OrlettaCaldwell's blog

Detroit is my hometown. So, of course, it was with great sadness as I witness the bankruptcy of the once mighty General Motors. Many of my friends are greatly affected by this turn of events. On a personal level, I was negatively impacted by GM because of their Dexcool antifreeze that made it necessary for me to buy another car just before I finally had it paid off. Let's just say that I did not buy another GM product.

My girlfriend and I were discussing the bankruptcy and lamented that as former GM owners; the company never did anything to get our business back. It was this attitude that made me a former customer. I brought my Pontiac Grand Prix out of loyalty and it cost me dearly.

One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever received was to “follow the trends”. Following the trends helps one not to get caught up in our immediate circumstances, but carefully and prayerfully consider the future. Below are the Top 10 trends for the 21st Century according to the Institute for Global Futures. I think these trends will affect the church and ministry as a whole. If we fail to see what is coming ahead, we will not be able to serve our congregations, clients and/or customers. In our zeal to hold onto tradition, we may be making organization obsolete. If Jesus was on earth today, he would not have used the metaphor “Fishers of Men”.

Yesterday, during a conference I heard an excellent sermon on Genesis 41 on Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream. However, Verse 9 caught my attention. To set the scene, Pharaoh was disturbed by the dream and wanted an interpretation. It was then that the Chief Butler said “I do remember my faults this day”. Then he told the Pharaoh about Joseph who had the ability to interpret dreams.

As a Consultant, I have the opportunity to work with many non profits. One thing that seems to bug me is the physical appearances of their offices. This came to mind when I walked into organization’s building this week and it was immaculate. The floors were waxed, the furniture was dusted and I didn’t have to climb over piles of rubble or play musical chairs to sit down. Unfortunately, this is not the norm.

In 1 Chronicles 12:32 it is written,"Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do". I have been allowing that scripture to run through my mind for several days. I begin to think who are the men who have the understanding of our times. We have heard a lot from the media, but who has understanding? Certainly not CNN.

I haven't written a blog entry in awhile. There is no excuse other than procrastination. As managers and/or volunteers in Christian ministry many of us wear too many hats. We care too much about everything to pare down our lives. Therefore we tend to become ineffective and overwhelmed. I'm preaching too myself. As a single mom, volunteer, business owner with a day job the load gets heavy.

Donors want financial transparency for churches. The title says it all. The key words in every ministry should be "Accountability" and "Transparency".

I am reading "Tribes" by Seth Godin. I am not finished because I keep stopping at each passage. In one passage, Godin wrote something that I think is instructional for faith-based organizations. It is titled, "Making a Ruckus". He writes that in the past to grow an organization it had to be stable and reliable. To say that you have been in business or celebrating your 100th anniversary was to demonstrate good business practices. This is no longer the case. According to Godin, "People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement, and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring." Later he wrote " New rule: If you want to grow, you need to find customers (or in our case members) who are willing to join you or believe in you or donate to you or support you.

According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the organizers of Twestival raise 250,000 for Charity:Water. http://tinyurl.com/aht9ay It was well below the goal of 1 million, however just think what your ministry can raise by using social networking media such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. As with Twestival, you may not reach your goal, but it is an extra method to raise much needed funds.

My girlfriend Karen Davis and I co-manage a Facebook group called “Joshua Generation”. It was conceived from sermon that we heard at the AME General Conference given by Rt. Rev. Bishop Phillip R Cousin. I re-read God’s charge to Joshua in Joshua 1. John Maxwell’s commentary comparing the leadership styles of Moses vs. Joshua is illuminating. Mr. Maxwell illustrated how the different conditions that the each man faced called for their distinct leadership style. Not that one style was better than the other was, but each approach was necessary for their time and circumstances. Moses’ role was to get the Israelites to the Promised Land this took as Maxwell wrote “diplomacy. Joshua task was to get them into Promised Land.

President Obama (boy I love typing that) is requiring more accountability from all institutions in the United States. One major change in the non profit sector is the new 990 requirements enacted in late 2007. The changes in the new 990 were a sweeping change from the past. An excellent overview of these changes can be read at http://non-profitconsulting.services.officelive.com/Documents/Are%20You%20Ready%20for%20the%20New%20IRS%20990%20Reporting%20Requirements.pdf.

I work with fledging faith-based nonprofits. One of the biggest problems that I encounter is ministries wanting to take on too many issues. They run from ministry to the next. It is frustrating because they work on one project and before I know it they are off to something else. One day they are working in an afterschool program and then its drug abuse prevention. However, they never solve or alleviate any issues. All of the projects are worthy of attention. On the other hand, not all of the projects can be solved by one ministry.

Most of us have heard the quote, "Leaders are Readers". How often have seen or brought a book and never got to it? However to keep up with the various of amount of information it is important to read. I mean read, not gather information on CNN and the like.

In Ecclesiates 3:2-8, Solomon writes that there is a time for everything. Until this year, I never really focus on the fact that sometimes there are times for things that are not that cheery. In the Message Version there is a verse that states there is "A right time to search and another to count your losses."