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Am I Contributing?

Just a finished a great book on leadership Leaders that Last, by Dave Kraft. I really enjoyed it, and I was challenged on many fronts.  One of the questions he poses in the book that has been bouncing around in my head is: "What is your contribution to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission?".

I posted that same question on Twitter and Facebook and received some good responses, and yet the tension for me personally is still raging.  I want my life, my priorities, my planning, my parenting, etc., to reflect my commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

I love the quote by Rick Warren, "A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will make a great church" -- totally believe this not only for a church, but for every Christ-follower. Our goal should be to be great for God -- that would be a powerful act of worship.

So, back to the place of tension for me, what am I doing to contribute to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission? How about you?

U.B.U - Pastor Ed Young

Great Book

I recently read the book, Relational Intelligence, by Steve Saccone and I loved it! It is a must read. Here is a clever little promo video for it...

Wanted: Leaders

As I sit back and survey all that is going on around me, inside and outside the church world, I see an incredible need for leaders. Not people with titles. People who are willing to leverage their God given influence to spread God's fame. In the workplace. In the neighborhoods In the church house. In their families.

Leaders are needed to step up to the plate and begin to use thier influence to bring hope, healing, and restoration to the people we come in contact that are being hit from every direction with this thing called "life".

As Christ-followers, we have an incredible opportunity and privilege  to bring the real message of hope to many who have no hope at all. Will you be the one who steps up to the plate and prays that simple prayer, "God, here am I send me?" That is a prayer God will not deny!

Lead on for God's fame.

Jan 28, 2009

I love this quote, "If you don't have a critic, then you probably aren't saying anything."

This morning I was reading Leadership Now Blog, and came across the following blurb that got me thinking...

"We have also learned a great deal about the limitations and shortcomings of our financial system and about the frailties of the people running and abusing it. We must make sure that these lessons are put to good effect. The world will not be a hopeless mess as long as it is in a learning curve....There's one lesson to be learned above all others: There is no substitute for prudent, strong and courageous leadership. This is what the civilized world currently lacks and must find--soon."

—Paul Johnson, eminent British historian and author,
"A World in Search of Leaders" in Forbes November 24, 2008

Life Role Leadership

 Between all of our Leadership Training at Harvest and our current leadership series on Nehemiah, I thought this article I came across on the Church Leaders Intelligence Report was pretty relevant.  Check it out....

 The act of leadership is a basic part of the Christian life. True, some are spiritually gifted for the task of leading others, but Christ calls all believers to servant-leadership in the areas of our influence. Leaders include mothers and fathers, executives and missionaries, pastors and elders, commanders and soldiers, coaches and mentors, friends and family. In fact, any role that affects or influences another life, whether positive or negative, specific or general, obvious or covert, are leadership roles. And all leaders must make personal and active choices about how, when and to what end they will exert their influence.

Specifically, leadership falls into two categories: Life-Role Leadership and Organizational Leadership. Life-role leadership functions in enduring relationships, such as family, friendship and citizenry. It focuses on growing and supporting a mutual commitment to one another and may involve seasons of sacrifice and differing levels of influence based on maturity. It tends to be resilient and anticipatory of forgiveness, love, loyalty, trust and forbearance. Organizational leadership involves a position bestowed by an organization to serve its perceived needs. Accountability and performance is regularly measured and scrutinized; conflicting agendas and priorities tend to affect influence levels. Its values include competence, vision, courage, diligence, confidence and results.

The biggest difference between these types of leadership involves the permanence of the relationships involved. Many of the leadership influence that shapes our lives comes from the first leadership category; however, in the early church, the former category was a prerequisite for the latter. (See 1 Timothy 3:1-7)

Suffice to say, whether you are a parent, spouse, family member, friend, co-worker or citizen—or whether you have a formal title like CEO, pastor, coach, teacher or manager—you are a leader! As you consider each relationship, ask yourself: Will I serve or seek to be served? Will I love others or expect love from others? Will I lead like people, or lead like Jesus?

Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges, Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Role Model of all Time,
W. Publishing, (Thomas Nelson) 2005.

Enemies of Growing Church

I came across this article the other day that has me thinking...

ENEMY #1: Lack of Faith. Leaders need to not just believe their church will grow; they need to expect it to grow and act like it will.

ENEMY #2: Lack of Knowledge. In Hosea, the people perished because of a lack of knowledge. What you don’t know can kill you!

ENEMY #3: Expecting God to Treat You Differently Than Everyone Else. All the laws of growth apply equally to everyone. He can do a great work through you just as easily as He does through Billy Graham or Rick Warren.

ENEMY #4: Thinking that Growth is Not a Goal. Growth is ALWAYS the goal of the New Testament church. Don't be afraid to count people; God does.

ENEMY #5: An Unsure Pastor. The speed of the leader suggests the speed of the team. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and know Me." Do not lead ambiguously.

ENEMY #6: Failure to Build on Small Victories. Use every victory to win the next one.

ENEMY #7: Failure to Preach the Announcements. Don't just tell people about what's happening after your message; give an invitation to involvement!

ENEMY #8: Lack of Corporate Fasting and Prayer. "If there was a check for $5 million taped to the ceiling, you'd skip lunch to try to reach it, wouldn't you?" Meeks says. Some things are never possible without fasting and prayer.

ENEMY #9: Failure to Get Started. Don't wait for everyone to "get it." Do your best at research, pray, then just do it.

ENEMY #10: Poor Motive. Ask your team, "Why do you want to grow?" Discuss your answers with grace, and move forward with a unified, godly drive.

James Meeks,"Enemies of a Growing Church", Leadership Summit, Willow Creek Association, 2006.

Multi-Tasking: Good or Bad?

I came across the article below in the Church Intelligence Report, and I wanted to see what you thought about the danger of multi-tasking.

Christine Rosen has written an intriguing article about multi-tasking for The Toronto Star. The article, "Can You Finish This Story Without Being Interrupted?", says multi-tasking is undermining our ability to concentrate, pay attention and decide whether or not information is worthy of our undivided focus. Rosen marshals the findings of scientific analysis to build her case against multi-tasking. Among the research she cites:

• A study in the UK showed people constantly interrupted by e-mails and instant messages did worse in a controlled test than those intoxicated by marijuana. The author said: "The IQ loss…is temporary. Remove the multi-tasking requirement, and test scores jump back to normal."
• Rene Marois of Vanderbilt University has explored the consequences of multi-tasking on the efficiency of the brain. Marois' research suggests that the more we jump from task to task, the more energy our brains waste.
• The research of Professor Russell Poldrack of UCLA indicates that distraction causes a physiological learning deficiency. When multi-tasking, the part of our brains used for storing and recalling information slows down.

Leaders should be aware of the perils of multi-tasking. For the human mind, more is less. Focus and concentration have immense value and are essential for a person to think clearly and work efficiently.

Multi-tasking will continue to be a temptation in the craze of today's workplace, but leaders doing too much at once will drain their brains and drag down productivity. Perhaps it's time for single-tasking to come back in vogue.  The Toronto Star, 7/2/08

What do you think?

How to Get Better

We all dream of a tomorrow that's better and brighter than today, yet many of us never go beyond hoping for improvements to actually making them. Following are some insights from motivator, speaker and author John Maxwell to help you improvise your approach to improvement.

• Develop Habits.The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Leaders who make successful improvements form habits of daily action that those who fail to improve never develop. As Andy Stanley says, "Your direction determines your destination." The steps you make each day, for good or ill, eventually chart the path of your life.
• Befriend Discipline. We live in the ultimate quick-fix culture. In life, there are two kinds of pain: the pain of self-discipline and the pain of regret. The pain of self-discipline involves sacrifice, sweat, and delayed gratification. The reward of improvement softens the pain of self-discipline and makes it worthwhile. The pain of regret begins as a missed opportunity and ends up as squandered talent and an unfulfilled life.
• Admit Mistakes. When trying to improve, we not only risk failure; we guarantee it. The good news is that mistakes generally teach us far more than success. None of us is perfect! That's why it's important to be honest when we fall short, learn from the mistake, and move forward with the knowledge gained.
• Measure Progress. You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Identify the areas in which improvement is essential to your success and find a way to track your progress. Keeping score holds you accountable and gives you a clear indicator of whether or not you're actually improving.
• Change Continually. Continual change is essential for improvement. One of the great paradoxes of success is that the skills and qualities that get you to the top are seldom the ones that keep you there. The quest to improve forces us to abandon assumptions, embrace innovation, and seek new relationships. If we're complacent for too long, we'll fall behind the learning curve. Keep in mind that the desire for improvement naturally has a degree of discontent in it. Personal growth also requires a flexible mindset, including the humility to realize you have room to grow, but also enough confidence to maintain that improvement is possible. Adaped from John C. Maxwell,Improvising Your Approach to Improvement, Leadership Wired, Vol. 11, Issue 13.