Reversing the Death Spiral of a Leader. Dr Henry Cloud. @Drhenrycloud Willow Creek GLS Leaders take charge. They do stuff. They don’t blame. They exert energy and take charge of people and problems. They do hard things. But the hardest thing you have to be in charge of, is yourself. Leaders always see a vision, get a team, and a plan, and tweak along the way and move from here toward there. But sometimes along the way, they stop being in charge of themselves and fall off in a downward spiral. This happens in very accomplished leaders. What happens in a downward spiral? Leaders who last think, feel and behave differently from the ones who spiral out. A study looked at two groups of people; 1) High performers on the entry test. 2) Dummies who failed the entry test. In the field the second group outperformed the first by 53%! Wow! Oh, but there was one other difference, They did another test. The first group were also pessimists. The second were […]
Finding and Developing Leaders
Oscar Muriu (Nairobi Chapel) at Willow Creek GLS How do we find and develop leaders? 1. The size of the harvest depends on how many leaders you have. The harvest is plentiful. The more harvesters we commission, the greater the harvest will be. Jesus FIRST found leaders and invested into their lives. He didn’t throw himself in the work but into the workers. If we don’t do that, we burn out. Don’t limit your influence to your own personal capacity. How many are you raising up to continue the work after you? The more havetsers you have, the more harvesters you can bring in. 2. Don’t Limit Yourself By Living To Your Own Generation. Psalm 71:18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Acts 13:36 says David served the purpose in his generation. But David says he didn’t just live for his own generation! The only way for your vision to outlive you is to instill it in others. […]
The Courage Leadership Requires. Bill Hybels at Willow Creek GLS
The Courage Leadership Requires. Bill Hybels at Willow Creek GLS Dt 31:7-8 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” The charge to the younger leader. But why would it need such courage? Later God himself speaks to that younger leader in Joshua 1. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Why do I need to know that? He soon learned! Leadership demands a non stop flow of fortitude from day one, to the end. Courage correlates to every component of leadership; You need courage for… […]
Mark Bailey at The Message Prayer Day @Markbailey_
Prayer is not overcoming God’s unwillingness. Prayer is the engine room of the church. Ministry is tough – but hang on and you will see God do great things. There are opportunities for spiritual entrepreneurs all around us. Churchill said ‘planning is important but plans are useless’ You actually have no idea where you are heading. God is predictably unpredictable. The Celts called the Holy Spirit the Wild Goose. We are on a wild goose chase! If you’re born of the spirit, you want predictability but you can’t chase anything. His church policy on a reserve policy is to have no reserves Because that keeps you on your knees You have to risk if you want to please God. That’s faith – faith makes the adventure. Oswald Chambers ‘We do not know what a day will bring forth’ Why? Because he is ordering your steps The simple things are the important things. Jesus was great at simplifying complexity ‘Whats the most important commandment?’ Simple! And he lived a simple life. The early church had a simple creed, ‘Jesus is Lord.’ […]
Treat Your Ears To @tomcopson
This guy is amazing through and through. What a voice. Used to help lead the worship at the church we linked with in Surrey. Enjoy.
Problem – People – Plan. Acts 6
Great input from Chris Willard @Chris_willard at Leadership Network @leadnet Retreat. In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large […]
How honesty helps you get through ministry without ruining your life
Discussion started following teaching from Billy Kennedy @BillyK5562 at Leadership Network Retreat Too many people get taken out of the fight. No accountability structure will work without being really honest with yourself about where you really are at. We need to be as honest as possible with a few people we can really trust. We have to develop a culture of transparency and honesty, not just talking vision, growth and targets. We need to be able to say, ‘I am struggling.’ If we don’t have that at the front end we will have to be honest about it when the crash comes! Our insecurities, driveness, low self esteem etc has to be dealt with and engaged. We ALL have stuff! Become more self aware. Work at your marriage/ relationships. Continually invest in that. Men get attracted by a woman who takes an interest and if there’s a deficit at home are on very dodgy ground. Work at extended family. Other people who are close, so we’re not seen as the isolated leader. Do […]
‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ (My thoughts on Syria)
Won’t Get Fooled Again? In March 2003 Tony Blair made a liar out of me. I was leading a church in Surrey and we had great links with the local comprehensive school. They would call me in for pastoral care for some pupils, and I regularly did assemblies, too. They called me in after 9/11 – one of the children lost a family member when the twin towers went down. So the head called me in as it was announced that we were going to invade Iraq and air strikes were beginning, because a lot of the kids were understandably scared, could I talk to them? My problem was – what would I say? I am not a political animal, but I had taken the time in one or two midweek prayer meetings around that time to indicate that I was very wary of Britain being part of the hastily dubbed coalition. I could not see how invading Iraq would have any connection to ‘The war on terror,’ or in fact how you could go to war against terror at […]
Nick Duffy at Ivy Manchester – ‘As We Forgive’
Matthew 18:22-35 The parable of the unmerciful servant – Jesus called him Wicked! Because he wouldn’t forgive from the heart. More than anything else, God wants us to be more like Jesus. And Jesus knows if we don’t get forgiveness sorted out, we will have a lot of trouble. Because as we do life with people closely, there’s always friction! The nations demonstrate the cycle of hatred and unforgiveness fester. That’s the macro. What about the micro – who have you crossed off your Christmas list? We miss what God wants us to have because of bitterness and resentment that ‘defiles many.’ Do you play the scenario over and over Do you react to a name when you hear it We are a loved nation aren’t we? Just watch Eurovision – see how many nations hold grudges against us A little girl prayed ‘forgive us our bins as we forgive those who bin against us.’ How many times? 70 x 7 = You’ve missed the point if you’ve done the maths It’s so easy to pick and choose Defriend on […]
How much does God love you?
As I’m preparing for another Ivy wedding, looking at their chosen reading from Ephesians 3, I just read this, by Francis Chan – on GETTING the love of God. Let me ask you: How much do you think God the Father loves his Son? Try to imagine that. How much does God the Father love Jesus? It’d be a pretty perfect love, right? That’s why John 15:9 is a difficult passage for some of us to embrace. In John 15:9 Jesus says, “Just as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” Did you catch that: Just as? In so much as, in the same way as the Father loves you, Jesus, that’s how much you love me? Come on. Shouldn’t the verse read, “Just as the Father has loved me, cut that in half, or a third, and that’s how much he loves you.” That’s the way it feels sometimes, right? Some of you get the love of God, and praise God for that. I’m so grateful for you, and I learn […]