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 LAND BETWEEN
*In the Land Between we use the term “For Now”
*For now I’m living with my parents
*For now I’m working at McDonald’s
*The land between is where many of us find ourselves today, you don;t know how you got there or how you are going to to get out of it. You feel like you are in the Desert.
*God says Ill take you out of the land of Egypt into the land of promise – it doesn’t talk about the land in-between. But we know that the Israelite’s wandered for 40 years in the desert. they were in THE LAND BETWEEN.
THE LAND BETWEEN …
Numbers 11:4 read with a whining voice IS FERTILE GROUND FOR COMPLAINT
*they didn’t complain about their condition they complained and thought that they are better off without God.
*QUESTION – How is God going to meet his servant Moses?
Numbers 11:11-14 IS FERTILE GROUND FOR MELTDOWNS
*v. 15 Kill me now – It’s too heavy I can’t carry it any more!
*QUESTION: Who’s voice do you hear more?
*Many times we are prepared for days of disappointment but rarely are we ready for long stints of disappointment.
Numbers 11:16-17 IS FERTILE GROUND FOR US 2 SEE GODS PROVISION
*God provides for our need
*What if we cried out to God and He provided?
*This can be different, and sometimes different then what we expect.
*God loves to provide … It’s what He does!
Numbers 11:18-20 IS FERTILE GROUND FOR GODS DISCIPLINE
*V 23 – Is the Lords are to short?
*Is God to weak to handle your need?
*Discipline is inflicting pain for redemptive purposes
*Warning – We tend to think we are immune from Gods discipline
IS FERTILE GROUND FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL GROWTH
*it one of the best places to learn to trust the Lord
*the between is an opportunity to transform you into the person God has created you to be
*its here that we learn to pray
*its hear that we learn to depend
HOWEVER, it doesn’t happen automatically
*when you travel through this land your heart is in danger
*its the best place for growth but its also the place people go to die.
*complaint arrives as an uninvited quest.
*complaint resist eviction
*TRUST however evicts complaint
THE SPACE BETWEEN IS SOME OF THE RICHEST SOIL WHERE GOD DOES HIS DEEPEST WORK!
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
*No-one is immune from a failure
*Every Situation is Unique
How do you approach this as Leaders and a Church?
1. Ignore it
2. Blast it, by Blasting them
3. Just Fire them and Move on with out a lot of discussion
4. Acknowledge it and talk about how we should deal with it
*Help Unpack feelings that
*It allows you to show the people who you really are
How do you attempt to safeguard this from happening in your church
Develop Policies
*staff covenant that the staff signs every year
*Policies of where you can go with people of the opposite staff
*If it looks like a date, smells like a date, it probably is a date
*Meet with staff about these policies
*Remind the staff that we are all Human beings
*We are wired for reproduction
*We are wired for a intimacy and companionship
*We are all sinners and these things lead us to do things we didn’t plan on doing
*Paint a picture of Sin
*The moment of the maybe – “What would it be like if …?”
*We don’t ask the question “How does this end happy?”
*What is it going to look like when you have to tell your spouse?
*Even if you have feelings, never share them with the other person
*Remind them that God id a God of Second Chances but it’s extremely hard to go for plan B
5 R’s for RESISTING TEMPTATION
*REMEMBER who you are!
*RECOGNIZE the consequences of your actions!
*Try to fan
*REDEDICATE yourself to God
Stop, Drop, and Pray
*REVEAL your struggle to a trusted friend
*REMOVE yourself from the situation
*Sometimes there are radical things you have to do to avoid temptation
*REMEMBER the Gospel is for Sinners
BIG iDEAS
*The aim of the Christian Life is Sanctification! AS LEADERS WE ARE CALLED TO HIGHER STANDARDS!!!
1 thes 4:3-5&7
*All of us are tempted as Human Beings
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
“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!
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV)
I have to admit, this is hard … sometimes it’s really hard. As I look back on the last two years of my life there have been times I have questioned my faith, questioned my God, questioned my calling, and questioned my effectiveness. You see when things get tough we panic and think something is wrong, therefore we begin asking the “What’s wrong questions?” Questions like:
What did I do to deserve this?
God, why aren’t you taking care of this?
Did I listen to the wrong voice?
Did I make the wrong choice?
God, where are you?
Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?
I have asked these questions and many others. But here is what I have learned, and trust me … I am still learning, when a situation arises, I need to ask these question, but I also need to decide who I am going to trust. I can either turn to God and trust Him, or turn away from God and not trust Him. I can either worry and live in fear, or I can worship and live in faith. But ultimately, the choice is ours.
I understand that when bad things happen, we are at a loss and begin asking some major questions! I can’t tell you how many times I have had a teenager ask me, “If God is a loving God, why do bad things happen to good people, even Godly people?” That’s a great question and I answer with John 10:10, where Jesus says,
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 (NLT)
We must remember, that we have an enemy. He is determined to steal, kill, and destroy anything good that God wants to do in our life. He want’s to steal our joy, so we don’t talk about God’s blessings, He want’s to steal our peace so we question our faith, our God, and our effectiveness, so we don’t talk about God’s faithfulness. He wants to destroy our confidence, our influence, and our testimony for Christ so it kill’s our ability to be impact others for God’s Kingdom. Basically he is out to make our life hell on Earth.
So, the next time a problem arises, ask the right questions, seek the Lord, and trust that He isn’t absent. Turn the Worry into Worship, the Fear into Faith and let God do the impossible. Pray Ephesians 3:20 which says,
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
You never know … your greatest challenge, greatest obstacle, or greatest question, could be the very thing that God uses to show His greatest impact through you. It could be Gods Refining Fire, that is burning away the impurities from your own life so He can maximize your influence for His Kingdom. Be Faithful!
Today, Let’s seek the Lord, Trust Him, and turn our Fear into Faith and our Worry into Worship! Let’s press through the tuff time and stay faithful to the Lord!
Tonight, Stephanie and I are hosting a group of students that have been meeting together for the last 11 weeks on Sunday Night and doing a daily study from a work book called Max Q. I know, the title is riveting! But when you understand what Max Q is, the title makes sense! 11 weeks ago we had an open call to any student that was willing to take on this challenge and be a student of influence. Here is what we introduced to them 11 weeks ago:
MAX Q
Becoming a Student of Influence
Week 1 – Introduction
Christ is the strongest, grandest, most attractive personality ever to grace the earth. But a careless messenger with the wrong approach can reduce all this magnificence to the level of boredom. ~Jim Rayburn
The real problem of lost teenage America is not a lack of evangelism but a lack of substance in the Christian students who live, study, and play among them. ~ MAX Q
As we begin this journey together our desire is that your Character would be stretched, encouraged, and challenged. At Fusion, we believe we begin to develop students of influence only as we choose to put our focus on the character of our students rather than the charisma of our environments. The breadth and power of our students’ influence on their unbelieving friends are directly proportional to the depth of the content of their character. And the effectiveness of our ministries in influencing the unbelieving student culture is absolutely dependent upon the character of our core students. Our goal in this process is that each of you would take the steps to become what we call core students.
Why Max Q? Max Q is a term used in the space-shuttle program at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. You see, roughly one minute after launch, a space shuttle must withstand a condition of extreme force called “maximum dynamic pressure” – “Max Q” for short. This is the critical point in flight from an aerodynamics perspective. It’s when the most stress is placed on the vehicle. It happens just after the shuttle goes supersonic, at an altitude of 25,000 to 35,000 feet (5 -7 miles up). Mission success demands that all systems on the space shuttle perform at the highest level. When designed properly, prepared carefully, and executed perfectly, the shuttle and its crew safely reach orbital velocity of 17,600 miles per hour at about 8½ minutes after launch.
Our role in your development is difficult, yet so significant. We (your leaders) must create ministry environments that develop students who can withstand intense pressure. Students who can be light in dark places. Students who will not waver from their faith while they passionately pursue relationships with their lost peers. Students who know how to gain influence and earn the privilege to lead. That’s our desire as a ministry and the question we ask you before we go any further is this . . . Are you willing to be that type of student?
If the answer is yes, here’s where we have to start.
It has to start with us your leaders! Our leaders must make a commitment to model, lead, challenge, encourage, correct, and hold you accountable to the things of Christ so you can be the person of influence God is calling you to be.
It starts with you! You have to be willing to be stretched, lead, challenged, encouraged, corrected, and held accountable to the things of Christ. It is going to take some work, there will be times it may be hard, to be honest, they may be times that you want to quit or disagree with the process … but I promise in the end, God will use this process to teach you what it means to be faithful, what it means to be a person of Character, what it means to be a person of influence, and what it means to be a person that is used by God.
The students that are coming over tonight desire to be used by God. They are a work in progress and some of them will move on to mentor the next group of students that will take Max Q in the spring. Some will retake Max Q because of their lack of doing the daily study or missing too many sessions. Regardless, tonight marks a starting point for our ministry to begin developing student leaders. In the Spring, I will offer this to our adult leadership team. We will meet at the same time as the students. Josh Harris who has been shadowing me in these last 11 weeks and will lead the next class of students through the material while I lead the adults through the materiel. (by the way, I think every adult should go through the class, these principles aren’t just for students, they are for anyone that wants to be influential.)
I am so proud of the students that took this serious, didn’t give up, and are seeking ways to be an influence in the arena of life that God has placed them. I am excited to see what God does through them and He uses them to advance His Kingdom!
“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”John 3:30 (NLT)
It’s not about me! It never has been about me and it never will be about me.
I have to be honest, this is something that is easy for me to read, and even say, but in the depths of my heart, I am still very selfish! It’s easy for me to say, “It wasn’t me!” or “It wasn’t my fault!” when things go bad, but when things go good, something changes. All of a sudden I want the recognition, the praise, the hi fives, and what ever-else you want to give me … I want it all.
But this word surrender is so deep, honestly way to deep to write about in a blog, but if God is stirring on the inside of me, there has to be an act of surrender that happens also, and it has to happen in these 4 areas for sure:
A SURRENDERED HEART!
This is the first step. Without a surrendered heart you will remain focused on yourself and miss out on the things that have Eternal value. If you have never trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you have never really surrendered your heart. A surrendered heart breaks for the things that break the heart of God, and stirs within us the desire to be transformed and used by God for His Kingdom.
A SURRENDERED WILL!
This is the outward expression of a surrendered heart. This is where our actions meet up with our beliefs and our words. I believe this is what James is going after when he says,
“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)
Jesus knew this well also. We see this in the garden when he is talking with God asking if there is any other way to redeem man from sin. Look at what he prays,
“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”Luke 22:42 (NLT)
A surrendered will is where follow-through happens. It’s what allows others to see Christ in us.
A SURRENDERED PLAN!
It’s easy for us to claim this verse in Jeremiah,
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”’ Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
We like this verse because it makes us feel good to know that we have a purpose. But it says that God knows the plan for us … what if His plan is different than the plan we thought it would be? What if his plan is different than the plan we have seen in some of our mentors? This is where I have to remember, that God made me to be me, not a carbon copy of someone else. Therefore, God’s plan for me may be different than the plan He has for someone else.
Please don’t hear what I am not saying, I feel many times we do something, believe something, and act a certain way based on what we have seen and learned from someone else. We look at what God is doing in them, how he is using them, and think to ourselves, I have to believe, say, or do, this or that, to have God use me effectively. Don’t get me wrong, you need Mentors and Godly role models, but remember, God uses these people to help point you to what HE wants to do in you, and through you, not for you to be a mini me of them. God’s plan may be radically different than the plan that he has/had for the influences in your life. This doesn’t mean that there is a conflict or contradiction. It simply means that God has used someone to influence and encourage you to be who God created you to be and now its time to step up and surrender to the plan God has for YOU! God may be doing something different in you, don’t be afraid of that, but seek the Lord in that. Remember what He says in Isaiah,
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)
A SURRENDERED LIFE!
This is the ultimate goal, that every aspect of our life is surrendered to God. I believe we live out Romans 12 1-2 when we surrender to these 4 areas. Let this be our goal today,
“And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b]2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
Today, who will you surrender to? The fact is you will surrender to something or someone. For me, I am working on these 4 things, will you join me?
Dan Gould 