Encouraged by ‘In search of Timothy’ by Tony Cooke. The idea of supportive leaders. The need for great ‘followership’ 4 commitments: devoted to God, church, your calling & the leader of the church The church is God’s plan A There is no plan B! Be loyal, have a good attitude, growth oriented. How well do I back up the leadership? Beware of ‘staff infection’ – spreading the negative. Know who you work for. Moses’ brother Aaron was supposed to be a representative spokesman for Moses. But when the pressure came on, Ex 32:1 – Aaron could have spoken up for Moses but instead he tried to please the people. He knew exactly what Moses was doing & could have said it. Instead he was weak, and 3000 died because of that. There are consequences – Keep your Aaron! 2 Tim 1:1-2 Dave has been at Ivy 36 years! He’s totally up for the next stage of growth. We need to be ready for the growth God is going to build here next. Generations need to mix up in discipleship too.
Month: June 2013
Don’t Tell Me What Your Idea Is
Reading a great book ‘Anything You Want,’ by the founder of CD Baby, Derek Sivas. He talks about how while we place great value on ideas, even the greatest idea is pretty worthless without DOING something about them. Execution trumps ideas every time. Here’s his explanation of that: AWFUL IDEA = -1 WEAK IDEA = 1 SO-SO IDEA = 5 GOOD IDEA = 10 GREAT IDEA = 15 BRILLIANT IDEA = 20 ——– ——— NO EXECUTION = £1 WEAK EXECUTION = £1000 SO-SO EXECUTION = £10,000 GOOD EXECUTION = £100,000 GREAT EXECUTION = £1,000,000 BRILLIANT EXECUTION = £10,000,000 To make a difference, you need to multiply the two. Execution is the great multiplier. He finishes by saying, “That’s why I don’t want to hear people’s ideas. I’m not interested until I see their execution.”
Want to be more persuasive?
95% of the other books on Persuasion rip off this seminal work by Cialdini. Save yourself the time by watching the video and if you like it, get the book. It’s phenomenal. P.S. If you’re a waiter – you have to watch this one!
What NOT to do when God is silent! (Mike Starkey at Ivy MCR)
Mike Starkey – Saul and the Witch of Endor 1 Sam 28 Let’s find a very difficult passage dealing with issues like divine guidance, mental illness, spiritualism, failure of leadership and the silence of God in the face of desperate situations. Ah, here’s one. In the week Mike was praying and asking God, ‘Where are you at work in this nation?’ And then he pulled up outside a house, and the first sign that said ‘Ivy Cottage.’ Then there was another prayer time in the week and he asked the same question, and went to his office and there was a note from a B& B. ‘Ivy House.’ He once asked God in the supermarket, ‘What kind of minister do you want me to be?’ And a bag of salad had written on it, ‘Washed and ready to serve.’ God can of course communicate in all kinds of ways. Primarily scripture but also maybe through dreams, discernment, etc. But there can be times when we long to hear from God, and the heavens are silent. […]
Matty Hawthorne ‘Goliath’s sword’
> Matty works jointly for Ivy, leading our Sharston congregation, and for > the Message > > Our church has desperate people visiting; > Hurt or a hurter > Helpless! > What will they find? Raised eyebrows or open hands? > > David was a desperate man, a wanted man. > Sleeping with one eye open > On the run from Saul > 6 times he tried to kill him… > But where does he go? > > He goes to church > For sanctuary. > To Ahimilech – the priest > 1 Sam 21 > > Desperate David resorts to lying for self protection > (Vs 2) > He wants food! > But all the priest has is ‘holy bread’ – only the priest should eat it. > Dilemma. > Should he keep the law and ignore the need? > > David reassures him, with more of the desperate lies desperate people tell. > The priest decided that a higher call than the law was an empty stomach > > David lies over and over here in his desperation. […]