Last night the board voted to shorten the school year by 3 days to 177 instructional days.  Teacher contracts will be based on 185 days. When we originally discussed reducing days it was to give us room to be able to react to lost state revenue.  Unfortunately our local property tax revenue dropped by 5% instead of the 2.5% we projected.  This ate up the three days proposed and left us no ability to adjust to changes from the state in 2011.  Dr Harper’s original proposal was to only shorten the school year by 3 days and re-evaluate where we are in January.  I made the proposal to go ahead and take the 5 days now for the following reasons:

1. This is over and teachers will not have the uncertainty about this issue for the 2010-2011 school year
2. We will take no more days this year…THIS IS IT!
3. Your pay will be STABLE
4. By taking 5 days now we can divide the lost pay by 12 months instead of 6…Lowest monthly impact to teachers
5. Teachers start back on August 4th instead of on July 30th
6. Students come back on August 9th instead of August 4th (full week of instruction)
7. Teachers will only have one post-planning day (May 23rd, 2011)

No one likes to lose any money but by taking this action now we have tried to create a situation where we have the least impact on our staff.  Had we taken only 3 days most of us believed that we would have had to come back and take more days second semester.  We are giving you all of this information now so that you can budget and plan for next year without waiting for some other shoe to drop.  I hope that the extra time at the beginning and end of this years calendar will help ease the blow of the lost salary.  The good news is that this is DONE….You know everything that we know and now you can just focus on your family and teaching your students.

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Almost a year ago today, I wrote that the stimulus money that Bartow County was receiving would ultimately cost the taxpayers of this county.  First we all need to remember that this money was taken from us in the form of taxes to begin with.  The Obama administrations answer to our economic downturn has been to throw money at the problem which has been an absolute failure.

The unemployment rate at the time which the stimulus money was enacted was 7% and we currently have a rate of over 10%. Many experts put the real rate of unemployment at 17% if you factor in those who are underemployed or who have given up looking for work at all.  Most of the money that has been spent to date went to pet projects that the Democrats have been trying to fund for years. Only a small fraction of the stimulus dollars went to those “shovel ready” projects.  We are now finding that many of those projects were not ready to begin or have not been fully funded  in the first place.

Today an article was written in The Daily Tribune about how these stimulus dollars have cost the taxpayers of Bartow County $186,000. These funds created a situation where the Water Department spent money that they may not have budgeted for projects that have not been funded to date by the state or federal government.

Local officials publicly say they are not upset with the money spent on projects that have yet to materialize.  They indicate that work done will be ready when the projects are finally funded.  The problem is that we have seen these projects never be re-funded which results in local taxpayers being left holding the bag.

Nothing is ever FREE! We must be careful rushing to accept all of this federal money because of the miles of strings that are associated with taking it.  In the end this free money may actually cost us more than just dealing with our current situation locally.

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Last nights election of Scott Brown is a major repudiation of the policies of President Barrack Obama. Almost a year to the day of his historic inauguration the people of one of our most liberal states said NO to his far left agenda.  The Democratic party needs to understand that this is a center right country and people are not going to simply sit back and allow them to socialize this nation.

The key moving forward for Republicans is going to be the agenda that we propose. With Brown securing the 41st vote for the GOP we will be able to stop or delay much of Obama’s agenda.  We cannot simply be the party of NO. We must begin to present a different picture of what this country would look like governed under a conservative set of principles.

In the NFL after an important win teams institute the 24hr rule. They celebrate and enjoy the win for 24 hours and then quickly turn their attention to the next opponent.  We MUST do the same thing with this historic win in Massachusetts.  November is coming quickly and we need to be able to offer a real alternative so that people can really chose the path that they want to see this country take.

Thank You Scott Brown for stopping the Change…….No He Can’t!

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Last year around this time we celebrated a milestone with the election of President Barrack Obama. I have stated many times that I did not vote for President Obama but that I was willing to give him a chance in respect to the importance of the office that he holds.  I was hopeful like many other Americans that the election of President Obama would finally end the debate over racism in our country.

Sadly this has been anything but the case as this country has been embroiled in some of the most important decisions of the last 50 years.  A new political paradigm has been forming since the election of President Obama. Critics of the President are labeled as racists or anti-poor because it must be “inconceivable” that people could want a future for this country in contrast to the Democratic establishment.

I would remind my Democrat friends that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Over the past year, a full picture has emerged on how President Obama intends to govern this country.  We have seen an unprecedented effort to socialize many aspects of our society and extend government control into the private sector.  This news has been met with a lot of criticism and it is in this area that the “Race Card” continues to be played.

We have finally reached that plateau that Dr. King spoke so eloquently about and yet now we find that many on the Democratic side do not what to be judged on the merits of President Obama’s ideas.  We are not allowed to raise questions for  fear that we would be labeled as racists or elitists.

I have had a number of people from all races and genders who have impacted my life on a profound level. These relationships were important to me because I did NOT have to worry about what I said. I did not have to think about the fact that I was speaking to a WOMAN , MINORITY, or person of another FAITH.  I valued these people because of the mutual respect we had for each other based on the strength of our friendship and the content of our discussions.

Racism in my opinion is being perpetuated in many ways by the groups who were established to end it in the first place.  Time and success have made these people’s function in our society obsolete.  Like the politician who will do anything to hold on to political power these groups need “racism” to exist to stay employed.  There will always be people who are evil in our society but we need to acknowledge that the racism of the 1950′s  is essentially dead in 2010.

I am fundamentally opposed to just about everything that President Obama stands for and oh by the way I am not a racist.  I oppose him not because of his race but on the content of his ideas.  In fact I would argue that I have embraced the teachings of Dr. King  far more than many leaders in the African-American and Democratic political establishment.  Any person I oppose is always based on the strength of their ideas and their character. Isn’t this the lesson of Dr. King?

Racism in America will continue to exist politically until these leaders stop using the “race card” every time white people disagree with a minority candidate.  The debate and the candidates lose because we never get to the real issues that divide this country.

Real change comes in never having to say this ______American or that ______American and just finally understanding that we are all AMERICANS. I promise to continue to stand against the policies of President Obama because I owe him the respect of disagreeing with him of the merits of his ideas.

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2009 is over and it was an amazing year for many reasons. It was our first full year with our third child Anniston and she has made such an amazing addition to our family.  I set some goals last year and I am happy to report that I accomplished many of them. I do have some areas to work on and those will become my goals for 2010. Here they are:

2010 Goals

• Lose 10 pounds ( I lost the 30 from last year but found a few back)
• Read through the whole Bible (Join Me)
• Continue monthly dates with my wife!
• Finish my Master’s degree in August
• Continue funding the kids 529 plans
• More consistent quiet times
• Monthly excursions with the kids
• Work out at least 3 times per week
• Blog at least 3 times per week

Long Term Goals

• See my other 2 children saved
• 50 year marriage
• Almost debt free but our home…..finish and attack our house debt!
• Retire from my “job” at 55
• Pray about continuing my education past a Master’s degree
• Pray about my political future

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Tonight the Bartow County Board of Education at the request of Gov. met to determine how we were going to achieve the 3 teacher furlough days. We decided to take one of the days on Sept. 8 and the other two will be Oct. 20th , and 21st. The Sept. 8th date will give an additional day for the Labor Day holiday. The Oct. 20th and 21st date will be added to Oct. 19th which teachers and students had off already to create a more meaningful fall break.

We have added 12 minutes of instructional time from August through December to meet the mandate that no teaching time be lost. No one likes the prospect of losing salary but I hope that this additional time with family will make a difficult situation easier.

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In writing The Purpose Driven Church Rick Warren has written a book that offers a glimpse into the process of what establishing and leading a church plant to success looks like. This journey is an authentic account of both the trials and tribulations that met this amazing servant of God along the way. In this book tradition in many ways is the enemy of innovation. Warren speaks eloquently about the need to try new things in order to reach the lost for God.

This story will cause every pastor to question the methods they are employing to reach the lost. That church self-examination process makes this a must read for all pastors who want to leave a legacy of life change in their churches. Every church has the capacity to be more than it currently is if the purpose is clearly defined and the staff and volunteers are clearly sold on the lead pastor’s vision. Warren’s purpose I believe in writing this book was simple and that is to provide a different path for church planters and progressive pastors to travel. Warren seeks to emancipate churches from the prison of the past and lead them into a dialogue on what the future should look like. Warren rightly diagnosed that doing things simply because they have been done before was not transforming this culture in a meaningful way for Jesus Christ.

Rick Warren for all of his critics has been successful because he stays true to his mission and his purpose. We are in a period of explosive growth in church planting all over this country but I wonder how many of those pastors have their own vision. Simply trying to pick up the vision of another pastor and drop it into another community will not work for sustained success. Pastors must go through the exercise of hearing from God and articulating their own unique vision for their church. This book is a great way to frame that argument for new pastors and church plants so that they can reach their full potential for God!

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Today there is a revolution of shorts going on in the way that we present God’s message to the public. Churches like Willow Creek in Chicago and Saddleback in California ushered in many of these changes in the 90’s and we are now seeing their work become the neo-traditionalism of this generation. So in an effort to differentiate themselves from one another churches are turning to the power of the internet and social media to be on the cutting edge of ministry for church in the 21st century.

I must admit that I blog, tweet and have a facebook account that I access daily. I use these as my journal, and as a tool to connect with people within my church and an extended network around the country as well. I see daily the power that these tools can have in the lives of those people who allow themselves to be connected to various groups this way. These tools are only as strong as the commitment, vision and creativity of the people who are employing their use. Integrating these tools into ministry if done correctly can yield amazing results for the organization who tries. If students all over the world can receive degrees churches can use this tool to connect people to small groups, answers to common life questions and facilitate a sermon experience all from the users computer.

This is an exciting time for Christians all over the world. The ability to extend our influence beyond the confines of our physical reach has never been as extensive as it is right now. We are using every tool possible to win our city, country and world for Jesus. It always amazes me that the traditional church crowd has so much animosity for these new tools that expand the message of Christ. I pray that when I am a more seasoned adult that I will always have a mind open to see the possibilities of what new technology can bring into the church.

I work in business professionally but some of the most innovative things going right now are in the church. The best and brightest are coming into ministry because we are welcoming that creative spirit into our churches and more importantly our church offices!

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The development of the mission statement has become one of the founding activities from both the secular and religious community. The process has taken on the time honored role of being that sacred of all boxes that must be checked prior to seeking a Small Business Association loan or presenting to a group of church investors. It is the opportunity to in a few words truly explain what the role of the organization will be. The mission statement seeks to both define why the organization exists and explain how it will be successful moving forward. Mission statements have lost much of what they were originally intended to be and now take on almost an after thought role in business or organizational development. This lack of sustainability is due in large part to overly verbose mission statements with little to no creativity. Statements should be shorter and well thought out so that they can convey the feel of the organization but strong enough to inspire and direct to work of the organization.

Social networking is changing the way that we are all interacting with one another. I must admit that I am a Twitter user as are many people across all professions and organizations. The thing I love about Twitter is that you only have 140 characters to say whatever it is that you want to communicate. You really have to refine your message to get it to its most impactful level to fit it into the required length. I really believe that a lot of churches and organizations should see if their mission statement passes the “Twitter Test” on what they are communicating.

Many people miss the opportunity to brand their organizations through the effective crafting of a short, thoughtful, memorable statement about what the organization exists to do. The best mission statements that I have seen are the ones that drive decision making and that are repeated at almost every meeting or gathering of the institution involved. By creating a concise mission statement the end user, patron, or church member remembers organizations empower people to live out those values each time they represent the institution. Mission statements must be a real part of the planning process or they will simply become a perfunctory exercise that is only understood by the leadership and never fully embraced by those doing the work in the trenches day in and day out.

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I have been on vacation the past few days but when my mind quiets I find myself thinking about Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp.  I just can’t seem to get past some striking similarities we share.  At 18, I was young and eager to leave Bartow County and the loving but protective grasp of my parents and secure my own place in this world.  My family was “middle class” only by the skin of our teeth, and I knew that I would need money for college and thought the military was the right way to achieve my education dream.  I left on Father’s Day 1991 to begin my service in the United States Marine Corps and my life would be changed forever.

Reading the story about Seth was like reading  what could have been me 18 years ago now. I was a young radio operator serving as a forward observer for T battery5/10 out of Camp Lejeune N.C. I also spent some time ironically with “E” Co. 2/8 in Korea.  I was just like this amazing kid who we just lost to the horrors of war.  I was fortunate that by the time I got out of boot camp the first Gulf War was essentially over and I never saw any serious fighting.  LCpl. Sharp saw more danger in one day than just about my entire Marine Corps experience.

My experience in the Marine’s has placed in my heart a profound love for this country and the men and women who fight so valiantly for our freedom. I did not know Seth Sharp but I am sure that I sat on the stage with him as he received his diploma as a part of my school board responsibilities.  We. …and I mean this community…all of us have lost a special young man and a family has lost an irreplaceable treasure.  I just needed to tell Seth’s family “Thank You” for his service and for the amazing life led by this courageous young man.

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