Literate Leaders

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

― Frederick Douglass

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.”

― Mark Twain


I grew up reading. 
 
I love history.  Civil War books really had my attention.  Westerns came right after that.  Biographies would fit somewhere in the top 10.  I grew up reading and I love reading.
 
Leaders are readers.  Readers are leaders.  Which is it? I think that it works either way.
 
Here is a list of sites where you can get a fix for your reading buzz:

• http://www.goodreads.com/
• http://www.shelfari.com/
• http://www.librarything.com/
• http://www.readerscircle.com/
• http://www.bookpage.com/

“To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.”

― George Washington

Volunteer Retention Tips for Ministry Leaders

In ministry, we tend to do a lot of recruitment.  We load up real heavy on recruiting people.  We point out all of the finer points of the benefits of participating and what it really means to sign up for service within the ministry.  We do a lot on the recruitment end.

So what about retention?

You can do mass recruitment.  That's no problem.  You need to retain volunteers in ministry on an individual basis.  You need to give them one-on-one treatment in order to keep them in the loop and on the team.

Volunteer retention is based on:

• Relationships: who knows who?
• Relevance: how are people whom we know are impacted?
• Resourcefulness: where can we help and how can we give others hope?

If we train 10 volunteers to serve for 12 months and impact 10 people per month each, you could have 1,200 impacts within a year.  Think about that.  10 X 10 X 12 = 1,200.  One hundred people could be impacted by 10 people.  Imagine what a ministry of 20 or 25 people could do.  Think about how much potential you lose when you have to replace people rather than keeping things going smoothly time after time.

Rethink Your Business

"Know why your business matters." - Bob Briner, The Management Methods of Jesus

If you are in business, you need to know why your business matters.

In fact, you need to know why your business matters to God.  You need to see how your business fits into God's plan.

Think back.  Let your mind run free to the time when you imagined going into business for yourself and before you started your business.  Think about the purpose and intent for your business.  Jot down those ideas and memories.  Record them for yourself.

Take a good look at what you have written down.

Look at the kingdom potential of your business.  How could your business expand or enhance the kingdom of God? Did God inspire you to start your business? How does God and His Word fit into your business plans?

Here are some ways to revisit your business:

• Go to God's Word.  See what God has to say.
• Pray to God.  Hear from God on the matter of business.
• Seek godly counsel.  Talk with your pastor.  Join a Christian business roundtable or network.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. - Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NASB)

Spreading the Gospel

"Christian men are not to be used for anything but God. They are a set-apart people; they are vessels of mercy, they are not for the devil’s use, not for their own use, not for the world’s use, but for their Master’s use. He has made them on purpose to be used entirely, solely and wholly for Him."
- C.H. Spurgeon

. . . I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
- 1 Corinthians 9:22 (NKJV)

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”
― D.L. Moody

We have been called to reach people for Christ.

We have some options in reaching people for Christ.

Better yet, we have some open opportunities to reach people for Christ.

We can spread the Gospel:

• Vocally: By what we say
• Visibly: By what we show
• Virally: By what we share

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! -1 Corinthians 9:16

5 Magazines for Ministry Leaders

I have been serving in ministry for nearly 15 years now.  I have served as a ministry leader for at least 10 years.  I have served as a leader on the church staff for just over 8 years now.

In all of these combined years of varied experience, I have learned a lot.  I have learned most from the Bible.  Whenever I find myself off track, I'll go into an intense study of the biblical books of wisdom (Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes) or the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  In some cases, I'll go through both sets of the prophets (both minor and major prophets) or the various epistles of the New Testament.

I learn from the Bible, various books by Christian authors like Oral Roberts, Robert Schuler, Andrew Murray and C.H. Spurgeon, and many Christian publications.  As I grew as a Christian and leader, I worked my way through a variety of magazines and journals that make up the list below:

1. Outreach
2. Leadership
3. Relevant
4. Christianity Today
5. Charisma

Only 1 of them doesn't have a one-word title... hmmmm

Going Green for God

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof..." - Psalm 24:1

The church of Jesus Christ can go green.  That makes sense.  It may not be easy to shift from traditional methods, but it is certainly worth the work.

Going green can do more than save the environment.  It can prove to be a cost-effective method for environmental stewardship.

Here is a list for going green with God:

• The Green Church
• God is Green
• 50 Ways to Help Save the Earth
• Green Revolution

Passion or Purpose

What's driving your pursuits?
Passion?
Purpose?
Which is it?

Passion is simply defined as "a powerful emotion." That is usually enough to get things started or to spark something spontaneous, but it may not be enough to keep things going.  You may need more than just the power of emotion driving you into action.  You very well need something beyond passion.

The definition of purpose is "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists." Purpose gives a reason for actions.  Purpose does more than fuel and drive the person into action.  Purpose causes the person to continue to pursue his or her goals through the ups and downs of the various periods of life.

Perhaps, given the definition of purpose, that is why Rick Warren sold so many copies of The Purpose Driven Life.  With that in mind, perhaps it makes sense when we come across so many people who are trying to find their purpose in their lives. 

You do not discover your own purpose moving to Calcutta to be the next Mother Theresa.  That was her calling and purpose, not  necessarily yours.  Oddly enough, that makes a world of sense when you listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.  It was his dream, not each and every other person's dream.  It was his dream.  Too many people are chasing after other people's dreams and purposes, never looking at themselves and their own pathway.

Let your purpose drive you into pursuits that you can become passionate about in this life.  Let such a purpose force you to grab hold of a vision and not let loose until you have accomplished more than you ever imagined possible.

 

"Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~St. Francis of Assisi