Take 5 Series - Read it and Reap

Readers are leaders and leaders are readers. Three things I would say to our Journey leaders about this.

 

1. I don't fancy myself to be an avid reader or a fast reader but I am developing the daily discipline of reading widely and wisely.

 

2. I have found that iBooks on my iPad has revolutionized how I read books and compile notes. Digital books can transform the way you read making it easy, inexpensive, and extremely profitable.

 

3. I find that reading for a few minutes each morning and evening gets me further, faster as I am finishing article after article and book after book,. Consistency is the key.

 

I read a 5-minute devotional emailed to me called Tozer on Leadership. I could not recommend this any higher - click here.

 

Here is a quick-read post from Tozer this week that I wanted to share with you.

 

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"Read or Get Out of the Ministry" by A.W. Tozer

 

A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. —Proverbs 1:5

 

When a very young minister, I asked the famous holiness preacher, Joseph H. Smith, whether he would recommend that I read widely in the secular field. He replied, "Young man, a bee can find nectar in the weed as well as in the flower." I took his advice (or, to be frank, I sought confirmation of my own instincts rather than advice) and I am not sorry that I did.

 John Wesley told the young ministers of the Wesleyan Societies to read or get out of the ministry, and he himself read science and history with a book propped against his saddle pommel as he rode from one engagement to another. Andy Dolbow, the American Indian preacher of considerable note, was a man of little education, but I once heard him exhort his hearers to improve their minds for the honor of God. "When you are chopping wood," he explained, "and you have a dull axe you must work all the harder to cut the log. A sharp axe makes easy work. So sharpen your axe all you can." The Size of the Soul, 33.

 
"In the busyness of life, Lord, help me to always guard time to sharpen my axe. Amen."
 

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 Reprinted from Tozer on Christian Leadership by A.W. Tozer, copyright © 2001 by Zur Ltd. Used by permission of WingSpread Publishers, a division of Zur Ltd.

 
Tozer on Christian Leadership is protected by copyright and may not be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, translated, transmitted or distributed in any way.

 

Take 5 Series - Prepping for Public Ministry

Below are 7 steps I used to prepare to speak at Christian Life Church.

1 – PRAY– about the assignment I have been given – ask for the anointing to speak

2 – PREPARE– I put in the time to know the material to the best of my ability

3 – PRAY– I ask the Holy Spirit to refine my thoughts and enable me to say the most powerful things in the least amount of words.

4 – PRACTICE– I time my teaching, walk through my PowerPoints, speak the teaching or message out loud several times to get into my brain memory so I’m not reading it

5 – PRAY– I ask the Holy Spirit to give me key points, illustrations, stories, and claim Exodus 4:12 – “I will help you speak and teach you what to say."

6 – PRESENT– I exercise courage and boldness and get up at the appointed time and trust God that as I go in the strength that I have He will help me present the teaching/sermon in a clear, powerful, influential, impacting, and humorous way

7 – PRAISE– After my time of ministry, I give thanks to the Lord for helping me and leave the results with him

-- David
 

Take 5 Series - Effective Leaders Cannot Afford to Be Easily Offended

As a leader, you are going to draw fire. People will criticize you. Some will second-guess your decisions. Others will impute motives that aren’t there. A few will falsely accuse you.

If you are going to be effective as a leader, you can’t afford to be easily offended. Don’t take the bait! Nothing will derail you faster and consume your energy—energy you could be using to do what matters most.

 

When I am tempted to get offended, I remind myself of four great truths I have learned—and am still

learning—about offenses.

• Truth #1: Offenses are inevitable.
• Truth #2: Offenses are usually unintentional.
• Truth #3: Offenses can be good for us.
• Truth #4: Being offended is a choice.

The greatest leaders I know are not easily offended. Instead, they practice the habit of overlooking offenses. They take the high road, give the offender the benefit of the doubt, and move on. What about you?

 

Source: Michael Hyatt article & podcast at this link here.

Take 5 Series - 3 Forces That Shape Character

by Michael Hyatt

Charisma may be useful in attracting a following, but it is largely useless when it comes to achieving a long-term, positive impact on the people and organizations we lead. For this, we need character. Effective leadership is an inside-out job.

In helping people build their platforms, I often meet individuals whose public image is better developed than their personal character. They are one person on stage and another when the spotlight is off. It is this fundamental lack of integrity that undermines their effectiveness and, left unchecked, can destroy their legacy.

This is why it is so important to give attention to developing our character. Yes, talent is important. So is education and experience. But in the end, it is our character that makes or breaks us.
In my experience, character is shaped by three forces. If we want to develop our character, we need to give attention to each of them.

 1. The Input We Consume. Computer geeks are fond of saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” The same is true with our inner life. One of the best ways to grow is by reading books, listening to podcasts and other audio programs, and attending conferences.

But the opposite is also true. Watching endless hours of television, viewing pornography, or mindlessly ingesting the worst of popular culture, erodes character.

This is why we must be attentive to the input we consume. It affects us in deep and profound ways. It is the raw material out of which our character is formed.

 2. The Relationships We Pursue. Jim Rohn taught that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If this is true—and I believe it is—we have to be more intentional about the people we choose to associate with.

  * If you want to lose weight, hang out with people who make good diet and exercise choices.
  * If you want a better marriage, socialize with people who have healthy ones.
  * If you want to make more money, associate with people who are successful.

Conversely, dissociate from people who reinforce your worst traits. Even the Bible warns, “Bad company corrupts good character” (see 1 Corinthians 15:33). None of us can afford relationships that pull us down.

 3. The Habits We Acquire. These are simply the consistent ways we think, speak, and act in different situations. They are largely unconscious, which is what gives them their power—both positively and negatively.

Good habits lead to good outcomes:

  * If we develop the habit of praising our spouse in public, for example, it contributes to a healthy marriage.
  * If we develop the habit of positive thinking, it can help us cope with adversity.
  * If we make healthy food choices, it can increase our energy, improve our productivity, and extend our lives.

But bad habits can have the opposite impact, too. If you make a habit of complaining about your boss, it can come back to bite you. That’s why we have to be intentional about building good habits and breaking ourselves of bad ones.

Nothing is more important to our effectiveness as leaders than the cultivation of our own character. Why? Because ultimately we will replicate who we are—for good or for bad.

Source: Michael Hyatt. Read the source article at this link here.