Say thank you, and see if it makes a difference

I was reading through various blogs this morning and came across two things that tweaked at my imagination. The first was a post on Tim Sanders blog about the need to make sure we compliment each other.

He comments:

The premise is simple: You cannot let your people wither away and die at work. Many of them desperately need their talents recognized by you, be they as small as they might be in your P&L view...

...When it comes to management strategies, remember, Love Is The Killer App.

It seems to me that this principle applies at church too. As a leader I make it my business to say thank you to people. I thank the members of the worship group each Sunday. I also try to thank everyone who has made a contribution that day, and I guess I ought to thank folk for just turning up and being a part of what God is doing in our midst.

This kind of connected with the next thing I read from Total Leadership on the leader and corporate worship.

Tad Thompson writes:

Now this one may sound easy for a pastor or even a lay leader. But for me, it is possible to preach and not worship corporately. See the temptation is in viewing the preaching as my job and not as worship. Ministry can become a job and not worship. In the days of Josiah, the temple was no longer the place of worship and the book of law had been lost somewhere in a dark, dusty corner. The temple was in disarray because corporate worship had been ignored.

A true leader worships God with God’s people. This is a non-negotiable. Today worship has become negotiable because it is seen as entertainment. It is not seen as a means for the protection of our very soul.

Now what struck me is that whilst not everyone will agree that worship has become entertainment, we must agree that it certainly has to compete with many other things for a person's commitment. Perhaps they get thanked for their involvement with Sunday football, but never thanked for being at worship. Perhpas people are not committment shy but feeling under valued at church.

I know it's not about us, but we live in such a self-centred world that we need to connect with people where they start and not where we want them to finish. So let's try saying thank you a little more often.