Dipendente

quote for the day

"No mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore." Sigmun Freud

Questions for leaders or those aspiring to be leaders from Sanders

1.    Have you ever broken a bad habit
2.    Do you keep self control when things go wrong?
3.    Leader must be calm in crisis
4.    Do you think independently?
5.    A leader must use the best ideas of others to make decisions
6.    A Leader cannot wait for others to make up his/her mind
7.    Can you handle criticism, can you profit from it?
8.    Can you turn disappointment's into creative new opportunities?
9.    Do you readily win the respect and confidence of others?
10.    Can you exert discipline without making it a power play?
11.     Are you a peace maker?
12.     Do people trust you
13.     Can you induce people to do some legitimate thing that they would not normally do?
14.     Can you accept opposition to your view point without taking offence?
15.     Can you make and keep friend?
16.     Can you hold steady in the face of opposition?
17.     Are you at ease in the presence of strangers?
18.     A leader should be sympathetic.
19.     Are you tactful?
20.     Are your ideas steady?
21.    Can you forgive?
22.     Are you optimistic? Pessimism and leadership DO NOT mix
23.     Do you feel a master passion such as that of Paul?
24.     Do you welcome responsibility?

Drops Like Stars - Rob Bell Australian Tour June 2010

click here
The tour kicked off March 27 in Royal Oak, with a second stop Friday at Interlochen. He will take a break for the birth of his third child, due in May, and resume the tour Aug. 19 in Chicago. Stops are scheduled into July 2010.

His third major speaking tour will involve props and audience participation as Bell uses artistic concepts to explore spiritual ideas.

One is that suffering strips people down to their basics, something like the way a record producer pares a song to its essentials or a sculptor chips away superfluous rock. What's left is the enduring human spirit, raw and hurting but open to new possibilities.

"It's interesting to meet somebody who's just found out they have cancer," Bell said. "They're rarely saying things like, 'Now I'm going to get that plastic surgery I've always wanted.' They say things like, 'I need to make amends. I need family, friends, relationships.' "

That deep re-assessment of what's important can lead to exciting new directions, he adds.

"There is a creative impulse that is birthed by suffering. So-and-so loses their job and it's awful and it's gut-wrenching. But, for the first time, a whole new future opens up. They begin to imagine things they never did before.

"Maybe, sometimes, it takes suffering to get the other stuff out of the way, so you can get at the greatness that's inside you."
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Through stories of tragedy and failure, Bell will examine the theory that people learn and grow the most during difficult times -- or as he puts it, when "everything got blown to pieces."

As in previous books and tours, Bell has an unorthodox take on traditional Christian themes. His concern is not why God allows terrible things to happen, but how God helps people get through terrible things.

"The Hebrew/Christian perspective has always been far less about why did God cause this and where was God, and much more about incarnation," he said. "Apparently, God's in this mess as well, up to something."

Source

Free e-boook from Exponential

A brand new project. An e-book that is free. Leadership Learnings from Bloggers. The best leadership blog posts of 2008 from 20 national leaders/bloggers, such as Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble, Tony Morgan, Ed Stetzer, Seth Godin, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hyatt, Mark Batterson, Alan Hirsch, Tim Stevens, and many others. Including several posts from yours truly as well. 

You can access the e-book here. Check it out. Download it. And pass on to friends. It’s free.

Thanks to Exponential Network for putting this great resource together.

Twilight

while i was waiting for my connecting flight in LA i picked up a copy of "Twilight" which has just been released as a movie and i taking the world by storm. I have had many people tell me how much of a great book it is. My thoughts so fat (200 pages in)

for Girls:you love it and will want your future partner to be a vampire

Guys: you will think it is a load a dribble and wonder why girls rave about it, but it will give you some insights into what girls want. they want you to become a vampire.

Dietrich Bonhoffer

It may be that the day of judgment will dawn tomorrow; in that case we will gladly stop working toward a better future. But not before

Questions for churches

Am reading through "Church Unique" by Will Mancini as i have an online webinar tomorrowm morning with him (can't show up without having done the reading can i?) and apart from the genius of the whole book, 4 simple questions came out of it which i think most churches should actually be asking themselves, especially established denominational churches.

What are we doing?
Why are we doing it?
When are we successful?
Where is God taking us?

I get the sense that if we can't answer these 4 simple questions about certain ministries they should be shut down.

Another interesting quote that came out

"My uncle once told me that during World War II if an unidentified soldier appeared suddenly in the dark and could not state his mission, he was automatically shot without question. I wonder what would happen if we reinstituted that policy today." Laurie Beth Jones

The Last Word

This was a really quick read, it is only 107 and is the last public engagement that John Stott had before his ...well actual retirement. I owe so much to him as it was through reading his books Packers books that i was converted and fell in love with the God.

in this book John sets out that the purpose of us as God's people is not to Love God and Love our Neighbour, that is good but not our purpose, our purpose is to become more like Christ. the basis for this is not a single text but rather 3 texts that we would all do well to hold together in our Christian thinking and living Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 John 3:2

Stott then continues to expand on what areas we are to be like Christ:

In his incarnation (1John 2:6)
I think it is important for us to make a general statement, as the apostle John does in 1 John 2:6 'he who syas he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way as he walked' In other words, if we claim to be a Christian, we must be Christlike...Some of you may immediatley recoil in horror from such an idea. Surely you will say to me, the Incarnation was an altogether unique event and cannot possibly be imitated in any way? My answer to that question is yes and no. Yes, it was unique, in the sense that the Son of God took our humanity to himself in Jesus of Nazareth, once and for all and forever, never to be repeated. That is true. but there is another sense in which the Incarnation was not unique: the amazing grace of God in the Incarnation of Christ to be followed by all of us. the incarnation, in that sense, was not unique but universal. We are all called to follow the example of his great humility in coming down from heaven to earth....We are called to be like Christ in his Incarnation, in the amazing self-humbling which lies behind the Incarnation.

In his service

In his love

In his patient endurance

In his mission
In john 20:21, in prayer Jesus said 'As you, father, have sent me into the world, so I send them into the world'-that is us 'As the Father sent me into the world so I send you' these words are immensely significant...The key words  in these texts are  'sent into the world'. As Christ had entered our world, so we are to enter other peoples worlds. It was eloquently explained by Archbishop Michael Ramsey some years ago: 'We state and commend the faith only in so far as we go out and put ourselves with loving sympathy inside the doubts of the doubters, the questions of the questioners and the loneliness of those who have lost the way'.
This entering into other people's world is exactly what we mean by incarnational evangelism. All authentic mission is incarnational mission. We are to be like Christ in his mission. These are the five main ways in which we are to be Christlike: in his Incarnation, in his service, in his love, in his endurance and his mission.

The practical consequences of Christlikeness

"Authentic starts with me" from -No Perfect People Allowed-

Page 73-74
The longer I walk with Christ, the more i see the pharisee in me. I'm convinced the most important work of spiritual leadership is leading a spiritually authentic life. But to do this. I must break through the deception that I am somehow better than others. That I am somehow a little less in need of God's mercy and grace than the Tias and Tims of this world.

A culture of authenticity starts with me. I must first recognize that i am no less capable of being deceived than were the reliigous leaders of Jesus' day. I must constantly remind myself that the apostle Peter was deceived in his zealousness and called down the rebuke of Jesus. I must realize that Paul was deceived in his zeal for God's righteousness to the point of condoning the murder of christ followers. I must recount the corrupt yearning for power and selfish-aggrandizement that stalked the sons of Zebedee, James and John as they fantasized and plotted a path to greatness as Jesus' disciples. Who am i to think I am some how incapable  of being deceived by my ownbrand of cultural religious piety? .......I must remember that if i am deceived, I'll be the last to know about it.

Authenticity is hard work. It always works from the inside out. It begins with the inner life of the leader, being authentic with God.

Page 76
We must be in community where it is safe to be real, before it's too late. Where we can be reminded that our value and worth comes from who we are in Christ, not what we do as Christians. Only then can we lead toward a culture of authenticity.

Page 78
It's a very real struggle to be vulnerable. It is much more powerful and immediatly gratifying to play the Pharisee (I've done both). To have people look up to you, tell you how in awe they are of how mature and spiritual you are. To be right all the time and to have an answer for everything and everyone. To never feel insecurity of being vulnerable to the judgments of others because you never let them see your faults or struggles. There's real powerful reason to play Pharisee. Security! Pharisees don't have to rely on god for security-they never feel insecure.

page 82
This kind of realness may threaten some leaders. If you value "fixed-up" or "put-together" people, don't risk allowing people to be authentic. You'll hear thins that frustrate you, dissapoint you, hurt you, cause you to doubt your efficacy, and make you wonder if peopletake your teaching seriously.....But authentic can be dangerous if left alone. If you create a culture where peoplewill rip it open and let others see the dirt and grime of life, but you have not created a culture of acceptance, where grace abounds, you're setting people up for a great letdown.

"Authentic starts with me" from -No Perfect People Allowed-

Page 73-74
The longer I walk with Christ, the more i see the pharisee in me. I'm convinced the most important work of spiritual leadership is leading a spiritually authentic life. But to do this. I must break through the deception that I am somehow better than others. That I am somehow a little less in need of God's mercy and grace than the Tias and Tims of this world.

A culture of authenticity starts with me. I must first recognize that i am no less capable of being deceived than were the reliigous leaders of Jesus' day. I must constantly remind myself that the apostle Peter was deceived in his zealousness and called down the rebuke of Jesus. I must realize that Paul was deceived in his zeal for God's righteousness to the point of condoning the murder of christ followers. I must recount the corrupt yearning for power and selfish-aggrandizement that stalked the sons of Zebedee, James and John as they fantasized and plotted a path to greatness as Jesus' disciples. Who am i to think I am some how incapable  of being deceived by my ownbrand of cultural religious piety? .......I must remember that if i am deceived, I'll be the last to know about it.

Authenticity is hard work. It always works from the inside out. It begins with the inner life of the leader, being authentic with God.

Page 76
We must be in community where it is safe to be real, before it's too late. Where we can be reminded that our value and worth comes from who we are in Christ, not what we do as Christians. Only then can we lead toward a culture of authenticity.

Page 78
It's a very real struggle to be vulnerable. It is much more powerful and immediatly gratifying to play the Pharisee (I've done both). To have people look up to you, tell you how in awe they are of how mature and spiritual you are. To be right all the time and to have an answer for everything and everyone. To never feel insecurity of being vulnerable to the judgments of others because you never let them see your faults or struggles. There's real powerful reason to play Pharisee. Security! Pharisees don't have to rely on god for security-they never feel insecure.

page 82
This kind of realness may threaten some leaders. If you value "fixed-up" or "put-together" people, don't risk allowing people to be authentic. You'll hear thins that frustrate you, dissapoint you, hurt you, cause you to doubt your efficacy, and make you wonder if peopletake your teaching seriously.....But authentic can be dangerous if left alone. If you create a culture where peoplewill rip it open and let others see the dirt and grime of life, but you have not created a culture of acceptance, where grace abounds, you're setting people up for a great letdown.