Thursday 04-16-09
By Nick Smith
I choose the article from http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/protect.htm to make my list of 5 items. The items that I choose to put on my list were basically 5 ways I could see myself being most susceptible or ways in which I thought I could really capitalize.
1. I really enjoy the close relationships that I have with people (guys and girls alike). As I go into my profession I will need to watch out when getting to know new women. I need to avoid getting too attached emotionally, because I believe this is an area in which I could fail. I think for me personally it would be easy to just try to be close friends and then that moves to an unhealthy relationship where I would be fulfilling her emotional needs.
2. I need to listen to the advice of my wife. Though sometimes I think that she could be saying things out of an underlying jealousy, most of the time she is probably right. And, even if she is saying it out of jealousy, no relationship is going to be more important than my relationship with her, so following what she thinks is best is always going to be a good thing.
3. I also need to learn how to get a hold of my thought life. This is something that I think will come with age, but really getting serious about it now will be key. I feel like I have gotten better in this area over the last 4 years, but I am not where I would like to be.
4. Sinners always get caught. Well, I don’t know if that is always true. But, I do believe it is a good rule to live by. Maybe I don’t have enough years in me to really know if I have been caught of all my sin, so living like I always will get caught is a good reason to not get involved in sexual sin.
5. Don’t spend time alone with the opposite sex. This is going to be key. Not because I am always susceptible in this situation, but the questions that can arise from others knowing I was in that situation could be dangerous.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Week #12 Learning Leadership
Thursday 04-09-09
By Nick Smith
“Some leaders learn to lead by making mistakes and then reflecting enough on those mistakes to develop principles for the future… another way is to learn the principles based on the mistakes of others.”
With this statement we can see there are two ways to learn leadership. First of all, we can learn by experience. Our leadership skills will improve over time because with time we find out what works the best and what doesn’t work the best. Over time, we also learn people a bit more. So out skills with people will improve after doing wrongs and rights with people. Of course, all of this wont work out unless we are able to actually reflect on these situations and look at them honestly enough to pinpoint flaws and extract the good. The second way to learn is sort of up front learning. We study leadership skills in order to know what to do in certain situations therefore being able to avoid problems as they come. The best way to do leadership in my mind is to combine these two styles. Learn as much leadership theory as you can up front, that way you will have some idea of what to do, but then when you do make mistakes, reflect hard on them and decide what you could do to improve.
By Nick Smith
“Some leaders learn to lead by making mistakes and then reflecting enough on those mistakes to develop principles for the future… another way is to learn the principles based on the mistakes of others.”
With this statement we can see there are two ways to learn leadership. First of all, we can learn by experience. Our leadership skills will improve over time because with time we find out what works the best and what doesn’t work the best. Over time, we also learn people a bit more. So out skills with people will improve after doing wrongs and rights with people. Of course, all of this wont work out unless we are able to actually reflect on these situations and look at them honestly enough to pinpoint flaws and extract the good. The second way to learn is sort of up front learning. We study leadership skills in order to know what to do in certain situations therefore being able to avoid problems as they come. The best way to do leadership in my mind is to combine these two styles. Learn as much leadership theory as you can up front, that way you will have some idea of what to do, but then when you do make mistakes, reflect hard on them and decide what you could do to improve.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Six Things to Remember about Taxes 4-14
1. With your housing expenses, you are allowed to take that money tax free. Make sure that you, or whoever is doing your taxes knows how much you were paid that was applied to housing in order to make sure that you indicate that you did not pay tax on that money. Remember that this does not include income tax, so you must pay tax for social security.
2. Turbo tax is a great resource. Many people to prepare taxes are not familiar with ministers taxes. Turbo tax has all of the up-to-date tax information for ministers and it will save you money in the long run.
3. Pastor’s are considered self employed. This being so, you will have to pay your social security tax as a lump typically, so make sure you are prepared and ready to pay this sum around tax time. Don’t wait to save, you are a self employed person, you need to treat your pay like it.
4. Make sure you pay your taxes on gifts. Typically if one receives a gift, it is when making a visit, performing a funeral or a wedding. These are part of your “job” so this would also be income, so since it is income, you must pay taxes on it. Don’t just think it is a gift so you don’t need to pay taxes on it, you are not better than others who get paid from a business, your pay just looks different.
5. The housing allowance is tax deductable, meaning you don’t have to pay taxes on whatever you designate for housing. At the same time you do that, whatever interest you pay on a mortgage can also be deducted on your taxes, also known as the “double-dipping” benefit.
6. Always pay your taxes. This might sound stupid but I don’t write this to say that you should just pay your taxes, you know that, but I say it as a reminder to be honest. As a Christian you are called to be honest, and as a minister you are called to a higher calling. So because of this, you need to be very honest and make sure you are following the tax
2. Turbo tax is a great resource. Many people to prepare taxes are not familiar with ministers taxes. Turbo tax has all of the up-to-date tax information for ministers and it will save you money in the long run.
3. Pastor’s are considered self employed. This being so, you will have to pay your social security tax as a lump typically, so make sure you are prepared and ready to pay this sum around tax time. Don’t wait to save, you are a self employed person, you need to treat your pay like it.
4. Make sure you pay your taxes on gifts. Typically if one receives a gift, it is when making a visit, performing a funeral or a wedding. These are part of your “job” so this would also be income, so since it is income, you must pay taxes on it. Don’t just think it is a gift so you don’t need to pay taxes on it, you are not better than others who get paid from a business, your pay just looks different.
5. The housing allowance is tax deductable, meaning you don’t have to pay taxes on whatever you designate for housing. At the same time you do that, whatever interest you pay on a mortgage can also be deducted on your taxes, also known as the “double-dipping” benefit.
6. Always pay your taxes. This might sound stupid but I don’t write this to say that you should just pay your taxes, you know that, but I say it as a reminder to be honest. As a Christian you are called to be honest, and as a minister you are called to a higher calling. So because of this, you need to be very honest and make sure you are following the tax
Theory X&Y at CWC
For this post, I will be looking at College Wesleyan Church and Dave Drury in the view of the theory X and theory Y in leadership.
I think that Pastor Dave has a good balance of these two views. I think in general, he is a theory Y guy. I think he would say that for the most part, people are good and are competent to do their job and have a passion for their job. Although he is like this, he does a good job at creating accountability.
One week when I met with Dave, he had just finished up a meeting with one of the staff members, which was a yearly review. He said that in these meetings, he would go over the personal and professional goals of the employee and talk about how they accomplished those things and if they hadn’t, they would talk about how they need to improve for next year and what they need to do to go about reaching and exceeding those things for the coming year. This would also be a time for those to present a new set of written goals and major things to accomplish.
I believe that even though Dave is a theory Y person, he knows that people are better workers when properly motivated. This doesn’t mean he has to micro manage, but he needs to help them manage themselves. I think that College Wesleyan in general has a theory Y type of management. Dave and the leadership has a great philosophy of management, one that allows them to push people to become better and grow in their ministry, but also allow people room to motivate and get things done out of their own passions and intrinsic motivation.
I think that Pastor Dave has a good balance of these two views. I think in general, he is a theory Y guy. I think he would say that for the most part, people are good and are competent to do their job and have a passion for their job. Although he is like this, he does a good job at creating accountability.
One week when I met with Dave, he had just finished up a meeting with one of the staff members, which was a yearly review. He said that in these meetings, he would go over the personal and professional goals of the employee and talk about how they accomplished those things and if they hadn’t, they would talk about how they need to improve for next year and what they need to do to go about reaching and exceeding those things for the coming year. This would also be a time for those to present a new set of written goals and major things to accomplish.
I believe that even though Dave is a theory Y person, he knows that people are better workers when properly motivated. This doesn’t mean he has to micro manage, but he needs to help them manage themselves. I think that College Wesleyan in general has a theory Y type of management. Dave and the leadership has a great philosophy of management, one that allows them to push people to become better and grow in their ministry, but also allow people room to motivate and get things done out of their own passions and intrinsic motivation.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Week #13 Minister’s Taxes
Tuesday 04-14-09
By Nick Smith
1. Ministers who own their home do not pay federal income taxes on the portion of their church compensation that is designated in advance by their church as a housing allowance to the extent that the allowance is used to pay for housing related expenses and does not exceed the annual rental value of the home.
2. Do not hide your honorariums from the IRS. It is an easy thing to do as long as you are ok with lying.
3. Use turbo tax! It knows the ins and outs of pastoral taxation. You will find this very helpful.
4. Though you don’t have to pay income taxes on your house, you do have to pay social security on your house.
5. A minister who is buying a house is also able to use the interest as a regular deduction.
6. Remember that if you are going to live in a parsonage, you will not be able to gain equity, which could possibly very important if you move to a church who does not offer a parsonage.
By Nick Smith
1. Ministers who own their home do not pay federal income taxes on the portion of their church compensation that is designated in advance by their church as a housing allowance to the extent that the allowance is used to pay for housing related expenses and does not exceed the annual rental value of the home.
2. Do not hide your honorariums from the IRS. It is an easy thing to do as long as you are ok with lying.
3. Use turbo tax! It knows the ins and outs of pastoral taxation. You will find this very helpful.
4. Though you don’t have to pay income taxes on your house, you do have to pay social security on your house.
5. A minister who is buying a house is also able to use the interest as a regular deduction.
6. Remember that if you are going to live in a parsonage, you will not be able to gain equity, which could possibly very important if you move to a church who does not offer a parsonage.
Week #12 Formal Leadership Theory
Tuesday 04-07-09
By Nick Smith
The leadership theory that I will be applying to the Church as a pastor, is the Transformational Leadership theory. It is one I have experienced myself and therefore can relate to it.
In my church there is are only a few kids who come to youth group Sunday nights, yet there are 50+ who come to Wednesday morning prayer breakfast. As a transformational leader, I will seek to be more inspiring, let the kids know there is much to gain from following Christ more closely. I will speak to them on Wednesday mornings with more passion about the love of Christ, seeking ways in which to address specific issues in their lives they might be going through. I will do these things in order to fill them with the same type of passion I have and encourage them to come to youth group Sunday night.
Not only will I be passionate about the Lord, but I will also develop a vision for the youth group kids. That vision will encompass an evangelical mindset as well as a discipleship mindset in order for kids to understand that they need to make the most of their opportunities to come to Church in order to hear from God as well as bring their un-Christian friends in order for them to find the love of Christ. I will constantly be selling this vision on a corporate setting as well as an individual setting.
In times it will be important to find new ways of moving forward. Revising my vision might be the case but just finding new ways to go about carrying out my current vision will be the first way I go about pushing forward. I will do all I can to push on. I will involve the kids as much as possible to get their opinions as well as finding ways for them to get involved with my vision.
By Nick Smith
The leadership theory that I will be applying to the Church as a pastor, is the Transformational Leadership theory. It is one I have experienced myself and therefore can relate to it.
In my church there is are only a few kids who come to youth group Sunday nights, yet there are 50+ who come to Wednesday morning prayer breakfast. As a transformational leader, I will seek to be more inspiring, let the kids know there is much to gain from following Christ more closely. I will speak to them on Wednesday mornings with more passion about the love of Christ, seeking ways in which to address specific issues in their lives they might be going through. I will do these things in order to fill them with the same type of passion I have and encourage them to come to youth group Sunday night.
Not only will I be passionate about the Lord, but I will also develop a vision for the youth group kids. That vision will encompass an evangelical mindset as well as a discipleship mindset in order for kids to understand that they need to make the most of their opportunities to come to Church in order to hear from God as well as bring their un-Christian friends in order for them to find the love of Christ. I will constantly be selling this vision on a corporate setting as well as an individual setting.
In times it will be important to find new ways of moving forward. Revising my vision might be the case but just finding new ways to go about carrying out my current vision will be the first way I go about pushing forward. I will do all I can to push on. I will involve the kids as much as possible to get their opinions as well as finding ways for them to get involved with my vision.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Thursday Report #10 Singleness and Ministry
I read Keith Drury's article on minister's protecting themselves from sexual sin. The following is a list of 5 policies that I intend to practice in order to avoid sexual impurity and impropriety in thought, word and deed as a minister.
1. I will not be alone with the opposite sex. I will always make sure there are numerous people around me when I am meeting with someone from the opposite sex.
2. I will always keep my door open in my office when I woman is there. I will make sure someone is always within eye sight of the open door.
3. I will never intimiately embrace a member of the opposite sex. This means I will only shake a females hand or "side hug." I will never fully embrace, kiss, or hold a woman's hand.
4. I will sign up for XXXchurch.com's internet pornography accountability software so that my future wife can see all the websites I visited.
5. I will go to my wife for emotional support, no one else.
1. I will not be alone with the opposite sex. I will always make sure there are numerous people around me when I am meeting with someone from the opposite sex.
2. I will always keep my door open in my office when I woman is there. I will make sure someone is always within eye sight of the open door.
3. I will never intimiately embrace a member of the opposite sex. This means I will only shake a females hand or "side hug." I will never fully embrace, kiss, or hold a woman's hand.
4. I will sign up for XXXchurch.com's internet pornography accountability software so that my future wife can see all the websites I visited.
5. I will go to my wife for emotional support, no one else.
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