ritchiemiller.org

I told our staff on Monday that we don’t want balanced people on the payroll at Avalon Church. We want unbalanced, sold-out, Jesus-Freaks, who work their tails off during work time and play their tails off during play time. I don’t know very many balanced people who are successful.

It is impossible to be balanced in the ministry. Some times of the year you are just going to have to work long hours and sometimes you get more free time. It is just the nature of the beast. What you must guard against is never having recovery time.

I have noticed in playing racquetball that I have to work myself to exhaustion and then have a recovery period if I am to get better. Both are important.

Here’s to living an unbalanced life.

What do you think?

Ritchie

My sophomore year in high school was the first time that I got to play varsity basketball. I was pumped about making the team and I even got to start. The very first game we played that season was a “barn burner” against another small school. The game was close throughout and the lead kept changing hands. One of our players was a guy named Phil. Phil did not listen very well. It wasn’t just that he did not pay attention, but also that he did not like doing what the coaches told him. He described himself as a “one-man-scoring-machine.”

Phil got so obsessed with how many points he scored that he kept asking the score keeper about his total while the game was in progress. During one particularly tense moment he got confused about which basket was ours and he scored for the other team! He came running back down the court with a big smile while we just stared at him and said, “You idiot, you just scored for the other team!”

We lost that game by one basket.

What do you do when a volunteer, a staff member, or an employee scores for the other team by failing at a task, doing a task poorly, or simply does not do what you ask? This was a huge discussion during our church-wide staff meeting yesterday. We had great participation and, I think, a wonderful learning experience. Here is the essence of what we asked:

1. Is the vision clear? Do you understand the vision and articulate it clearly? Have you said it in creative ways that stick? It is easy to think that people understand the vision just because you do. They probably have not spent as much time studying or wrestling with it as you have, so repeat it often and clearly.

2. Is their part clear? A good volunteer or employee scores for the other team when they do not understand what their specific role is. Have you invested the effort and time into making sure that they understand their role in making it happen?

3. Is the training adequate? Sometimes people fail because they have not been properly trained. These are cases where attitude is good and competency is good but the training is lacking. You can have a great team and yet execute poorly when training is insufficient.

4. Is this teammate properly positioned? Sometimes a great volunteer or employee fails because of a bad fit. Put them in another position and they will shine. Their greatest value will be mined when they serve in their area of giftedness and passion. Positioning can be enhanced through building their confidence and celebrating can be one of the most valuable tools you have.

5. When do you permanently reposition? The standard is different for employees than it is for volunteers. Sometimes a volunteer can be repositioned for a better fit and it works out great. Employees may have to be dealt with more swiftly. Insubordination, poor attitude, laziness, or incompetence will surface no matter where this person is in an organization. Deal with it swiftly and radically. Each of our church staff agreed that this kind of employee is a cancer and must be removed quickly.

What do you think?

Have a great day!

Ritchie

Occasionally, on Monday mornings, I will let loose the madness and whatever is on my mind will flow forth like an artesian well…or at least like a $3 garden hose from Wal Mart. Here I gush.

* I love Monday’s. I know that is weird, but it always feels like a new beginning, a fresh start.

* I love Sunday’s even more, but it does seem like they come every third day now. Man, time flies!

* Speaking of the first day of the week, Avalon was off the charts again yesterday. You people amaze me.

* Our volunteers are awesome! A+ Kids, Kids Town, The Uprising, The Resistance, Guest Services, Worship and Tech, and the CARE team all knocked the ball out of the park this weekend. If I could give you all a hug right now I would, but I am all gnarly looking.

* Dinner With The Pastor was great! You guys did an amazing job. I made lots of new friends last night and met lots of new people that I have never talked to. I love the new format.

* I loved the Olympics, but I am glad they are over. Michael Phelps rules!

* My small group had a movie night at my house on Friday. We watched the Manchurian Candidate in my man-cave/movie room. It was awesome.

* We are planning the HOPE Christmas Give-Away and it will be the best yet.

* We have a staff retreat in 3 or 4 weeks. We are taking around 30 staff and their spouses to Gatlinburg Falls. If you want to stay in the best resort in the whole area check out what they have done at this place. Tell Mitch Mitchell, the owner, you are from Avalon. He won’t give you a break on the price, but he will tell you that he knows me.

* Thank God for the rain!

* Sorry, Florida. You are really getting rained on. Better get used to it for the Georgia/Florida game because you are going to get pounded.

* I opened a page on Face Book this weekend. Already talked to over 100 people I have not connected with in years. That was cool. I can see how that thing could be a black hole that sucks everything into it.

* I will play in my first racquetball tournament ever on Saturday. I will probably get crushed, but I am loving playing.

* My men’s group was awesome. I met with 12 guys for 4 weeks. We are going to do a project together where we help an older couple, a single mom, or someone recovering from an illness. Should be fun.

* Staff , Executive Team , and Finance Team meetings scheduled all day today.

* The Dark Knight is still the best movie of the year. If you do not agree I would challenge you to a duel of wits, but you are unarmed, and therefore, an unworthy opponent.

* Brooke will be 13 in October. The other day she and one of her girl friends, and three middle school boys were hanging out at our house. They were getting ready to watch a movie and I suddenly started yelling at her and acting mad and telling her that if I caught those boys touching her or getting too close to her that I would kick their butts and hurt them. Then I would send them home to their parents and if they did not like it I would kick their butts too. There was an amazing silence. I know that those boys thought I was a psycho. They thought I was serious. I think Brooke probably thought I was serious too. I can’t tell you how much fun that was. I have noticed that those boys really get nervous whenever I see them now. This may be God’s reward to me for having to put up with teenagers living in my house. Thank you, Jesus, for this tremendous blessing!

Peace.

Ritchie

You may be wondering what Dinner With The Pastor is. Is it a formal event? Is it a date with the pastor? Will I stare deeply into your eyes and ask for money? Will I ask you to explain the book of Revelation to everyone while wearing a bad suit and a comb-over?

Heck, no! But we will have free food and child care. We have even been known to have a laugh or two. I am not promising that Dusty, our executive pastor, is going to take his shirt off and dance, but I have heard rumors.

One of the disadvantages of pastoring a large church is that you don’t get to know everybody. For the first couple of years I knew everyone by name, I knew important events in their lives, and it was cool because it was so personal. Now, I don’t even know the names of everyone of our preschool volunteers. Thank God we have a wonderful church staff, each of whom knows the people in their area of ministry. By the way, our staff is awesome! We operate with about half the number of staff members that the average church our size has. They are efficient, hard-working, and God-called and I love them.

Dinner With The Pastor is one way that we get people connected here at Avalon. It is an introduction to our ministries, to our process, to small groups, to our staff, and it is the one time that I get to hang out with people who are new to this church. You hear us talk a lot about a few things at Avalon - Identify with Christ through salvation and baptism, Involve yourself in a ministry and a small group, Invest your resources into God’s work here at Avalon and invest God’s Word into your life, and Invite someone to church with you and someone to serve along side of you. If you attend DWTP it will all come together and make sense to you.

We have made some improvements to DWTP. You will be able to sign the church covenant and become a covenant member. I am doing the teaching now. I will tell a brief history of the church and share the vision of where we are going. You will be able to meet our entire staff and learn more about each ministry. You will be able to sign up to serve in a ministry. You will have a chance to ask me questions. We will have it at the church instead of my home and this will allow us to provide childcare.

If you want to learn more about Avalon or you want to become a covenant member you need to come to DWTP. If you plan on attending this Sunday afternoon at 5:00 you have to sign up by today. If you have not signed up yet you can e-mail me @ ritchie@avalonchurch.net. Do it by 5:00 pm or you will miss the dancing Dusty.

Have a great day.

Ritchie

As a high school graduation gift I took Brittney, our oldest daughter, to Paris this summer. We had an awesome time. I have always loved art and history and Brittney, so I was in my element.

While we were there we toured the Cathedral of Notre Dame. I took this terrible picture, which in no way captures the beauty and majesty of this magnificent work of architecture. (bet you are glad God called me to be a pastor instead of a photographer, right?)

While we were there I noticed that I was not the only one gawking. Everybody was just standing around and staring. It got me to thinking. When does a church stop being a church and just become a museum? I am sure the architect meant for the beauty of his art to draw people’s attention to God, but there was no worshipping, no serving, and no churching going on — just gawking. Just outside the cathedral were millions of people. There were poor people, sick people, needy people, hurting people, angry people, sad people, empty people, lots of people who needed Jesus, but the church was filled with gawkers.

Many Christians are good at all kinds of standing and staring in the church. We stare instead of serve. We gawk instead of give. We complain and criticize rather than work or worship.

God lays it out in James 1:22.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Maybe the old Nike slogan was inspired by what God told us to do. Just do it. It is more than just say it, or just hear it, or just blog about it, or just consume it. For those who serve God faithfully He promises to say, “Well done.”

Ritchie

Last week I challenged our church to give over and above our regular giving so we could pay off all of our debt before launching a new campus. One of our church members gave a check for $540,000 to wipe out the remaining debt. You can imagine that I was pretty pumped!

I do believe that this is a blessing, but it is also a test. Will we obey God in the matter of giving? Will we still have everyone participate? Will we launch out in faith and go to a new level? Will we pass the test so that God will trust us to minister to tens of thousands?

I believe we will. I just know you and how you normally act. You always rise to the occasion. Thanks, Avalon. I love you in the good times and the bad and you amaze me.

Let’s launch out into deep waters.

Ritchie

I have heard the old proverb “never criticize until you have walked a mile in someone else’s shoes.” That may not be exact, but it is close enough that you get the idea. That is a great if we are talking about not having a critical spirit, a self-righteous attitude, or a holier-than-thou approach to Christianity. That is, in essence, what Jesus meant in Matthew 7:1-2 when he said, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” Please do not come up to me and misapply that verse the next time you hear a preacher say that something is a sin or that a person is going to hell if they do not receive Christ. I might just kick you in the shin and punch you in the throat in the name of Chuck Norris. He is talking about pretending that you are better than others, or that you have no sin in your life, or that your stuff don’t stink. Anyway, I digress.

Back to our proverb, it is a bad idea to walk in someone’s else’s shoes. I don’t mean the understanding part. That is good. I am not even talking about the obvious gross factor of walking in someone else’s fungus. Yuck! What I am talking about is wearing someone else’s armor. You can’t walk in someone else’s giftedness. Saul tried to make David wear his armor before he went out and kicked Goliath’s hind quarters. Didn’t work. Never has, never will. You can’t walk in my calling. I can’t run your race. You can’t fulfill my purpose and I can’t serve God with your gifts. I have to use my own and so do you.

I know that I have been frustrated before because I was trying to walk in someone else’s shoes. It is OK to follow someone else’s example. It is a bad idea to try to BE them. I don’t preach or lead like others because God made me for a purpose. You can’t do what God has called you to do by being someone else either. We each have to use our own gifts.

God made me the way He chose to for a reason. He made you the way He did because He has a plan. How sad it is for pastors, church planters, leaders, and everyday Christians to try and be someone else. IT NEVER WORKS! God did not intend for it to work. He made you to be you and me to be me. Cool, huh?

When you think about it, not walking in your own giftedness is a slap at God. It’s like we think that He did not know what He was doing, so we need to help Him out.

So here’s to walking in your own shoes. It smells better, anyway.

Ritchie