Dan Gould

Category: Leadership

  • Session #1 Bill Hybels (Leadership Summit 2010)

    When leaders learn and grow, everyone wins!!

    The Leadership Slump …
    every leaders experiences it at some point. It causes us to doubt ourselves and our calling.

    LEADERSHIP FUNDAMENTALS

    1. LEADERS MOVE PEOPLE FROM HERE TO THERE!
    *We are here – current reality … but if we work hard we will move here.
    *You have to paint the picture for people to see so they can take steps to get there
    *Expect others to say, we like it here, we are staying here. Why mess with something thats not broken?
    *The first play is not to make THERE sound wonderful, the first play is to make HERE sound horrible.
    *Build the case of why we cant stay HERE.
    *People are ready for the THERE Speech because they have heard all the speeches saying why they cant stay here! Staying here Breaks the HEART OF GOD!

    *If you are a leader your job is to figure out where God is moving and get others to move there also!

    2. IT GONNA TAKE FANTASTIC PEOPLE
    *One of the greatest jobs and roles of leadership is establishing teams that move in the direction that God is calling us.
    *The 3 C’s of recruiting staff now the 4 C’s
    Character
    Competence
    Chemistry – do they get along with everyone
    Culture – What kind of person connects with the culture of our team. Will they fit into our culture
    Sacrifice

    *A fundamental of leadership is to attract people who will flourish in your leadership culture.

    Reactions to team members resigning
    * Relief
    * Oh No
    * Read it, read it again, and then realize that you might be losing someone that is irreplaceable.
    *Do you view this as a privilege or a hindrance to your movement of the organization?

    3. MILE MARKERS and CELEBRATIONS
    *When you are on the journey make sure to refill the vision bucket so you continue to move forward
    *Celebrate every mile marker on the way. Make sure you put them in to rejuvenate the team!
    *What keeps people on the journey is the sense of hope that they will get there someday!
    *Point out that you are no longer HERE you are halfway THERE!
    *The power of inspiration – 40% differential in the productivity of an inspired volunteer and an un inspirited volunteer!
    *When was the last time you through a party to celebrate the progress you have made thus far. Doing this keeps people on the journey.

    4. WHISPERS FROM GOD
    *JOHN 10:27 – My sheep hear my voice and they listen
    *You want to hear God, you have to read the Bible!!!!! Read it!
    *Do you listen to Gods promoting? It’s the feeling that allows you to see the unseen!
    *Do you believe that God still speaks today?
    *What is God whispering to me? Am I listening? What will I do? What will we do?
    *REALITY: Sometimes God speaks and we don’t hear Him because the other noise is so loud in our lives.
    *Will you do everything in your power to hear from the Lord?
    *If leaders world wide, would listen to the Whispers of God, it would radically change the coarse of history.

    LEADERSHIP WHISPERS FROM GOD
    *DONT QUIT!
    *STEP UP
    *TAKE THE RISK
    *APOLOGIZE NOW
    *MAKE THE TOUGH DECISION
    *GET HELP
    *STOP RUNNING FROM GOD
    *SLOW DOWN
    *SHOW YOUR HEART
    *LET OTHERS LEAD
    *FEED YOUR SOUL
    *BLESS THE TEAM
    *MAKE THE ASK
    *DO SOMETHING MORE IMPACTFUL
    *COME CLEAN
    *EMBODY THE VISION
    *CELEBRATE VICTORIES
    *COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
    *END THE SECRET
    *CHECK YOUR MOTIVES
    *SET PACE
    *GIVE GOD YOUR BEST
    *GET PHYSICALLY FIT
    *SERVE YOUR SPOUSE AND KIDS
    *PRAY
    *HUMBLE YOURSELVES
    *SPEAK LORD YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING

  • Life in 140 Characters or Less

    It’s been awhile since my last post! It’s seems I go through times of inspiration and desperation when it comes to writing something new that reflects my heart, challenges my walk with Christ, and may inspire others to take a step of faith. With technology spreading as it has, I have faithfully jumped on board the social media bandwagon.

    If you were a faithful reader of this blog, I’d first like to say thank you, and I’d like to encourage you to follow me on twitter @dgould77. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t stand twitter when it first came out. I didn’t understand it’s potential and I didn’t think anyone would actually care to follow my post. I was wrong!

    Over the last year I’ve committed to tweeting daily 3-5 times a day. I am trying to be cautious and not over tweet, however, if I’m at a conference, camp, or special family outing an occasional over tweet may happen. But here is how I leverage my tweets and what you can expect from me when you follow.

    1. Scripture – I work hard to stay in the Word (read the Bible) on a daily basis. Yes, it takes work and commitment, even for me! Everyday I tweet a verse from my daily reading. I typically tweet this before 8:00AM. The verses I share inspire/challenge/convict/encourage me and i hope they will do the same for you.

    2. Inspiration – I try to be a reader. Because we all know that “readers are leaders”! But i have a confession, I hate reading! My son said it best last year when he said, “Dad, Did you know before they had fun, they just had reading?” In-spite of this, I try to post either a quote from something I am reading, singing, listening to, or watching, a link to something I’ve heard or seen, or a thought that God is stirring within me. I am trying to do this in the afternoons on a daily basis.

    3. Family Life – Well, you never know what’s going to happen next, that’s for sure! This has been a great resource when it comes to keeping people updated with Jackson and being able to have people pray in the blink of a tweet. But I also try to tweet the everyday, funny, normal and not so normal things that happen within our family. There is nothing special about us, but it allows you to see me in real life, not just as a Student Pastor.

    4. Student Ministry Stuff – Because this is what God has called me to, it’s natural for me to talk about Student Ministry things. This has become a great platform for me to get the word out about events, topics, resources, and other information that our students, parents, volunteers, and even other Student Pastors can find helpful.

    I hope you will begin to follow me on twitter @dgould77 and join me in this journey called life and living From the Inside Out!

  • Stirring – Confidence

    “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 (NLT)

    We tend to be confident in the things that we know, and/or the things we know we do well.  However, many people tend to lack confidence when it comes to the things of God.  Why is this?

    I personally think fear and busyness play a big part in this.  The fact is, we don’t know what we don’t know.  This causes us to let fear keep us trapped from stepping out in faith and we let busyness keep us from developing and growing in our relationship with God! But what if it was different … can it be different?

    For a person to be confident they have to develop intimacy with God.  The intimacy I am talking about can’t happen if you never spend time alone with God.  Just attending church (which is a great thing to do), just reading the Bible (which I wish more Christians did, myself included),  can’t give you this intimacy. Don’t get me wrong, these things help and are good, but real intimacy happens in a one-on-one setting.

    The only way to have this type of intimacy, and ultimately real confidence in the things of God, is found here, in Joshua 1:8-9.  It’s found when you sit still, study scripture, meditate on what you read, and then apply that understanding to your life.  That’s where intimacy with Christ and real confidence is found!

    So here is the question, do you have this type of intimacy with God? Do you have confidence when it comes to the things of God?  If not, why?  It can change, but it’s going to take some effort on your part.  Here is what I encourage you to do.  Find your Bible, find a specific time, and find a spot to spend time with God, reading, meditating, praying and listening.  If you don’t know a good place to start reading, start in the Gospel of John, or the book of James.  But begin reading and meditating on what you  read.  How much you read is not as important as how much you apply.  So start small, and enjoy your time with God!

    Today, will you make another excuse, will you say I’ll start tomorrow, or will you make your time with God a priority and develop and intimate relationship with Him?  This is where real confidence comes from and this is where you begin to be strong and courageous!

  • Im Back … I think!

    As I posted earlier on twitter I have been thinking about starting the blog again. It’s been awhile and FB and Twitter have become so easy to post to on the go. However, it is challenging to post quality content in 140 characters. So starting this week, look for daily devotionals (not deep but about the journey), family happenings, and miscellaneous posts on other leanings as they happen. Feel free to contribute to the dialogue and be a part of this journey called life!

  • Home: No place for Bible Study

    A San Diego pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home. The couple, whose names are being withheld until a demand letter can be filed on their behalf, told their attorney a county government employee knocked on their door on Good Friday, asking a litany of questions about their Tuesday night Bible studies, which are attended by approximately 15 people.  Read More

  • Twitter & FaceBook have wounded my blog, and life is busy!!!

    I must admit that I haven’t been posting many blogs lately other than some devotionals or thoughts on American Idol.  There have been a couple of reasons for this.

    1.) Life has become so busy – In March Stephanie switched jobs and moved from working the front desk at Grace to working at Grace Christian Preschool at the church.  She made the switch for a couple of reasons, the big one was to allow me to be in the office more, which  you would think would make work easier . . . but it hasn’t.  It seems that there is always more to do.  However, I have enjoyed the time to have random lunches with staff, students, and other leaders form area churches.

    2.) Twitter and FaceBook – I must admit, I was a little hesitant in getting twitter.  At first, I thought it was unrealistic to let people know every time i was going to the boys room.  But, twitter has become so much more than what I expected.  I am not the best at it, but now I find myself checking twitter more than reading blogs.  Here is why:

    • It’s short and to the point.
    • I can see several people from one page.
    • It interfaces with FaceBook.
    • I get more dialogue through Twitter and FaceBook than my blog

    These four things have caused me to blog less and twit more. Yes it is cool  to see my loyal blog readership increase, but this new concept of micro blogging has really become addicting,  In fact, I have had way more interaction with people that follow my twitter or are friends on FaceBook, than I did having dialogue with people on the blog.

    So with this being said, I want to encourage you with this, if you don’t know what Twitter is, click this link to see my profile http://twitter.com/dgould77 – If you have FaceBook and can txt from your phone, think again about joining twitter, you would probably really enjoy it.

    3.) Apathy – I’ll admit it, I have become apathetic in writing new things.  I have several idea’s for new post but just lack the drive to sit down and type the details.  Please keep in mind that I don’t know how to type! (yes, I still hunt and peck, but I sure have become fast at it over the years.)  It’s hard to justify coming home late and then telling the world about my day at the expense of spending time with my family.  Not perfect, but it is really something close to my heart, and something I have been trying to work on.

    So, I said all of that just to say this . . . I will continue to blog, but for the fastest or most up-to-date info on whats going on in the Gould household, follow me on Twitter or catch me on FaceBook.  It’s much easier for me to post a thought, pic, or statement from my phone in 140 characters or less than to get the laptop out to write a new post at the end of the day!

  • Facebook Challenge

    Last week one of our 8th graders posted a note on Facebook sharing his journey and how he came to know Christ.  Since he posted his story (testimony) others have done the same thing including myself.   It’s also posted on my blog if you want to read it just click the about tab at the top.

    So here is my challenge.  If you have Facebook, will you allow yourself to be vulnerable and transparent enough to write your story and post it on Facebook as a note so others can read?  The fact is, everyone has a story, and each story, no matter how similar, is different.  We never know how our story could impact someone else.  Will you take the challenge and allow God to use you in this way?

  • New WordPress Dashboard

    I am going to have to get use to this new dashboard set up! Once I figure everything out I think I might like it. I think there are some lessons to learn here that are bigger than wordpress changing the dashboard.  Here are a few I can think of

    1.  Change can be difficult – It doesn’t matter how well you have thought through changing something, there will always be those in favor and those that oppose it to some degree even if it does make things better, we are creatures of habit.

    2.  Everyone responds to Change differently – It is weird what changes can do to some people.  Some people accept change easily, while other take it hard and some may even try to resist it.  However, Change has to happen sometimes, so don’t be afraid to make changes when they are needed.

    3.  Change creates new opportunity for growth and learning – Let’s face it some changes are easier than others, but some changes cause us to have to learn new things or even create new opportunities for others to get involved.  When you change something, or something has changed on you, don’t be afraid to guestions.  This allows for the best outcome and most production.

    Just some random thoughts.  Now I am off to hang out with the Family.

  • Our Early Time

    This morning as we were getting ready Josiah said something that really caught me off guard but encouraged me also.  As he was in the shower he said, “Dad, we haven’t had our early time yet.”  I had to ask him what our early time was and this is what he said.  You know that time you get up early to talk with God.  WOW!

    A couple of weeks ago Josiah got up a little after I had and came out in the living room to ask what I was doing.  I told him that I get up early to read my Bible and talk with God.  I had no idea that it totally registered with him, but after today I understand that it has.

    Here is the lesson for me . . . He is watching everything that I do!  I know I have a lot of bad traits and habits that unfortunately Josiah and Jackson will probably pick up.  However, what I model for them is impacting them in real ways.  Nothing humbles me and yet excites me more than what Josiah shared with me today.  It almost like I was being held accountable by a 4 year old.  But he is watching, and as he grows, he will remember that his dad would get up early to spend time with God, and hopefully he will do the same thing because I modeled that for him.

    This song captures what I am feeling right now!

  • Life In Transition 5 – Giving Away Ministry by Empowering Leaders

    One of the greatest ways to hit a glass ceiling in your ministry is to try to do it all yourself!  Trust me I know!  I struggle with this daily . . . but I am getting better!  Over the last year I have had the privilege of being involved in some intense leadership training.  One of the things I learned during this time was the difference between an Achiever and A leader.  I learned that I am more of an Achiever than I am a Leader.  That’s doesn’t sound too bad, right?  Well, let me define these two for you:

    An Achiever – Gets the Job Done.
    A Leader – Gets the Job Done Through Other People!

    Based on this definition, which one are you?  Well if you are shocked like I was and you find yourself more of an achiever than a leader . . . there is good news.  The good news is that all of us can learn to be leaders and even be better leaders.  The reality is this, as we become better leaders, more people are going to follow our leadership.  When more people follow our leadership, it produces more needs, thus, requiring us to give away ministry opportunities by Empowering other leaders to meet those needs.  I wish I could say I have this all down, but this is still real raw in me and something that I am learning as I go.  But here are some things that I would say are important to every leader if they want to see their ministry to go to the next level!  As a leader you must . . .

    Cast the Vision Often
    It is important for your team to know where the ministry is headed and why.  This will help answer questions about why you are doing certain things a certain way and not doing some things that may have been good in the past.  It also allows them to begin to tell others about what is going on in your specific ministry.  This keeps you from being the only voice speaking on behalf of your area of responsibly, in my case, students!

    Recruit/Hire the Right People
    This may sound harsh but it is crucial.  The health of your ministry is going to be dependant on the volunteers you recruit or inherit, and the people you hire.  Make sure you do your homework before turning someone loose.  Empowering the wrong leader can be very destructive and might take months even years to recover from.  Getting the right people on the team may take time.  Be patient and don’t rush it.

    Empower Leaders to Lead
    Once you recruit that new volunteer or hire that new staff member, empower them to lead a specific area of ministry.  If you have a job description for that specific ministry, communicate those expectations and r responsibilities.  However, if you don’t have a job description, don’t feel like you have to know how to do that specific ministry before you hand a ministry off to someone.  Maybe you have an idea, but someone else has the expertise, allow them to tell you how their talent or giftedness could be used to enhance, broaden, or deepen your ministry.  You will be better off letting them develop the “how” after you share the “what” with them!  Remember, the human body is made up of different parts for a reason.  The important thing is that all the parts work together to achieve the overall goal, your ministry needs to function in the same way, different parts working towards one goal.

    Create an Environment where Failure is OK
    Yes I said it.  Great successes, many times, comes from several failures.  Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from having the faith to try something new.  However, if failure happens, learn from it so you don’t repeat it.  Developing this type of environment will allow others the ability to be more creative, to try new things, and to take bigger risks!  However, navigate wisely, encourage and evaluate often!

    Celebrate Victories Together
    It’s easy to always talk about the things that need our attention, the areas that need fixed, the opportunities that need to be taken advantage of, and the list goes on.  But don’t forget to talk about the good things that are happening.  God is at work somewhere, so talk about it!  Maybe ask these questions, “Where is God working?  Who/What is God using? What has been happening?”  These victories, whether big or small, are easily overlooked but worthy to be talked about!  Why?  Because it validates our ministry, reminds us of why we do ministry, restores our passion for ministry, and creates momentum for future ministry!

    Provide Additional Training
    Leaders are Learners and training can come in many styles. Provide opportunities to grow as a team as well as opportunities for them to grow personally and professionally.  Remember, the health of your ministry is dependant on the health of your leaders.  Don’t overlook this area, even if it’s small, do something.  Sometimes, the best training is just doing life together!

    These are just some thoughts that I hope can help or inspire you give away ministry.  I know I still have a lot to learn and would love to learn from you, so here is the question . . .

    When it comes to Giving Away Ministry by Empowering Leaders, what have you learned?  Please share so I, and others, can learn from you!