… sadly you’re not going to find it here anymore. And to be honest, you’ve probably stopped following this blog because it has become inactive.
However, if you want to see life from my point of view, then click here:
I hope you’ll stop by for a visit to be encouraged/challenged or to simply see what is going on in everyday life. Here, I am writing thoughts from my daily time with Jesus, and capturing life as it happens. Hope to see you there.
Keep Running,
Dan
Many of you have been asking how our youngest son Jackson has been doing. I have tried to keep everyone in the know through twitter … but, 140 characters can only keep you so informed. So here is whats been happening over the last 4 months.
In March my family and I moved from Texas back to Missouri where I serve as the Community Pastor at First Baptist Church Harvester. With Jackson seizures we knew we needed a good Neurologist that could take on the care that he received in Texas. We found a great Neurologist and started to see him in June.
On August 8th, Jackson had two back-to-back seizure within an hour. This had never happened before so he was taken to the hospital via ambulance. He was released after a couple of hours with an anti-seizure prescription and appointment with our Neurologist.
When meeting with our Neuro, He recommended putting Jackson on a new medication since his currents ones were at pretty high levels. We began that process mid August and were seizure free till November as we made the transition from Depakote to Lamictal leaving his dose of Keppra the same.
On Monday, November 7th, Jackson had three seizures within an hour. On his third seizure we called the ambulance as each seizure seemed to intensify. He was given an anti-seizure medication and watched for a couple of hours. We were released with a 3 day anti-seizure prescription (a form of Valium) and instructed to call our neurologist.
The very next day, Jackson had two seizures and a third one in the ambulance outside the house. This was 6 seizures in a 24 hour period. After the third seizure had stopped, the Ambulance took Jackson to Children’s STL where our Neurologist and team of Dr. could make sure nothing else was going on. Jackson was admitted and kept on a pretty high dose of clonazepam for 24 hours and then a lower dose the next day. We were released on that Thursday after spending 2 nights there for monitoring, with instructions to increase his new medication and a 3 day prescription of clonazepam.
I wish I could say it stopped there but, it didn’t. Early the Friday morning after Thanksgiving, Jackson had a seizure while he was sleeping. Thankfully it was just one seizure this time but it was a seizure none the less. Our neurologist made a final increase to his medication to get him at the level that he wanted him to be on in hopes that Jackson would have less seizures. However, that has not been our experience with this new medication yet.
In the last week, Jackson has had 7 seizures. We believe be had one this morning while he was watching TV because of the way he is sleeping as I type this post. His Neurologist has made another adjustment and increased his medication again. From what we are told, it takes about 4 days for any changes in medication to take full effect. Jackson is on a very low dose of this new medication and has room to be increased on it quiet a bit. We are prayerful that this is just a transition in medicine that will eventually, once we have the right levels and dosage, have better long-term results and allow Jackson to not have seizures.
Please continue to pray for Jackson. We believe God has a great plan for him and us through this journey and we are trusting Him even when we have more questions right now than answers.
“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that faith save anyone?” James 2:14
Don’t talk about IT, BE about IT! This has been a phrase that has been piercing my heart all summer. Let’s face it, it’s easy to say that we are Christians, but it a whole different thing when we try to live out the things we say we believe.
Growing up as a kid, I was taught this phrase, “Actions speak louder than words.” If we were to pause for a moment and think about what our actions are saying, it might scare us. Many times, good or bad, we are labeled by our actions. When our words and actions align these labels tend to be positive. However, if our words and our actions conflict, these labels tend to be negative.
I’m wrestling with this thought but I think there is a lot of truth to it, many times our words reveal the intentions of our heart, but our actions reveal the meditation of our heart! It’s a powerful thing when our words and our actions actions align with our Faith in Christ Jesus. Don’t be fooled, people are watching! They are comparing the things we say with the way we live and they are more likely to listen to us when they see our words and actions don’t conflict.
So here is the challenge for today, let’s put our faith in action. Let’s show the people around us what it means to have a relationship with Christ not just by the things we say, but by things we do. Don’t just talk about IT, BE about IT!
Father today, help us to live out the things we say we believe. When the temptation comes to do something that is in opposition of what we believe, empower us to resist that temptation. Let our actions speak louder than our words so that you can receive all the glory and others can see the difference you are making in our lives.
“Preach the gospel always, If necessary use words.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi.
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22 (NLT)
I was 18 the first time I read this verse. My youth pastor had been challenging me to begin reading the Bible, and each time he challenged me I gave some lame excuse. Finally one night, I remember climbing in bed, picking up my Bible and thumbing through the page trying to find a place to start reading. To be honest, I was skeptical and at the time didn’t really understand why or how reading the Bible daily would change anything.
That night, I decided to read one chapter each night for at least a week. Since the book of James was only 5 chapters, I decided to start there. As I started reading, God began to work in my heart. It was as if this letter was written directly to me because I was going through these things. I was going through some serious trials where I was searching for who I really was and what I was going to do now that I had graduated from High School. I was dealing with a ton of temptation. Sometimes I’d give in and sometimes I wouldn’t.
But then I read these words, “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says.” Those words pierced my heart! I was convicted because I grew up in Church and I had heard God’s Word being taught on several occasions, but I wasn’t doing anything to apply the things I was hearing, I was just going through the motions.
I remember, thinking to myself, how come no-one ever showed me this verse before. I mean come-on, I’ve been in and out of Church since I was a baby, my parents were Sunday School teachers, my grandfather was a pastor, and I am just now reading this.
God really used that verse to get my attention. Today, as I read this, I’m reminded of how important it is to be TOTALLY PRESENT when I am hearing or reading the Word of God. Sometimes it’s easy to sit down to read and glance over what I am reading because 1) I’ve read it before or 2) because my mind is a million and one other places at that moment. However, being Totally Present means that I am reading or listening with an expectation that God is going to speak to me through what I am reading or hearing. It means that I’m not only going though the motions, but motions are going through me. (that sounds cheesy but I think that’s a really deep statement). Bottom line, it means that I begin to adjust my life, no matter how easy or difficult it may be, to align with the things God says in His Word.
Today, my prayer is that God would speak to each of us through His Word and that we would begin to adjust and align or lives around His Word. That when we read it, when we hear it that we would be Totally Present and allow His Word to change us from the inside out!
Father help us to not only hear your Word, but help us apply and do the things we hear and read so that our life will align with your Word!
On Sunday, September 12, 2010 I role out a reading plan for Fusion that I believe will help students and adults engage in a daily reading plan that will take their walk with Christ to a deeper level. Because of this vision, I’ve created a reading plan that will help all of us to stay on track. I would love it if you picked one up and started it on Monday with the students. I’m challenging all of us to read one chapter a day, five days a week starting in the book of James. Very doable! If you need a Tri-Fold pick one up in the student center. If you are following this blog, just check here daily to see where we are going. This leads me to my next point!
On Monday, September 13, 2010 I am going to start blogging right here what I have read each day. It follows along with the reading plan and I am doing it in hopes that this blog can be a source of encouragement and a place where students, leaders, and others can post comments about what they gained from the daily reading. Here is what the post will look like from me each day.
1. I will write out the verse or passage that spoke to me from the daily reading.
2. I will write an application as to how I will apply that verse/verses
3. I will write a prayer asking God to give me the courage and power to apply this truth to my daily life.
But that’s not all, I am challenging you to begin to journal your thoughts in a Journal, or here in a comment. Could you imagine how our ministry would look if all of our students and leaders took this serious and began to get in their Bibles in this way. Could you imagine the resource that could be created if we posted our learning’s on this blog page? It could inspire and challenge others to get into Gods Word. I don’t know about you, but this EXCITES ME!!!!
Here is where I need your help … will you join me? Will you do this yourself, get your leaders in your group to do this, and encourage students to get involved in creating the Habit of spending time with God daily by reading His Word. I hope you will stack hands with me and be an active participant in this vision of getting people in the Word this year!!!
Remember our challenge this year – BE the LEADER you want your students to BE!
It’s going to be exciting! Are you IN?
WHAT MOTIVATES US: NOT WHAT YOU THINK
Humans have 3 drives
BIOLOGICAL DRIVE
REWARD AND PUNISHMENT DRIVE
INTEREST DRIVE
*management leads to compliance
*management doesn’t lead to engagement
3 THINGS THAT HELP AN ORGANIZATION TO BE SUCCESSFUL
AUTONOMY
*These are the big 4 things you need to leverage
*time
*team
*task
*technique
Fed-x Day – 20% time
*allowing the team to work on something outside there focus to present to the whole organization
MASTERY
*Biggest motivator at work was making progress
*we need to help people see their progress
*HOW: flow is when you get caught in the moment of what you are doing
*we need to try to create moments where people can get in the flow of what they are doing
*collect feedback – beyond the annual review, it needs to be an authentic conversations
*encourage people take into their own hands
*send out goals at the beginning of the month at the end of the month you call yourself into the office to talk about the goals and how you are doing?
PURPOSE
*Give them something to see that is larger than themselves
*What language do you use?
*we vs they – what pronoun do you tend to use?
WHEN LEADERS EMERGE
*Power of small groups – how do people not feel like a number but a active part of the organization
*Work collectively together – their job is to make everyone else work better not just as an individual but as a team.
*Create an environment where the leader changes with where the knowledge is for that moment or project is for that team.
*When you join, you by-in to the common values
*power of small teams
*we’re all in the same boat
*take a long term view
*are we involved in our community?
*are we being innovative?
*More Coaching then Bossing
*Leaders should coach others in the organization
*As leaders we have to learn how to divide in order to multiply!
*You are only a leaders if people want to follow you.
THE UPSIDE OF TENSION
The right amount of pressure & tension can be used to pick up a contact lens and/or throw a baseball. The key is to leverage that tension appropriately.
1. Every organization has problems that shouldn’t be SOLVED and tensions that should be RESOLVED.
A. For example: Whats more important?
*Working and/or Family
*Preaching inspired by the Holy Spirit and/or getting kids back from volunteers on time.
*Excellence vs Sound Financial decisions
*Theology and/or Application
B. If you “resolve” any of those tensions, you will CREATE new tensions.
*We have to learn to manage these problems and tensions … not solve/resolve them.
C. If you resolve any of those tensions, you create a barrier to progress.
D. Progress depends not on the resolution of those tensions but on the successful MANAGEMENT of those tensions.
*When there are two opposing forces, you must create a third option/category, otherwise you end up with a win/lose. Or a lose/lose situation
2. To distinguish between problems to solve and tensions to manage, ask the following:
*Does this problem or tension keep resurfacing?
*Are there mature advocates for both sides?
ex. Keep church safe for seekers vs need to mature Christians
*Are the two sides really independent?
3. The role of leadership is to LEVERAGE the tension to the benefit of the organization.
A. Identify the tensions to be managed in your organization.
B. Create TERMINOLOGY EVERYONE KNOWS.
C. Inform your CORE.
*Key players must understand the principle or catch the vision.
D. Continually give VALUE to both sides.
E. Don’t weigh in too heavily on your personal biases.
*Understand the UP SIDE of the opposite side.
F. Don’t allow strong personalities to WIN the day.
*You need passionate people to champion a side, but also a mature person that realizes it’s a tension that won’t ever be resolved.
G. Don;t think in terms of balance. Think RHYTHM
*Don’t try to be fair. – not we did x last year so to be fair lets do y this year.
*Understand timing, time to learn, time to serve, time to preach/time to sing.
*Identify tensions (not solvable) … and identify problems that do NEED to be solved.
CONCLUSION: As a leader, one of the most valuable things you can do for your organization is differentiate between tensions your organization will always need to manage vs problems that need to be solv
To be of GREAT use and to Do GREAT work
Good is the enemy of great
*How do you make the leap to GREAT performance?
*Greatness is largely a matter of choice and discipline!
How do the mighty fall
*If it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone! Anyone can fall and many do.
*You can be sick on the inside and still look strong on the outside!
5 STAGES OF DECLINE
1. HUBRIS BORN OF SUCCESS
*outrageous arrogance to neglect our life calling and failure to renew that everyday with the same passion as if when we first began
*Bad decision made with good intentions are still bad decisions!
*Three leaders described everyone of them understood that it’s not about them!!!!
*Good to Great leaders are different they are level 5 leaders not level 4 leaders
*What separated the #4 leaders from the #5 leaders was their Humility.
*The greatest leaders signature was their humility!
*It’s their drive to do whatever it takes for the advance of the organization and vision
2. UNDISCIPLINED PURSUIT OF MORE
*The mighty fall by going to far, by over-reaching
*They break packards fall
*Do we have all seats filled with fantastic leaders, if not, we are on the brink of falling
3. DENIAL OF SICK AND PERIL
*you look good on the outside
* Look at handbook:
*Teams on the Way up vs Team on the way down
*Stockdale paradox
*you must never ever confuse faith and facts
*never give up but face the facts
4. GRASPING FOR SALVATION
*Looking for something to save the day
*they look to the outside instead of from within
*greatness is an accumulative process, not a single bullet, single event, single person.
*every day, every week, every person matters.
*You have to make the choice to continue to get better, and better, and better
5. CAPITULATION OF IRRELEVANCE OR DEATH
*It’s over, you are ready to give up, you’ve lost your influence
What causes companies to stand strong and long
*They had a reason for existence
*They answer the question what would be lost if we disappeared
*They are driven by purpose beyond money and success
*They will not compromise product quality
*They understand that they have to have the ability to change
*They understand the power of AND when asked a this OR that question
*There is a core that has to be held tight!
*Preserve the core and stimulate progress
*Hold the value constant
TO DO
1. Do your diagnostics (jimcollins.com) Good to Great diagnostic tools use it with your team
2. Count your Blessings – don’t stop till you get 100
you see all the good things that happen that we didn’t create
3. What is your questions to statements ratio … can you double it in the next year
*Ask the right questions
*Invest more in being interested instead of interesting
4. Answer question how many seats are on your bus
5. Do the inventory
6. Create an inventory of the brutal facts
7. Create a Stop Doing List
8. Define Results and Focus there
9. Double your reach to young people by changing your practices without changing your core values
10. Create, and/or Chase your Big Harry Audacious Goal
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
Dan Gould 