Service Archives | W. David Phillips

I hate asking for help

Don’t you?

It’s not so much of a problem if I don’t know something or don’t know how to do something. I’ve always been a willing learner. It’s just been my nature.

But if I need help on something I should know how to do or if I need help in a personal matter, I’ve always found it difficult to seek help from others. Can’t google solve everything?

With the economic downturn, my profession (pastor) and my secondary level of expertise (consultant, programmer, coach), my income has taken a hit like everyone else’s income. The past couple of years have been difficult. And unfortunately, people don’t want to hire pastors with doctoral degrees to sell cell phones. So I’ve had to ask for help.

Did I mention that I hate doing that?

For most of us, there’s a bit of pride in all this. Actually, there’s a whole bunch of pride. We don’t want a handout. We don’t want to live on other people’s dime. We’re not talking welfare…

There is also a desire to be self-sufficient. Except that we Christians should know that self-sufficiency is a farce in the economy of God. Why? Because it’s God’s responsibility to provide for his children. That’s the role of the Father. The company you work for or the church you pastor doesn’t provide for you. God does.

Sometimes that pride and self-sufficiency that we have built up has to be stripped down so that our dependence on God is lived. And very real.

For some reason it’s easy to ask God for help. Maybe because he’s God and God is Spirit so we don’t have to look him in the eye when we make our request.

But to ask for help from a friend or even from family…well, you know…Continue Reading …

Giving Back

I admit it, I’m a fan of American Idol. And tonight was the second year of “Idol Gives Back”. I saw videos of rock stars touching people in Uganda, Reese Witherspoon in New Orleans at after-school programs in depressed neighborhoods, and Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus visiting depressed parts of Kentucky.

And I asked myself again, Where’s the Church?

American Idol raised over $70 Million last year. They may top $100 million this year.

If the percentages from 2006 hold to form, Southern Baptist churches will give $557,226,488.89 to the Cooperative Program this year. If, on average, each church gave 5% to the Cooperative Program, that means Southern Baptist churches will take in $11,144,529,777.80 during 2007-2008. Folks, that is over eleven billion dollars. That means that churches will KEEP $10,587,303,288.91. There are 44,223 churches in the SBC. Know how much that is per church? Drum roll please…Continue Reading …

Servant-Ship

Leaders we admire do not place themselves at the center; they place others there. They do not seek the attention of people; they give it to others. They do not focus on satisfying their own aims and desires; they look for ways to respond to the needs and interests of their constituents. They are not self-centered; they concentrate on the constituent. . . Leaders serve a purpose and the people who have made it possible for them to lead . . . . In serving a purpose, leaders strengthen credibility by demonstrating that they are not in it for themselves; instead, they have the interests of the institution, department, or team and its constituents at heart. Being a servant may not be what many leaders had in mind when they choose to take responsibility for the vision and direction of their organization or team, but serving others is the most glorious and rewarding of all leadership tasks.” ~

James Kouzes and Barry Posner in Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It.