by Steve Murrell

My friend, Paul Barker is in Manila for a couple of weeks working with our pastors and key admin leaders.

Yesterday Paul led a seminar he calls “The 5 Foundations of Productive Teams.” That’s a faith-man’s version of Patrick Lencioni’s “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.”

I think I like the faith version better than the dysfunctional version, because if we talk about all of our team dysfunctions, it is impossible to put them in only 5 categories.

Paul sited a Gallup poll of 10,000 followers about the kind of leader they want to follow. Here are the results, people want to follow leaders who…

1. Build Trust – it is easy to follow people we trust, difficult to follow those we don’t trust

2. Show Compassion – after all, we are leading PEOPLE, not just organizations and departments

3. Provide Stability – random, unplanned and poorly communicated change makes organizations unstable

4. Create Hope – no matter how difficult current reality is, hope enables us to stay in the game

Leadership is not rocket science. If a leader simply does these 4 things, plenty of people will follow.

What do you think?

Steve Murrell is a missionary, pastor, and the author of “The Reluctant Leader” and “The Accidental Missionary.”

by Ross Middleton

I was amazed the other day at the love that was in my heart after my kids had just both been absolutely horrible. Like the spawn of Satan horrible. That’s pretty harsh, but they were being redonkulous. I’m just trying to keep it real people. Stop being so religious. Just keep reading.

We had a rough afternoon, they were crazy disobedient and I’ll be honest, I was mad, I was frustrated and I was just having one of those moments you have as a parent. If you have kids, you know what I’m talking about.

We put them down for their nap and I prayed, repented, and asked God for grace to have a better attitude and have more patience. I then went into their rooms and it just took one look at them taking their naps and my heart melted all over again. I was in love, I immediately forgot the frustration and the anger in my soul.

I then just had the simple thought of  ”Wow, if I as an imperfect, earthly, mortal can love my kids that much, right after they have been bad, I just cannot fathom the love God has for me when I have been acting like the spawn of Satan and have been completely terrible.” The best part is, its immediate, and constant, his love never stops like mine does momentarily.

His mercy and compassion is new every morning and it blows me away.

 

Ross Middleton is an Every Nation campus director in Florida State University, Tallahassee and is the author of  Collide Leadership.

by Larry Matsuwaki

 

Malcolm Gladwell got me thinking from his book “Outliers” after reading what he called the 10,000 hour rule. He mentions a study done in the early 1990’s by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson at Berlin’s elite Academy of Music. He divided the school’s violinists into three groups: 1) Stars (world-class potentials) 2) Good 3) Unlikely to play professionally who intended to be music teachers. All were asked the same question. Since you picked up the violin, how many hours have you practiced? The interesting finding was this. Everyone from all three groups started playing around the same age, about 5 years old. What was the difference? It was the number of hours they practiced. By age 20 the stars had practiced 10,000 hours. The good students had totaled 8,000 hours and the future music teachers had totaled just over 4,000 hours. The interesting thing about Ericsson’s study is that he couldn’t find any naturals, those that effortlessly made it to the top. The thing that distinguished one performer over another was how hard they work. He gave examples of the Beetles, Bill Gates and others who invested a lot of time in practice before they became successful.

Two thoughts stood out to me that I will need to improve. Hard work and practice hours.

Hard work. Thinking about these violin players it must have been hard for these kids to practice instead of playing with their friends. It took discipline to say no and resist. If you really want something bad enough you will work hard at it. This year I set a goal to run my first marathon. When I started running I could barely run 10 minutes before I would need to stop gasping for air. Now 10 months later, I can run almost 3 hours straight. I am amazed at that accomplishment myself but I realize it was because I set a goal and it took a lot of hard work and discipline. Sometimes because of my schedule I would run late at night just to keep to my training plan. If we want to grow in our marriage, relationships with others and especially with God, it will take a lot of hard work! Others may be off at the golf course but you chose to take your wife for a dinner and a movie. Others may be working late but you chose to come home early to have dinner and devotions with your family. There are many things we can do with our time, but choose those things that you want to build that will last! Learn to say no to those things that don’t matter!

Practice Hours. After reading this I started to calculate how many hours I have put into reading and studying God’s word. If I read one hour a day for a year that’s only 365 hours. Ten years would be 3,650 hours. If people can invest time in becoming skilled in their talent, how much more we need to invest in knowing God. It takes time to read, meditate and pray. But it is necessary if we want to grow and succeed in our Christian walk.

I remember one of my coaches said this to me growing up… He said, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent!” We could be spending all our time practicing something in the wrong way that’s not good for us. It has become unknowingly a permanent routine or way of thinking. Many times we practice negative speaking not knowing that, that only tears us down. God’s word helps us practice how to live right. I also had guys to help coach or disciple me to grow in God’s word and help apply it to my life and situation. We must create a lifestyle of continually going to God’s word to learn how to live. Practice reading and living God’s word!

Whether you are at 1 hour or 10,000 hours spending with God.  The main thought I had, is if the world is spending hours to try to succeed in life, what about us with God? Let’s take the time to spend in what really matters. Our relationship with God. Learn to practice and apply his character in our lives.

by Paul Barker

 

I used to get Dominos as a present when I was a kid, and I loved them. But I never learned to play the game until a few years ago. I spent all my time setting up intricate and complex patterns – and then watching the chain reaction after I pushed the first one.

So I was intrigued to learn that the World Domino Toppling record had recently been shattered. An international team of 90 people from 13 nations eclipsed the former record of 4,002,146. Their total? 4,079,381! That is a lot of dominos!

I have always been interested in chain reactions, how one small event leads inexorably to a conclusion – often an unexpected and unplanned conclusion. For example…

On July 11, 1976, I heard the Gospel explained in a clear and convincing way – at a meeting that I never planned to attend. I stepped forward in response to that message, completely unsure where that step would take me. Thirty-one years later, I am in awe at the adventure, and the joy, and yes, the difficulties, that step led to. God pushed a domino that night, and my life has never been the same!

Paul Barker is the Director of the Every Nation Leadership Institute-North America and the author of PaulBarker.org.

by Mike Cantrell

As I remember back over my last years as part of church staffs, some of the more “heated” debates was over this term – numbers.

Anytime a church leader begins to discuss their desire to reach people, build a big church, break a numeric barrier, get off a growth plateau or add numbers there is usually a confrontation from the super-spiritual.  Comments are fired at the leader like, “God is worried about quality, not quantity,” or “bigger is not always better,” or “now, don’t be prideful pastor.” Often as pastors prepare to give their “vision speech,” they open with a disclaimer like, “Not that I am worried about numbers, but…” or “Not to compete with the church down the street, but…” or “If God’s will is for us to stay this size then fine, but…”

Why is that we as church leaders feel compelled to make excuses for growth? Is church growth bad? What about numbers are they holy or unholy?

Well, good news for us church growth fanatics…

* There is an entire book of the Bible called Numbers. (Numbers 1:1-2)
* Jesus himself drew crowds. (Matthew 8:1)
* God takes the credit himself for growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
* The book of Acts has several numerical growth indicators.  After Peter preached the church grew from 120 to 3,120. (Acts 2:41)

I don’t know, maybe its the old football coach in me, but the idea of a scoreboard makes sense.  I think as the church we ought to know the score.  Call it my carnality or sin nature, but deep down inside I want to win!  After all didn’t Apostle Paul call this a spiritual wrestling match? That is “rastlin” in Tennessee!  (Ephesians 6:12-13) And didn’t Christ come and deliver a knock-out punch on the cross? (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Thanks to one of my church leader heros, Nelson Searcy, I have coined (or stolen) a new term called, “Maximum Redemptive Potential” (MRP). Now, that term helps to spiritualize growth.  It helps to make numbers holy!

Here is the concept… God’s desire is that every individual, small group, ministry, and church reach its Maximum Redemptive Potential.  As followers of Christ we have a MRP and God wants us to get there.  As a church its the same.  This is equally true for our small groups and ministries.

God’s Word says that we have been handed the ministry of reconciliation, as God is making His appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) Jesus died for the redemption of the world. God commissioned his disciples to make redeemed disciples.  Through our individual and corporate Maximum Redemptive Potential God’s plan continues!  We all have a part to play in God’s redemptive master plan.

Here is the question…

* For you personally: are you reaching your MRP?
* For your small group: are you reaching your MRP?
* For your church: are you reaching your MRP?

I feel better about numbers already and I hope you do.  If you have reached your MRP, then you have grown enough, your small group can end, and your church can be satisfied.  If you haven’t then let’s concern ourselves with numerical growth!  Imagine what it would be like if we all achieved our Maximum Redemptive Potential…

Mike Cantrell, a former teacher and football coach,  is the lead pastor of Bethel Community Church in Clarksville and the author of MikeCantrell.org