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Caring For the Golden Goose
Aesop tells of an old farmer with a very special
goose. This goose looked like any other goose, but she laid eggs unlike
any other eggs. The eggs were solid gold. The farmer and he wife were
thrilled, they had never owned much. Their lives had been filled with
endless work in the hot blistering sun. Now they were blessed with this
incredible goose that laid pure golden eggs. You can imagine their
excitement as they waited each morning for the mother goose to lay yet
another golden egg. But the farmer and his faithful wife grew weary of
waiting for the daily one egg to be deposited in the feather lined nest.
They wanted more gold and they wanted it now. So they decided the goose
must be made of gold inside. In order to get the gold, they decided to
kill the goose and remove all the gold so they would be rich now instead
of later. So they killed the goose but inside they only found goose
organs and not a single ounce of gold.
The moral of this story is “Don’t love the gold
more than the goose!” Take good care of the goose that lays the golden
eggs. In ministry terms that means take care of the workers that God
gives you.
Now if the old farmer was very wise like most
farmers are, how do you think he would have cared for his goose? If that
goose was mine I would protect it. I would watch over it carefully, feed
it the best food money could buy, see that all of its needs were met.
Are you getting the picture? These volunteers that God has trusted you with
are the ones that are doing all the work. They are the ones that are
teaching the kids, making the visits, on and on. They are making your
vision of reaching children possible. You just can’t do it without them
unless you have a very small ministry or plan to have a very small
ministry soon.
Do you value the workers and team that God
has sent you?
Then show them!
Need some ideas? This CD by Steve Greer is packed with great
ideas to help you do it!
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Do you value the workers and team that God
has sent you like the farmer did the golden goose? Let me be very plain,
are you only out for what you can get out of them or do you care for
them with a shepherd’s heart?
A leader with a shepherd’s heart is diligent to
care for their workers in the following ways:
1. Value them as an individual.
2. Praise them.
3. Love them, pray for them.
4. Don’t overwork them.
5. Watch over them spiritually.
6. Invest in them. Train them.
Value them as an individual. Every person needs to
feel like they have something to contribute. When people don’t feel
valued for their investment in the program, they will burn out even when
they believe in the vision. Discover their unique abilities and talents.
Become a student of your workers. Praise them. Don’t assume that they
know how much you love them. Tell them . Express your appreciation with
sincere words of praise. Celebrate their victories and accomplishments
in group settings.
Love them as a person.
Be concerned about their
personal lives. Learn to be observant. See what is not being said.
Listen to them. Ask questions, without prying, about their families,
their jobs and their personal interests. Pray for them. Write their
names on your prayer list and consistently call their names in prayer.
But don’t overwork them.
It is easy in both small
and large churches to find a sucker, excuse me a volunteer that will do
anything you ask, but please don’t overwork these people. Watch over
them spiritually. See that they are in a least one service a week.
Invest in them.
It would be ridiculous to expect a
field to grow anything except weeds unless you plant seed in the field.
If you want to grow corn, you must invest seed in that field. If you
want the precious workers, God has given you to produce abundant crops,
you must invest in them.
Train them.
Nothing is more frustrating than
wanting to do something, and not having the skills to do it. Always set
your workers up for success. Train them to tell stories. Train them to
use visuals. Train them to handle discipline problems correctly. Pour
yourself into these precious workers.
Let Us Help!
Host a
conference
in your church.
Reproducible
Training CDs for
your teachers to listen to at home.
Basic Skills
Use
these CDs to help you:
12 Tools to Build Your Teachers:
Titles:
* Great Ways to Use Great Visuals
*
You are a Gift to the Church
*
How to Use Puppets in your Class
*
How to Use Costume Characters
*
Make the Bible Come Alive
*
You Can Be a Godly Leader
*
Getting Organized
*
Recruiting Ideas
*
Discipline that Works
*
Involving Kids in Ministry
*
How to Tell a Great Story
*
Growing Kids in the Word
Click here to read more information
about Sunday School and children church Teacher training to
equip and inspire children's ministry staff and leaders.
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150 creative, inexpensive reproducible ways to say, "You are
appreciated!"
