In the last couple of days I’ve read a short book called The Coaching Habit. As I write it’s on offer at just 99p on Amazon UK on the Kindle which makes it a 5 Star Bargain. I thoroughly recommend you buy it because it has lots of science to back it up, is unusually well written and very funny in places. The only thing I felt was missing was a one page summary for easy reference, so here’s one I made earlier to put into Evernote in the hope it gets into my brain and changes my habit of trying to give all the answers, instead of asking better questions. Seven Great Coaching Questions can deliver you from having to have all the solutions to help people find them for themselves: Ready? 1) What’s On Your Mind? There are scientific reasons Facebook asks you this! 2) And What Else? Repeat this after listening, repeat this after listening, and repeat this… you get the idea 3) What’s The Real Challenge Here For You? Cuts to the chase, provides focus. 4) What Do You Want? Gives ownership […]
Tag: leadership
Time To Go Can Be Your Time To Grow!
Today I got TWO letters of resignation from two of our best leaders. Matty and Nick aren’t leaving because they don’t want to be at Ivy (they’re not even leaving Ivy, they’ll still be part of the church). The letters were expected, because we’ve talked at length about where they’re at and what God’s calling them out of – and into. Both have a different path ahead of them, but what’s common is that it will always all be about Jesus. Someone asked me recently, ‘What’s Ivy’s biggest challenge?’ I said, ‘When you tell people they can go and change the world for Jesus, they start to believe you – and go and do it.’ Ivy’s that kind of a place and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is why we need to keep raising up more leaders. Leaders we invest in, and hope will stay, but only as long as they should. Leaders with backbone enough to let go of certainty and not retreat into what’s safe – because they are NOT leaders. You can’t play it safe […]
9 Bullets Simon Guillebaud Fired At Ivy Church Last Sunday.
Privileged to host my friend Simon Guillebaud at Ivy last Sunday on a whistle stop tour from the poorest, most messed up country in the world. He spoke about how they put the fans on loudly in the house so the kids can’t hear the shooting outside, and how he recently witnessed a mass shooting where many bullets were fired but thankfully only a few hit. He then fired out 9 truths from the Bible in Deuteronomy 30. A number of them hit me! Which ones are on target for you today? Here are my notes, but I recommend you listen to the talk (and if Ivy podcasts are helping you, please could you take two minutes to write us a positive review to encourage others to listen too?) Nine Things That Will Change Your Life Will you choose; 1) Clarity – or Trust? Trust is challenging for us. We want clarity. Let go of clarity to get trust. Trust him! 2) Obedience – or Disobedience? Obedience means submitting ourselves to what God says, while your conscience is still tender […]
Why Aren’t Men (Even Christian Men) More Like Jesus?
Everywhere I go these days I see young men with long hair and beards, but being like Jesus doesn’t mean trying to look like him. I posted on my Facebook page yesterday about my friend Krish Kandiah. He doesn’t have a beard but I’d just read a blog he had written outlining a positive way we should connect with Muslims rather than give way to Islamophobia. He works tirelessly to put the lonely in families and most recently is helping the government rethink its refusal to receive refugee children from Europe. I thought, “I wish I was more like Krish.’ Why did I think that? I reposted his blog with comment, “This man is so like Jesus, full of grace and truth.” That’s why. When I was at primary school, I wanted to be like the bigger boys. At High school, I wanted to be like Mr. Stanford the P.E. Teacher. When I joined the Police Cadets, I wanted to be like the ‘real’ police. When I became a police officer, I wanted to be like the old timers who […]
Top Tips For Speakers
I loved this TED talk by Julian Treasure. It will take you about ten minutes to watch, but if you only have five – watch the last five. It will be well worth it in terms of how long people will be willing to give you a hearing. Anyone aspiring to grow in influence and leadership will benefit, but make sure you’re in private when you do the wee-wah exercise!
Lead by listening – Brad Jersak
Jesus is alive! The resurrection is essential to Christianity not just because there’s’ an empty tomb, but because he is here. We were not just left with a love letter. There’s a living God who wants to know us! Jesus believed we could hear his voice. But I didn’t really believe it. What if we look at the new covenant promises? Based on Jesus dying for us. What are the promises he made to us. Forgiveness is forgiven. It was done on Good Friday and I experience it now, AND by word count that’s not number 1. By word count, it’s that we get to hear God. I grew up believing I had a personal relationship with Jesus, but not expecting him to speak to me. What kind of personal relationship is that? Jer 31:31ff – Prophesy of the New Covenant. No longer will a man need to say to his neighbour, because from the least to the greatest, ALL will! The least in age, the least holy even (because doesn’t he speak then?! Not […]
SIX STEPS to Growth
6 STEPS to Growth (Tom Lane, Gateway Church) Matt 25:14 ‘Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 ‘After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.” 21 ‘His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful […]
LEAD BY VISION
As part of Ivy’s ‘Year of Equipping’ we have booked selected world class leaders to lift the lid on our leadership and help us all go to the next level. If you were to give yourself a score 1 to 10 in terms of how you lead, how well you steward your God-given influence, what score would you give yourself? If you’re brave enough you could ask those you lead to rate you! We aim through these ‘Equipped To Lead’ events to help those who lead at Ivy go from where they are now, to where God intends them to be. My friend Nick Klinkenberg visited this week to bring a wealth of experience having pastored various churches in New Zealand as well as coaching and planting across Europe. This really is a great talk and Nick’s passion for leadership that makes a difference and love for people just shines through! Make some notes on how to ‘LEAD BY VISION.’
A Different Way To Get Leaders
How did Peter get to follow Jesus and become a leader? Jesus selected him. How did Matthew get to follow Jesus and become a leader? Jesus selected him. Luke 5: One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore… After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Jesus called some fishermen and said “Follow me.” He went out and saw the tax collector who was by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Why did he do that? Because Jesus picked him. […]
How to release prophecy in the church – without being weird
How can we encourage people that God wants to speak to them personally? I’m at the residential as one of the faculty of WTC at the moment and we just enjoyed listening to Brad Jersak as he briefly taught some principles from his book ‘Can You Hear Me?’ about releasing ‘The Prophethood Of All Believers’, and then we got to do it. Glorious! I look forward to us hosting Brad as Ivy later in the year and hope he’ll teach and model more on this for us. In the meantime, here are my notes: Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear my voice.’ He has confidence in us, that it should happen. In the same was as all Gods’s people are intended to be witnesses, all God’s people are meant to be prophetic, though not all are prophets. There are some very impressive ‘prophetic types’ but the default mode for prophecy is not from strangers but from someone who loves you. So, if someone you don’t know (or you don’t know loves you) gives you a word, check it with someone who you […]