Category: Book Reviews

Missions in the 21st Century

By Tom Telford

When God calls us, he usually calls loud enough that our church and friends who know us can hear it too.

Important principles I have discovered about what is involved in missions recruitment:

1. Recruitment requires mentoring. Jesus spent time investing is life into the disciples lives. Encourage their strengths and challenge them on their weak points. Like Jesus, a mentor also has to be willing to point out your weaknesses. Mentoring is encouraging someone’s strengths and helping that person through his or her weaknesses.

2. Recruitment requires discernment. But loving people is essential for missionaries.

3. Recruitment requires finding the Joeys. People who want to be missionaries more than anything. Churches need to recruit people who want to be involved in missions outreach so badly they can taste it. 4. Recruitment requires having to say no. Sometimes the church will not be on your side when you have to say no to a recruit, and that’s a hard one. It’s never easy to say no, but when you’re spending thousands of dollars of the Lord’s money, it’s an important part of recruiting.

5. Recruitment requires modeling. Good missions books can provide powerful models.

6. Recruitment should start at your own church. I thought to myself, if every evangelical church in America did with the Mormons are doing, we wouldn’t have twi million people going to hell! We need to be looking for and recruiting folks from our churches who want to invest their lives in world evangelization.

7. Recruitment requires prayer. We must be committed to recruiting missionaries through prayer and to supporting them through prayer.

The missions trainer should know his team – who needs a kick in the pants in who needs a pat on the shoulder.

A good missions team will be successful because of the quality of its trainer.

The bottom line in any good missions training program in the church is dependent on who is doing the teaching and training. The training is only as good as the trainer.

Qualities of a good trainer in missions:

1. Coaches model what they want done. They don’t just talk about it; they do it.

2. Coaches know how to handle people (including themselves).

3. Coaches are trainable. Willing to keep on learning. You don’t have to be original, just teachable. A good mission’s trainer needs to be always hungry to learn so he or she can coach the team with as much information and as many new ideas as possible.

Short list of the person who is going to lead and educate church members in the area of missions:

1. Missions trainers must have enthusiasm. You have to be believe 200% in what you’re doing.

2. Missions trainers must have discipline.

3. Missions trainers must have vision.

4. Missions trainers must have wisdom to see God’s heart for the world.

5. Missions trainers must be good decision-makers.

6. Missions trainers must be humble. People who train others will are humble enough to allow people to try.

7. Missions trainers must have a sense of humor.

Do missions training in preschool. Teach the toddlers about great missionary heroes of the faith.

We need to be called to stay as much as called to go. Obedience to the great commission must have top priority for all of us.

To keep improving your missions training game, you have to work hard at the basics, be a good bottle, and hunger to grow and learn yourself. For me, this means, in part, listening to people, picking their brains, learning from them, and passing it on.

It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s whether you have any friends when it’s all over!

If saving the lost world is so important to God, then the missions conference should be a highlight of the church year.

Send pastors on missions trip to open their eyes and raise their enthusiasm. I frequently get pastors books on missions.

Make the conference the absolute highlight of the church year. Even above Christmas or Easter. God is a missionary God. Jesus was his missionary son. The Bible as a missionary book. The Old Testament is packed with God’s heart for the nations. The New Testament mandate for the believer is to go into all the world and make disciples.

Why should Christmas and Easter get all the music? And bowl all the other church ministries. People will come if their children are in a missions play or if there relatives or friends are any missions drama or musical event.

Think of creative new names. So calling it a missions conference, try one of these: WorldFest, world Expo, harvest celebration, global awareness week.

I remember one missions moment during our churches Sunday morning worship. The committee had a little girls get up, say hooray it’s two weeks to the missions conference! Then she proceeded to list off from memory are 33 missionaries in the country they serve them. When she was done, the congregation cheered. Whatever you do, get the best people and do it better than any other program in the church. Make people wish they were on the missions committee because it does things so well.

About 80% of a group of retired missionaries I asked said their interest began when they were under the age of 12. If we leave out our kids, we’re missing the boat in a big way.

Although missionaries have to exercise faith, we at home can usually get by without exercising faith. That’s not fair. Why should we send missionaries out to the middle of nowhere with no visible means of support and expect them to do their job, while we sit at home knowing where every penny is coming from? A fake promise program gives everybody an opportunity to exercise faith.

Encourage people to take a vacation with a purpose – if they are going to travel anyway, why not visit Missionaries and encourage them?

Missions conferences do change lives.

I love missions conferences and I believe they are a must for healthy church. You try it. Make your opening day a winner and you’ll have a great season.

Statistics say that 40% of the missionaries returning home need some kind of counseling.

The church at home can play big role in making their missionaries more effective and able to return to their cross cultural ministries with renewed energy. Take the initiative and taking care of your players and giving them a safe place to call home.

I hope that I upset and bother people, because change is needed if we are to stay effective.

10 mistakes agencies make:

1. Agencies often do not communicate well with the sending churches about personal changes.

2. Agencies are often reluctant to deal with incompetence. Ted Ward and Phil Parshall suggest that 40% of the missionary force is ineffective.

3. The agency’s board of directors may not represent the actual constituency of supporting churches.

4. Agencies often allow no input from supporting churches regarding agency strategies.

5. Agencies do not have a clear vision statement. Every agency needs a short, succinct, understandable mission statement that every Missionary knows. Mission agencies need a clear purpose statement. If they can’t tell it to you in a minute, forget it.

6. Agencies often do not cooperate with one another.

7. Agency home offices are often poorly managed.

8. Agencies encourage missionaries to raise support from individuals outside of their local churches.

9. Agencies are not addressing the growing perception that support figures aren’t justifiably high. We have to go back to the basics and teach people why we do missions. How much time do agency spend helping churches understand why they do missions?

10. Agencies apply too little effort helping churches building missions vision. One pastor said, I’ve been a pastor for over 20 years and I have never once had anyone from emissions agency call and offer me help.

How can agencies get personal and be helpful to every local church? How can they ShareVision and give specific assistance?

1. Agencies can care about the local church. Agencies need to go to churches as helpers and encouragers, not just as recruiters and solicitors.

2. Agencies can become missionaries to the churches in North America.

3. Agencies can help local churches develop their own missions vision and not force them to accept a prepackaged vision of their agency.

4. Agencies can do their best to find positive representatives who understand their culture.

5. Agencies can get back to the basics.

The Bible does not say send money; it says go

Try to read everything and anything you can about missions. The Bible will keep you focused. The Bible is a missionary book all the way through.

Four fundamental truths that keep me motivated:

1. God is a missionary God

2. Jesus is God’s missionary son. We need to give our sons in our daughters the way God the Father gave His.

3. The Bible is a missionary book

4. The church has a missionary mandate.

The biblical truth is that the more we give away, the more we will be blessed. I wish churches could see that truth.

I wonder what it would look like if every new believer understood from day one that missions is not just another program in the life of the church; missions is the church. That’s the fundamental truth.

Making Vision Stick

By Andy Stanley

 

Five things you can do to significantly increase the adhesiveness of your vision:

• State the vision Simply

“If it’s a mist in the pulpit, it’s a fog in the pew.” Howard Hendricks

• Cast the vision Convincingly

Communicate it in a way that moves people to action

• Define the Problem

To cast a convincing vision, you have to define the problem that your vision addresses.

To make your vision stick, your audience needs to understand what’s at stake.

To cast your vision in a convincing manner, you need to be able to answer these two questions: What is the need or problem my vision addresses? And What will happen if those needs or problems continue to go unadressed?

• Offer a Solution

• Present a Reason

Must be a reason something must be done, a reason for your vision.

Answer the questions: Why must we do this? Why must we do this now?

A leader points the way to a solution and gives a compelling reason why something why must be done now

To cast your vision convincingly, you need a reason for why now is the time.

• Repeat the vision Regularly

Casting a convincing vision once is not enough to make it stick. Twice isn’t either. Vision needs to be repeated regularly.

Vision should evoke emotion

We all need to be reminded why we are doing what we are doing. We need to be reminded what’s at stake. We need to be reminded of the vision.

• Celebrate the vision Systematically

To make vision stick, a leader needs to pause long enough to celebrate the wins along the way.

What’s celebrated is repeated.

• Embrace the vision Personally

Living out the vision establishes credibility and makes you a leader worth following. When people are convinced that the vision has stuck with you, it is easier for them to make the effort to stick with the vision.

Bring an unchurched friend or family to a weekend service

If you say you believe in something, live it out. And live it in a way that the people around you can see it.

Sharp people will not embrace a vision that is merely a marketing scheme for someone’s personal agenda.

Random idea:

Success lures us into taking our hands off the wheel. Failure causes us to overcorrect. Both success and failure can lead to disaster.

Making a Good Brain Great

By Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

 

Thoughts – thinking about good things can change your mindset and give you a healthy brain. Thinking of bad things will stress and cause your brain to be damaged. Go ANT (Automatic Negative Thoughts) hunting.

Food – blueberries, Fish, supplements, vitamin C, avocados, salads, fish oil, nuts, fruit, etc. omega 3 and supplements. Not cokes, fast food and greasy or sugared stuff.

Sex – Two times a week can greatly help a person and make a greater brain. Sex is like 30 minutes of jogging or exercise. Married people are happier and have more sex than single people according to studies.

Music – music can sue the people and helps you, the right kind of music. Some kind of music can frustrate and not help the brain. A study was made on new born babies listening to calm and soothing music, they grew better and their bodies and brains were at ease and calm.

Laughter – kids laugh 200 times a day and adults 12 times a day. If we will laugh more, it will help her brain. Watch comedians or find things that will make you laugh.

Activities – new, different or challenging activities can help stretch or maintain a good brain. A brain is like a muscle, do not use it and you will lose it. Trying new things like using your left hand and said your right hand, etc., will give you a healthy, great brain. Reading books, learning a new talent, getting a new hobby, trying a new activity, etc., will stretch and strengthen your brain. Learn something new everyday. TV, video games and other things will not stretch your brain or make you use it.

Sleep – not a ridiculous amount but trying to live on 4 hours of sleep a day will damage you in the long run.

Exercise – a little walking or moving around. We sit too much and go through a normal day with very little if any getting up and moving around.

Lincoln on Leadership

By Donald T. Phillips

 

Very personable

Forgave many people

Wrote letters of reputation but never sent them

Put capable man beside him although they didn’t always agree with him

Wrote letters of encouragement

Never gave up even though he was refused and did not win first time as president or send it in school etc. but kept going

His policy was always be honest

Don’t haste to make a decision, but act quickly on what is right.

Time is everything, so work with this in mind

Give credit where credit is due

Learn to lead while being  led

When someone does a good job, learn to Reward them and praise them but when they do a bad job take the responsibility for it

Let other people know that when they fail you fail

Publicly take responsibility for battles lost and opportunities not taken

If learn to praise good work and encourage more of it, the leader will soon be able to just guide and help the progress instead of doing all of the work

If you are a good leader with the job is done others will say we did this Ourselves

Write letters making personal egg knowledge meant of what people do good and do right

The greatest credit should go to those in your organization who render the hardest work

Set goals and be a result oriented

Leave nothing undone today in order to do it tomorrow

Battles are not won just by strategy but By hard fighting

Half labored work is usually work that is lost

When one of your leaders had a victory, write them a letter to take them even be willing to tell them that you could do it or didn’t know if it could be done but are glad that they did it.

Give credit where credit is due

Except responsibility when things go wrong

Because they have failed, I have failed as well

Please go to store encourage more the same ensuing the leader will not have to do all this work, rather monitor motivate the others to do it

If I am a good leader, with the job is accomplished they will say that they have accomplished it themselves

Write letters to subordinates and let them know that they were right and I was wrong

Leader should be self starters and change orientation

Leave nothing to do tomorrow what you can do today

Sometimes you just need to go around the problem instead of straight through it

Your war will not be won by strategy alone but more by just hard desperate fighting

Half finished work generally proves to be labor lost

Go out to the field of battle with your man

Give them all the support that you can and trust that they will do good with what you have given them

If someone does not perform adequately, give them ample time to turn it around and then move them out slowly.

Coach or council a person so that they can get off on the right foot, remember that you want them to succeed.

Don’t surround yourself with yes men what’s up with people who know what they are doing.

Don’t ever stop learning

When difficulty arises, arise with it. Thank a new and act a new.

Don’t lose confidence and people when they fail.

Let subordinates know that you always accept their suggestions.

If you never try, you will never succeed.

Surround yourself with people who really know their business and avoid yes-men

Never stop learning

Never feel that anything you have prepared is finished until it is published or if it is a speech, until you have delivered it.

The power to motivate people lies almost solely in the ability to communicate.

When meet with people make sure you leave with no strains between each other

When talk with someone, make them feel as if there is no superiority and as if they have known you all of their life

Don’t forget that humor is a major tool you need to persuade people

A good laugh is good for both the mental and physical digestion

People are usually more influenced with a humorous illustration than any other way.

A meaningful story can illustrate and help not to have to give a laborious explanation and can avoid pain or a truth

Loyalty is often one in a private conversation more than any other way.

Preach a vision and repeated often

Vision is what makes a leader and a manager different

Vision is the concise statement of where the company is headed and why they are excited about it

Come out of the ivory tower and mingle with the people, let the common people feel that they could talk to you

Continue growing fast as I grow the Ministry grows

Joy, being positive, not seeing all the negative things

Strategy/structure – to keep people and help people grow

Follow up

Do everything first class, make it look sharp, professional

Leadership Gold

By John Maxwell

 

1. If it’s Lonely at the Top, you’re Probably not Leading Right.

Many think it’s lonely in leadership, but you don’t have to be alone.

It is worth taking the risk to let people get close to you and you getting close to them.

Take time it walks slowly through the crowd.

You may get hurt, but getting close to people will allow you to help them and them to help you.

Build people and help people and by doing so you will become better. You have to get close to people.

The best leaders know that leading people requires loving them.

No one has ever succeeded by working alone.

Let people work with you not for you.

Loneliness is a choice!

2. The Toughest Person to Lead is Yourself.

Leading yourself is and will be your greatest challenge as a leader.

Leaders that have never followed well are not good leaders. Leaders must understand their people.

Leaders who have failed or fallen usually think that it could/would never have happened to them.

Leading yourself well means that you hold yourself to a higher accountability then you do others.

The biggest crowd you will ever lead is yourself. If you cannot lead yourself well, you will never be able to lead others well!

3. Defining Moments Define your Leadership.

How you handle critical moments in your life will determine how you live life and where you make it in leadership.

Defining moment show us who we really are.

Most days are all the same, but critical moments in life define who we really are.

Defining moments define who we are to ourselves as well as define who we are to others around us.

Our character is not made during critical times it is displayed.

These defining moments will show others around you who you really are. If handled correctly, you can be lift you up in others eyes but if not you can be destroyed in the eyes of others.

When leaders respond correctly to defining moments, everyone wins; when leaders respond poorly, everybody loses.

Defining moments not only tell us who we are, but they determine who we will become. You are never the same after a defining moment.

The defining moments are like intersections in your life, you have to choose in which direction you will go once you arrive to them.

You cannot control when defining moments will come, but you can control how to prepare for them and how will respond to them.

4. When you get Kicked in the Rear, you know you are at the Front of the Race.

When you are out front and ahead of the crowd, everything you do attracts attention.

When someone criticizes you, you must determine if it is constructive or destructive criticism – if it is to help you or hurt you. You can become a better person because of it.

The source of criticism matters. How was the criticism given? Remember that hurting people hurt people, so if it was given out of anger, it may be just to hurt you. But if it was given for your benefit, that criticism could help you.

People can change for the better with the right attitude. When criticism comes, have the right attitude!

Don’t be defensive and decide to look for the seed of benefit in the criticism.

5. Never Work a Day in your Life.

If you love what you do, you really don’t have to consider it work.

Thomas Edison said that he never worked a day in his life, it was all fun.

Passion will keep you going when other things try to put you down. Passion is contagious to others and pushes you yourself. Passion will energize you and ways you did not know.

Talent is never enough to help you reach your potential. Opportunities may open the door, but they are not enough to make you successful. Knowledge can be a great aspect but it will not make you all you can be. You must have passion.

Passion is what the team needs to succeed. Passion is a difference maker.

Passion will help you believe things you could not believe, feel things that you could not feel, meet people you would not have met, motivate people you would not have motivated, dream things you could not have dreamt, and lead people you would not have led.

6. The Best Leaders are Listeners.

Many listeners talk more than they listen and this is a big mistake.

Let others be the advice givers, just listen.

Look and listen when people are talking, it will make a big difference.

To be an effective listener, you need to listen to what others will tell you not only what you want to hear.

A deaf ear is the first symptom of a closed mind – and this is detrimental in leadership.

You can be a leader without being a listener, but you can’t be a good leader without being a listener.

7. Get in the Zone and Stay there.

Find out what you do well and keep doing it.

You will discover your purpose by finding what your potential

Don’t ask what you do right, ask what you do well and do that.

Good leaders find their strength zone, but they also help others find their strength zone. Do so by getting to know them, by watching what they are good at and by communicating to others to find their strengths.

Working on your strength in a weak area is more profitable than working on your weakness to become stronger.

8. A Leaders first Responsibility is to find Reality.

Reality is the foundation for positive change.

Cast an eye on reality.

Admit your weakness – you can’t define reality if you don’t face it

Embrace realistic people – you need people who will help you in your weak spots.

Most leaders don’t want to hear the truth or face reality

Invite fresh eyes to check out what you are doing.

Good leaders face reality and change things.

9. To see how the Leader is doing, Look at those Around him.

If you want to analyze your leadership, ask the following 4 questions:

• Are the people following – leaders go somewhere and can get others to follow them.
• Are the people changing – progress does not improve without change. Courageous leaders have to cease the opportunity and change for the best. Leaders are agents of change.
• Are the people growing – a good leader helps people with more than their job; they help them in all areas of their lives. Growing leaders make growing organizations.
• Are the people succeeding – a leader may impress people when they are succeeding, but the real test is if their people are succeeding. To see how a leader is doing, look at his people.

10. Don’t send your Ducks to Eagle School.

We want everyone to learn and get better, but not everyone will learn and grow.

Some people are motivated and some are not.

Someone may say that they become a millionaire by reading a certain book – you may think that everyone will run to go buy it but they don’t. What a mystery!

If you send ducks to eagle school, you will only frustrate the ducks – who they are is who they should be, don’t try to change them.

Leadership is about placing the right people in the right spot.

All people have strengths, but they may be in different areas than that of others.

People should get out of their comfort zone but not out of their strength zone.

If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the ducks, both the eagles and yourself.

You cannot put into someone something that God has left out.

11. Keep your Mind on the Main thing.

Learning how to keep your mind on the main thing is one of the most important things a leader can do.

Determine not to know everything – you don’t have to know everything if you know others who do know about those details. If you are leader, get an assistant.

Determine to not know everything first – let others solve problems instead of you having to know and fix it.

Let someone else represent you, you don’t have to be involved in everything.

Stay with your strengths and let others take care of your weaknesses.

Simplify things in your life. You can’t do everything; sometimes you have to say no.

12. Your Biggest Mistake is not Asking what your Mistake is.

Everyone makes mistakes but not admitting it will hurt you.

Admit your mistakes and weaknesses with others. People know your weaknesses so quit lying to yourself and to them, just admit it.

Accept mistakes as part of progress. Don’t beat yourself up, just realize it and do better the next time.

Learn from your mistakes

Ask others what you are missing.

The best leaders invite others to give opinions

Let people give pushback and ask hard questions.

13. Don’t Manage your Time Manage your Life.

Everyone gets the same amount of time but not everyone gets same amount out of the time.

Time management is an oxy moron because you can’t manage time; you can’t get more even if you wanted to or tried. So instead of managing time, manage yourself.

Those who manage themselves poorly also struggle in every other area of life.

If you want to make the most of your time, improve yourself.

14. Keep Learning to keep Leading.

People do not reach their potential on accident.

The secret to success is in your daily agenda; if you do something every day to learn and grow, you will learn and grow.

If you want to continue leading, you have to continue growing.

The great danger in life is thinking that you have arrived.

The people around you will greatly determine your success. Being around the right people will stretch and better you. Great people bring out the greatness of others.

15. Leaders Distinguish themselves in Tough Times.

Every change, crisis and challenge requires decisions to be made… and this is what makes you.

A tough call requires risk. If you are not willing to take a risk, you are not worthy to be a leader.

The test of courage is not the big things but the small things that frequently happen in life.

A tough time will make or break you… they are crucial for a leader.

Be willing to do all of the small things and you will be ready for the big things.

A real leader is made in the tough times.

16. People Quit People, not Companies.

People follow you only if they want to – people leave a place all of the time.

As leaders, we would like to think that people don’t leave because of us, but that is not true.

It is said that 65% of people leave a company because of their managers.

The company doesn’t do anything negative, the people in the company do. Sometimes they will leave because of coworkers but a large majority quit because of the leader.

People quit people that:

• That devalue them – most don’t receive thanks at work, in fact they feel devalued and unappreciated. When leaders devalue people, they begin to lord over them and treat them like objects instead of like people. The solution is to find value in others and praise them for their contribution. Find something to thank them for and they will be thankful to you for it.
• That are untrustworthy – people lost trust by acting inconsistent in what they say or do, withholding information, and lying or telling half-truths. When trust has been lost it’s like breaking a mirror: you can glue it back together but it will always show the marks. But you can keep the trust of others by showing respect, focusing on shared goals, doing the right thing even if it’s hard and by maintaining integrity.
• That are incompetent – if a leader does not have skill, they will not know what to do. An incompetent leader cannot lead competent people very long. People naturally follow leaders that are stronger than them.
• That are insecure – leaders can value others, be trustworthy and competent, but if they are insecure, others will soon leave them. Insecure leaders are always worried others will take their job, etc. A secure leader will help others and work himself out of a job. An insecure leader doesn’t want others to succeed without their help and tries to maintain authority.

If you want to help a company keep its people than become a better leader yourself.

17. Experience is not the Best Teacher.

Some people learn and grow by their experience but others do not.

When we start out, we are like an empty notebook. But the problem is that some people do not fill out every page and therefore do not gain much. But it is not just the filling out of the notebook but the looking back over it and reflecting on it.

Experience teaches nothing but evaluated experience teaches a lot.

Some people can live 25 years but instead of gaining 25 years of experience they only gain 1 year of experience 25 times.

Lack of experience could be bad but so could experience without learning from it.

Don’t just learn something from every experience but learn something positive from every experience.

People that reflect on the experience, evaluate it and learn from it are rare… but when you meet one, you will know it.

18. The Secret to a Good Meeting is the Meeting Before the Meeting.

Meetings usually fail for two reasons:

• Because the leader does not have an agenda
• Because other people in the meeting have their own agenda

So have a meeting before the meeting to think thru and go over what is going to happen.

You have to prepare people for the information you are going to give them. Most people don’t like surprises (unless it’s a birthday party) so prepare them for what is going to happen.

Find especially the vocal and influential people and talk to them before the meeting takes place. Don’t have secrets and surprises from certain people.

Cultivate trust with people by answering questions and letting them know what’s going on.

Board meetings can be successful because of the pre-board meeting.

All ends well that begins well

You don’t have to clean up a mess afterwards if you prepare for it beforehand.

19. Be a Connector not just a Climber.

Leaders are wired to climb and this is fine, but you must climb as you connect with people.

If you play king of the hill and try to climb over others, you will lose and make those you climb over mad.

You may have the rights to a position but if you don’t have the relationships, you are in trouble.

It is more about the people than it is the position.

People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Moving up is very important for climbers but in reality connecting is much more important.

Climbers are more concerned about their image but connectors are concerned with those around them.

Climbers run alone but connectors take others along.

Competence is not the greatest detriment to a leader it is relationships.

If you climb without connecting, you may get a position but you will not accomplish as much.

20. The Choices you make will Make You.

Successful leaders make decisions early on and manage them daily.

Our greatest power in life may be our power to choose.

The choice you make will make you.

We don’t always get what we want, but we do get what we choose.

If you want to know who someone is, look at the choices he/she makes.

Choices you make will make your family and affect others.

Once you choose, you have to live with the consequences.

Learn to set a higher standard for yourself than you do for others.

Choose to help people instead of just making them happy.

Choose to live right even with critics.

Choose to focus on the present, not the past or future.

21. Influence should be Loaned but never Given.

It takes a leader to raise up another leader – they loan influence to them and give credibility.

But giving your influence to people who will not use it right is not a good use of your time and influence.

Influence should never be given it should only be loaned to those interested.

Just as a bank will qualify the people who they will give a loan to, you should do the same. Make sure they are going to use it, they are worth it, and that it will be a good investment for you to spend time and influence.

22. For everything you Gain, you Give up Something.

Anything we get in life, we pay for, just a matter of time. So what are you giving up in order to gain?

Tradeoffs that are worth accomplishing:

• Trade Affirmation for Accomplishment
• Trade Security for Significance – success is not just being busy. You have to risk sometimes. Great people gave their life for things of significance.
• Trade Financial gain for Future Potential – temptation is to go for money, but shoot for future potential.
• Trade Immediate Pleasure for Personal Growth – our culture has a problem with denying immediate gratification.
• Trade Exportation for Focus – the older you are, the more focused you should become. Once you know what you are to do, do it.
• Trade Quantity of life for Quality of life
• Trade Acceptable for Excellence – leaders cannot rise up on the wings of mediocrity.
• Trade Addition for Multiplication – leaders who develop leaders will multiply their potential. Every great leader is a leader of leaders.
• Trade the 1^st half for the 2^nd half – it’s easier to just stay with what is easier, but be willing to trade it.
• Trade your Work for God for your Walk with God – your work cannot make up for your relationship with God.

23. Those who Start the Journey with You seldom Finish with You.

It’s fun to do things with a team, but not everyone will finish the race with you.

Those closest to you will not always be close to you – this is a hard fact about leadership.

Don’t wait for people you should not wait for

Don’t feel guilty for losing someone – if you always lose people, that’s not good but people will leave along the way. You can’t force people to stay so bless them as they go.

Don’t think you have to keep everyone. Ask people before they think about leaving so you’ll know when they leave and be prepared for it.

Learn to appreciate those that are with you even if they are only there for a short season.

24. Few Leaders are Successful unless a lot of People want them to be.

It takes a lot of people to have success.

We all know of great leaders but there were people who helped them get to where they are.

We have mentors and supporters in life.

There are team players, creative thinkers, people developers, those who make you expand your thoughts, encouragers and so much more.

Followers are needed for success but good followers are needed for big success.

People appreciate leaders who appreciate them.

25. You only get Answers to the Questions you Ask.

Learn to ask questions.

Successful people as good questions

Are you investing in yourself? Good leaders invest in themselves. Learn more and you can lead more.

Are you interested in helping people?

Are you doing what you love? You will never be successful doing what you don’t like. Passion is the core at being successful. Love what you do.

Are you investing your time with the right people? People can usually trace your successes and failures to the people that influenced you.

Are you taking others to a higher level? Are those under you getting better or worse? Add value to others, this is the only reason you are to be leading them.

Are you taking care of today? The secret of your success is in your daily agenda. You will never change your life until you change something you are doing today?

Are you taking the time to think? Leaders are usually action oriented, but you must have time to stop and think. Have a place where you think. Have a process for thinking. Have people that help you think.

Are you developing other leaders? If you want a leader to be a success, you cannot just lead followers but you have to lead leaders.

Are you pleasing God?

If you don’t ask questions, you will never grow.  You have already retired if you quit asking questions.

26. People will Summarize your Life in One Sentence… Pick it Now.

Our lives will end some day and what will our legacy be?

Our legacy, what we will be remembered by, could be intentional or unintentional. Choose your legacy by defining your life.

Most people don’t lead their lives, they just live them… but you don’t have to do that.

How you live each day will add up your legacy.

You don’t decide how you’ll die but you can decide how you’ll live.

Ingredients of a Great Church

By Curtis Hutson

Preacher

The preacher is the most important ingredient.  Dr. Roberson always said, “Everything rises or falls on leadership.”

You don’t attract what you want, you attract what you are

God doesn’t bless a ministry, God blesses a man. God’s blessings were not upon Metropolitan Tabernacle, they were on Charles Spurgeon

Jack Hyles said, if you expect your people to jump an inch, you must jump six feet

You don’t limit God to a location.  It is not WHERE you are, but WHOSE you are and WHAT you are that determine whether or not you succeed in the ministry

Dr. Bob Jones Sr., said, “The test of a man’s character is what it takes to stop him.”

Unlikely people, but people who were sold out to God.  It is not WHO you are but WHOSE you are that makes the difference.

Purpose

One man said, blessed is the man who aims at nothing for he shall hit it every time – a lot of preachers are like this, they do not know where they are going

You ought to find out where you are going before you get started

Purpose in your heart that you can and will do it.  A man once said to Spurgeon, “Mr. Spurgeon, I am really concerned about my ministry.  Not many people are being saved.” Spurgeon said, “Do you expect people to be saved every time you preach?” The man reaplied, “Well, no.”  And Spurgeon said, “Then that is the reason they are not being saved every time”

You need some goals, some purpose, as to what you want to do

Plan

Not only purpose but plan. Plan. Plan. Plan

Publicize

Run spot announcements on the radio

Everything you do at your church should go out with the churches name on it

Let everyone in your city know that you are there

Bumper stickers

There is nothing wrong with publicizing

Perspiration

W-O-R-K – that is it!

If the average business man worked no harder at making his business a success than the average preacher works at making his church a success, every business in town would be bankrupt in a matter of weeks.  You can not sleep until 10 in the morning, go to the store with your wife, rest in the afternoon, etc and expect something to happen on Sunday.  You go the pulpit about half prepared, your message is not burning in your heart, and you are not really excited about preaching.  You cannot build a church like that.

Do you know what will help you? Read the Journal of John Wesley. “Up at 5:00 o’clock this morning; preached several times before 10:00 in the morning.”

Read about John Welch who kept his old coat by his bed and got up in the middle of the night to go out into the yard to pray.  His wife would ask, “For what are you praying?” His answer was, “O woman, I have three thousands souls to my charge, and I know not how it is with many of them!”

Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” WORK!

Patience

Boy!  You’re going to need patience to build a great church

If you don’t have patience, you won’t be able to take it

If you don’t have some patience, you will quit.  Little things are bound to happen that will require patience.

Persistence

You have to keep going on

The fellow who keeps on and keeps on is the one who gets the job done

You are never going to do anything until you decide to drive your stakes somewhere and invest your life in something instead of skipping all over the country.  Every time you have problems, you run from them.  You are going to meet the same Devil somewhere else.  Make us your mind that you are going to stay put and fight the devil and build a church.”

Keep on keeping on.  Don’t quit!

Preaching

Preachers build a church. You say, “Folks won’t come.”  Yes they will.  If you have something to tell them, they will come.

Make up your mind that you are not going to the pulpit with a blank

Make up your mind that you are going to have a solid, Scripture-packed sermon when I go to the pulpit.

One man said if I had a little sermon and a big sermon, I would preach the little sermon to the little congregation and save the big sermon for a big congregation.  The wise pastor said, “then you probably aren’t going to have any big congregations.” He was right.  Preaching will build a congregation.  There is no substitute for preaching!

Praise

Of course praise the Lord, but I’m talking about praising the people in church. If people do special things in your church, give them special recognition.  Praise your people. “Folks did you hear Mr. and Mrs. Bagley got 128 riders on the 66 passenger bus – can we have the Bagley’s stand.  God bless you!  You are doing a wonderful job.”

Everyone likes praise. We all enjoy it.

Promptness

Do it now.  Do not wait.

Billy Sunday had a saying, “Get right with God and do it NOW.”

A kid said to his dad, “there were 3 frogs on a log and one decided to jump, how many were left”.  The dad said “2”.  The kid said, “no 3”.  The dad questioned how it was possible if one decided to jump, how was 3 still there.  The kid answered, “That’s right. One decided, but he never did.”  And there are a lot of frogs in the church sitting decided but have never moved.

The wise man’s day is today and the fool’s day is tomorrow.

Yesterday is a canceled check; Tomorrow is a promissory note; Today is the only cash you have, so spend it wisely.

 

Intimacy with the Almighty

By Charles Swindoll

The Decision

• To Reorder one’s Private World

• To be still

• To cultivate Serenity

• To trust the Lord completely

The Discipline

• Simplicity

Ecclesiastes 7:29

II Corinthians 11:3

• Silence

Psalm 46:10

I Samuel 30:1-4

• Solitude

Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24

I Corinthians 11:17-22

I Corinthians 11:28-31

Mark 6:30-32

• Surrender

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Surrender is the key that unlocks the vault of God’s best and deepest treasures”

Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret

By Howard and Geraldine Taylor

CHAPTER 1

What role did Hudson Taylor’s mom play in his conversion? She prayed

When Hudson Taylor surrendered to go anywhere, where did he feel the Lord was leading him? To China

After he surrendered to China, what did he do? He began to prepare.

How did he begin to prepare? Woke up early to study; he moved into a poor section of town

Why did his girlfriend break up with him? She did not want to be a missionary to China

CHAPTER 2

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) To move man through God by _________ alone. Prayer

How did Hudson Taylor depend on God giving him his salary? By waiting on God to remind his boss to pay him

CHAPTER 3

Why did Hudson not continue living with his father? He wanted to learn to trust and depend upon the Lord

What was the reason the doors opened up in China and why did they choose Hudson Taylor to be one of the first to go? The president in China got saved and invited missionaries – since Hudson Taylor was single, they told him to be one of the first to go

Did Hudson want to see his parents before he left for China and why? No, because it would be hard to say goodbye

CHAPTER 4

When did Hudson Taylor feel his ministry in China begun? When he moved and lived among the people

Why were the missionaries criticizing and gossiping about Hudson? Because he lived among the people, spent little time with other westerners and his clothes were looking shaggy

CHAPTER 5

Did the Chinese like westerners? No

What did Hudson decide to do to reach more Chinese? Take on native dress. At any of the missionaries ever done such a thing? No. Were the missionaries going to approve of it? No

CHAPTER 6

Who became Hudson’s new partner in ministry? William Burns. How did Hudson influence him? He began to wear Chinese clothing as well

What benefits did Hudson and his new partner have at the new city (Swatow) because of their address? They found a place to live, were able to minister more easy, they were not easily spotted as other westerners

Why were the doors later closed for Hudson Taylor and his partner in Swatow? Because Burns was arrested and taken away

CHAPTER 7

What was the name of the girl that Hudson Taylor started to like? Maria Dyer

Why was Hudson Taylor interested or attracted to this girl? She had the heart of an evangelist, loved the people

What attracted Maria to Hudson Taylor? His generous giving, his Chinese dress, his love for the people, his zeal.

What did the lady that took care of Maria (Miss Aldersee) do to Hudson Taylor? She tried to ruin his reputation

CHAPTER 8

What was Mr. Ni’s difficult question to Hudson Taylor? How long he had the truth and why he didn’t bring the truth sooner

Why specifically and initially did George Mueller begin to support Hudson Taylor? Because he read the letter of how Hudson Taylor forgave and loved the people that stole from him.

CHAPTER 9

How many years did Hudson Taylor spend in China before his first furlough? Six years

What reasons did Hudson Taylor have for taking his furlough? To recuperate and recruit more workers for China

What did the doctors tell him when he got back to England? That he would not be able to continue working like he was

How many missionaries was he appealing would go to china and how many actually went? He wanted 4 or 5, only 1 went

Why did Hudson Taylor begin to pray for 24 missionaries? 2 for each of the eleven provinces and 2 for Mongolia

CHAPTER 10

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) God’s work done in Gods way will never lack Gods ________. Supply

What was Hudson Taylor’s new mission called? China Inland Mission

How much money did Hudson and Maria Taylor begin their bank account for the new mission? 10 pounds

CHAPTER 11

Hudson Taylor’s desire was to become Chinese in all ways not sinful to win some. What were some of the ways that he and his mission tried to become Chinese? Dressing like the people, learning the language, adapting their habits, living amongst the people.

How did Hudson and his wife respond to the criticism that the new missionaries gave them for their rule about Chinese dress and Hudson’s leadership? With much love and patience

What is one of the greatest sacrifices that Hudson felt like he did? Leaving his wife and children when he traveled

CHAPTER 12

What did Hudson do as a result of the riot in the city? They had to leave the city

What happened later to some of the Chinese that were involved in the Riot? Some of them got saved and baptized

CHAPTER 13

What did the national newspapers in England accuse Hudson Taylor and his mission of? Asking for warships to forcefully convert the Chinese

When most people began to diminish their support to Hudson Taylor and the mission in China, who was the man who increased his giving? George Mueller

CHAPTER 14

After spending much time discouraged, what was Hudson Taylor’s secret to getting close to God again? Abiding in Christ

CHAPTER 15

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) To be content with God’s Will and Gods Way is ________.  Rest

What did Hudson and Maria do with their children that they considered one of the most difficult things they ever did? Send them back to England

What happened while Maria was giving birth? The baby died

CHAPTER 16

What did Hudson pray as Maria was dying? He thanked the Lord for the 12 ½ years they had together

CHAPTER 17

When did Hudson get married again? Right after he arrived to England on his furlough

What was his new wife’s name? Jenny

After how long of being in England did Hudson Taylor return back to China? 15 months

Explain what Hudson Taylor meant when he said that missionaries are like scaffolding? They’re used to build but the sooner they can be removed, the better

CHAPTER 18

Hudson Taylor said and felt that when his work became a begging work (appealing for funds), what would happen? It would soon die

How did Hudson reply when a preacher told him that he must be very proud of how much God has used him? He replied by saying, on the contrary, God must have been looking for somebody so weak and so small and that is why he found me

CHAPTER 19

What doors began to open up from the Chinese government? That foreigners would have protection and could enter into any province or city

How many missionaries did the China Inland Mission begin to pray for as a group? 70

CHAPTER 20

When Hudson preached or met with people, his attitude was not to get but to give

To advance in any more work in 1887, Hudson Taylor and the mission asked for how many new workers? 100

How many missionaries actually applied in 1887 and how many did they choose? Over 600 applied and 102 were chosen

How much extra funds did Hudson and the mission pray for and how much extra funds did they receive? (at the time they prayed for the extra 100 missionaries) They prayed for £50,000 pounds and received £55,000 pounds that year

Who from America invited Hudson Taylor to come visit America? DL Moody

CHAPTER 21

(finish this sentence by filling in the space) Either God is ____________ of all or he is not _____________ at all. Lord, Lord  (If God is Lord, then let us treat him as such.)

The China inland Mission became a international board. Name some of the other countries that sent missionaries to China? Norway, Germany, New Zealand, …

What difficult prayer did Hudson Taylor’s wife ask him to pray for her and what was the result of that prayer? That the Lord would take her quickly when she was sick… and the Lord did.

Hudson Taylor said we cannot do much, but we can do a little and God can do much of it

EPILOGUE

What did Hudson say was one of most difficult things for a missionary? To maintain his walk with the Lord. He said the devil will find anything to keep one busy and not have his walk with the Lord

Extra Notes

Hudson Taylor was sacrificial – to the missionaries he worked with, to the people he loved, to everyone

He raised support through prayer – he believed that God moved man through prayer alone.

He had a goal and lived that goal of wanting to see missionaries all over China, in every province – he raised hundreds of workers for the mission field

He put God first – he was willing to let his girlfriend, luxuries and love go in order to go to the mission field. He left good living of money to live in the slum area and depend on God.