What about this guy leading worship at MKCC one week?

I just love creativity! God is totally awesome!

The power of encouragement

This has got to be one of the best videos I have seen for some time.

Enjoy! Then think about it for a little while and after that, let's all commit to do something great in this city to make Jesus name famous because God is encouraging us to go for it.

Who's following you?

The children's song came to my mind the other day, 'We are following the leader, the leader, the leader we are following the leader wherever he may go..' This really challenged me as I thought about who was following me. Let me ask you the question today, ' who's following you?

L-E-A-D-E-R

Listen
Speaking out and taking stand is one thing, but keeping an open ear is essential. Listening will always empower a leader to speak more wisely.

Enthusiastic
If you are passionate about something, enthusiasm will radiate to those around you. Enthusiasm will always be attractive and will draw others to you.

Action
Having a plan of action is crucial to know where you are going and what we want to achieve. I love to be around movers and shakers who commit to getting things done. We need to be creative and willing to take risks in order to find new ways of accomplish our goals.

Dependability
People should be able to trust a leader to operate ethically and with their best interests at heart. If we want the trust of others we have to be dependably and consistent. Fulfilling promises and goals are vital in maintaining loyalty and confidence.

Educated
Knowledge is important and learning crucial. Many stop learning and therefore stop growing. A leader should also lead by example.

Results
We should always look for results and actions completed. A leaders motivation should be about getting something positive done.

Leadership thoughts....

A true leader is always looking to learn from others. I came across this article recently that is well worth thinking about. Enjoy!

In honor of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time magazine, put together Mandela's eight lessons of leadership. Stengel writes: "[The lessons] are cobbled together from…conversations old and new and from observing [Mandela] up close and from afar. Many of them stem directly from his personal experience. All of them are calibrated to cause the best kind of trouble: the trouble that forces us to ask how we can make the world a better place."

Here are Mandela's eight lessons of leadership:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear—it's inspiring others to move beyond it.
   
   
2. Lead from the front—but don't leave your base behind.
   
   
3. Lead from the back—and let others believe they are in front.
   
   
4. Know your enemy—and learn about his favorite sport. [In order to work more effectively with Afrikaners, Mandela learned their language and all about their most cherished sport: rugby.
   
   
5. Keep your friends close—and your rivals even closer.
   
   
6. Appearances matter—and remember to smile.
   
   
7. Nothing is black or white.
   
   
8. Quitting is leading too.
   

Everyone needs models and mentors

I believe we all need to learn from others to help us get better. In church leadership terms, Pastor Rick Warren has inspired me for some time and I value his input into my life. He is a great leader who is making a difference in the world for good and for God. There is much I desire to learn from him. take time to read this article and think about intentionally building some people into your life to help you develop and grow.

We Need Models and Mentors by Rick Warren

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. Philippians 3:17 (NIV)

*** *** *** ***

For us to mature, we need models and mentors.

Many people make the mistake of thinking all they need to grow spiritually is God’s Word and prayer. But the truth is, we need people to help us grow.

Christlike character is built through relationships, not in isolation. There are many things God wants you to learn about life that you’ll never learn on your own. You’ll only learn them in community.

We always grow faster and stronger with living, breathing examples who can model for us what a purpose driven life looks like. We need more than explanations, we need examples.

Paul realized the power of a pattern when he advised, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” (Philippians 3:17 NIV). To grow, we need to see principles in practice. We need to see what beliefs looks like when they are translated as behavior in everyday situations.

When Paul would travel to a city to start a church, he would begin by simply living among the people. He was a “living Bible,” echoing the life of Jesus, where “the word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14 NKJV).

After Paul left a city, he would write back, “Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9 NLT).

Who are your models for following Christ? Who are you watching and learning from?

Here’s a tougher question: Are you an example for anyone else? In elementary school, you probably enjoyed “Show and Tell.” As believers, we’re often better at “telling” than “showing.”

In today’s culture, the world desperately needs people who can show us how to love our spouse and make a marriage last, how to relate to our kids, how to do business with integrity, how to handle conflict in the way Jesus would. These are lessons we learn by watching others.

Not only do we need models to grow, we need mentors. Mentors are people who’ve followed Christ longer than we have and are able to share their life lessons. You’ve heard that it’s wise to learn from experience, but it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others. Life is too short to learn everything by experience! And some painful experiences can be avoided if you’re smart enough to learn from mentors in your church family.

Ask yourself this: “What’s been the greatest positive influence on my life?” Most likely it was not a sermon, seminar, or small group lesson. It was somebody who shaped your life through a personal relationship.

Can you see God’s wisdom in creating the church, a family full of mentors and models for our benefit?

That’s why being connected to a small group is so crucial to spiritual growth. It’s a regular opportunity to learn from each other.

Today, spend a few moments getting intentional about this. Write down the names of people in your church and small group that you’d like to learn from. Then identify what you’d specifically like to learn from them. Remember, they don’t have to be perfect to be a model or mentor.

To grow spiritually, you must also be willing to be a model or mentor to others. That may scare you but all it takes is being one step ahead.

People don’t expect you to be perfect – they already know you aren’t. What they want you to be is honest! So let them see your struggles, not just your successes. We usually grow as much from others’ weaknesses as we do from their strengths.

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Busy but not productive

Ever find yourself being busy but not very productive? Yep, at times me too! I think if we are honest we all have times like this and need to realise where we are at, reflect on what we are doing and then refocus on what we should be doing.

Here are three simple questions that may be helpful?

What is the smallest step I could take that would result in a big impact?
Often, there is a small step you can take to get the ball moving again. It is an action or task that will give you momentum. Perhaps it's a phone call that needs to be a made, an important email you've been procrastinating about, or a decision you need to finally make.

You know what it is. Start small, but start now.

What's keeping me from being productive?
Get clear about what's impeding your productivity, then ask yourself this next question...

What can I do right now to remove that obstacle?
Whatever you identified as your obstacle, make a plan to remove it - immediately.

Notice when you're busy, but not productive. Then follow these three steps to get out of the rut.

God is an awesome God

I am not one for singing songs over and over and over. However, this was a live recording at a Michael W Smith concert that I think is awesome.

I want to encourage all people out there who are believing God to heal them or to bring a breakthrough in their lives to sing this and believe it from the bottom of your heart because our God is an awesome God and can do anything.