Hitting the Missional Bulls Eye

Matt Emmons is an American shooter who competed in the Athens Olympics in 2004. He held a commanding three point lead in the Olympic 50-meter three-position rifle final. All he needed to preserve a gold medal win was to safely hit the target. Any shot close to the bulls eye would suffice. A perfect score — dead center in a bull’s-eye that is smaller than a dime — is worth 10.9 in the final round. Matt only needed an 8.0 for gold. From the standing position, Matt squeezed off his final shot. It was good enough to retain the lead and earn the gold. However, the score did not register on the scoreboard. He gestured to the judges, as if to suggest something was wrong with the target. The judges huddled and confirmed the worst. Matt shot from lane three, but hit the bulls eye in lane two. He dropped from a certain gold medal to eighth place.

Perfect execution doesn't count if you are perfectly executing the wrong things. Missional alignment is all about accomplishing goals that are truly mission critical. Consider this as you develop your task list for this week. If you and your church perfectly execute your plans, will the mission of God be directly advanced? Thom Rainer urges leaders to "say no to almost everything." Ruthlessly say no to the extraneous this week. This will buy you the time you need to make a more significan impact on behalf of your mission.

As for Matt, he landed on his feet. A Czech shooter, Katy, was watching the Matt's match. Katy felt so bad for Matt that she approached him later that day to console him. The chemistry between the two was instant. They began dating, and the couple married in 2007. They competed together in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Rich Johnstone, DOM

Mid-Valley Churches and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

Mid-Valley Churches not only engage in local missions through our Association, but they also support world-wide missions through the Cooperative program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. In 2009, over 5,300 international missionaries engaged 1,100 people groups resulting in 24,600 new churches and 506,000 overseas baptisms.  37 Mid-Valley churches supported world missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  Trinity Southern Baptist Church gave the most dollars, and Sierra Baptist Church in Ahwahnee was the top per capita giver.
Mid-Valley Churches who gave to Lottie Moon in 2009:

• Baptist Temple, Fresno
• Bethel Southern Baptist, Madera
• Cambodian Mission, Fresno
• Copper Springs, Clovis
• Cornelia Avenue Southern Baptist, Fresno
• Crosspoint Church, Fresno
• East Fresno Baptist, Fresno
• El Encino Baptist, Fresno
• First Baptist Church, Firebaugh
• First Baptist Church, Mendota
• First Baptist Church, Oakhurst
• First Southern Baptist, Chowchilla
• First Southern Baptist, Coalinga
• First Southern Baptist, Hanford
• First Southern Baptist, Kerman
• First Southern Baptist, Madera
• First Southern Baptist, Reedley
• First Southern Baptist, Snager
• First Southern Baptist, Selma
• Golden Valley Church, Madera
• Grace Community Church, Chowchilla
• Grace Community Church, Madera
• Iglesia Bautista, Kerman
• Iglesia Bautista Central, Fresno
• Iglesia Bautista Central, Riverdale
• Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza, Madera
• Jewels Community Church, Clovis
• Lifeway Baptist Church, Fresno
• NewLife Community Church, Fresno
• Northpointe Community Church, Fresno
• Oakview Baptist Church, Auberry
• Paraclete Missionary Baptist Church, Fresno
• Sierra Baptist Church, Ahwahnee
• Sierra Heights Baptist Church, Fresno
• Swan Avenue Baptist Church, Sanger
• Trinity Southern Baptist Church, Fresno
• Woodward Park Baptist Church, Fresno

Weekly News Update - June 24, 2010

Read the latest weekly news update from Mid-Valley Southern Baptist Association here.

News Update - 6/17/2010

Read the latest weekly news update from Mid-Valley Southern Baptist Association here.

The Leadership Opportunity

Leadership and Conflict: Interwoven Threads

In every sphere of life—home, work, family, and especially the church—leadership really matters.
As we all know, leadership is hard, but it is perhaps most challenging in those moments where leadership and conflict intersect. If you’re a leader, you often sit at the center of conflict—those times when tension surfaces in a leaders’ meeting, when you are managing a difficult change, or when the angry couple is sitting in your office.

And leaders don’t just see other people’s conflicts—at some time or other, every leader has inadvertently caused a conflict through an unpopular decision, poor communication, or even one careless word. Even in the healthiest churches, conflict and leadership are interwoven threads.

The Leader’s Response
When conflict threatens to shake the foundations of your church, wise leadership can hold your church together, creating a solid structure that can withstand the forces of damaging conflict. However, all too often, leaders default to worldly solutions by avoiding or attacking, and they end up standing by as the building crumbles. Compounding this problem is the recent unhealthy infiltration of corporate thinking into church leadership—the “results over relationships” approach may sound good, but it actually adds to the damage.

Conflict provides an opportunity for the church leader to respond in a way that is markedly different—living out the gospel of Jesus Christ in those critical moments when conflict and leadership intersect.

A Biblical Alternative

While many worthwhile resources on leadership exist, The Leadership Opportunity stands alone in addressing this distinct area of conflict and leadership. Based on over 25 years of work with churches and church leaders and as part of a larger family of resources for churches, The Leadership Opportunity is a solidly biblical resource, providing highly practical help for the common conflicts that all leaders face. It was created by church leaders for church leaders, and it will help any church lay the solid foundation of leadership needed in order to build a culture of peace.



FREE copies of a promo DVD introducing this resource are available at the associational office.