We have spent a few days discussing the mentoring relationships that the Apostle Paul was involved in and the great benefit they brought to his life. As Paul continues in Thessalonica, he offers an abundance of life and leadership lessons.
Paul speaks boldly of lives that should be transformed by securing new relationships with Christ primarily, but also our improved relationships with each other. These new minds and lives, and how we approach others will add significant value to the people we serve. What Paul is speaking of this transformation, he is imploring the Thessalonians, and us to become more righteous. More right. More correct.
He wants us to be more right in how we think, what we feel, what we say, what we do, how we treat each other…more right.
What areas is Paul speaking of?
1. Anxiety and fear were the order of the day, just as it continues to be today. Increasingly, the Thessalonians were able to act in faith, trusting not only God, but one another as well (1 Thessalonians 1:3,10).
This is a vitally important concept in every aspect of our lives. Not only are we to trust in God, we must learn to trust ourselves and others. We must have sufficient confidence in ourselves to make better and better decisions. This means educating ourselves, and learning from our errors.
And, it means trusting others. This requires an open heart and mind. We have to trust people to do the tasks we give them. we must be there for backup, if they fall. We must provide training if we need to. This means we don’t micro-manage. We show people that we believe in them, and teach them to believe in themselves.
What the people at the church in Thessalonica learned was that, even when these people were suffering affliction, they were able to retain confidence (1 Thessalonians 3:4). They retained confidence in God. Confidence in themselves and confidence in each other.
Did this make life perfect? Hardly, but it made and makes it much more bearable when we realize that we are not in the sour alone. We are never alone.
2. Isolation was as much a fact then as it is now. Individualism created a lonely crowd of people. We have touched on this many times. There people we come in contact with every day who lead lonely and isolated lives. Now, don’t get me wrong…being alone does not necessarily mean that you are lonely. There is a major distinction between the two. The difference lies in being comfortable with who you are, comfortable in your own skin.
Are you comfortable in your own skin? Do you enjoy your own company?
What do you do to combat anxiety and fear?
[continued…]
SoMe: What do YOU bring to the party?
If you have been following along, one of my favorite hours of the week is the #leadfromwithin chat on Twitter Tuesday night at 8pm. Yes, that a plug for you to attend. These are notes from the July 12, 2011 session.
This is a community engaged in a rapid discussion about what it means to lead from within, meaning to lead from your heart as well as your head. I am fairly new to the community, but they are easy to fall in step with; and, you can get the transcipt of the discussion. It is thought-provoking and enlightening. It moves so quickly that I think everyone has to shoot from the hip, and therefore from the heart.
The people involved all seem to know their stuff, and aren’t afraid to disagree. We all learn from the interaction, because we are not all at the same level of development in all of our leadership a life skills. And, we all have something to learn from those who “know” more than we do, as well as those we perceive as “knowing” much less.
So, I am passing along the questions to you. My suggestion is that you take each question by itself, and meditate on it for 5 minutes or so, and write out an answer.
Q1 When great leaders walk in the room, what comes with them?
Q2: How do you discover what qualities people bring with them?
Q3: How can you become more aware of what you bring along with you?
Q4 What are you choosing to bring more often?
Q5: What has helped you develop those qualities?
Q6: What is more possible because you’re in the room?
Q7: How can you help others see that they bring?
Q8: What conversations happen more often when you are in the room?
Q9 What role does personality (eg Myers Briggs) play in motivating what people bring? (optional)
Q10 If you #leadfrowithin what qualities do you bring when you walk into a room?
What are YOU bringing to the party?
Thoughts?
Mentoring 101, part 3 – 1 THESSALONIANS Series (1)
Be a Barnabas, Find a Paul and…
Train a Timothy
A third key life-development relationship we observe in the New Testament is embodied in training. When you find someone who is willing to listen, and motivated to learn, be sure to take the time, expend the energy, and invest in training and helping them.
Training is a recurring activity involving instruction, implementation, observation, and evaluation. In this model, the event of teaching/instruction is but a single component in the process of training.
Intentional training is needed today. Skills need to be learned and competencies need to be refined. Many young Timothys desperately need increased effectiveness.
While the primary result may be that the young person is trained, more competent, more confident and more effective, several things happen as a byproduct of all this activity. Miraculously, benefit also comes to the one doing the training. As the teacher shares the principles, they are further highlighted in the teacher’s mind and heart, thereby strengthening the faith and resolve in the one doing the training.
Additionally, a certain amount of accountability and responsibility is applied to the life of the one doing the training, “so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Furthermore, joy wells up in the heart of the one investing the training energy whenever those influenced become effective. The aged apostle John, referencing his friend Gaius, said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4). Train a Timothy. In addition, the process and discipline of training another person can have a positive effect on the trainer through reinforcement of truths we hold dear.
Conclusion
If each of us would seek to be a Barnabas, pursue a Paul, and train a Timothy, many people sitting on the sidelines of life could become active and productive members of society. In pursuit of much needed mentoring, these lifelong learners, could be better prepared for the long haul.
When youngsters are mentored, they will be more effective in their work, both now and in the future. The more people we have who are better equipped for the real world, and who are in it for the long haul will have a profound positive effect on their future families and their communities.
Be a Barnabas, pursue a Paul, and train Timothy…
Mentoring 101, part 2 – 1 THESSALONIANS Series (1)
Be a Barnabas
How many of us have needed a modern-day Barnabas to come alongside to help us make the most of opportunities? How often do we sit dejected on the sidelines of life because of a failure? We gave up on school, and ourselves. We opened a business, but it didn’t grow. The program we tried to manage was a disaster. A marriage or family relationship disintegrated. We don’t have the right connections to get to that proverbial “next level” everyone is always talking about. Where is that brother or sister, like the first-century Barnabas, to look for the forgotten, to believe in us and our “call,” to hope for the best for us when we cannot do it for ourselves?
In this current age, we need a lot of Barnabas-minded people. Deserting our dreams has become an epidemic. The silent sufferers are hidden in the shadows of the success of others. The challenge lies before us every day. Take a good look around you; scan the landscape for the bypassed, the overlooked, and the rejected. Look for someone who has failed or is discouraged. So, I implore you, be a Barnabas to someone.
Pursue a Paul
Much is being said in the literature today about mentoring. The need, no doubt, is being aggravated by sociological changes in the family and in our schools in the 20th and the 21st century. There is a breakdown in many homes, where children may have an absentee parent or feel that their closest friends are online. In the “days of old,” sons worked alongside their father, and daughters would learn about running the household alongside Mom. All children would learn not only skill and competency, but also about behavior and values. Where does this happen today? A formal secondary education no longer prepares us for real life; it prepares most of us for college, instead…hopefully. There is no place to learn the practical application of the skills that will propel most of us forward.
Look for a moment at the list of individuals in the New Testament who were impacted by the apostle Paul: Timothy, Titus, Onesimus, Luke, and Silas? Their foundational training in the Scriptures did not take place in an isolated classroom. It was given in context and application as the teams went from city to city, and as they DID the work.
Who, is these turbulent, confusing and malevolent times is your 21st century Paul? Who have you pursued? Who have you approached? Mentoring takes place best as the one who desires formational input pursues. “Will you mentor me?” is probably not the right question. Mentoring takes place as we watch, listen, serve, follow, learn, read, glean, emulate others.
In the Old Testament, looking at the story of Elisha, this process took place as “the two of them walked on” (2 Kings 2:6). “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you,” embodies the resolve Elisha had in pursuing Elijah to teach him.
Each of us needs to pursue someone who excels in some area of life or leadership. Thanks to 21st-century technological advances, the whole world is open to us through various forms of media- print, interactive CDs, the Internet, conferences, and networking. This allows us to connect with any leader anywhere
Mentoring is not something someone does to someone else; it is the result of a diligent pursuit of another’s life. So, look for a Paul. Look around. Key in on someone you respect. Prayerfully ask to be led to influencers who can help you in your pursuit to become a lifelong learner.
[continued…]
Mentoring 101, part 1 – 1 THESSALONIANS Series (1)
Introduction:
The Apostle Paul is the writer of the letter to the Thessalonians. Thessalonica was a seaport city, located in the Macedonian area. And, as such may have been the largest city in Macedonia. There were Greeks, Romans, and many Jewish merchants headquartered there.
Paul opens this book with a typical greeting, “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians [which is] in God the Father and [in] the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thessalonians 1:1)
Silvanus is in other verses referred to as Silas. Paul has very high regard for his friend Silas. They had been imprisoned together for the gospel of Jesus. Of course, Timotheus is Timothy, and it was not unusual for them to be with Paul. Timothy was an understudy of Paul.
And this brings us to what I want to explore with you for a few days… mentoring. Why we need it, why we do it, why we should be mentored and what we should mentor. And, before you get all crazy, YES, I have been mentored by some pretty outstanding people in my life, am still being mentored, and I mentor others. Yes, I am Timothy to someone else’s Paul, a Barnabas to another Paul, surrounded by many Silas’, and I mentor Timothys. You will see as we go along…
Barnabas
If we look back at the beginning of Paul’s life as an apostle, we would have to wonder if he would have made it without Barnabas. Paul / Saul had been a persecutor of Christians in his previous life. As he was thrown from his horse, blasted by a blinding light and hearing the voice of Christ, he would have pretty disoriented. As people approached him in his weakened state, the fear of Paul’s murderous threats toward those following Christ would still have been fresh in their minds.
However, Barnabas took Paul to the other apostles and vouched for the veracity of his testimony (Acts9: 26, 27). Barnabas did not have to do this, but this act of encouragement provided to be a necessary and important link between Paul, the other apostles and the fulfillment of his calling.
Several years later, Barnabas was prompted by the Holy Spirit to look for Paul (Acts 11:25). No doubt the Damascus Road testimony had been forgotten by many, but not by Barnabas. The tentmaker from Tarsus, Paul, had seemingly been overlooked by the established church and bypassed for any meaningful ministry assignments. But Barnabas remembered. And, because of Barnabas’ influence, the Antioch church found a place for Paul and helped him develop trusted relationships and a respected teaching ministry (Acts 11:26; 13:1, 2).
Regardless of the baggage or failure from the past, Barnabas was always there for Paul.
[continued…Monday]
Tomorrow: The Up-side of slavery
Genesis Series (3): Getting stuff done
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Too long
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No deadlines…or should I say, no end in sight..Arghhhh!
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Mixture of long-range and short-term goals, hard to find a focus and a handle
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No organization
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Always looks overwhelming
Back to the lists….
There are many good reasons to make them, and curiously, these are linked to the reasons I don’t do well with them:
- They should keep us from feeling overwhelmed
- Help get the right things done; doing the important things first
- Avoid wasting valuable time on things that are unimportant, and don’t really need to get done, or at least don’t require our attention (make sense?)
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What is the timeframe of my list? One day, one week?
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I need to think in broad strokes–
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What am I ultimately trying to accomplish? Where am I trying to get?
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Accept that I cannot get it all done at once.
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What steps do I need to take?
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In what order? We serve a God of order. Think about it…It would not have made a great deal of sense to create people before there was breathable and sustainable atmosphere.
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Once I have written this down, what is my first actionable step?
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Complete each task before I move on.
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The small steps in the beginning can have major consequences in the end.
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Review the list the next day (or week)
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What didn’t get done that needs to go on the new list?
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If it keeps showing up, I need to examine why I am stuck here.
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Do I need to get help?
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Am I overextended?
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Do I just need a different approach?
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Is there a meeting in the week’s mix?
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What do I need to get done for this, and when?
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Make a fresh list…yes, write it all out again…and get it done!
One of the blogs authors that I read frequently is Michael Hyatt. He is was the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing House. He is an awesome speaker and interested in all things related to leadership. In a recent blog of his (http://tinyurl.com/63lcpcq) , he mentioned batching as a way to get things done while referring to a method called Pomodoro. Sounds like a piece of fruit, doesn’t it? It is! It’s Italian for tomato. Yes, tomoato is a fruit.
Anyway, being the bottom line thinker that I am, it seems to boil down to being able to sustain your activity and attention-span on a focused area for 25 minutes at a time. There is a whole system of lists, and ways to tweak the method, but best of all…they offer free stuff at their website, http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ . Did I mention that there was free stuff?
And, no, I don’t get any commission or props from Michael Hyatt or Pomodoro. If you go to the site, you can download the book for free (unless you just can’t live without the facncy hard-cover). Did I mention it was free?
I feel that part of my mission, mandate and task is to expose you guys, the readers, to things that may help you get better at being and doing you. Things that you, that you may not necessarily stumble across on your own…Using The Word as our guide, as our backdrop, to help us set our boundaries.
This is what I’m going to try for now…the Pomodoro Technique.
What system are you using to keep on track?
I’d be interested in hearing, and I am open to suggestions…I’ll try (almost) anything once.
Genesis Series (2): Purposive Universe
The definitions of purpose, courtesy of Dictionary.com are:
(1) reason for existence: the reason for which something exists or for which it has been done or made “the purpose of life”
(2) desired effect: the goal or intended outcome of something. “The purpose of the law is to control pollution.”
(3) determination: the desire or the resolve necessary to accomplish a goal. “You need to act with purpose.”
Purpose is the reason we do what we do, when we do it, and most importantly, why we do it.
Whether you are a proponent of Creation or the Big Bang theory, there is one thing that cannot be denied. And, that is that the world has been created with a purpose, and with us in mind. It has been created to sustain life…our lives.
God has given us all purposes that fill our hearts. Many of these are the things we once thought of doing that gave us goose-bumps and filled us with passion. For many of us, these things have fallen by the wayside, having given way to the mundane bits of existence that we can manage to hold on to…
What happened to our passion?
What became of those young, talented children we used to be- when the sky was the limit? What limited us? Did the sky or some person limit us, or did we limit ourselves?
I contend that all this, the passions, the dreams, everything, still exists within us.
Honestly, most of us won’t make a trip to the moon, or cure cancer; but we can, do and should be able to move the world in so many other ways.
When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone to help someone else?
- Served at Mission, church or anywhere else for free?
- Fed some children you knew were hungry
- Had a conversation with someone you know is lonely
- Spoke to someone at work (or church, or in the community) that everyone was making fun of
When was the last time you actually touched the life of someone else by doing something (probably) mundane and ordinary, but totally unexpected?
People need other people; not just cyber-friends, church-seatmates, cubicle-sharer…but real live human beings.
It sounds trite, I know, but we are “Jesus with skin on,” “the hands and feet” of the Gospel.
Challenge: Today, walk up to someone you don’t know well and say, “Hello, how are you?” Then, shut your mouth and listen with your heart, not just your ears…
What is our purpose? To help each other. By this all men shall know…
Resolved: 2. I Am Not My Own
Resolved: 2. I Am Not My Own
This was originally posted by Kenny Silva on his blog (June 30, 2011) as part of a new series about tranforming his life. With his permission, I am passing a few of these on to you for your consideration, and possibly implementation.
Resolution #2
Resolved, to never act or think in a way that would propose that I am in any way my own, but to remember that I am entirely God’s.
Resolved: 3. Doubts About God’s Love
Resolved: 3. Doubts About God’s Love
This was originally posted by Kenny Silva on his blog (July 1, 2011) as part of a new series about tranforming his life. With his permission, I am passing a few of these on to you for your consideration, and possibly implementation.
Resolution #3
Resolved, to be mindful of all things spiritual, emotional, or relational that would cause me to doubt the love of God and to battle those things from a position of victory.
Just a thought or two: Consumers of Faith
How do we choose our religion or denomination?A few days ago I was involved in a chat with some marketers, and a discussion ensued about whether buying was driven by emotion or logic. And, if marketers could get a handle on that, should they strive to push one button more often than another, or try to touch both segments? Is there a difference between the emotional buyers and the logical buyers.
The bottom line question was: Why do we buy?
Now your question is to me is, “What does that have to do with this blog or discussion about faith?”
Although it is much debated, I think we all know that we buy things out of emotion, whether we wish to admit this to ourselves or not. After we have made our emotional decision to purchase something, our minds then go to work to layer logic over it, so it “feels” better. We buy because we feel we “need” things (as opposed to wanting them). We buy to support a cause, or an idea. We buy out of impulse. Just take a careful look at all the useless and unused items laying around our houses.
QVC gives us an example, I think, of buying out of the need to belong; not even the need for the stuff. I’m not bashing QVC, I’m using them as an example, so don’t write me about that. If you are not a regular buyer, just think how many times you have flipped past their channel to hear some “regular” or “ordinary” person going on and on about how they bought some thing in every available color or style. (We should have some many testimonies and testimonials in church!)
I contend that it is not because they needed that particular purse in 14 colors, but because they want to be an “insider,” they wish to be perceived as cool and “in the know,” whatever…
We are a nation of consumers. Most often we think of this word in terms of buying, but look at it carefully. It also conveys a message of using something up.
So, what does that have to do with religion?
Nothing. And everything. And it made me really think about how we tend to approach religion and worship.
Like everything else, we are emotional consumers of religion. That doesn’t sound so bad on the surface, because we should be seeking an emotional connection with God and with each other. But that’s not really what we do, is it? We go to worship experiences and stay until we feel we have used them up, until they have lost their flavor, and then-
- We hop from church to church looking for the next emotional high.
- We move on when we get bored with the worship leader, “they’ve lost their edge.”
- We change churches because the worship music isn’t to our liking…any more.
- We leave because the service lasts too long, “And, oh my God, I’m going to kill myself if one more person goes up to the microphone!”
- We move because the church down the street “gets it,” whatever “it” happens to be this year.
- We move because our neighbors found a cooler place for themselves and their children; and we need to make better social connections
- We use TV and social media to tap into the next celebrity preacher. (Do those words even go together?)
- We don’t like the people we worship with any more. They’ve become stale, boring and stupid.
- We move on because our parent’s faith and worship is “old and moldy.” We reason that if its boring us, it must surely be boring God to tears.
- We move because the place we are at isn’t serving our needs anymore
And while all of these issues may be valid on some level……..
Have you noticed that I have not mentioned anything about God, serving God, worshiping God or honoring God?
Our faith and worship cannot and should not be driven by this consumerism mentality. Serving God has little to do with logic, everything to do with emotion, and nothing to do with consumerism. And, that is what we are here for, isn’t it? To serve God?
God requires 3 things of us: justice, mercy and humility. See Micah series, here.
Christ left two commandments: Love God and love each other.
The Bible does not say anything about finding the perfect place with the perfect people who will fit in perfectly with my schedule. We are all imperfect and we need to get back to putting first things first.
The mission is first: become more Chris-like. [link]
The (Great) Commission is second: Go out…
Simply put: Work where you are planted. God will order your steps and move you as He needs you to be moved.
I’ll finish up with a personal illustration: For most of the past 5 or so years I have attended a Baptist church. This is not too surprising, since I grew up Bapti-costal. However, through a series of events when I moved here, I attended a United Methodist Church for the 10 years prior. I got to know a lot of great people, made many wonderful friends, got involved in the life of the church, taught a lot, learned a lot, was exposed to WillowCreek…having a great time. God, in so many little ways, began to point my heart and my mind back to my roots, and toward some people not doing so well. So he sent me home to help, and to apply the knowledge that I had acquired in the interim.
Am I happy all the time? Of course not. Is it perfect? No! Is it easy? Hardly!! But in spite of a relocation that I would not have chosen for myself, I can still echo James when he says that we should “count it all joy!”
- Why do attend to the “church of your choice?”
- Are you there to serve or be served?
Comments? Thoughts?
Have a great day!
[In the future, we will talk about the difference between happy and joy.]