls warmer...
In the company of men.
Upon the gridiron of competition, the fields of practice and play, were your lessons first learned for in the crucible of feigned battle that confidence and trust and self-reliance were best earned; preparatory were these disciplines for the heat of real battle and stiff trials of hard life,
the strength of body, mind and heart gained in sport steeled you for the coming strife…
In the company of men.
Coaches who screamed and pushed, or teachers who went for you that extra mile
all those who believed in you more than you believed in yourself, now wear a big smile;
Many a fine woman without whom you'd be lost, taught you from grades first to the last,
yet it was strong men who gained your respect that are most key to your present and past …
In the company of men.
In the pew you heard great men of God preach from His Word, telling the salvation message
and in church you saw that true manhood is reflecting the Son - God’s perfect image;
in teaching you learned truth, in liturgy history, in worship beauty, the joy of father's faith,
God's mantle someday will fall, so use training and gifts in His service to take your own place...
In the company of men.
On the mission field you lived and worked, and there you learned most
from men named Eduardo, David, and Patrick who will gladly die right at their post;
faithfulness, servant-hood, and unceasing labor, of such are their characters’ trait,
which if emulated is the path to your own Divine destiny, not just victim of some blind fate …
In the company of men.
The mother's knee and wise, strong counsel is as surely critical to this man's evolution
but this tribute to the company of men is to counter today's sad, dangerous revolution;
too many little princes, too few young kings, raising little boys to be big boys not as young men,
in their life is a hole, no mighty men of God a model, which is today our great sin …
In the company of men.
So I thank God for that company of men who made my boy a real man
I’ve no credit for what God, Mom and other men have done, what only they can;
it’s not pride I feel for that suggests that I might somehow share in the credit,
its happiness for this young man I feel, knowing to Whose ledger goes all debit …
In the company of men.
Now into another company of men I entrust the boy turned man
and the stakes have skied, for its now a matter of his very life that is at hand;
but this company of men has long been his dream, his vision, his ambition,
so for a lad to live out his boyhood dreams, is indeed a man’s finest condition …
In the company of men.
But it is not now, nor ever truly was, a company of men in whom I trusted
for its the Creator of man and the Lord of all men in whom our faith is best vested;
He gave the boy the mother, sisters, women and a company of men he did well need,
so on this eve and a plain now his home, I trust God to make my son a man they shall heed ...
In the company of men.
Clint Hail, West Point class of 2008, serves as an officer in the 10th Mountain Division, U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan in 2010.
Curtis Hail is President & CEO of e3 Partners Ministry, an international church planting ministry.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Civility from the F-bomb crowd? Really?
From the people who brought you...a President who denigrated millions of great middle-Americans as those rubes "clinging to their god and their guns" or defiantly challenges political opponents to "bring it on"...and a Vice President who uses the F-bomb in front of the world at a "historic moment"'... and who continue to vilify and demonize the previous administration which they regularly attacked in the most uncivil ad hominem manner...now they want their political adversaries to sign up for a "Civility Statement". It would be laughable if it weren't so chilling to see the various ways that our freedom of speech is being assaulted. Note that political discourse and dissent is now defined by liberals as "hate speech" or "politics of hate". Seems that any foul or vile thing can be said or done in the name of free speech...anything except publicly pray in the name of my savior Jesus Christ, or breathe a contrary word about their savior Barack Obama.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Light In This Stormy World
Date: March 4, 2009
There is a storm, there is The Light
I am staying with friends in Orlando. At the top of the stairs by the door to my guest room is a Thomas Kinkade painting. It is his iconic lighthouse piece, "A Light in the Storm". It is based on Christ's declaration in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world." How reassuring in these turbulent, fearsome days.
But, here is the full text..."When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'."
Now, that is even more powerful. Yes, He is the light...there is light in this storm. But, it is not a remote, unapproachable light that has no immediate relation to my current circumstances out here in the deep, rough water. No, the promise is, if you follow Him - if you know Him and call upon Him - you will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Do you know Him, are you following and trusting Him? If not, today is a marvelous day - the best day - to confess your sin and inability to save yourself.
The depth of sin too deep, the mountainous waves of guilt too high...the debt too great...to save yourself? Call, instead, on Him - the way, the truth, the life - as savior. Trust in His finished work on the Cross for you. Experience foregiveness and the joy of salvation. Walk in darkness no longer! Live in the light, full of life, even in the midst of these temporal storms. Is He your light? Make Him your light, your life today!
Make Him first. He will light your way. Walk in darkness no longer!
There is a storm, there is The Light
I am staying with friends in Orlando. At the top of the stairs by the door to my guest room is a Thomas Kinkade painting. It is his iconic lighthouse piece, "A Light in the Storm". It is based on Christ's declaration in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world." How reassuring in these turbulent, fearsome days.
But, here is the full text..."When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'."
Now, that is even more powerful. Yes, He is the light...there is light in this storm. But, it is not a remote, unapproachable light that has no immediate relation to my current circumstances out here in the deep, rough water. No, the promise is, if you follow Him - if you know Him and call upon Him - you will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Do you know Him, are you following and trusting Him? If not, today is a marvelous day - the best day - to confess your sin and inability to save yourself.
The depth of sin too deep, the mountainous waves of guilt too high...the debt too great...to save yourself? Call, instead, on Him - the way, the truth, the life - as savior. Trust in His finished work on the Cross for you. Experience foregiveness and the joy of salvation. Walk in darkness no longer! Live in the light, full of life, even in the midst of these temporal storms. Is He your light? Make Him your light, your life today!
Make Him first. He will light your way. Walk in darkness no longer!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
FEAR - America is running scared...to disaster!
FEAR
"feeling of uneasiness or apprehension; concern"
Date: January 30, 2009
Most of our fears are the hobgoblins of our own imagination, or of that which will probably never occur or are highly unlikely. Fear causes us to make rash decisions and rush to judgement about that which we don't have enough information.
Michael Crighton, the brilliant Harvard trained doctor and scientist, turned novelist, explored how media and government use FEAR to exploit, manipulate and eventually control the populace in his 2004 novel, State Of Fear. In this controversial book, though backed by his own research included as appendices, Crighton both debunked man-caused global warming/climate change, and also exposed just how dangerous it is when media and government use fear to advance their respective agenda. Media is basically into profiteering off of disaster or the threat of it, and so much better when the cause fits their liberal worldview. Government naturally seeks to gain ever-more power over and control of individuals and their lives.
And maintaining a "state of fear" is one of the most time-honored and effective means of achieving these natural proclivities of media and government to manipulate the public. And no time in our National history has this been more evident than the state of fear being ginned up right now to stampede Americans into disaster.
Even after Jihadists skyjacked four jetliners and flew them into three of our most visible and vaunted national icons, killing some 3,000 innocent U.S. citizens, the Left continued to claim George Bush was using fear to take over the world. If so, then at least there are real grounds for our fear. An enemy determined over 1,500 years to destroy our Christian, western world, empowered at last with petro-dollars and equipped with the means to deploy weapons of mass destruction is a fairly vexing proposition to some of us.
Yet, any degree to which Bush, Reagan or McCarthy used the fear of a very real clear and present danger pales by comparison to the current leftist fear-mongers' use of trumped up or hysterically embellished looming disasters.
Tonight's mainstream broadcast news cast contained several prime examples.
1. Al Gore, the imminent scientist and former straight man for Bill Clinton, was reported as saying that global warming and extreme climate change dangers are so severe that they demand immediate, sweeping government intervention. Moves, I'm sure, such as signing on to the Kyoto treaty whose very own advocates admit wouldn't make a dent in the supposed problems it claims to address. It only subjugates our American liberties and economic future to international bodies controlled by the very villainous nations most polluting the globe, such as China, India and Brazil. Nations who are, themselves, exempt from Kyoto of course.
2. Because there is only one man in all of the world who understands our economic woes and can fix them - Timothy Geithner - we are rushed into embracing a Treasury Secretary who doesn't pay his own taxes...until caught. Oh, yes, he is also the top boss for the Internal Revenue Service - the folks who will sweep down like raptors upon your head if you "make an honest mistake" on your measly little return! Utterly incredible, utter nonsense. But fear carried the day. No one else could possibly fill this post - he's just too good and the crisis just too deep to stick to principle and good sense in this vital post.
3. And the coupe de gras - the Mother of all Stimulus Packages, all $850 billion of it. The fear of hard times is stampeding the American people into accepting the biggest financial boondoggle and most draconian snatch of civil liberties for a mushrooming Federal government of unimaginable proportions in our history. First, the Wall Street Journal identified many of the absurd, irrelevant and unhelpful line items of this Titanic-size pork barrel. Second, it funds everything from abortion to the pseudo-arts, but very little that would actually create real jobs in the private sector. Third, with that federal money will come controls and there will go liberty. Say goodbye to your Constitutional rights and say hello to a Pelosimobile coming to a dealer near you!
The American people, largely uninformed and puddy in the hands of a complicit media, is being stampeded into forfeiting their American rights and heritage for nothing more or less than Socialism. And sadly, this round of big, all-controlling government will be no more successful than any previous experiments. Perhaps you've visited, as have I, many of the former or current socialist/Marxist countries such as Russia, Cuba or China. Never worked, never will. Even our own former versions of this latest "stimulus package" have utterly failed. This modern day WPA and CCC will work as badly or worse as did FDR's. Just read Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man, to truly understand that it was the New Deal which made the Depression so great and terribly long. It was heaping on of government spending and programs which drove us deeper into a prolonged depression. It was forgetting the resilience of American men and women, while putting blind faith in an all-powerful Federal government which truly caused the Great Depression. And now we repeat the cycle, but what will pull us out of it this time? What will be our equivalent of WWII?
Francis Schaeffer wrote of this some thirty years ago. He predicted that Americans would forget Who and what truly made America great. And that in fear of losing their "personal peace or an ever-rising standard of living" would willingly exchange their personal liberties in hopes that the Federal government could maintain their narrow and selfish comfort zone. But, it won't work and it will come at an awful cost, politically and economically.
Make no mistake, FEAR is a powerful weapon. It is being wielded without shame in a glaring way today to stampede America into disaster. Any difficulties that might come from toughing it out without the few legitimate elements of this legislation will be minor compared to the disaster that awaits us at the end of this truly fearful nightmare.
Curtis Hail
"feeling of uneasiness or apprehension; concern"
Date: January 30, 2009
Most of our fears are the hobgoblins of our own imagination, or of that which will probably never occur or are highly unlikely. Fear causes us to make rash decisions and rush to judgement about that which we don't have enough information.
Michael Crighton, the brilliant Harvard trained doctor and scientist, turned novelist, explored how media and government use FEAR to exploit, manipulate and eventually control the populace in his 2004 novel, State Of Fear. In this controversial book, though backed by his own research included as appendices, Crighton both debunked man-caused global warming/climate change, and also exposed just how dangerous it is when media and government use fear to advance their respective agenda. Media is basically into profiteering off of disaster or the threat of it, and so much better when the cause fits their liberal worldview. Government naturally seeks to gain ever-more power over and control of individuals and their lives.
And maintaining a "state of fear" is one of the most time-honored and effective means of achieving these natural proclivities of media and government to manipulate the public. And no time in our National history has this been more evident than the state of fear being ginned up right now to stampede Americans into disaster.
Even after Jihadists skyjacked four jetliners and flew them into three of our most visible and vaunted national icons, killing some 3,000 innocent U.S. citizens, the Left continued to claim George Bush was using fear to take over the world. If so, then at least there are real grounds for our fear. An enemy determined over 1,500 years to destroy our Christian, western world, empowered at last with petro-dollars and equipped with the means to deploy weapons of mass destruction is a fairly vexing proposition to some of us.
Yet, any degree to which Bush, Reagan or McCarthy used the fear of a very real clear and present danger pales by comparison to the current leftist fear-mongers' use of trumped up or hysterically embellished looming disasters.
Tonight's mainstream broadcast news cast contained several prime examples.
1. Al Gore, the imminent scientist and former straight man for Bill Clinton, was reported as saying that global warming and extreme climate change dangers are so severe that they demand immediate, sweeping government intervention. Moves, I'm sure, such as signing on to the Kyoto treaty whose very own advocates admit wouldn't make a dent in the supposed problems it claims to address. It only subjugates our American liberties and economic future to international bodies controlled by the very villainous nations most polluting the globe, such as China, India and Brazil. Nations who are, themselves, exempt from Kyoto of course.
2. Because there is only one man in all of the world who understands our economic woes and can fix them - Timothy Geithner - we are rushed into embracing a Treasury Secretary who doesn't pay his own taxes...until caught. Oh, yes, he is also the top boss for the Internal Revenue Service - the folks who will sweep down like raptors upon your head if you "make an honest mistake" on your measly little return! Utterly incredible, utter nonsense. But fear carried the day. No one else could possibly fill this post - he's just too good and the crisis just too deep to stick to principle and good sense in this vital post.
3. And the coupe de gras - the Mother of all Stimulus Packages, all $850 billion of it. The fear of hard times is stampeding the American people into accepting the biggest financial boondoggle and most draconian snatch of civil liberties for a mushrooming Federal government of unimaginable proportions in our history. First, the Wall Street Journal identified many of the absurd, irrelevant and unhelpful line items of this Titanic-size pork barrel. Second, it funds everything from abortion to the pseudo-arts, but very little that would actually create real jobs in the private sector. Third, with that federal money will come controls and there will go liberty. Say goodbye to your Constitutional rights and say hello to a Pelosimobile coming to a dealer near you!
The American people, largely uninformed and puddy in the hands of a complicit media, is being stampeded into forfeiting their American rights and heritage for nothing more or less than Socialism. And sadly, this round of big, all-controlling government will be no more successful than any previous experiments. Perhaps you've visited, as have I, many of the former or current socialist/Marxist countries such as Russia, Cuba or China. Never worked, never will. Even our own former versions of this latest "stimulus package" have utterly failed. This modern day WPA and CCC will work as badly or worse as did FDR's. Just read Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man, to truly understand that it was the New Deal which made the Depression so great and terribly long. It was heaping on of government spending and programs which drove us deeper into a prolonged depression. It was forgetting the resilience of American men and women, while putting blind faith in an all-powerful Federal government which truly caused the Great Depression. And now we repeat the cycle, but what will pull us out of it this time? What will be our equivalent of WWII?
Francis Schaeffer wrote of this some thirty years ago. He predicted that Americans would forget Who and what truly made America great. And that in fear of losing their "personal peace or an ever-rising standard of living" would willingly exchange their personal liberties in hopes that the Federal government could maintain their narrow and selfish comfort zone. But, it won't work and it will come at an awful cost, politically and economically.
Make no mistake, FEAR is a powerful weapon. It is being wielded without shame in a glaring way today to stampede America into disaster. Any difficulties that might come from toughing it out without the few legitimate elements of this legislation will be minor compared to the disaster that awaits us at the end of this truly fearful nightmare.
Curtis Hail
Sunday, January 4, 2009
IAMSECOND.COM
Date: January 1, 2009
IF I AM THIRD, THEN WHY "I AM SECOND"?
Message to the e3 family about http://www.iamsecond.com/
By Curtis Hail, President, e3 Partners
Many of you are aware that e3 Partners had a significant role in the development of an exciting new web site and movement called I AM SECOND. If you've not yet heard about it or seen the site, here is the link: http://www.iamsecond.com/. Either way, we want all of the e3 staff to understand a little more about this initiative and its relationship to the mission of e3 Partners...and its potential for your ministry!
First, the e3 Staff involved seek no personal attention or notoriety from this. Indeed, e3 Partners as an organization has been careful not to make this a proprietary, self-promoting opportunity. You'll not find our name on the site for the reason that this is to be a tool for the Body of Christ, not just e3. And we are only now divulging this information to our staff and ministry family because we did not want the unveiling in early December 2008 to be "about us". We sought anonymity and a specter of mystery.
But, it is appropriate to say now that your e3 Creative Department under the leadership of Vice President Nathan Sheets, creative director Adam Leydig and communications director John Humphrey - along with their staff - were the conceptual and strategic driving force behind I Am Second. And, all of this was only possible because of the vision and extraordinary generosity of a long-time friend of the ministry. Then the contribution of extremely gifted partners in the video and web development arenas along with sister ministries, such as Need Him, and a few daring pilot churches have all worked together to bring this project to the public. As Nathan will tell you, "It has been a God thing all the way!"
So, as concisely as I can, let me answer a few questions for you and we will have more to say at the e3 Partners International Conference (www.e3partners.org) in a few weeks.
How did e3 Partners get involved in IAMSECOND?
Simply put, because a very good friend asked for our help to bring about a vision to "lift Christ up" in our city and nation. He recalled Christ's promise "...if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself". He simply wanted our help to design a media strategy to lift Christ up and let the Holy Spirit work. We are honored that he recognized our team worthy to help bring this heavenly vision into a world class reality.
Why is e3 Partners involved?
We said "yes" to this request first because it feels great to finally be able to "give back" to someone who has done so much for us over two decades!
We said "yes" because America clearly needs the Good News of Jesus Christ. America is now one of the great mission fields of the world. Crazy, isn't it! We've long wanted to do more to help the Church in America to reach the lost in America. Here was our chance. We serve the church around the world, and here was a great way to serve the church in America.
So how does I Am Second relate to our e3 Mission and Strategy?
E3 Partners equips God's people (the Church everywhere) to evangelize His world (the lost everywhere) to establish His church (building up and multiplying the Body everywhere). So, technically this initiative falls within that broad Mission interpretation.
e3 Partners develops and deploys tools with training for believers to share the Gospel, make disciples and establish churches. The Evangecube ( http://www.evangecube.org/) is our low-tech, universal tool for sharing the gospel. First Steps is our universal e3 model for mobilization, discipleship and small group formation. New believers, maturing disciples and healthy, multiplying communities of Christians are our mission and strategy all rolled up into one - and all that is found within the IAMSECOND movement. The only difference is that http://www.iamsecond.com/ is our high-tech tool for "initiating the conversation" and communicating the Gospel.
Yes, our heart and focus remains helping our international brothers and sisters laboring from Africa to Asia, Middle East to South America, who have little resources to go with their huge vision, awesome faith and dogged determination. Why devote any time and money at e3 Partners to help reach North America? The need and opportunity is so great around the world, won't this distract us from all of that?
It could and we must be balanced and wise. However, there are several valid biblical and political reasons I might give in answer to these very good questions about our involvement in such initiatives. However, I will stick to this one very practical, less altruistic answer for now. Read this very carefully.
e3 Partners mobilizes resources - human and financial - to aid our international partners. I've stated and we've demonstrated our sincere, self-effacing approach to this IAMSECOND project. However, without a hidden agenda of any sort, we do believe that God will honor our intentions and efforts. How and when is purely His business - I frankly haven't a clue how it will come about. But, we are walking in faith, trusting that by humbly, demurely participating in this project that God is going to send us more people and more resources to help those in desperate need of e3 teams, tools and training!
We have, however, fielded scores of requests from Churches and individuals for copies of these beautiful videos and other supporting materials ranging from evangelism and discipleship tools, to collateral pieces such as shirts. We will be responding to this unexpected development, though true to our long history and current commitment, many of these materials will be made available as free downloads or as inexpensively as possible.
IAM2 has sky-rocketed in 3 weeks to the top 1% of 3.5 million web sites. It is getting local, national and international attention - almost all favorable even from secular public due to the incredibly high quality. We believe that is going to positively accrue resources for us to do more of our core ministry!
Already, the website has opened communication with churches around the country who are interested in evangelism, many who have never had previous contact with e3 Partners. We hope to grow these new relationships to also include domestic and international church planting activities.
And finally, this project has given us a wealth of experience in designing and developing truly world-class communication tools. I believe this is going to prove a wonderful "testing ground" for even greater applications with our Blackbaud software and social networking tools you'll soon see in January!
How Can IAMSECOND.COM Help Your e3 Ministry?
Over time, God will reveal more. But, here are a couple of suggestions for now. Tell every church you serve that you have a new tool to point them towards... http://www.iamsecond.com/ Encourage them to train their people to share the Gospel in their everyday life. We will soon have special collateral material for this site and of course Evangecube training remains the most effective evangelism tool and training at your disposal. (http://www.simplysharejesus.com/ ) Offer to provide this training to their church as "value added" ministry. If you prefer to have help on this, just let us know. Any of us in the Cabinet, me included, will be happy to come speak and train in general and share about the I Am Second opportunities specifically. I assure you, your stock will only go up with pastors and youth leaders as you share these resources with them!
Scripture and the Life of Jesus Teach Us That We Are Really Third...so why "I Am Second"?
Indeed, the model of Christ and the teaching of Paul, as clearly seen in Philippians, teach us that our interests are third. God's interests (glory and honor) are first. Others' are second. We are third. It's a little thing called "dying to self" and "taking up your cross daily".
But, it all starts with this confession, "I am second because Christ is first in my life."We thought long and prayed hard about this issue. But the truth is, until you make that confession you won't - indeed can't - truly put others ahead of yourself. Until you dethrone self and install Christ as Savior, you don't have the inclination, much less power to make yourself third. But, as you grow as a disciple, you come to follow Him as Lord and realize you serve your Master by serving others.
This site serves first and foremost as an evangelistic tool. It is designed to catch the attention of the seeker who then goes on to discover Who is first and how to follow Him. It is a platform for believers to open a dialogue with their friends and family, leading them to Christ and eventually teaching them to "obey all" that He has taught us. It is a Gospel tool, not a site that attempts to cover everything else it then means to then follow Christ as a disciple. There are a couple of other "sites" that cover that part...The Bible and The Church!
And finally, from a communication standpoint, Nathan cited one of the biggest fans of I am Second, Christen Nutter, who said it well:"Consider the audience. This site was designed for people who have never even thought of putting something first in their lives other than themselves. They are second to none. So the idea of placing something else in first place is new and a significant bridge to cross. It is step one."
Learning to live and love as Christ then comes in community - the Body. And that is why in this, as in all things e3, we involve the Church and point people towards growing in their relationship with Christ as part of His bride!
I trust that this lengthy explanation will help you understand this project better and assist your communication with others who may have questions about I Am Second. Please feel free to call or email me if you have further questions or suggestions.
Why "I Am Second"? Because it is a God thing.
Why am I second? Because Christ is first in my life.
Where does that lead? A life of sacrificial service to God and others.
Here to serve!
Curtis Hail
e3 President
IF I AM THIRD, THEN WHY "I AM SECOND"?
Message to the e3 family about http://www.iamsecond.com/
By Curtis Hail, President, e3 Partners
Many of you are aware that e3 Partners had a significant role in the development of an exciting new web site and movement called I AM SECOND. If you've not yet heard about it or seen the site, here is the link: http://www.iamsecond.com/. Either way, we want all of the e3 staff to understand a little more about this initiative and its relationship to the mission of e3 Partners...and its potential for your ministry!
First, the e3 Staff involved seek no personal attention or notoriety from this. Indeed, e3 Partners as an organization has been careful not to make this a proprietary, self-promoting opportunity. You'll not find our name on the site for the reason that this is to be a tool for the Body of Christ, not just e3. And we are only now divulging this information to our staff and ministry family because we did not want the unveiling in early December 2008 to be "about us". We sought anonymity and a specter of mystery.
But, it is appropriate to say now that your e3 Creative Department under the leadership of Vice President Nathan Sheets, creative director Adam Leydig and communications director John Humphrey - along with their staff - were the conceptual and strategic driving force behind I Am Second. And, all of this was only possible because of the vision and extraordinary generosity of a long-time friend of the ministry. Then the contribution of extremely gifted partners in the video and web development arenas along with sister ministries, such as Need Him, and a few daring pilot churches have all worked together to bring this project to the public. As Nathan will tell you, "It has been a God thing all the way!"
So, as concisely as I can, let me answer a few questions for you and we will have more to say at the e3 Partners International Conference (www.e3partners.org) in a few weeks.
How did e3 Partners get involved in IAMSECOND?
Simply put, because a very good friend asked for our help to bring about a vision to "lift Christ up" in our city and nation. He recalled Christ's promise "...if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself". He simply wanted our help to design a media strategy to lift Christ up and let the Holy Spirit work. We are honored that he recognized our team worthy to help bring this heavenly vision into a world class reality.
Why is e3 Partners involved?
We said "yes" to this request first because it feels great to finally be able to "give back" to someone who has done so much for us over two decades!
We said "yes" because America clearly needs the Good News of Jesus Christ. America is now one of the great mission fields of the world. Crazy, isn't it! We've long wanted to do more to help the Church in America to reach the lost in America. Here was our chance. We serve the church around the world, and here was a great way to serve the church in America.
So how does I Am Second relate to our e3 Mission and Strategy?
E3 Partners equips God's people (the Church everywhere) to evangelize His world (the lost everywhere) to establish His church (building up and multiplying the Body everywhere). So, technically this initiative falls within that broad Mission interpretation.
e3 Partners develops and deploys tools with training for believers to share the Gospel, make disciples and establish churches. The Evangecube ( http://www.evangecube.org/) is our low-tech, universal tool for sharing the gospel. First Steps is our universal e3 model for mobilization, discipleship and small group formation. New believers, maturing disciples and healthy, multiplying communities of Christians are our mission and strategy all rolled up into one - and all that is found within the IAMSECOND movement. The only difference is that http://www.iamsecond.com/ is our high-tech tool for "initiating the conversation" and communicating the Gospel.
Yes, our heart and focus remains helping our international brothers and sisters laboring from Africa to Asia, Middle East to South America, who have little resources to go with their huge vision, awesome faith and dogged determination. Why devote any time and money at e3 Partners to help reach North America? The need and opportunity is so great around the world, won't this distract us from all of that?
It could and we must be balanced and wise. However, there are several valid biblical and political reasons I might give in answer to these very good questions about our involvement in such initiatives. However, I will stick to this one very practical, less altruistic answer for now. Read this very carefully.
e3 Partners mobilizes resources - human and financial - to aid our international partners. I've stated and we've demonstrated our sincere, self-effacing approach to this IAMSECOND project. However, without a hidden agenda of any sort, we do believe that God will honor our intentions and efforts. How and when is purely His business - I frankly haven't a clue how it will come about. But, we are walking in faith, trusting that by humbly, demurely participating in this project that God is going to send us more people and more resources to help those in desperate need of e3 teams, tools and training!
We have, however, fielded scores of requests from Churches and individuals for copies of these beautiful videos and other supporting materials ranging from evangelism and discipleship tools, to collateral pieces such as shirts. We will be responding to this unexpected development, though true to our long history and current commitment, many of these materials will be made available as free downloads or as inexpensively as possible.
IAM2 has sky-rocketed in 3 weeks to the top 1% of 3.5 million web sites. It is getting local, national and international attention - almost all favorable even from secular public due to the incredibly high quality. We believe that is going to positively accrue resources for us to do more of our core ministry!
Already, the website has opened communication with churches around the country who are interested in evangelism, many who have never had previous contact with e3 Partners. We hope to grow these new relationships to also include domestic and international church planting activities.
And finally, this project has given us a wealth of experience in designing and developing truly world-class communication tools. I believe this is going to prove a wonderful "testing ground" for even greater applications with our Blackbaud software and social networking tools you'll soon see in January!
How Can IAMSECOND.COM Help Your e3 Ministry?
Over time, God will reveal more. But, here are a couple of suggestions for now. Tell every church you serve that you have a new tool to point them towards... http://www.iamsecond.com/ Encourage them to train their people to share the Gospel in their everyday life. We will soon have special collateral material for this site and of course Evangecube training remains the most effective evangelism tool and training at your disposal. (http://www.simplysharejesus.com/ ) Offer to provide this training to their church as "value added" ministry. If you prefer to have help on this, just let us know. Any of us in the Cabinet, me included, will be happy to come speak and train in general and share about the I Am Second opportunities specifically. I assure you, your stock will only go up with pastors and youth leaders as you share these resources with them!
Scripture and the Life of Jesus Teach Us That We Are Really Third...so why "I Am Second"?
Indeed, the model of Christ and the teaching of Paul, as clearly seen in Philippians, teach us that our interests are third. God's interests (glory and honor) are first. Others' are second. We are third. It's a little thing called "dying to self" and "taking up your cross daily".
But, it all starts with this confession, "I am second because Christ is first in my life."We thought long and prayed hard about this issue. But the truth is, until you make that confession you won't - indeed can't - truly put others ahead of yourself. Until you dethrone self and install Christ as Savior, you don't have the inclination, much less power to make yourself third. But, as you grow as a disciple, you come to follow Him as Lord and realize you serve your Master by serving others.
This site serves first and foremost as an evangelistic tool. It is designed to catch the attention of the seeker who then goes on to discover Who is first and how to follow Him. It is a platform for believers to open a dialogue with their friends and family, leading them to Christ and eventually teaching them to "obey all" that He has taught us. It is a Gospel tool, not a site that attempts to cover everything else it then means to then follow Christ as a disciple. There are a couple of other "sites" that cover that part...The Bible and The Church!
And finally, from a communication standpoint, Nathan cited one of the biggest fans of I am Second, Christen Nutter, who said it well:"Consider the audience. This site was designed for people who have never even thought of putting something first in their lives other than themselves. They are second to none. So the idea of placing something else in first place is new and a significant bridge to cross. It is step one."
Learning to live and love as Christ then comes in community - the Body. And that is why in this, as in all things e3, we involve the Church and point people towards growing in their relationship with Christ as part of His bride!
I trust that this lengthy explanation will help you understand this project better and assist your communication with others who may have questions about I Am Second. Please feel free to call or email me if you have further questions or suggestions.
Why "I Am Second"? Because it is a God thing.
Why am I second? Because Christ is first in my life.
Where does that lead? A life of sacrificial service to God and others.
Here to serve!
Curtis Hail
e3 President
Saturday, January 3, 2009
e3 Staff Survey Report
Date: December 31, 2008
e3 Staff Survey and a Happy New Year to You!
As promised, we are spreading a little more holiday cheer as we start the New Year off right with the results of our recent staff survey. First, let me express my appreciation to the 141 of you who completed the survey. This is an outstanding response and we are thankful that you invested yourself in this process which will help all of us work together for a better e3 Partners!
Claudia Adame and I thoroughly reviewed the results with Dr. John Brunstetter to understand them from every conceivable perspective – by office, by missionary or administrative staff status, full-time, part-time, associate – slicing it every way possible. We will next work through the reports with the Cabinet, and then with the various department leaders and new field ministry team leaders. After the upcoming International Conference, having fully briefed all those in the leadership structure, we will post the results on-line so staff can see the complete statistical details of the survey. Throughout 2009 you will be involved with your respective work group to analyze and work on the areas to be improved.
In the meantime, the following report will give you about 90% of the most meaningful results…
The results were extraordinarily encouraging, as well as helpful. As a reminder, the categories that you reported on included: Purpose & Direction, Morale, Fairness & Equity, Immediate Supervisor, Communication, Quality of Work Life and You & Your Peers. There were about sixty questions asked across these categories, along with a very enlightening open-ended comments section.
The answers and comments were content rich. As mentioned, we will systematically address each of the significant issues throughout the year, but for now, here is the bottom line and the major highlights.
e3 Partners scored higher than the national norm – often, significantly so – on every question and in every major category. The national average has been developed over twenty years, with over twenty thousand employees of small and large organizations in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. The scale was 1 to 6. “5s” are outstanding, “4s” are good but need work, and “3s” are definite growth areas needing immediate action.
Happily there were only a couple of questions out of sixty that fall in this last, most urgent category. Not surprisingly, these areas have to do with internal communication – which according to the national norm is apparently an area that chronically plagues most organizations! So, here for your prayers and input, and here for your celebration are the lows and highs of the survey:
Here are the lowest five scores:
* 3.78 I am kept informed of what is going on outside my immediate work group
* 3.87 Employee input is asked for and responded to
* 4.01 Change is communicated before it happens
* 4.07 Communication is good between immediate work groups
* 4.43 Systems and procedures in my immediate work group are adequate
And, what are the 3 things least important to you?
* Promotion and professional development
* Job security
* Money
Now give yourself a “high five” for these top five scores:
*5.50 I know what the overall ministry stands for
*5.45 I know what my job is
*5.36 The leadership of the overall ministry has integrity
*5.32 I like working here
*5.30 Act with mutual trust and respect
And, what are the 3 things most important to you?
* Loyalty and support of the overall ministry
* Feeling informed
* Strong and positive relationship with my supervisor
The results were outstanding and the information, while not surprising, is excellent confirmation of many current initiatives, as well as being a “wake up call” for other concerns. Yes, it is all very positive. However, we still have a lot of work to do. We are not satisfied with simply being “above average”.
We are dedicating ourselves this year to achieving “5s” on every question. It comes as no surprise that the overall category needing most attention (lowest score) is “Communication” at 4.20 (national norm 3.78). Happily, many of the initiatives to be discussed at the Conference will have a positive impact on the weaker issues identified. Indeed, this very survey with its resulting dialogue and improvements are a part of improving that internal communication climate.
Again, thank you for taking the time to participate in the survey. And thank you in advance for doing your part to improve every aspect of our ministry, so together we may glorify God to the max!
Happy New Year!
Curtis Hail
President
e3 Staff Survey and a Happy New Year to You!
As promised, we are spreading a little more holiday cheer as we start the New Year off right with the results of our recent staff survey. First, let me express my appreciation to the 141 of you who completed the survey. This is an outstanding response and we are thankful that you invested yourself in this process which will help all of us work together for a better e3 Partners!
Claudia Adame and I thoroughly reviewed the results with Dr. John Brunstetter to understand them from every conceivable perspective – by office, by missionary or administrative staff status, full-time, part-time, associate – slicing it every way possible. We will next work through the reports with the Cabinet, and then with the various department leaders and new field ministry team leaders. After the upcoming International Conference, having fully briefed all those in the leadership structure, we will post the results on-line so staff can see the complete statistical details of the survey. Throughout 2009 you will be involved with your respective work group to analyze and work on the areas to be improved.
In the meantime, the following report will give you about 90% of the most meaningful results…
The results were extraordinarily encouraging, as well as helpful. As a reminder, the categories that you reported on included: Purpose & Direction, Morale, Fairness & Equity, Immediate Supervisor, Communication, Quality of Work Life and You & Your Peers. There were about sixty questions asked across these categories, along with a very enlightening open-ended comments section.
The answers and comments were content rich. As mentioned, we will systematically address each of the significant issues throughout the year, but for now, here is the bottom line and the major highlights.
e3 Partners scored higher than the national norm – often, significantly so – on every question and in every major category. The national average has been developed over twenty years, with over twenty thousand employees of small and large organizations in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. The scale was 1 to 6. “5s” are outstanding, “4s” are good but need work, and “3s” are definite growth areas needing immediate action.
Happily there were only a couple of questions out of sixty that fall in this last, most urgent category. Not surprisingly, these areas have to do with internal communication – which according to the national norm is apparently an area that chronically plagues most organizations! So, here for your prayers and input, and here for your celebration are the lows and highs of the survey:
Here are the lowest five scores:
* 3.78 I am kept informed of what is going on outside my immediate work group
* 3.87 Employee input is asked for and responded to
* 4.01 Change is communicated before it happens
* 4.07 Communication is good between immediate work groups
* 4.43 Systems and procedures in my immediate work group are adequate
And, what are the 3 things least important to you?
* Promotion and professional development
* Job security
* Money
Now give yourself a “high five” for these top five scores:
*5.50 I know what the overall ministry stands for
*5.45 I know what my job is
*5.36 The leadership of the overall ministry has integrity
*5.32 I like working here
*5.30 Act with mutual trust and respect
And, what are the 3 things most important to you?
* Loyalty and support of the overall ministry
* Feeling informed
* Strong and positive relationship with my supervisor
The results were outstanding and the information, while not surprising, is excellent confirmation of many current initiatives, as well as being a “wake up call” for other concerns. Yes, it is all very positive. However, we still have a lot of work to do. We are not satisfied with simply being “above average”.
We are dedicating ourselves this year to achieving “5s” on every question. It comes as no surprise that the overall category needing most attention (lowest score) is “Communication” at 4.20 (national norm 3.78). Happily, many of the initiatives to be discussed at the Conference will have a positive impact on the weaker issues identified. Indeed, this very survey with its resulting dialogue and improvements are a part of improving that internal communication climate.
Again, thank you for taking the time to participate in the survey. And thank you in advance for doing your part to improve every aspect of our ministry, so together we may glorify God to the max!
Happy New Year!
Curtis Hail
President
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