Your Kingdom or His Kingdom

Hidden agendas. Crazy rhetoric. Ulterior motives. It's everywhere and sometimes it even drifts into the church. Don't be discouraged. Unfortunately, that's the nature of our fallen humanity.

How do we get around it? How can it be overcome? 

If I'm honest, it's easy for me to have my own agenda. Taking ownership of a vision or a task is good, but can suddenly we can become obsessive, prideful, and unable to hear from others around us. At that point, we have become a slave to the agenda or the mission. 

Everyday I am talking to partners whom I desire to serve. Many of them need the experience I have and could learn from the mistakes I have made, but often they don't listen to what I have to say. Ultimately, I believe, the answer is because they are so focused on their own agenda that they don't recognize help that could make it more possible for them to achieve it.

For you and I to avoid becoming a casualty of this kind of thinking, here's some thoughts:

1-Recognize that you won't be on the planet forever. When you realize that you will one day not be here, it changes your thinking. With all the super hero movies and fantasy movies out there, sometimes we think our world is like the world we see on the big screen. It's not. One day you will die. One day you will not be here anymore. You and I have to realize the narrative of Christianity will keep being written after God has taken us home.

2-Because our days are numbered, stewardship becomes a major priority. I hate to waste time, energy, and money. I used to think interruptions wasted all of those. Sometimes interruptions do waste time, energy, and money. But...sometimes the interruptions are things that could be teaching us how to save time, energy, and money. Be discerning and don't close the doors on things around you without asking God to help you steward time, energy, and money well.

3-Is is Your kingdom or His Kingdom? When you focus on building His Kingdom, you can't go wrong. Hidden agendas and ulterior motives are always because someone is focused on building his/her kingdom and NOT His Kingdom. Never forget that Jesus told us the first thing we are to seek is His Kingdom.

What tips could you offer to say focused on His Kingdom?

3 Tips To A Good Monday

3 Tips to a Good Monday

I don't know about you, but Monday's are hard enough already. And it seems like there's another one coming up every week. :) I've found that if I do these 3 things over the weekend, it makes Mondays a little easier.

#1-Do something fun over the weekend. Sounds simple, huh? But with the invention of technology, laptops, smart phones, etc., it's easy to work right on through the weekend. Take time to do something fun. Even if it's just for a couple of hours. Fun relieves

Courage for Your Team

Ways to Bring Courage to Your Team

#1: Listen

One of the best things you can do to lead with courage is listen to your team. The more people you lead, the more you must listen. The information our team shares can help us make wise decisions.

I recently heard a quote from someone that said, “The leader surrounded with people he won’t listen to will soon be surrounded by those who have nothing to say.” Wow! If you aren’t getting feedback from your team, perhaps it’s because they’re weary of talking and not being listened to. Leaders who want to preserve the status quo only listen to those who agree with them. If you want to help your team and your organization win, listen. It will pay you tremendous dividends.

#2: Bring Courage Through the Difficult Times

No doubt, your organization experiences good times and bad times. It’s easy to lead with courage when things are good but not so much when things are tough. However, your team and your board are watching to see how you will lead in times of difficulty and challenge.

Years ago, when I was a student pastor, I took a group of teenagers to the beach for camp. I went down early with some of the leadership team to set up for the week. Some of my other leaders stayed behind to bring the students down on the bus. One hour out from the beach, they stopped

3 ESSENTIALS FOR LEADERS

Tip #1: Lead
Sounds easy, right? We both know that it’s not always easy to lead. But when we lead we can more effectively lead if we lead with conviction, clarity, and courage.
A pastor recently attended a play by to see someone is his church perform. After the play, the actor and pastor were talking. The pastor asked, “Why is it that people respond to what you are doing with some enthusiasm and very little in our church on Sundays?”
The actor responded, “I share my make believe with conviction as if it’s real; you share your real with the conviction as if it’s make believe.” What oftentimes is missing for us as leaders is real conviction. 

We also need to lead with clarity. So often as a Type A personality, I think I have communicated to our team and I am off to the races to the next thing. We must communicate with clarity if we want to lead. Often, it may mean repeating things or explaining ourselves, but we will only when if we lead with clarity.

Lastly, we must lead with courage. Our team is watching. Will we take the easy way out? Our will we trust God to come through even when our decisions aren’t popular. Leading with courage inspires those around us to be men and women of faith.

Conviction, Clarity, Courage: all necessities in this day and age as a leader.
If we at Heart Share can help you and your team with any leadership retreats or team building, please let me know!
(Tips #2 and #3 will be coming up soon!)

Leadership Tips for Today

This week I thought I would share some simple things to help you as a leader, specifically in the area of time management. As a leader, I sometimes have so many things on my plate, it's imperative that I manage my time wisely. Over the years, I have learned some things that save me time that I'd like to share with you.

1-Save all your phone calling for the car. I have figured out how to drive by now. Some states don't allow for cell calls while you are driving unless you have bluetooth. If your state is one of those, get your bluetooth working. I try to save all the calls I need to make for when I am in the car so that I can accomplish 2 things at one time. When I am in the office, I concentrate on things that I can't do while I am driving and make notes on who I need to call so that I can do that while I am driving. Especially when I am on the road for long trips (2 or more hours), I will intentionally make sure I do my conference calls then if possible.

2-Personal things on the road-This past week, I left home needing a hair cut, and a shirt. My thought was, "I'll just do that when I get back home." But when I arrived in the city I was traveling to, I had a an hour or so before my business meeting started. So, I found a place to get my hair cut and ran in to the Old Navy and grabbed a shirt. The cool thing is I didn't have to this when I got home. And since my time at home is so precious and limited, I was overjoyed that I didn't have to worry about this when I got home which meant more time with my family. 

3-Take 10 minutes and plan your next day the night before. I started doing that several years ago and it has saved me so much time. When I get up in the morning, I have a plan and work the plan.

What ideas do you have? What do you do to save time?

The Roadblock of Pride

My hand slammed on the steering wheel in frustration. I had left the house late again, hoping to make up fifteen minutes of tardiness in only a few miles. I figured I could make it to my destination by taking the shortcut over to Pelham Road. No need to let the frustration rule. I got this. I zoomed down Highway 14 watching the clock on my dashboard. I took a quick left down an unnamed road that I estimated would put me close to where I needed to be for my appointment. As I rounded the curve, there in the middle of the road was a huge earthmover with a worker sitting atop it, one hand on his knee and the other on the brim of a baseball cap. Just behind him, I could make out the state construction sign in big, bold letters: ROAD CLOSED.

Due to the heavy rains over the past week, the little bridge that had connected the two roads had washed away. Sure wish they had posted a sign about two miles back with some warning for me. It would have saved me some time.  Time I didn’t have. That day, I had a destination to get to, but the route I chose to get there was unavailable because the road was blocked, or closed. There are some roadblocks as well when it comes to seeing real community happen in our lives. Maybe you have even asked the question, “why don’t we see this kind of community you’ve described in today’s world?”

The truth of the matter is a lot of things keep us from experiencing this kind of biblical community.

Roadblock #1-Selfishness
I don’t know if you remember being a kid. Maybe not, but if you have kids, it may be easier to remember. You and I and our kids are alike. When we were growing up and we had something that was ours, more than likely, there was a time when we shouted, “Mine!” It’s what a child does, until they learn how to share. When a child screams “Mine!” it’s one thing, but to see an adult act that way is another. In many circles, the thing that keeps true community from happening is an unwillingness to not say “Mine!”

Maybe you feel like it’s your turn to have your way. Maybe you are justified in having your way on a certain issue. But the reality is, all of us must learn to share. And sharing means the willingness for someone else to have their way.

People shared everything in the early church. If they saw someone in need, they met the need. How awesome would it be if that kind of community was the hallmark of our churches? I guarantee you that you could not keep people out. They would be lined up to share in that kind of community. The Bible tells us that the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another. A recent friend who is not a believer told me, “ I don’t have any problem believing that you love those outside the church, what I don’t know is if you will love me once I come in.” What a sad thought. Real community is sharing. Real community is putting the needs of someone else above our own. Have you ever seen that kind of community?

In our day, it looks like most people operate from a sense of entitlement and the “Look out for Number One!” mantra. That’s quite the opposite of the community that Peter and John experienced in Acts 2.  The Bible is pretty clear about selfishness and pride.

Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride centers on self. It runs totally contradictory to allowing real community to happen. And yet it runs rampant in our world. Pride is when we always have to be right; pride is when our way is the only way. It’s a sufficient roadblock to experiencing real community. Where do you see pride?

Can you Hear me Now?

This week I had the great opportunity to lead a couple of workshops at the CareNet conference in Orlando Florida. One of the things that we talked about was being aware of your surroundings and listening as a leader. The reality is most of us are so busy doing things for ourselves, that we are not aware of what is going on around us. I remember watching someone a few weeks ago driving down the road eating a salad. Completely oblivious to everything that was going on around them. Driving the car was just a side issue at the time. And yet that is the one thing they should be focusing on. 

Today I had another bad experience at a restaurant that I really love going to. I was just grabbing some quick food. My order was taken and then the cashier walked away to go do something else. After 10 minutes of standing there,I finally asked someone, "Can you please check on my order?" Totally unaware, the cashier came back and took somebody else's order and totally forgot what they were doing with me. We must be aware of what is going on around us. Take some time today if you are out driving and when you stop at a red light, look around and check out your surroundings. 

Next time you're talking to someone, listen to them closely. What are they saying with their eyes? What are they saying with their vocal inflection? Are you completely aware of what is going on?

As a dad, when my kids were younger, I used to take them to the mall or to a restaurant. I was like a spy. I was always watching other people to make sure my kids were safe. I was watching other people to make sure they were not going to do my children harm. I was memorizing license plates of other cars nearby, just in case. I believe we need that same kind of awareness as leaders when we are working with people. Being aware and listening will keep us out of a lot of trouble.

I shared this week with the leaders at the conference a quote that I recently heard, "If a leader does not listen to those around him, he or she will soon be surrounded by those who have nothing to say."

What do you think? How important is listening?