GE – Your Enemy!

There is an enemy for everything.

The enemy of life is death. The enemy of health is sickness. The enemy of good is evil. The enemy of your tomorrow is your today. 
There enemy of where you could be and need to be is where you are right now. The enemy of your future accomplishment is past achievement. The enemy of excellence is best. The enemy of best is ‘good enough’.

Reaching your potential comes when you are dissatisfied with the ‘good enough’ mindset. (GE)

GE attitude is an enemy of your Potential.

GE says:                    It’s done.

Potential says:         I am sure I can do it better.

GE says:                That’s how it should be done.

Potential says:         Lets try a different way.

GE says:               That’s the expectation.

Potential says:         I am not moved by people’s expectation. I am motivated by the potential in me.

Good Enough attitude produces average results. Don’t subscribe to it. You are not an average person.
Don’t accept the ‘GE’ attitude of society. ‘Good Enough’ restricts Potential and destroys Purpose.

Destroy the enemy today!

Live GE Free!

Change!

What changes are you prepared to make for 2009. Change will always bring conflict. Whether you are making smaller changes or big ones, you will encounter oppositions.  If you are a leader making big changes for the future, make sure your heart is big enough to handle criticisms because you can’t change the future without disturbing the present.

God was about to make some huge changes in the lives of his people. So he told Joshua four times to ‘Be strong and of good courage’ in Joshua chapter  1.

Silence & Solitude

Notes from Craigs  Sermon on Sunday

• But I’m too busy to take time out to pray!
• “We live in a noisy, busy world. Silence and solitude are not twentieth-century words. They fit the era of Victorian lace, high-button shoes, and kerosene lamps better than our age of television, video arcades, and joggers wired with earphones. We have become a people with an aversion to quiet and an uneasiness with being alone” Jean Fleming

How to:

a.  Minute retreats: A spiritual pause.  looking to Christ, listening to His Spirit

b. A daily time with God:
Outward Silence and Solitude:  A time of reconnecting with God. Bble, Prayer, Private Worship

c. A few extended times of Silence and Solitude each year

d. Have special places where you can go for Silence and Solitude

Looking for the perfect leader? Pt1

 

Good luck! I am not going to enter into the debate of whether leaders are born or made. One thing i know is that there are no perfect leaders and we all need to work hard, to become good leaders by reading, studying, training, hands on experiecne, mistakes, failurers, mentoring etc…

There are a whole lot of criterias or characteristics to look for because different situations require different leadership styles. Here are non negotiable characteristics I believe are very vital for church leadership.

1. Commitment to Christ

Is he or she actively involved in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Is he or she passionetly about his / her faith and not an undercover type Christian. I think it is also important to note that a new Christian may not be a wise decision. They need time to prove that their faith is aunthentic and not just a buzz!!

(1 Tim 3:6, 1 Tim 5:22)

2. Character

Read Titus 1:6-8 and 1 Tim 3:17. can’t go wrong with this. You can do something with leadership skills. There are a lot of courses to take, but if a leader has character flaws it is very difficult to fix them. Look for Christ like character. Is he / she upright, self controlled, honest, disciplined, hospitable, holy, patient? or by the way Is he / she a giver?

Good vs God

I am now in a phase where I am constantly asking myself what are the  ‘Good Things’ that i need to do and what are the ’God Things’ that I must do. We must not put boundries in doing good. It’s Biblical and it pleases God. But sometimes doing too many good things can and will distract us from doing the ‘God thing that God called you to do’.

Good is the enemy of great and there is a difference between ministry opportunities that are ‘good’ verses ones that are from ‘God’.

Try this little exercise.  List all the good opportunities in one column and all the God opportunities in another column you have encountered in 2008. I think its a must for every leader to consider this as you prepare for 2009.

Are you a Christian?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been thinking about my own beliefs as to why I call myself a Christian. This may sound strange coming from a pastor.

Am I a Christian?

Would God call me a Christian?

What makes me a Christian?

Do I look like a Christian?

How does a Christian look like?

In which exact moment does someone become a Christian?

How you do you keep yourself Christian?

When you do become better in being a Christian?

Do I go to a church that is Christian?

Is my Church for Christians?

Do I need to go to church to be a Christian?

Are all Christians the same?

Are there degrees in this Christian thing?

Will I get promoted to being a good Christian?

When can you stop being a Christian ?

When do you become disqualified as a Christian?

What do Christians do?

How do they behave?

Do I know any Christians?

Where can I find a true Christian?

……………………..the list goes on………

I may sound like a Martian who has just landed. But how would you describe Christianity to someone who is not a Christian?

Leaders Make Decisions Pt2

Good Tips on Decision Making: These are four times when it is not good to make decision especially important ones.

1. When you are tired

2. When you are sick

3. When its late at night

4. When you are travelling

Leaders Make decisions

In my early years as a Christian I heard a lot of sermons / teachings on decision making and how decisions of today will determine your tomorrow. I am grateful for those sermons. Over the years I have made some really dumb decisions and also some very wise ones. And where I am today is a result of those dumb and wise decisions. I am a product of my decisions.
Leaders face with decision making all the time. The future of any organisation is determined by the decision of the leader today. I mentioned that I have made some wise and dumb decisions. Can I also add that as a leader I have also made some tough decisions too, some unpopular decisions in to accommodate change and facilitate growth.
If you are a leader and you are not making tough calls you are not fit to lead. The growth and the success of your organisation / business / church depend on your call. If you don’t make those tough calls right now, someone else will do them for you and it is not going to be pretty.
Stop sitting on the fence. Be decisive and take action. Your future is in jeopardy.

Is God calling you to leadership?

Lessons from Gideon: 1 Judge, 6, 7, 8

6:12 Hand Picked and chose by God for a specific purpose

6:13 Denial and Excuses, like Jeremiah, Moses, Jonah, Lui (that’s me). Its ok to argue but God will always win

6:14 God clarifies the mission and clear instructions given

6:18 Mission accepted with conditions. Insecurity and fear of unknown. Thats normal

6:23 Gods blesses and commissions

6:25 Directions given

6:27 First dare. First test for the newly appointed leader

6:34 God continues to annoint and empower his man for the task

6:36 Gideon reminds God of His promise and puts God to the test

6:36 Gideon pursuing clarification of Gods call on his life.

7:2 Gideon gave clear Intructions: A must for every leader. Informing the people with a clear vision and plan. leader must follow Gods orders, even if the orders are unorthodox.

7:18 Gideons strategy. Every leader, every ministry must have a strategy. No strategy No Action. A lot of leader have good intention by fail to carry out because of no strategy.

8:2 Be prepared for this. You will have critics BIG TIME. Especially if vision, direction and strategy is not the norm.

8:5 Responsibility of the Leader: Feed and take care of his leaders and his team

8:11 Leaders make bold steps and bold announcements. It is called faith and guts

8:17 Leaders keep their word. Remember your bold statements and announcements.

8:22 Integrity in leadership. Be intergrated. Have the right perspective. Who are the real leaders here??

8:24 Leaders get tempted. WARNING! Don’t let success subsitute God.

Do you desire to fire your pastor?

This article caught my attention. Someone emailed me this the other day. Here’s a summary of it.

• Do you desire to fire your pastor? Perhaps you should fire him/her up instead!
• Do you want to leave your church? Perhaps you should be the one to build it up!
• The best way to build your church and fire up your pastor is to be involved and pray for them constantly and continually!
• Pastors and church leaders face many opportunities and challenges each day. They balance the stresses of ministry while they are researching and writing the sermons, managing the affairs of the church, going to countless meetings and counseling others significant problems.
• They wear many hats as the pastor, priest, counselor, preacher, teacher, manager, organizer, visionary, administrator and caretaker all rolled into one with little to no free time.
• As well as dealing with the stresses of modern life with their family all under personal attack and usually doing life with a lower salary and an ungrateful congregation who expects them to be perfect.
• They need your help, they need your prayers! When we commit ourselves to pray for our pastors and church leaders, we will have no need to bicker, gossip, slander, withdraw, place blame, or seek to usurp our will as God’s (Rom. 8:28, 8:33-34, 37-39).
• Praying for your church is like filling a balloon with helium, the more it is filled, the more it will soar and not sore! For us to grow not just numerically, but in what is much more important, spiritually and in community to one another, requires our discipline and passion to pursue Christ more and ourselves less.