Do Careful Research in Choosing a Church Home

Too often we look to secular ideas in choosing a church home. Does the church have a praise team? Home many members attend a specific church? Depending on the life situations and challenges that we are face at certain times in our lives, we are in need a specific spiritual nourishment. No matter where you decide to cast your anchor, you are in fact seeking a church that will be your “Rock” in good times and in bad. Jesus said this to Peter, his disciples and the message is still relevant to all of us today. “And I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against the”. Matthew 16:18.

The church is our anchor that will not waver in times of trial or in times of distress. There was a time in my life when I needed more than dry unemotional sermons. I needed the Holy Spirit to come and live inside of me. To be with me in my difficult times and teach me to “Live above my circumstances”. But our responsibility is to know that the prospective church we choose functions according to the Word of God and New Testament principles.

Just as you would inspect the soundness of a house’s foundation, so you should investigate the doctrinal stance of the churches you visit. Where do they stand on issues of the Christian faith? The virgin birth and deity of Jesus Christ? The depravity of mankind and the work of Christ on the cross? Investigate the church’s stance on His death, burial, and bodily resurrection? Does the church believe in salvation by grace through faith alone? The second coming of Christ; and the ordinances of baptism and Communion; what is the prospective church’s stance in these areas?

All of thee areas are important to know in your decision to attend a church home. Where does the church stand on the issues of the day? The bible is very clear on issues that we face in the secular world. Make sure that the stance of the Church is in line with the will of the Lord. The worst thing yo can do is select a church that is not in line with the principals of God word. What is at stake is your eternal salvation! That is too important to take lightly the decision you make in choosing a church home. There is a lot to consider. A lot to think about , but knowing God’s will through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is the most important thing you can do.

Choose a good study reference Bible and begin to read it from cover to cover. This will give you the foundation, knowledge and discernment that will alert you to false teachers and false prophets that are so prevalent in churches of today. Finally spend time with the Lord, studying his word, meditating and praying, he will give you more of what you need in making biblical based decisions. Remember you need a biblical based church in order to truly know the New Covenant of Jesus Christ.

Ways to Increase Voter Turnout

Electing a president for is one of the most important decisions the American people can possible make. The future of the country is at stake. Policies will be voted on. Laws will be put forth and voted on in the House and Senate. Future foreign policy will be developed and implemented over the next four years that will effect the American people for many, many years to come. In short the very future of America and its people is at stake. With all this at stake, why would we not consider observing a holiday on election day? This would enable all American’s to go to the polls to vote.

There are crucial factors that should be considered is the voter turnout. Voter turnout is a measurement of the percentage of actual voters within the entire voter pool. The mood of the voter can be determined by the voter turnout. For instance a low voter turnout may indicate a disenchantment or apathy with both political parties. It can also indicate a disenchantment of the Senate and Congress and how they have voted regarding specific issues. Voter turnout has been decreasing nearly every election since the 1960’s. This year is an acception. The Democratic primaries produce record turnouts.

This could be a direct correlation to the mediocre Presidents and presidential candidates that have been put forth since the 1960’s. American’s truly have not had anyone to be excited about since the candidacy and eventual winning of the White House of John F. Kennedy in 1960. In 2004, election turnout was up to 64% of the voting age US citizens. This is a very low turnout meaning 36% of voting age US citizens did not vote. No one can argue that making election day a holiday will in fact increase voter turnout, but perhaps it can help.

General opinion is that race,gender and ethnicity have very little influence in the factors that draw voters to the polls. In 2008 the factors in voter turnout has been turned on its head, by George Bush, whom many people harbor many different opinions of. Bush has caused a tremendous awakening of voters who have flocked to the polls in in record numbers during the Primary season.

Factors that have influence voter turnout is change. Particularly in the 2008 Presidential Election. In the Democratic primaries . The voters were passionate about who they supported and age factored into this equation. Voters under 50 years old supported Barack Obama. Voters over 50 years old and older supported Hillary Clinton. The voter turnout was huge. Voters are motivated by one big issue this year; that would be change.

On the Republican side Evangelical Protestant voters split evenly between Huckabee, Romney and McClain. Again the voter turnout is strong. But how much more stronger could it be with everyone free to vote whenever they wanted to doing an election day Holiday?

In many countries across the globe voting is compulsory and the voter turnout is consistently 80% to 95%, with Australia having the highest voter percentage. Why Australia? Because they have compulsory voting. Of course we cannot have compulsory voting in America, but we can do all we can to encourage more voter turnout by having a election day holiday.

Our holidays are really important occasions, Columbus Day, Veterans Day Christmas,Easter, Thanksgiving, New Years, Martin Luther King, President’s Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, why not add another, Election Day!

The Role of The CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of a company is the most important person within the company structure. The CEO’s responsibility is to relay the vision of the company, both internally and externally. The CEO is responsible for setting the perception and tone of the company, while skillfully laying the groundwork, through strategic networking to foster the continued economic well being of the company.

The number one goal of the CEO is for the vision to be relayed clearly to the external partners, consumers, business leaders, and vendors, while insuring that all employees understand the vision, direction and goals of the company. The CEO must be adept at insuring that all employees can skillfully advance these goals while conducting their day to day business. Most of all the CEO must be proactive in in identifying hostile challenges and acting strategically to nullifying them before they become unmanageable.

It is a tall order. Many MBA professionals have entered into CEO positions only to find the waters tough in navigating through the maze of a constantly changing business landscape. The challenges of today’s economy make these goals and success in achieving them, a challenge to say the least.  What are rates of success for CEO faced with these challenges? There are many examples.

Larry Page was the founding CEO of Google, under his leadership Google grew to over 200 employees and profitability, before he moved to his new position of President of Products.  Because of Google’s vision and its tendency to be on the cutting edge of innovation and growth, Google grew to unprecedented growth, evolving into the premier search engine on the internet.  The vision that fueled Google’s growth was driven by free technological thinkers and the ability to think and anticipate trends in technology.

Page had the vision to create a high tech environment, where people really felt comfortable working at Google. The vision was to create an atmosphere conducive to the free expression of ideas; While presenting user technology that met the needs that changing technological innovation created.

Google today has involved in a number of areas, now offering free internet mail series incorporating the blogs, document management, photo management, a and a number of other applications,  that allow users to access information at anytime, from any computer. Sort of a traveling office, all you need is access to a computer and the internet. Google joined the internet advertising mix, by creating Ad Words, which has generated hundred of dollars in online advertising sales.

Google growth is unprecedented and today they are the most innovation search engine company,  far out distancing Yahoo it nearest competitor. The recent news that Microsoft  offer to purchase Google, as created quite a buzz, because of the ramifications. So Google is faced with an immediate challenge that threatens it very existence.  Google’s leadership,  namely it current CEO, will have to find a quick answer to the advances of Microsoft.

As you can see from the Google example, the leadership of the CEO is critical in order to meet challenges, not only from competitors, but form a changing business marketplace.   The mold has been cracked and a new one has evolved. Creating a need for all companies to think strategically not just for profit now, but for their very survival.  Strategic moves from competitors to take over the market share through consolidation caught Google by surprise.  The CEO was caught napping. This cannot in any way happen in today’s market place.