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I’ve always been fascinated by social-media (Facebook, twitter, Instagram) and a part of me wanted to make it part of my relationship with prayer supporters.

There’s just one problem with that…
I’m a Facebook stalker

That makes me sound terrible, but basically a Facebook stalker is someone who reads the posts of others, but never interacts with them [1], or shares anything of their own.

One problem with being a Facebook stalker is there are people who honestly wanted to learn what’s going on in my ministry using social media.  Because of this a goal this year is to share ministry updates of a more personal nature [2] online. Step one  was to actually ask, “Why haven’t I done something like this before?

The answer’s quite simple…I was waiting to share something awesome

We have all had those “God experiences” when the Lord just worked things out in a way that could only be done by Him. I would share those experiences or other special updates [3] but little else.

Sometimes I found myself sitting at a laptop thinking of an awesome story to share online [4] which points out the true problem of being a Facebook stalker

By only sharing the awesome stuff I portrayed Missions as one awesome experience after another with no pain whatsoever. This false reality could seriously damage individuals who expect the Christian life to be this way [5].

The answer to Facebook stalking isn’t to just share bad news all of the time…instead it’s about looking for sharable moments that God brings into our lives.

Last Saturday I went grocery shoppig the day before the Super Bowl.  When I went to check out the cashier started ringing up my groceries but didn’t put them in the cart, instead she started organizing them into stacks [6]. After a stack was organized she would neatly pack them together in the cart.

I asked her if they taught them how to do that but she laughed and said “no I’m just a neat freak.”

Impressed with her job I uploaded a picture of the cart on Facebook.

It got twenty-three likes, and five comments.

You know what that teaches me? Something doesn’t have to be earth-shattering to share it online…it can simply be a cashier who took the time to do things the right way.

A Mindset of Excellence from John Wilburn on Vimeo.

A few Saturdays ago (January 24) I ran a particularly hard nine miles with my training group.

However that didn’t keep me from fulfilling my role as the groups “entertainer” [1] by telling jokes, sharing stories, and even singing a few bars of “A Whole New World” from the movie Aladdin [2]!

Last Saturday (January 31) I ran an easier six miles with a very different response. There was little talking, no jokes, and wheezing and gasping instead of Disney songs.

What made the difference? I moved up to a faster group

Our training program is broken down into groups of 1 to 5. Since some people in each group are faster than others, they are then divided into an A and B

Part of me was tempted to stay in 4B (already a fast group) were I was one of the stronger runners instead of moving up to 4A were I would be one of the last finishers.

What led me to finally forced me to make that decision was the little voice in my head that whispered “hey you could do a little bit better.”[3]

The real problem though was my goal

Up till a few weeks ago the goal for training looked like this:

1. Run about a 2:10 Half-Marathon [4]
2. Get back into running shape
3. Entertain my training partners

This is definitely an awesome goal, but these are all things I’ve already accomplished…in other words they are too easy.

Here is what my goal looks like after moving from group 4B to group 4A:

1. Run a 2:00 Half Marathon or less
2. Be at the front of the group (I’m currently towards the back)
3. Run a 9:20 overall pace per mile (currently 9:30 is the fastest I can do overall)

Do you see how each of these goals push me harder?

That doesn’t mean it’s easy creating goals to push us to the limit. While stretching out after Saturdays run with 4B they expressed how much they missed me [5].  The thing is I missed them too [6] but on race day I will be thankful for the training sessions with a group that pushed me.

It’s easy to go through life doing what’s comfortable or things we are gifted at. But there will come a day when those hours singing Disney and telling jokes instead of pursuing excellence will come back to haunt us.

Worth a 21 Page Application from John Wilburn on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago I started visiting a second-grade class to help students with their reading for an hour. The teacher was surprised to see me Friday (forgot about my coming) and didn’t anything planned, so it looked like I couldn’t help at all [1].

After about ten minutes she asked if I could help a student read her book and observed us in case help was needed.

By the end of the book her whole attitude had changed

“Wow you are really good at this!”
“Thanks so much for helping me!”
“Okay so how many times can you come a week?”

Specific needs in our culture [2] have resulted in explosive growth with volunteering, or other forms of ministry.

Of course this kind of work is awesome. However to truly make a lasting impact it must be characterized by excellence.

There are many ways to define a ministry of excellence but this is one I prefer: There is a REAL RELATIONSHIP with you and the individual that involves connection OUTSIDE OF THAT MINISTRY [3]

Developing that relationship often means finding a way to connect with them or “building a bridge.”

Which is where my treasure chest comes in

Why Missionaries Need a Treasure Chest from John Wilburn on Vimeo.

Last week I bought a small box that resembles a treasure chest, then filled it with lots of cool stuff from the dollar tree.

The rules when tutoring children are quite simple; obey Mr. Wilburn, and you get something out of the treasure box [4].

While I don’t use the treasure box with adults (even thought they would love a dinosaur sticker) the most important thing is still making “connection” our goal instead of just showing up and helping a person [5]

The little girl I helped read a book Friday was extremely shy, and it was difficult to hear because she spoke in a very soft voice. Sadly I didn’t bring my treasure chest [6] but knew there were other ways to connect with her.

As we read the book there was a picture of two little girls dressing up in their mothers clothes. While talking about what it meant to dress up I explained to her it meant wearing mommy’s make-up or fingernail polish.

Upon hearing that she proudly pulled out her hand she had been hiding under the table to show me fingernails that had been painted pink with a huge smile.

Now that little girl will probably forget the day I talked with her about fingernail polish. But the smile she gave was the first step in a ministry of excellence.