Category: Helpful Resources

Courageous Christianity

by Bill Hybles

– HP + CP + CC = MI

HP — high potency (being filled with Christ and His power)

+

CP — close proximity

+

CC — clear communication of Gospel

=

MI — maximum impact (we are salt and light)

 

– Authenticity, compassion and honesty are keys to sharing Gospel.

– Showing kindness, mercy and compassion will open doors like few other things can.

– If you are always giving out to others but never take care of yourself, you will soon burn out. That is why Jesus went alone to the mountain to pray.

Cameron Townsend

by Janet Benge

 

– Cameron and his friend were in the army and went to hear a lady missionary give her testimony at a church because they heard on base that she was pretty. After she finished teaching, she asked Cameron and his friend why they were not missionaries. Cameron told her that they were soldiers, so they couldn’t go to Guatemala as missionaries. She responded saying they were cowards for wanting to be a soldier in a war where millions of other soldiers were and leaving the multitudes around the world to be evangelized by single women. That comment burnt him so much that he later became a missionary.

– He asked God to help him learn the language and studied hard until he did.

– He was not afraid to talk to government officials. He told them he could help the indigenous people become better citizens by translating the Bible into their language.

– He prayed and recruited 50 people for translating the Bible into indigenous languages.

– He brought down new people when he did not have the money. Only 2 out of 10 new recruits had support and the government of Mexico told him that they would support the other 8 that were currently there because he was helping the indigenous people.

– He had a burden for indigenous people everywhere that did not have the Bible in their language, so he started the Wycliffe Bible Translation Society, naming it after Wycliffe (who translated the Bible into English).

– He started asking for pilots and a plane to reach people in more remote areas.

– He made a movie about what he does and got the word out — this was around 1947 so not cheap or accessible like today.

– He wanted to set up a booth in the world fair. It would cost $250,000 but he was given the space for free. Even though they received the space for free, it would still cost around $100,000 to make a booth. He was able to raise all the money and, although he was not as financially successful as he wanted, he got 200 new recruits, now a total of 1600 missionaries working under him. Over 1 million people entered their booth to see what they were doing and heard a talk about his goals with the mission.

– He wanted to reach every tribe and language with the Gospel in his generation.

– He was always looking for people and tribes that did not have the Gospel in their language. And he did not accept “impossible” when he was told he couldn’t do something.

Better Dad’s, Stronger Sons

by Rick Johnson

 

– We may never be perfect fathers, but we should be lifelong learners.

– We must become men of action and men of honor in the eyes of our sons.

– Men who will stand up against adversities are men their sons can look up to.

– You as a man are your family’s leader whether you believe it or not.

– You might think you are insignificant or not a big deal, but to your son you are a very big deal.

– You are the man that God chose to be the father of your children. He could’ve chosen any other person in the world, but God chose you for the task.

– The very survival of us as a people depends heavily on dad’s.

– A father‘s legacy will influence and impact for generations to come – for good or for bad.

– The power that a dad has is incredible. There’s almost nothing that a kid cannot do when there is a dad present that believes in them.

– Masculine apathy is the number one problem in our churches.

– When a mom takes her boys to church, there’s a 15% chance that they will go to church when they grow up. When a dad takes his boys to church, there is a 75% chance that they will continue going when they are grown up. Dad’s make a very big difference.

– God did not tell you to lead and raise up your son and then leave you alone to fail — trust and seek God for His help to raise your son.

– You must reconcile with your past because a broken father will only raise a broken son. – Sons actively seek to bond with their father’s because they long for and need men of a good example.

– A boy needs his dad to show him how to live, convictions to have, and how to be a man.

– Fathers are a necessity of their sons.

– Fathers bonding with their sons will give their sons a sense of security, protection and preparation for any problems that life sends their way.

– Time is the most valuable commodity you can give your sons.

– Don’t emphasize your son’s weaknesses rather his strengths.

– Don’t avoid physical affection to your son.

– Don’t see your time spent with your son as a waste.

– Don’t abuse your authority. Col 3:21

– Rules should be reasonable.

– Teach your son how complacency is dangerous.

– Teach your son resilience, he will need it when he fails in any area.

– Teach your son to be loyal. You have to be loyal to teach loyalty.

– Let your son work and teach him about money.

– One of greatest gifts you can give to your children is to love your wife.

• Love and honor her.

• Thank her.

• Help her.

• Praise her daily.

• Provide and manage your money wisely.

• Make a covenant with God, wife, children and yourself that divorce is not an option.

• Be conscious that your son needs to know how to love a woman, and you are giving him that example.

 

– Teach your son about sex or he’ll learn from friends or somewhere else.

– You are accountable for your sons sexual purity, or at least teaching and warning him about it.

– Our sons are the next generation of dads, husbands and men and they need a live role model in action.

Being a Leader for God

by Warren Wiersbe

– You don’t “fill” an office; you use it for the good of the organization and the glory of God

– True leaders and followers gladly learn from each other.

– Leaders focus on purposes while managers are primarily concerned with processes, and that both of them must keep in touch with the people involved

– Christian leaders are people who, by faith, willingly use their character, abilities, authority, and opportunities to serve others and to help them reach their fullest potential, to their benefit, the benefit of the organization, and the glory of God.

– As Bob Cook used to tell us, “If you can explain what’s going on, God didn’t do it.”

– Real leaders don’t have to remind you where they sit or who put them there. They prove they are in charge by leading successfully, and that includes listening to you, being concerned for you, and helping you become a better worker and leader in your own sphere of service.

– George Muller used to say, “The only way to learn strong faith is to endure strong trials,” and the record in Hebrews 11 bears this out.

– Bob Cook used to remind us, “There is no substitute for character. You can buy brains, but you can’t buy character.”

– Ancient piece of wisdom: Sow a thought, you reap an action. Sow an action, you reap a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap a destiny.

– William R. Inge, dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, wrote in his Outspoken Essays, 1922, “We are always sowing our future; we are always reaping our past.”

– Four weeks before he was sworn in as the first president of the United States, George Washington wrote to a friend, “Integrity and firmness are all I can promise.”

– No amount of ability can compensate for a lack of integrity.

– Not the sword and scepter but the towel and basin and the cross symbolize Christian service.

– Executives ask one another, “How many people work for you?” but Jesus asks, “For how many people are you working?”

– Leadership isn’t just a job or even a profession. Leadership is the overflow of a life dedicated to God and devoted to serving others, always seeking to achieve worthy goals.

– Dag Hammarskjold wrote in his book Markings: “Your position never gives you the right to command. It only imposes on you the duty of so living your life that others can receive your orders without being humiliated.”

– John Knox said, “A man with God is always in the majority.”

– You can drive cattle, but you must lead sheep.

– True leaders never ask others to do what they themselves are unwilling to do. We lead the flock, not drive it, and that means the shepherd is the first one to meet the difficulties and dangers. We encourage our co-workers and never exploit them.

– Deuteronomy 17:14–20, and I recommend that you read and ponder it. Rehoboam would have especially benefited from the statement in verse 20 that the king must “not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites.”

– David’s reign was like the soft shower that brings refreshment and life (2 Sam. 23:1– 4), but the reign of Rehoboam was like a driving rain that ruins the crops (Prov. 28:3). Rehoboam was unwilling to serve the people; like his father Solomon, he expected them to serve him.

– Leaders can decay and their work decline if they are more concerned with impressing people than pleasing God. Paying more attention to the press releases than to the Scriptures and failing to heed the counsel of those who love God and love us will usually lead to failure. When we are so busy that we have no time for the Master, we are obviously too busy. “Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mark 14:37–38). – Do what God tells you,” said evangelist D. L. Moody. “There is no use in running before you are sent; there is no use in attempting to do God’s work without God’s power. . . . We shall not lose anything if we tarry till we get this power.”

– The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision.” Helen Keller

– For the Christian, vision without work is hypocrisy, and for any servant, work without vision is drudgery. The big picture and the future goals help us handle the small details and the nasty obstructions.

– Leaders must know themselves and not lie to themselves about either their weaknesses or their strengths. Leaders aren’t threatened if somebody else on the staff can do some things better than they can. They acknowledge it and make use of it.

– Our best investment is in the lives of the young men and women who will be the future leaders

Attitude 101

By John Maxwell

 

– Attitude can make or break you

– Talent is not enough

– Rotten attitudes ruin teams

– Attitude has the power to lift up or tear down the team.

– Attitudes are contagious

– How a person is will be detectable in how a person acts.

– Our attitude can turn problems into blessings.

– The right attitude, a positive perspective in life, will give you an edge on life.

– A poor attitude will take you places you don’t want to go

– We have all been dealt a hand of cards called life and it’s up to us on how we play those cards. A good attitude will make a great difference.

– It is never too late to change your attitude towards life.

– We are either the masters or the victims of our attitudes.

– Who we are today is a result of the choices that we made yesterday. Who we will be tomorrow is a result of the choices that we make today.

– Anyone can change their attitude at any moment. Attitudes are not permanent, you can change them if you decide to.

– To change your attitude, evaluate your present attitude. You can only change things when you honestly identify what your current attitude is.

– Remember that the choice to change is the one decision that must take place and only you can make it.

– Eliminate certain words from your vocabulary: I can’t, if, doubt, i’m afraid, I don’t have time, it’s impossible, etc.

– Make the following words a part of your vocabulary: I can, I will, expect, I am confident, I do believe, etc.

– Attitude is nothing more than a habit of thought.

– Find the good in every bad experience – there’s always something to learn.

– Adversity does not have to give you a bad attitude. Adversity can help you grow, see other viewpoints, mature, and teach you many things.

– To have the right attitude, you have to learn to deal positively with failure.

– Attitude will determine how far you can go on the success journey.

– Your potential has room to grow. No matter what your age is or situation, you can always improve.

Approval Addiction

by Joyce Meyer

– Our flaws will certainly distract us if we allow them. We must get our eyes back on Christ.

– Realize who you are in Christ. Face the fears and find freedom. – You have to face the fact that you are accepted in Christ and that He is pleased by you — do not fear that.

– We are accepted because of our belief in Him, not our performance. If we were accepted because of what we do, we would be called achievers instead of believers.

– We like to focus on what we can do, but we should focus on what He did.

– Do you believe the God of the Bible or the god of your feelings?

– 2 Corinthian’s 5:17 teaches us that we are new in Christ. – We don’t have to be addicted to other people’s approval, because we already have God‘s approval.

– We suffer a lot of pain because we look for men to accept us when we should be satisfied that God accepted us. Don’t look to man for what we should be looking for from God.

– God is for us, He is on our side (Romans 8:31). If God is for us, why in the world would we be worried and concerned about what everyone else thinks?

– Knowing who you are in Christ will allow you to be confident. Knowing that you are accepted in Christ will allow you not to stress over what others think.

– True freedom comes when we realize we don’t need to get from man what God has already given us – love, approval, worth, value and acceptance.

– If you live for approval, you will be miserable; you will always be wondering if what you are doing is accepted by other people. Don’t live that way.

– Fear wants us to run away from things, but God does not want us to fear

– He has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).

– The devil wants us to feel guilty and contempt, but as a child of God there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1).

– We can approve of ourselves because God approves of us; we do not have to let other people’s approval control us.

– When we get or stay angry, we are letting the devil have a foothold in our lives.

– When our emotions are out of control, so are our lives.

– Focus on being a God-pleaser, not a self-pleaser or people-pleaser.

– People pleasers are people who fear rejection, failure and disapproval. They often compromise what they believe to gain the approval of others.

– Don’t be motivated by fear, be motivated by love – love for God and others.

– People pleasers do things out of duty instead of out of desire.

– Be careful of feeling a false sense of responsibility. It is not your responsibility to make everyone happy or to accept you.

– If you let people take advantage of you, it is your fault not theirs.

– Stand up to your critics or they will control you. Both Paul and Jesus had plenty of critics, but they were not controlled by the critics.

– It is offensive to God and definitely not His will if you allow anyone outside of the Holy Spirit to control your lives. He is the One who died for us and purchased us and we should not let anybody but Him control us.

– If you have been hurt by others in the past, receive healing from God and then go help other people.

– Give away what you want – if you want approval, approve others; if you want love, love others; if you want compliments from others, compliment others; if you want to receive, then start giving away to others.

100 Ways To Motivate Others

by Steve Chandler

 

– The first step in motivating others is to realize that if there is a problem, and you are the problem.

– To lead people, you must go ahead of them.

– To learn more, you must be quiet.

– You can’t motivate others, you have to teach other people how to motivate themselves. Motivation comes within a person.

– Tune in before you turn on — don’t just tell people how to do things, show them.

– If someone will not hear you, you cannot help them. You must be liked by and listen to others so that they will listen to you.

– Keep giving feedback, people need feedback. The managers that have the hardest time leading people are those that give the least amount of feedback.

– Continue asking, evaluating and becoming better. Good leaders are continually trying to improve.

– The job of a leader is to keep their people cheered up and ready to play the game.

– Lead from the front. Inspire them by letting them see you do it, not just telling them to do it.

– Be what you want them to be. If you want them to dress sharper, then dress sharper yourself. If you want them to be on time, then be on time yourself. If you want them to be less moody, then be less moody yourself.

– Leaders create but managers react.

– Make things a game and challenge instead of tedious and hard.

– Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the confidence of their employers.

– Ask yourself what others have done to motivate you, then turn around and do that to others.

 

– Learn the ART of conflict:

• Appreciate the person for what they do and give specific qualities of why you appreciate about them.

• Restate your own commitment to the person.

• Track the existing agreement. Create or rebuild a new agreement for the person that you’re talking with. People break other people’s rules, but they will keep their own agreement.

 

– Leaders don’t create followers, they create other leaders.

– Anyone can lead a perfect person, but there are no perfect people.

– Good leaders make other people feel important. – Know your people’s strengths.

– A good leader doesn’t try to just be right, they try to understand the people and help the people understand.

– Ask yourself, “If you were being managed by someone, what would you need to know from your boss?” then do that.

– Do your employees know what you expect? Do they know what a goal for the team looks like?

– Motivate by doing. Doers figure out what needs to be done, finds the way to do it and then does it.

– Most leaders have the habit of mentioning what is wrong, but you should look and find what is right and mention that.

– Remember that you as the leader are setting the tone.

– Communication solves most problems.

– Leadership takes ownership of the problem or situation.

– Your attitude and energy will be contagious. A frightened captain will have a frightened crew.

– The less you quit, the more you motivate.

– Act enthusiastic and your people will be enthusiastic.

– Life is not about you, or what you want, it’s more about doing what you’re expected to do.

– To motivate, talk less and demonstrate more.

– When you are in a meeting, don’t try to multitask. Looking at your phone, computer or doing something else is not multitasking, it is rude.

– The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.

– Quit disagreeing with people and listen to them. When you disagree with someone, they just defensive instead of getting on your side.

– You will have more fun when you stop trying to get what you want and start helping other people get what they want.

– Discipline yourself and no one else will have to discipline you.

– You can seek to be liked or you can gain other people’s trust.

-Before you send an email, look at it again. Is it upbeat? Does it sound mean?

– A good motivator/leader uses the problem, failure or past as a teaching point to better the future, not a beating posts to put someone down.

– A leader leads and a boss drives.

– Whatever you praise will be repeated, completed and focused in on.

– You get what you reward. Dedicate five or ten minutes every day to find a way to reward others — call, talk, note, email, etc.

52 Things Daughters Need From Their Dad’s

by Jay Payleitner

 

– Your daughter needs a perfect father that will love her, be with her and support her 24 hours a day for the rest of her life – that Father is our Heavenly Father. She needs to know God.

– A daughter needs alone time with her dad. The time alone with your daughter, will teach her many things. That time does not have to be extravagant, but it must be intentional.

– A daughter needs her dad to give her limits with her tight, short and immodest clothing.

– Have a daddy daughter date night and make it super special. Dress up and have fun.

– Don’t be afraid to act silly and make memories with your daughter(s).

– Think before you speak. Be cautious with the words and threats you make or use. Whoever screams first loses. – Ask her opinion on things and let her be a part of your life and you be a part of her life.

– A daughter needs her dad to let her know he’s proud of her.

– Be cautious and thoughtful with your jokes and smart comments – we live in a world where girls become anorexic and bulimic, think they are ugly, think about suicide and so much more. Affirm and reaffirm your love and acceptance of and for her.

– Make a big deal of her birthdays and special events.

– Going into your daughter’s room, knock first, and pray with her and for her.

– When your daughter asks you to do something, drop everything possible and be there for her.

– Your daughter needs to know that you would choose her over all the other children in the world.

– A daughter needs her dad to tell her that he is glad she is a girl – never let your daughter think that you wished she was born a boy.

– When life gives your daughter lemons, you as her dad need to help her make lemonade.

– You as dad are the best person to let your daughter know about the transformation that God did in your life.

– Be there for as many special moments in your daughters life, support her and her activities in life.

– Have a daddy daughter secret, whether snack, place to go to talk, favorite fishing spot or something unique and special between the two of you.

– Your daughter needs warnings from dad (about sex, bad guys, clothes, etc,)

– Ask your daughter specific questions and wait for her and listen to her.

– A daughter needs her dad to know how to let her go when that time comes.