A Great Mark Batterson Blog Post

One dimension of the journey toward authentic leadership is finding your voice. In other words, finding your niche, your groove, your unique contribution to the kingdom. I think many of us start out parroting others.

We sound like someone else. Over time, however, we find our preaching voice or writing voice. As a person goes through puberty, the voice deepens as the voice box enlarges. I think leadership is like that. The longer you lead the deeper your voice gets. Think of it as gravitas.One part of finding your voice is identifying your life themes.

C.S. Lewis said, "Every life is comprised of a few themes." Over time you identify those unique God-given convictions that drive you. For example, there are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet. That is one of my themes. A life theme isn't something you know. It's something you ooze out of your pores. It's not something you define. It's something that defines you. It's more than head-knowledge. It's a gut-conviction.

Another part of finding your voice is getting out of your comfort zone and getting into your confidence zone where you have the courage to say some things that you know might step on some toes. If you want to see people dance, you've got to shoot bullets at their feet every now and then! Finding your voice is having the courage to offend. It is saying some things that you know will cause people to say, "You didn't just say that." To which we respond, "Oh yes I did."

Some John Maxwell Pointers

I have been reading a book titled The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell, and here are a couple things that I found were awesome in this book -

In your organization, or church become a "Go To Person."

1. Go To Players Produce When the Pressure Is On.
2. Go To Players Produce When The Resources Are Few.
3. Go To Players Produce When The Momentum Is Low.
4. Go To Players Produce When The Load Is Heavy.
5. Go To Players Produce When The Leader Is Absent.
6. Go To Players Produce When The Time Is Limited.

So there you have it. I think that if we become "GO TO" people, our organizations/churches will be absolutely thrilled. Being a "GO TO" person is an amazing opportunity, don't miss out!

You, Me, & The Mona Lisa

I am reading a great book authored by Don Cousins. In it there is a great thought I want to share with you -

The Mona Lisa is considered priceless. What makes her so valuable? The Answer: "She was painted by Leondardo da Vinci." The painting itself wasn't so special; the person who created it was special.

Ephesians 2:10 says; For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "If the painting is priceless - an inanimate object hanging on a wall created by a man who's been dead five hundred years, what does that say for your value, as a living work of art created by the living God?

Hold The Hand Of The Father

When I was young my mom and dad would take my sister and I to the mall every once in a while. It was a pretty big place in the eyes of a 5 year old. There we were going in and out of all the different stores. I remember reaching up and grabbing the hand of who I thought at the time was my dad. As I walked out of the store I remember looking up and realizing I had grabbed the hand of the wrong person, A PERFECT STRANGER, and it was instantaneous freak out mode for my little five year old mind. I was looking for my REAL FATHER and when I saw him, I ran to him and grabbed his hand... what a relief!

This story means a ton to me right now because God is calling us to rise up and do some big things. We have to be careful not to grab the hands of the wrong people, we need reach for the hand of our REAL FATHER, GOD HIMSELF, and take great comfort in knowing that he will guide us. Hold The Hand Of The Father this week, let him guide you through the big plans He has for your life, don't be afraid if you are feeling so small in the grand scheme of what you believe God is calling you to do, you will be led if you Hold The Hand Of The Father.

The "What IF" Challenge

This week in prayer the same phrase kept coming to mind, "What If?"

"What If Every Day That We Woke Up We Thanked God For Another Day?"
"What If Every Conversation We Had Inspired Others To Seek The Face Of God?"
"What If Every Thing We Listened To Was Uplifting And Praise Worthy?"
"What If Every Time We Spotted A Need, We Met That Need?"
"What If We Slowed Down And Listened To What People Are Really Saying?"
"What If We Filled Our Minds With Scripture Every Morning?"

"What If" is such a small statement, but I can't get away from the power that rests in this little phrase. This week I am going to take the "What If" challenge and do some of the things mentioned above. There are other "What If" statements that you may be thinking of right now. Join with me on the "What If" challenge. Do it for a week and comment back on what happened during the course of the week. I believe that together we will catch a glimpse of the power of God and be inspired to live a life above and beyond what we could have ever thought or imagined. God Bless And Enjoy The Challenge!

Ahh! What To Do!

Have you ever felt like your resources are limited and drying up? If this is happening to you right now I have a new view that you are going to want to ponder.

If you open your bible to 1 Kings 17, there is a great story about a prophet named Elijah. Ok, check this out; this is the very first time Elijah shows up in the bible, and his mission from God is to go to King Ahab, and tell him that there will be no rain in the land because of Ahabs obsession to worship a false god named Baal. This led the nation of Israel into idolatry.

So God sends Elijah to an awesome place called the Kerith Ravine! This is where God would take care of Elijah, and he would be able to eat steak and bread, and drink water from the brook. Elijah had it made! But the Brook Dried Up! Why? Cause there was no water. There was no water because Elijah obeyed God and told King Ahab there would be no more water in the land. So you would think that Elijah would not have this problem of a dried up brook because he was simply obeying God. Well, this is where the story gets good. In the second half of 1 Kings 17 we learn that God moved Elijah from the Kerith Ravine to a poor widows home. She and her child were going to die because of no food, but Elijah obeyed God and went to this widows home. It was there that Elijah learned there was a greater purpose and moving from the Kerith Ravine to the widows home was the best thing that could happen. The widow was blessed by God through an infinite supply of food, and the widows son became ill and died, but wait!! Who was there to help? Elijah! He prayed over her son and raised him from the dead! That Is Awesome!

What would have happened if God had not dried up the resource in the Kerith Ravine? Elijah may never have gone to the widows home. See! God has a greater purpose for us in life. We don't understand why our resources dry up sometimes, but praise God for greater purpose. Think about where your life is right now? Does it feel like your "brook" is drying up? Maybe God wants to move you to a different place to do greater things.

Application Application

James 1:22 - 25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Today I have watched a teaching on line, listened to a podcast, and had a great conversation on the topic of applying what we read from scripture to our every day life. It is awesome when we gain revelation from something we read from scripture, but the power is released through the application. Let's be a group of people who apply the truths of scripture to our lives on a daily basis. Real Change Comes Through Application.