Category Archives: Productivity

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ARE YOU TRYING TO LIVE UP TO IMPOSSIBLE STANDARDS? BE FREE!

photo by Thomas HainesI have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! -Galatians 2:20-21

Our faith muscles are strengthened as we meditate on the grace of God, not on his impossible standards.

Can you imagine ever saying to someone that “Christ died for nothing!”? Yet the Apostle Paul says that in our actions and in our beliefs we may as well be saying that out loud. That is really convicting. I think leaders in particular sometimes get baited by performance, goals and expectations put on them and fall into this trap of trying to live up to impossible standards.

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Vision – Values Cycle Tool: 5 Steps to Staying on Mission

Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Vision casting in Costa Rica-Riverside 2

Leadership Training In the Jungle of Costa Rica

Leading with vision is not easy. It does not look like a casual stroll through the park on a wide well-maintained path. Rather, leading with vision looks more like a jungle adventure, meandering through ups and downs, scaling sharp cliffs, making progress at times, and at other times standing still. One of the observations I’ve made about leading with vision is that that good visionary leaders understand the “Vision-Values Cycle.” Whether you are leading a small group, classroom, a business, or a family… here are some insights that will help you stay on your mission by using the Vision-Values Cycle Tool.

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TWITTER TRENDS | NEW RESEARCH ON TWITTER’S GLOBAL IMPACT

Twitter connections

New research on Twitter’s global impact has implications for leaders who want to leverage influence in their ministries.

Since I fly alot to work with leaders around the world, some new “twitter trends” research on the global impact of Twitter’s social media caught my ear. Steve Inskeep & Shankar Vedantam’s piece called, Why Twitter Ties Resemble Airline Hub Maps has some potentially interesting implications. Apparently two assumptions about Twitter are totally wrong: 1) Geography no longer matters, 2) Twitter is a truly cross-cultural medium. Instead, Barry Wellman, a sociologist from the University of Toronto, did a study of 1/2 million Twitter users and found some Twitter trends worth considering. Those who use Twitter care about 1) Local interests, and 2) People who live in similar cities as they do. So if your Twitter followers are an airline flight away from the city you live in, they are more likely to follow you.

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7 Ways to Change How You Lead Meetings to Improve Teamwork

How often do you feel “dragged” into meetings? How often as a leader do you feel like you have to drag people into meetings when they’d rather be doing something else? No matter how hard we try, leading teams requires meetings. So how can we lead in such a way that meetings become meaningful and improve teamwork?

I recently read a very helpful article about teamwork by Daniel Harkavy called, “7 Steps to Improve Your Meetings — and Your Team’s Effectiveness.” Below I’m sharing an abridged version of Harkavy’s list that I’ve rewritten to help me be more effective at leading meetings. I’ve included a general list and a more specific list for youth ministry leaders. Hopefully by trying some of these suggestions you’ll notice immediate a change in attitudes among your team and will have improved teamwork.