Friday Links Roundup: Like the Countdowns? Edition

So, The Greatest Voices Project finished up, albeit a little later than scheduled. We had a snafu with our “post scheduler,” and we didn’t have an Internet connection while we were away for Thanksgiving, so it took us until Monday and Tuesday to post the top 20.

I know that this was a departure for our blog, but, if you look at the “tag line” at the top of the blog, we want this to be about “the Bible, family, and fun.” This was one of the “fun” times!

Here is my question: did you like the countdown? No, we aren’t going to do them all the time. They take a lot of time, and they are not the major focus of our blog. But, hey, they are fun. Would you like to see us do one of these, maybe 3 or 4 times each year, just as a “break” from our usual posting style?

Please leave comments or send emails with your thoughts. We want to hear from you!

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On to the links for this week:

1. A major frustration of many congregations and leaders is when members either (1) aren’t as involved as they should be, or (2) just end up leaving a congregation. Sometimes they “fall through the cracks,” but more often, there is a deeper reason they go. While this is a simple post, I love Chris Gallagher’s suggestion in “No Member Left Behind 2011.” Every member can implement this great plan!

2. Last Sunday, many of us cringed as we watched (and re-watched, and re-re-watched…) Buffalo Bills receiver Stevie Johnson’s drop of an easy game-winning touchdown. (Just in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the video.) My dad used this event, and the receiver’s post game comments about God, for a great post. Enjoy “He Really Dropped the Ball.”

3. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had someone abuse your trust. Okay, hands down (since every hand was raised). How are we supposed to handle that? Michael Hyatt shares some thoughts for leaders who have been through this, but the points he makes are helpful for anyone. Here are his five strategies.

4. Giving in on our minds this time of year. Money Help for Christians raises an interesting moral question, and provides a very useful answer. Learn from “Should You Give Only When You Have a Cheerful Heart?”

5. Our final link is easily the shortest we’ve every put on here. We have several readers who are young ladies, struggling with how to look like what society tells them to look like. If you need a reminder that such things change, click on this very brief link.

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We hope you have a great weekend. As schedules get busier this time of year, it can get too easy to give the Lord nothing more than mere lip service. Make sure you don’t “squeeze Him out” of your schedule. And make that especially true on His Day!