JCI has a corporate HR department that handles payroll and other global HR initiatives. Also, HR has a separate IT group just for their department. It is completely separate from the rest of IT. I suppose they do that because the main IT group is very focused on helping the Operations side of JCI. Non-production departments often receive little attention from IT and other support groups in general. The money and time is spent on the plants.
Companies that have similarly focused IT groups might consider having dedicated application support IT people for the G&A departments (HR, Finance, Marketing). The rest of IT can support Sales, Operations and Engineering. The G&A IT people could be shared by multiple departments at smaller companies.
"For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Cor 12: 10
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The JCI Way #3
The IT group at JCI has three kinds of work related to helping the business: projects, customer service requests (CSRs), and help desk issues.
Help desk issues are problems people have that can be handled relatively quickly -- usually in a few days. The issues are mainly how-to-use the system, bugs, data corruption, training, etc. JCI has a dedicated staff of people that handle these kinds of issues. If they can't fix the problem, they may get help from Business Analysts, Programmers or other experts.
CSRs are changes to a system that can be done in less then 20 hours. The IT department has a budget to perform CSR work. Once the budget is spent for the fiscal year, only emergency CSRs will be done. CSR requests are sent to IT by business customers. They fill out a form and send it in. All requests go to a steering committee made up of "subject matter experts" from the business and IT people. The steering committee reviews all requests, decides which ones are worthy of working on and then assigns a priority to each request. IT then works on CSRs in order of priority until the money runs out. The reality of the business is that we rarely finish all priority one requests. We keep priority two and below requests on the list but everyone knows they will probably never get done.
Projects are just what they sound like. Each year during budget planning, IT gets a list of projects from each area of the business. We write up mini statements of work that estimate what it will take to meet the business objectives, what it will cost, and what resources are required. All dollars and resource hours (by person) are put into a spreadsheet and organized. This lets us know how much money and people are needed to meet the business needs.
At that point, we start sorting projects by priority and negotiating with the business. The money to pay for each project has to come from somewhere. IT does have a budget for projects but each department in the business needs to get capital dollars for projects as well. The goal is to know what we will be working on next fiscal year and make sure that we have the resources lined up ahead of time. JCI will use consultants in the form of programmers, business analysts and project managers to complete entire projects if internal resources are unavailable. However, the requesting department has to come up with the money.
This appears to be a good way to help plan and to give IT the opportunity to have the resources needed to help the business. A company that never outsourced resources could still use this method to "budget" internal resources. It takes effort to plan on both the business and IT side. The good thing is that the business will see that IT does not have unlimited resources. Making a list of 20 projects and realizing that the business can only afford to do 5 can be an eye-opening experience.
Help desk issues are problems people have that can be handled relatively quickly -- usually in a few days. The issues are mainly how-to-use the system, bugs, data corruption, training, etc. JCI has a dedicated staff of people that handle these kinds of issues. If they can't fix the problem, they may get help from Business Analysts, Programmers or other experts.
CSRs are changes to a system that can be done in less then 20 hours. The IT department has a budget to perform CSR work. Once the budget is spent for the fiscal year, only emergency CSRs will be done. CSR requests are sent to IT by business customers. They fill out a form and send it in. All requests go to a steering committee made up of "subject matter experts" from the business and IT people. The steering committee reviews all requests, decides which ones are worthy of working on and then assigns a priority to each request. IT then works on CSRs in order of priority until the money runs out. The reality of the business is that we rarely finish all priority one requests. We keep priority two and below requests on the list but everyone knows they will probably never get done.
Projects are just what they sound like. Each year during budget planning, IT gets a list of projects from each area of the business. We write up mini statements of work that estimate what it will take to meet the business objectives, what it will cost, and what resources are required. All dollars and resource hours (by person) are put into a spreadsheet and organized. This lets us know how much money and people are needed to meet the business needs.
At that point, we start sorting projects by priority and negotiating with the business. The money to pay for each project has to come from somewhere. IT does have a budget for projects but each department in the business needs to get capital dollars for projects as well. The goal is to know what we will be working on next fiscal year and make sure that we have the resources lined up ahead of time. JCI will use consultants in the form of programmers, business analysts and project managers to complete entire projects if internal resources are unavailable. However, the requesting department has to come up with the money.
This appears to be a good way to help plan and to give IT the opportunity to have the resources needed to help the business. A company that never outsourced resources could still use this method to "budget" internal resources. It takes effort to plan on both the business and IT side. The good thing is that the business will see that IT does not have unlimited resources. Making a list of 20 projects and realizing that the business can only afford to do 5 can be an eye-opening experience.
The JCI Way #2
JCI has full wireless capabilities across our entire building. So, I can undock my laptop and take it anywhere in the building and still have connectivity. That is great when you want to have a meeting somewhere and still collaborate.
Not only that, but every JCI facility that I have been to so far is the same way. I can show up at the Arizona facility, plug my laptop in to the network there, login and have access to all my stuff just like I was at my desk. I could also use wireless there as well.
There is no on-site IT staff at any JCI plant at all. Everything is managed remotely and it just works. That really helps productivity to be able to go somewhere and not have to spend an hour or so trying to get connected.
That would be a good goal for any geographically diverse enterprise: fast, hassle-free access to the wireless or wired network at any company facility.
This is the second post in "The JCI Way" series.
Not only that, but every JCI facility that I have been to so far is the same way. I can show up at the Arizona facility, plug my laptop in to the network there, login and have access to all my stuff just like I was at my desk. I could also use wireless there as well.
There is no on-site IT staff at any JCI plant at all. Everything is managed remotely and it just works. That really helps productivity to be able to go somewhere and not have to spend an hour or so trying to get connected.
That would be a good goal for any geographically diverse enterprise: fast, hassle-free access to the wireless or wired network at any company facility.
This is the second post in "The JCI Way" series.
The JCI Way #1
I recently started working at a company with the initials JCI. Its a nice company to work for and they have a lot of great ideas. I'd like to share some of these ideas mainly to keep track of them and possibly to help anyone who stumbles onto this blog.
Everyone in my department and many people in my building have to have cell phones. We may get work related calls at the office. So, its important that the cell phones get a good signal. My building has a cell phone signal booster on each corner of the three story building where I work. We get good reception everywhere. That's a good idea for any company that expects their people to use cell phones to communicate with each other.
"For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Cor 12: 10
Everyone in my department and many people in my building have to have cell phones. We may get work related calls at the office. So, its important that the cell phones get a good signal. My building has a cell phone signal booster on each corner of the three story building where I work. We get good reception everywhere. That's a good idea for any company that expects their people to use cell phones to communicate with each other.
"For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Cor 12: 10
Friday, December 09, 2005
Do you smell something burning?
Some day, I'm going to write a book. The title will be, IF I get to heaven, my clothes will smell like smoke. I hope to expound upon the dichotomy of Christianity that says, on the one hand, I am totally depraved and on the other hand, I am perfect.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul lists some bad stuff that his readers had done. Then he says, that they were bad people, but now are not. Does that mean that they stopped sinning? I don't think so.
Hebrews 10 says that "if we keep on sinning" we are in danger of hell. What does it mean to keep on sinning? How do we become new creations? How do we act as sanctified Christians?
I think the difference is that we struggle with sin. People who do not know Christ accept sinful ways as okay. They "keep on sinning" because they think their choices are okay. Christians still sin, but they regret it. Is that hypocritical? I don't think so. Its human nature to sin. Its God's will for us to feel contrition and seek forgiveness.
Hmmm... So, what am I saying? Anyone who feels guilty about bad things they do is a Christian? Only people who can do bad things with no remorse are on the highway to hell? That can't be true because the vast majority of people feel bad about things they do from time to time. If you ask the average person if they are good or bad, they will say that they are "mostly good." They realize that they do bad things, but they do good things at least 51% of the time so its okay. That may be true. It may be that most people are mostly good (from a worldly standpoint) and feel bad about things they do wrong. So does that mean that most people are going to heaven?
Maybe its not so much making individual choices or even repetitive choices and not regretting them that is important. What does make the difference is making life choices and not regretting them. So, adultery is not the unforgivable sin, but living with someone who you are not married to, sleeping with them and refusing to get married or acknowledge that what you are doing is wrong, is. This type of behavior is what indicates that a heart is hard and closed to God's call.
Getting drunk may not put one on the road to perdition. Being an alcoholic may not either if one fights against the urges. Its giving in to the lifestyle or not feeling Godly remorse that is damning.
That is why the bible talks about how Christians need to warn other Christians who are caught up in sin. We should not judge people for the sins they commit individually. We should cast a discerning eye on people's lifestyles and warn them if their persistent behavior is potentially destructive. It is the persistent nature of sin that is damning.
Now, I am not saying that simply fighting against evil is enough to keep someone out of hell. It is only faith in Jesus Christ as savior that gives a person the key to the pearly gates. What I am saying is that every person struggles with sin. We have all gone astray. We all fall short of the goal of perfection. This struggle does not disqualify a person from heaven or mean that Christians are phony. It simply proves that we need a savior and shows how great God is to help us.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul lists some bad stuff that his readers had done. Then he says, that they were bad people, but now are not. Does that mean that they stopped sinning? I don't think so.
Hebrews 10 says that "if we keep on sinning" we are in danger of hell. What does it mean to keep on sinning? How do we become new creations? How do we act as sanctified Christians?
I think the difference is that we struggle with sin. People who do not know Christ accept sinful ways as okay. They "keep on sinning" because they think their choices are okay. Christians still sin, but they regret it. Is that hypocritical? I don't think so. Its human nature to sin. Its God's will for us to feel contrition and seek forgiveness.
Hmmm... So, what am I saying? Anyone who feels guilty about bad things they do is a Christian? Only people who can do bad things with no remorse are on the highway to hell? That can't be true because the vast majority of people feel bad about things they do from time to time. If you ask the average person if they are good or bad, they will say that they are "mostly good." They realize that they do bad things, but they do good things at least 51% of the time so its okay. That may be true. It may be that most people are mostly good (from a worldly standpoint) and feel bad about things they do wrong. So does that mean that most people are going to heaven?
Maybe its not so much making individual choices or even repetitive choices and not regretting them that is important. What does make the difference is making life choices and not regretting them. So, adultery is not the unforgivable sin, but living with someone who you are not married to, sleeping with them and refusing to get married or acknowledge that what you are doing is wrong, is. This type of behavior is what indicates that a heart is hard and closed to God's call.
Getting drunk may not put one on the road to perdition. Being an alcoholic may not either if one fights against the urges. Its giving in to the lifestyle or not feeling Godly remorse that is damning.
That is why the bible talks about how Christians need to warn other Christians who are caught up in sin. We should not judge people for the sins they commit individually. We should cast a discerning eye on people's lifestyles and warn them if their persistent behavior is potentially destructive. It is the persistent nature of sin that is damning.
Now, I am not saying that simply fighting against evil is enough to keep someone out of hell. It is only faith in Jesus Christ as savior that gives a person the key to the pearly gates. What I am saying is that every person struggles with sin. We have all gone astray. We all fall short of the goal of perfection. This struggle does not disqualify a person from heaven or mean that Christians are phony. It simply proves that we need a savior and shows how great God is to help us.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Scoring System for NFL Draft
Scoring System for NFL Drafts
NFL teams could use a scoring system to ensure that they get the most quality player for each pick. This means that they draft the best combination of player / position need for their team.
There are two parts to this scoring system. First, rate each position on the team in terms of need. Each position would get a rating from one to five. Here are what the ratings would mean. Rank each position based on the value of the current starter.
Each position on the team would be ranked. The coaches may want to rank sub categories for each position. So, they may have different rankings for left and right guard. There may be rankings for the #1, #2 and #3 receivers as well as linebackers vs. nickel backs. Rank as many positions as make sense for the team.
The second part of the scoring system is to rank players that are eligible for the upcoming draft. Each position coach should come up with a point system for there positions. The way the points for are determined for each position can differ, but the maximum number of points available for each position should be the same.
For example, lets say that all positions have a maximum of 100 points that can be awarded to a player. The wide receiver coach comes up with the following criteria:
The corner back coach comes up with the following criteria:
Again, each position coach comes up with a ranking system for players at their position. The total points a player can earn can not exceed 100. Once the coach has a ranking system, they will rank the top 10 or so players eligible for the draft who can play the position. If a player can play multiple positions, they will get a ranking for each position.
Finally, the position and player ranks are entered into a database. The head coach and general manager can run a report that will multiply the position rank for each position by each player’s rank for their position, sort the score in descending order and display the results. Here is an example.
PLAYER; COLLEGE; POSITION; SCORE
Brett Favre; Southern Miss.; Quarterback; 350 (70 x 5)
Kordell Stewart; Colorado; Quarterback; 325 (65 x 5)
Herschel Walker; Georgia; Halfback; 240 (80 x 3)
On draft day, when the team gets their pick, they simply draft the player with the highest score who has not been drafted already. With this system, there is a lot of up-front work, but draft day should be a breeze.
NFL teams could use a scoring system to ensure that they get the most quality player for each pick. This means that they draft the best combination of player / position need for their team.
There are two parts to this scoring system. First, rate each position on the team in terms of need. Each position would get a rating from one to five. Here are what the ratings would mean. Rank each position based on the value of the current starter.
- One = should be on the practice team
- Two = would ride the pine on other teams
- Three = average ability starter
- Four = Pro-Bowler
- Five = franchise player and future hall of famer
Each position on the team would be ranked. The coaches may want to rank sub categories for each position. So, they may have different rankings for left and right guard. There may be rankings for the #1, #2 and #3 receivers as well as linebackers vs. nickel backs. Rank as many positions as make sense for the team.
The second part of the scoring system is to rank players that are eligible for the upcoming draft. Each position coach should come up with a point system for there positions. The way the points for are determined for each position can differ, but the maximum number of points available for each position should be the same.
For example, lets say that all positions have a maximum of 100 points that can be awarded to a player. The wide receiver coach comes up with the following criteria:
- Speed: 0 to 20 points
- Hands: 0 to 25 points
- Yards after catch: 0 to 15 points
- Route running: 0 to 30 points
- Attitude: 0 to 10 points
The corner back coach comes up with the following criteria:
- Speed: 0 to 20 points
- Tackling: 0 to 15 points
- Pass defense: 0 to 40 points
- Knowledge: 0 to 15 points
- Attitude: 0 to 10 points
Again, each position coach comes up with a ranking system for players at their position. The total points a player can earn can not exceed 100. Once the coach has a ranking system, they will rank the top 10 or so players eligible for the draft who can play the position. If a player can play multiple positions, they will get a ranking for each position.
Finally, the position and player ranks are entered into a database. The head coach and general manager can run a report that will multiply the position rank for each position by each player’s rank for their position, sort the score in descending order and display the results. Here is an example.
PLAYER; COLLEGE; POSITION; SCORE
Brett Favre; Southern Miss.; Quarterback; 350 (70 x 5)
Kordell Stewart; Colorado; Quarterback; 325 (65 x 5)
Herschel Walker; Georgia; Halfback; 240 (80 x 3)
On draft day, when the team gets their pick, they simply draft the player with the highest score who has not been drafted already. With this system, there is a lot of up-front work, but draft day should be a breeze.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Successfull Leadership is all Random
I was reading an article on “Great Leaders”. The article said that all great leaders have “an innate ability to read the forces that shaped the times in which they lived—and to seize on the resulting opportunities.”
My question is, “Did they simply get lucky?”. It seems like there are many people who think they know what direction the world is moving. If you read any stock website or investing newsletter, there is no shortage of opinions about the “times in which we live” and how to make money.
There is also no shortage of people who are willing to invest in some scheme hoping that it turns into the next Amazon.com, McDonalds or Avon. Some of these ventures are successful. A few are wildly successful. The majority are break even or worse.
There is a popular theory that says, “given enough time, a chimpanzee typing at random will eventually type out a copy of one of Shakespeare's plays..” Is that same thing true about entrepreneurs? There are millions of entrepreneurs around the world with millions of ideas. Each one is hoping to get rich. Is it only hard work and some kind of sooth-saying ability that makes the difference between great success and average success or even failure or is it just inevitable that a small percentage will get it right.
I would like to see someone do a study about people who thought they had some great, world-changing idea and failed. Are those people like the Ray Kroc’s and Sam Walton’s? Are they just as smart, just as hard-working and just as educated? Was there problem simply one of timing or luck?
Take Dean Kamen for example. Everyone says he is a brilliant, hardworking, successful guy. He has many wonderful inventions that changed healthcare. He also owns his own island, so he is doing something right business-wise. His one main failure is the Segway. He thought it would be an invention that would change the world. He said that third-world countries would design cities around the Segway. Well, its been a few years since it was invented and the world has not changed. Apparently, he could not read the forces shaping his time. Maybe if he would have introduced the Segway at a different time or was able to sell it for a lower price, it would have caught on. Could it be circumstances that is keeping the Segway from being successful?
I’m not ragging on Doctor Kamen. He is a great scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. I am saying that he may not be included in the list of great leaders because of timing and luck.
My question is, “Did they simply get lucky?”. It seems like there are many people who think they know what direction the world is moving. If you read any stock website or investing newsletter, there is no shortage of opinions about the “times in which we live” and how to make money.
There is also no shortage of people who are willing to invest in some scheme hoping that it turns into the next Amazon.com, McDonalds or Avon. Some of these ventures are successful. A few are wildly successful. The majority are break even or worse.
There is a popular theory that says, “given enough time, a chimpanzee typing at random will eventually type out a copy of one of Shakespeare's plays..” Is that same thing true about entrepreneurs? There are millions of entrepreneurs around the world with millions of ideas. Each one is hoping to get rich. Is it only hard work and some kind of sooth-saying ability that makes the difference between great success and average success or even failure or is it just inevitable that a small percentage will get it right.
I would like to see someone do a study about people who thought they had some great, world-changing idea and failed. Are those people like the Ray Kroc’s and Sam Walton’s? Are they just as smart, just as hard-working and just as educated? Was there problem simply one of timing or luck?
Take Dean Kamen for example. Everyone says he is a brilliant, hardworking, successful guy. He has many wonderful inventions that changed healthcare. He also owns his own island, so he is doing something right business-wise. His one main failure is the Segway. He thought it would be an invention that would change the world. He said that third-world countries would design cities around the Segway. Well, its been a few years since it was invented and the world has not changed. Apparently, he could not read the forces shaping his time. Maybe if he would have introduced the Segway at a different time or was able to sell it for a lower price, it would have caught on. Could it be circumstances that is keeping the Segway from being successful?
I’m not ragging on Doctor Kamen. He is a great scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. I am saying that he may not be included in the list of great leaders because of timing and luck.
Six Sigma
The September 2005 issue of Fast Company has an article called “Six Sigma Stigma”. The author was in Japan visiting a car-making facility in Toyota City. Toyota is renowned for its quality. In fact, Toyota had the #1 ranking for auto manufacturers in JD Power and Associates 2005 Initial Quality Study. The funny thing is, Toyota does not use Six Sigma. The engineers at Toyota had never even heard of it. On the other hand, Ford, who has been using Six Sigma since 1999, finished below average on the JDP survey again.
The article also lists Xerox and Sprint as Six Sigma adopters whose quality scores fall below that of their peers. Canon, Toshiba and HP have better quality then Xerox. Verizon beats sprint. None of the companies with better scores are Six Sigma disciples.
What does this say about Six Sigma? Is it a bad tool for management? Does it help improve quality? Six Sigma is a good tool that can help improve quality. The problem is most likely with management’s attitude. The people at the top might want excellent quality. They may realize that it not only improves sales, but it saves money—so, it affects both the top and bottom lines of the income statement. That is all well and good, but one other thing management is looking for is an easy fix or a sure thing. They don’t want to have to work hard at quality. Quality is not what gets them a bonus. Higher stock prices lead to higher bonuses. Management doesn’t really believe in quality because it takes too much effort and takes time away from “growing the business”. So, they sign up for the sure thing or the latest buzzword that will meet the immediate need with minimal effort on their part. The board of directors signs off on the huge expenditures needed to train everyone because Jack Welch said it’s a good idea.
Here is a truth about managers, especially at the upper-level. They don’t do real work. They think, plan, manage and DELEGATE. Programs like Six Sigma are great because they let management do what it does best—lead. However, that is the big problem when it comes to quality. Management can not simply dictate quality and go back to analyzing sales reports. They must stay engaged. They must review quality reports and continually ask why the company is not meeting its goals. They must fund projects that focus on increased quality. Six Sigma makes it too easy to issue the order and forget it.
Why are companies like Toyota successful at having high quality when they don’t even know what Six Sigma is? Because they work hard at it from the top of the organization on down. Other companies who talk about quality should start working at it as well.
The article also lists Xerox and Sprint as Six Sigma adopters whose quality scores fall below that of their peers. Canon, Toshiba and HP have better quality then Xerox. Verizon beats sprint. None of the companies with better scores are Six Sigma disciples.
What does this say about Six Sigma? Is it a bad tool for management? Does it help improve quality? Six Sigma is a good tool that can help improve quality. The problem is most likely with management’s attitude. The people at the top might want excellent quality. They may realize that it not only improves sales, but it saves money—so, it affects both the top and bottom lines of the income statement. That is all well and good, but one other thing management is looking for is an easy fix or a sure thing. They don’t want to have to work hard at quality. Quality is not what gets them a bonus. Higher stock prices lead to higher bonuses. Management doesn’t really believe in quality because it takes too much effort and takes time away from “growing the business”. So, they sign up for the sure thing or the latest buzzword that will meet the immediate need with minimal effort on their part. The board of directors signs off on the huge expenditures needed to train everyone because Jack Welch said it’s a good idea.
Here is a truth about managers, especially at the upper-level. They don’t do real work. They think, plan, manage and DELEGATE. Programs like Six Sigma are great because they let management do what it does best—lead. However, that is the big problem when it comes to quality. Management can not simply dictate quality and go back to analyzing sales reports. They must stay engaged. They must review quality reports and continually ask why the company is not meeting its goals. They must fund projects that focus on increased quality. Six Sigma makes it too easy to issue the order and forget it.
Why are companies like Toyota successful at having high quality when they don’t even know what Six Sigma is? Because they work hard at it from the top of the organization on down. Other companies who talk about quality should start working at it as well.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Create and Publish Blogs in Word
I read on Google’s blog about a new add-on for MS Word. It lets you write a blog in a Word document and instantly publish it to your blog. No cut and paste. Just write and publish.
I wrote this post in Word. If you want to try it out, go here
I wrote this post in Word. If you want to try it out, go here
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Disposable message recorder
Here's another thing I would like to see. I would love to have a post-it note like device that recorded short, digital recordings. Imagine being able to stick a small piece of paper onto something, squeeze a corner of the paper and then record a short message. Another person would later squeeze the same paper to hear the message. If the device was cheap enough to be disposable, it would be a much better way to leave messages then writing.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Personal Assistant
One of the things I really want is a digital personal assistant. I know we are years away from having a full blown assistant, but maybe someone could make one that does one single task. Of course, speech and speech recognition would be essential. Here are some things I would like mine to do. Any one would be good.
** Keep track of my to-do list no matter where I am. So, if I'm driving in the car and I think of something that needs doing, I should be able to tell my assistant and it will add it to the list. Also, my list should be accessbile wherever I am. It should be automatically copied to all of my computers--network at home, PC at work, all handhelds, phone, website, etc.
** Play songs from my music library. I should be able to ask for a specific song, artist, genre or playlist. The assistant should ask me questions if it is confused.
** Track down simple encyclopedia-like facts.
Can't someone write a bot that does these things?
"For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Cor 12: 10
** Keep track of my to-do list no matter where I am. So, if I'm driving in the car and I think of something that needs doing, I should be able to tell my assistant and it will add it to the list. Also, my list should be accessbile wherever I am. It should be automatically copied to all of my computers--network at home, PC at work, all handhelds, phone, website, etc.
** Play songs from my music library. I should be able to ask for a specific song, artist, genre or playlist. The assistant should ask me questions if it is confused.
** Track down simple encyclopedia-like facts.
Can't someone write a bot that does these things?
"For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Cor 12: 10
Saturday, February 05, 2005
anti-Semitism in Russia
Here is a small article that was in the February 2005 issue of the Economist.com's Cities Guide: Moscow Briefing.
Now, that is scary stuff. Of course, racial hatreds and prejudices never go away. There is still anti-Semitism around. However, I never thought that the government of a major nation would consider going down the same path that Hitler did. Didn't we learn anything?
"The old taint of anti-Semitism, which has a centuries-old history in Russia, has never gone away. On January 14th, two rabbis were beaten with bottles underneath a Moscow underpass by over a half-dozen youths. Shortly afterwards, a group of 20 parliamentary deputies signed a petition calling for the general prosecutor to ban all Jewish organisations in Russia. They accused Jews of dominating politics and finance, provoking anti-Semitism and fomenting anti-Russian sentiment. (The signatories later retracted the measure.)"(See the Economist article: An ugly head rears, January 27th 2005 for more details.)
Now, that is scary stuff. Of course, racial hatreds and prejudices never go away. There is still anti-Semitism around. However, I never thought that the government of a major nation would consider going down the same path that Hitler did. Didn't we learn anything?
outreach workshop gleanings
Here are a couple of interesting things from the Outreach Workshop I was at today.
One presenter said he had talked with a very angry man who had been kicked out of the church in a way that would not allow him to go back. This young man had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. The pastor excommunicated the guy, made the girl get an abortion and forbid the girl from ever seeing the guy again. The presenter's response to the young man was, "A representative of the church failed you. Christ did not fail you. Come back to Christ." Wow!
Another quote: "Its okay to be afraid [when witnessing], just don't show it.
Here are ten facts about the adult American population drawn from research conducted by Barna, Gallup, Harris and others. Comments from me or people at the presentation are in brackets [ ].
Fact #1: Almost six in ten adults maintain that the Bible is totally accurate in all its teachings. [Quote or paraphrase scripture to reinforce points you are trying to make. It will add credibility.]
Fact #2: Better then 90 percent of adults believe God exists and about 70 percent of those folks believe God to be accurately portrayed in the Bible. [People do believe in God. Ask them how their relationship with Him is.]
Fact #3: Almost nine of ten believe that eventually all people will be judged by God. Almost three-fourths expect Jesus to return some day. [Judgement day is not a foreign concept to people. Talk to them about it. Ask them if they are certain what the outcome will be for them when they stand in front of a holy God.]
Fact #4: Three-fourths believe forgiveness of sins is possible only through faith in Jesus Christ but as many as half believe faith is unimportant as far as living in heaven after you die is concerned. [There is a disconnect between sin and judgement. Help people see that they are sinners. The Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7) is a good place to start.]
Fact #5: Eighty-five percent believe that Jesus was crucified, died and rose from the dead. [Why did he do that? Most people don't know the whole story. Tell them.]
Fact #6: More than eight in ten believe Jesus was as much a human being as they are but almost half believe he committed sins. [We have to spend time telling people Christ was sinless.]
Fact #7: Six in ten do not believe Satan to be a real being, but merely a symbol of evil. About one-fifth of the population believes that the whole idea of sin is outdated. [Jesus thought that Satan was real. The Bible talks about sin. What do these people know that Jesus and the Bible don't?]
Fact #8: Nine of ten pray. Of them, eight of ten are absolutely certain that prayer makes a difference in their lives. [Find out what someone needs you to pray about for them and then do it. Also, encourage people to let God talk to them through the Bible.]
Fact #9: One in three believes that you can not trust anyone other than family and close friends these days. [Make friends with people. Then, talk about God to your friends. Get over thinking, "I will avoid you because you don't go to my church."]
Fact #10: About half of American adults believe a full and satisfying life depends on spiritual development. The same number strongly agrees that the Christian faith is relevant to their lives these days. [Don't think your unchurched friend or neighbor does not want to hear from you about spiritual matters. They do.]
One presenter said he had talked with a very angry man who had been kicked out of the church in a way that would not allow him to go back. This young man had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. The pastor excommunicated the guy, made the girl get an abortion and forbid the girl from ever seeing the guy again. The presenter's response to the young man was, "A representative of the church failed you. Christ did not fail you. Come back to Christ." Wow!
Another quote: "Its okay to be afraid [when witnessing], just don't show it.
Here are ten facts about the adult American population drawn from research conducted by Barna, Gallup, Harris and others. Comments from me or people at the presentation are in brackets [ ].
Fact #1: Almost six in ten adults maintain that the Bible is totally accurate in all its teachings. [Quote or paraphrase scripture to reinforce points you are trying to make. It will add credibility.]
Fact #2: Better then 90 percent of adults believe God exists and about 70 percent of those folks believe God to be accurately portrayed in the Bible. [People do believe in God. Ask them how their relationship with Him is.]
Fact #3: Almost nine of ten believe that eventually all people will be judged by God. Almost three-fourths expect Jesus to return some day. [Judgement day is not a foreign concept to people. Talk to them about it. Ask them if they are certain what the outcome will be for them when they stand in front of a holy God.]
Fact #4: Three-fourths believe forgiveness of sins is possible only through faith in Jesus Christ but as many as half believe faith is unimportant as far as living in heaven after you die is concerned. [There is a disconnect between sin and judgement. Help people see that they are sinners. The Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7) is a good place to start.]
Fact #5: Eighty-five percent believe that Jesus was crucified, died and rose from the dead. [Why did he do that? Most people don't know the whole story. Tell them.]
Fact #6: More than eight in ten believe Jesus was as much a human being as they are but almost half believe he committed sins. [We have to spend time telling people Christ was sinless.]
Fact #7: Six in ten do not believe Satan to be a real being, but merely a symbol of evil. About one-fifth of the population believes that the whole idea of sin is outdated. [Jesus thought that Satan was real. The Bible talks about sin. What do these people know that Jesus and the Bible don't?]
Fact #8: Nine of ten pray. Of them, eight of ten are absolutely certain that prayer makes a difference in their lives. [Find out what someone needs you to pray about for them and then do it. Also, encourage people to let God talk to them through the Bible.]
Fact #9: One in three believes that you can not trust anyone other than family and close friends these days. [Make friends with people. Then, talk about God to your friends. Get over thinking, "I will avoid you because you don't go to my church."]
Fact #10: About half of American adults believe a full and satisfying life depends on spiritual development. The same number strongly agrees that the Christian faith is relevant to their lives these days. [Don't think your unchurched friend or neighbor does not want to hear from you about spiritual matters. They do.]
two steps of evangelism
This morning I attended a seminar on evangelism. One of the presenters said there are two basic points to evangelism.
I really like this way of thinking. I don't have to have any hidden agendas when I talk to people. I don't have to try to find some angle where I can turn a conversation around to spiritual matters. I just have to live my life for Jesus, be a friend to as many people as I can and wait for the HS to provide me with an opportunity to tell what I know.
Now, how do I overcome whatever it is inside me that does not want any friends?
- live Jesus love
- talk about Jesus love
I really like this way of thinking. I don't have to have any hidden agendas when I talk to people. I don't have to try to find some angle where I can turn a conversation around to spiritual matters. I just have to live my life for Jesus, be a friend to as many people as I can and wait for the HS to provide me with an opportunity to tell what I know.
Now, how do I overcome whatever it is inside me that does not want any friends?
Friday, February 04, 2005
more evangelism thoughts
We had an evangelism committee meeting tonight at church. The focus of the discussion was mainly on "marketing" ideas. We talked about ways we can reach out to the community as well as how we could follow-up with people who are intersted in our church. For the latter, we will get a list of prospects and make an effort to visit them once a month or so. The goal being to inform them about our church and invite them to worship with us or look into our school for the kiddies.
As for the former, apparantly, we are having an Easter egg hunt that all children in the community will be invited to. Then, there is VBS in July. Plus, someone wants to have story time for toddlers in the afternoon once a month. All good stuff to let people know we are here and that we care about people in our community.
There are basically two types of people that the ec committee and Christians in general should be interested in reaching: 1) people who are actively looking for a church to attend and 2) people who are seeking God (actively or not). It looks like our group is doing a pretty good job dealing with type #1. However, we are doing almost nothing for type #2. Personally, I'm not sure that the ec should do the proselytizing work for the members. More on that some other day as it is getting late.
As for the former, apparantly, we are having an Easter egg hunt that all children in the community will be invited to. Then, there is VBS in July. Plus, someone wants to have story time for toddlers in the afternoon once a month. All good stuff to let people know we are here and that we care about people in our community.
There are basically two types of people that the ec committee and Christians in general should be interested in reaching: 1) people who are actively looking for a church to attend and 2) people who are seeking God (actively or not). It looks like our group is doing a pretty good job dealing with type #1. However, we are doing almost nothing for type #2. Personally, I'm not sure that the ec should do the proselytizing work for the members. More on that some other day as it is getting late.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
video card blues 2
Well, maybe I spoke too soon about my video card problems. When I got home from work, the kids were playing Age of Empires. There was no sound and the colors of the ground was pink. I could not get the sound to work or the color right so I shut the machine down. Later, I booted the machine up again and ran AE. This time, it looked good. However, the kids were playing the Train Simulator. It supposedly rebooted the computer during the game. I'll have to play around with it more some other day. Perhaps one of the changes I made in the BIOS is causing a problem.
Video card blues
After three evenings of messing around, I finally got my "new" video
card working in the kid's computer. I bought a used Nvidia GeForce3
video card from a guy I work with. I was trying to max out my old 1ghz
desktop so the kids could play games that required a 3D video card.
After I installed the card, I installed Halo and tried running it. It
loaded fine, but when I played the campaign, the computer immediately
rebooted with a blue screen. I tried a ton of stuff--uninstalling and
reinstalling Halo, defragging the hard drive, running Norton System
Works, removing memory chips--nothing worked. Finally, I downloaded the
previous five version of the driver from Nvidia's website and installed
the oldest one. That did the trick. Whew!
Both Halo and the Microsoft Train Simulator programs look great.
Moral of the story #1: computers are still a major pain. The average
person would probably had to take their computer in for someone to work
on. The tech. probably would have reinstalled the OS. I'm glad I was
able to figure this out.
Moral of the story #2: it really helps to have a spare computer in case
your system dies. There's no worse feeling then thinking your PC is
gone and you have no options.
card working in the kid's computer. I bought a used Nvidia GeForce3
video card from a guy I work with. I was trying to max out my old 1ghz
desktop so the kids could play games that required a 3D video card.
After I installed the card, I installed Halo and tried running it. It
loaded fine, but when I played the campaign, the computer immediately
rebooted with a blue screen. I tried a ton of stuff--uninstalling and
reinstalling Halo, defragging the hard drive, running Norton System
Works, removing memory chips--nothing worked. Finally, I downloaded the
previous five version of the driver from Nvidia's website and installed
the oldest one. That did the trick. Whew!
Both Halo and the Microsoft Train Simulator programs look great.
Moral of the story #1: computers are still a major pain. The average
person would probably had to take their computer in for someone to work
on. The tech. probably would have reinstalled the OS. I'm glad I was
able to figure this out.
Moral of the story #2: it really helps to have a spare computer in case
your system dies. There's no worse feeling then thinking your PC is
gone and you have no options.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Polling technology
I was just talking with someone who said they read a newspaper article saying that a number of polling stations in our area that had at least 100 more votes then registered voters in the 2004 presidential election. What's up with that? Its hard to believe that we can't come up with some way to stop voting fraud or errors.
I bet this situation will force us to get a national id card for US citizens. If we had that, the government could verify all votes centrally. People could vote at multiple polling stations if they chose to, but only the first vote registered in the federal database would count. Plus, it should make the voting process more efficient since your name does not have to be looked up and verified to let you vote. If the card is valid, go ahead and vote. The data could be checked centrally.
Here's the scenario. Every US citizen applies for a national id card. The card has some kind of tamper-proof database that contains their unique id number, name and date of birth. When you go vote, you simply walk into the first available booth, swipe your card, validate that the information read describes you and cast your vote. All of the data is recorded electronically on a local database. The local database will do a simple data validation making sure you only vote once at that location. The local database will periodically upload its data to a central, federal database. The federal database will do another data validation and check to make sure you have not voted yet.
The nice thing about this scenario is that we could expand voting to places other then traditional polling stations, even the internet if we could work out the security.
I know the concept of a national id card makes some people nervous--mark of the beast and all that--but it really is inevitable.
#1 requirement for parenting
What does it take to be a great parent? The number one quality is commitment. One must be committed to the job of parenting. What does that mean? Basically that you give up your life in order to meet the kid's physical, emotional and spiritual needs. It means that I will rarely get to watch my favorite t.v. show. It means that I will get less sleep. It means that I will spend time reading to my three year old rather then playing on the computer, watching t.v. or paying bills. It means that Saturday's are now work days where the family does chores together. It means that Sundays are now family days. What day is my day? There is none. When is my time? Anytime after the kids are in bed. What are my hobbies? Whatever I can do with the kids.
I used to spend a lot of time playing computer games. Now, if I do that, the family suffers. Is that fair? Don't I get me time? Not if I want to be a great parent. It takes commitment to do that. Long-term commitment. Parenting is not a 9 to 5 job, nor is it a three year enlistment. It’s a 24 hour a day, 20 year adventure. Wow!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
What motivates a Christian?
I asw a video the other day where they said that Muslims (and all non-Christians) are motivated by fear to practice their religion. I can see the point. Anyone who does not know Christ cannot possibly be motivated by love. So, Muslims (and all non-Christians) must be motivated by fear.
My question is, do they believe that? If I asked ten Muslims what motivates them spiritually, would all ten say fear? I wonder if even one would. Even though it may be their true motivation, do they really see it that way? That is what I am questioning. If most Muslims do not see Allah as someone to be feared and their works as a desperate attempt to tip the scales in their favor, then talking about grace vs. works with them wouldn't get us very far.
In the spiritual sense, we are all sick. When referring to the Pharisees, Jesus once said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." The pharisees were just as sick as everyone else, but they thought they were healthy. I would argue that so do most people including Muslims. Sometimes, when we talk about false religions, we imply that the adherents either know they are sick or would realize it right away if we simply tell them. I wonder.
Once when I was going door-to-door passing out tracts or something, I talked to a 55-65 year old man who was not a Christian. I asked him if he thought he would go to heaven. He said yes because he was basically a good person. Most people think that God, being the loving sort, will only send REALLY bad folks to hell. Most cults teach that the only people who will a) go to hell; b) live in outer darkness or c) cease to exist are those who reject the cult's teachings. Insiders will make it to some level of heaven.
People of other faiths do not have some way to get right with God. Also, if they are true to their teachings, they must live in fear and uncertainty concerning their fate. However, I think human beings always find a way to ignore the facts, rationalize their situation and hope for the best.
Perhaps our best plan for dealing with unbelievers is to pray that God would first bring calamity on them to force them to see the hopelessness of their situation without him. Then, pray that the Holy Spirit would work true repentance and faith in their hearts.
“For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. “ – 2 Cor 12: 10
My question is, do they believe that? If I asked ten Muslims what motivates them spiritually, would all ten say fear? I wonder if even one would. Even though it may be their true motivation, do they really see it that way? That is what I am questioning. If most Muslims do not see Allah as someone to be feared and their works as a desperate attempt to tip the scales in their favor, then talking about grace vs. works with them wouldn't get us very far.
In the spiritual sense, we are all sick. When referring to the Pharisees, Jesus once said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." The pharisees were just as sick as everyone else, but they thought they were healthy. I would argue that so do most people including Muslims. Sometimes, when we talk about false religions, we imply that the adherents either know they are sick or would realize it right away if we simply tell them. I wonder.
Once when I was going door-to-door passing out tracts or something, I talked to a 55-65 year old man who was not a Christian. I asked him if he thought he would go to heaven. He said yes because he was basically a good person. Most people think that God, being the loving sort, will only send REALLY bad folks to hell. Most cults teach that the only people who will a) go to hell; b) live in outer darkness or c) cease to exist are those who reject the cult's teachings. Insiders will make it to some level of heaven.
People of other faiths do not have some way to get right with God. Also, if they are true to their teachings, they must live in fear and uncertainty concerning their fate. However, I think human beings always find a way to ignore the facts, rationalize their situation and hope for the best.
Perhaps our best plan for dealing with unbelievers is to pray that God would first bring calamity on them to force them to see the hopelessness of their situation without him. Then, pray that the Holy Spirit would work true repentance and faith in their hearts.
“For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. “ – 2 Cor 12: 10
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