If we're not leading people towards, relentlessly in pursuit of...this Man...it's all pointless.
1. God's Library - a 5 week survey of the entire Bible, taught by Jim Kingery on Monday nights beginning April 20th. Cost is only $5. Childcare is provided at no cost.
2. Spiritual Warfare - a 5 week study about the fundamentals of spiritual warfare, the Christian response and general Biblical tenets taught by Steve Stoner. Begins Sunday, April 19 @ 9:30. Cost is just $5/person
3. One on One - 2 part workshops on how to practically disciple someone. Co-taught by Michelle Brand and myself with Sunday morning and Monday evening date options in April & May. NO COST. This is a mandatory equipping experience for all Life Group Leaders and then the goal is to see all of Grace Point go through the training so that not only can we share our One story, but we can facilitate each new believer growing in "everything Jesus has taught us."
4. Town Hall for Hope - Thursday, April 23 from 6:30 - 8:30pm we will be hosting a LIVE national event by Dave Ramsey regarding how Biblical financial principles can provide hope and an alternative to the recession environment we're in. It's a FREE event. Register online - bring your group and come check out the fun. Hundreds of people from across San Antonio will be joining us for this special event!
To register for any of these event drop an email to Toni @ toni.renfrow@gracepoint.org or visit www.GracePoint.org. Take advantage of these laser-focused courses we are rolling out to help supplement the learnings of group life and provide venues for equipping YOU as leaders!
This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place… Habakkuk 2:3
Perhaps one of the most persistent hindrances to effective leadership is a function of time tolerance. In a volatile environment, much value and emphasis can be placed on "JIT Decision Making" (Just in Time) or jumping at just the right time. Yet, how often our preconceptions about time as a function of vision realization handicaps us from truly realizing a certain future.
God anointed David to be king of Israel...15 years before it actually came to pass. For 15 years David was in a circuitous journey towards a very clear point in a very unclear process. Jesus was actively ministering for just 3 years before the Father's ordained time was upon Him to depart...why not swap and have David on the throne in 3 years and Jesus presently teaching for an extra 12?
It's a peculiar discipline, this learning to trust God's vision despite uncertainty as to the timeline and path. It's uncomfortable to hold in tension the dynamic of being "hands open" to changes in the plans as we know them while resolved to a vision that may seem elusive in the day-to-day.
What visions has God given you that you short-circuited out of impatience?
What discoveries have you experienced of God's faithful working out of His plan well outside your preconceived timelines and context?
The truth is - change is constant, uncertainty is always dominant (just veiled by trends), and risk is always an abundant resource. Adversity certainly demands reorientation. Uncertainty demands clarity. If necessity is the mother of invention, crisis is the mother of leadership. If there was ever a time that the church needed to rise up and lead well in a season of crisis it is now. This is a time of underscored urgency to lead effectively and diligently.
Now, here's where we need to work smarter not harder to take advantage of an event like The Leadership Summit: stretch your dollars. Why should you, your team, or leaders you invite pay more than they have to? Why not help everyone you know stretch limited resource dollars - and hopefully create the opportunity for more people to experience the leadership infusion for the same total cost!
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Here are some things to know:
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1. Register HERE
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2. If you register before 3/31 you'll have access to the cheapest rates EVER
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3. Students/Faculty/Administration (at any level) can register for over 50% off ($75)!!
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4. Military (active/retired/reserves/spouse) can register for just $95
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5. Groups - 10+, 25+ and 50+...lots of incentives
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6. Magazine Deals - find an ad in Christianity Today, Leadership Journal and others for promo codes that can save $10 or more off of each registration
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7. Bottom Line - don't let $$$ stand between you and advancing your leadership quotient (LQ), or a friend and theirs, or your team and it's collective LQ. Contact Mike Sharrow for ideas if you're trying to get someone to Summit but hitting a hurdle.
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How will you lead in these times? How will you stretch Kingdom resource dollars to benefit entire organizations, local churches, and the region?
What is the monetary value of your human body? Some researchers, with too much time on their hands, have estimated that the monetary value of the elements that comprise your body is about $4.50. Can you believe that? Even with the recent changes, that's still not enough to buy a cup of coffee and a pastry at Starbucks!
But as with most things, when I ask God the value of my human body He gives me a completely different answer. God reminds me through the Psalms that I have been wonderfully and fearfully made. Genesis helps me understand that the very breath of God flows through my lungs. Colossians teaches me that by and for Christ Jesus I have been created. Revelation reveals to me that I have been created for His pleasure. In Galatians, the Holy Spirit illuminates to us that God has called us...so that...
So that, what? Moses was called by God so that He could lead His people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Joshua was called by God so that he could lead the congregation of Israel. Esther was called by God so that the Jews would be saved from the hands of a mad-man. John the Baptist was called by God so that he could be a voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the Savior. Mary was called by God so that the Savior of the world could become flesh and dwell among us; secure redemption; abundant life. Paul was called by God so that he might preach Jesus among the Gentiles.
As a Christ-follower, each of us has been called… so that we can lead others in the fulfillment of a God-redemptive purpose. He has called you to influence others with the transforming power of Christ Jesus. He has called you to lead where you are.
But you may say, “I’m not a leader!” And I would reply, “That’s simply not true.” I believe that we are all leaders. One definition of a leader is someone who has influence. And surely, in many areas of your life, you are a person of influence; a leader.
As you embrace the fact that you are a leader you’ll find yourself wrestling with the gift you have been given by God. You will realize your insufficiency. You’ll probably come to the sober reality that in and of yourself you are incapable.
And that’s the point where your greatest leadership achievement is realized. Make no mistake about it: the influence you steward has been fore-ordained by the hand of God. It is not His plan for you to be a renegade acting on your own compulsions. Rather, His desire is for you to live fully in Him so that His purpose is realized through the effective stewardship of His leadership gift. The gift of leadership is a huge responsibility. Remember, you have been called…so that!
As you lead, you will soon realize the need to pursue the advancement of your leadership gift so that Christ’s redemptive influence will be potently experienced. Bill Hybels suggests four ways through which you can grow your leadership:
1. Read everything you can on improving your leadership.
2. Go where leadership is taught.
3. Get around leaders that are better than you and ask them questions.
4. Lead something.
There are a variety of resources available to help you keep your leadership edge razor sharp, however, I believe there is none better than The Leadership Summit, a Christ-centered, Church leader focused annual two-day conference led by the best world leaders across many disciplines. The Summit is a high challenge and high intensity infusion that will stretch your thinking and provide practical skills to help you lead where you are.
The value of your life is far greater than the chemicals that are contained within. When you fully surrender and choose to live in the reality of who you are in Christ, you hold dear the one life in which you have to be a leader of redemptive potency. You value every task, conversation and seemingly coincidental encounters. As you lead, you experience the fulfillment of God’s promise to a hopeless world flowing through your surrendered life. You begin to lead like your life really matters. It does. You’ve been called…so that!
But as with most things, when I ask God the value of my human body He gives me a completely different answer. God reminds me through the Psalms that I have been wonderfully and fearfully made. Genesis helps me understand that the very breath of God flows through my lungs. Colossians teaches me that by and for Christ Jesus I have been created. Revelation reveals to me that I have been created for His pleasure. In Galatians, the Holy Spirit illuminates to us that God has called us...so that...
So that, what? Moses was called by God so that He could lead His people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Joshua was called by God so that he could lead the congregation of Israel. Esther was called by God so that the Jews would be saved from the hands of a mad-man. John the Baptist was called by God so that he could be a voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the Savior. Mary was called by God so that the Savior of the world could become flesh and dwell among us; secure redemption; abundant life. Paul was called by God so that he might preach Jesus among the Gentiles.
As a Christ-follower, each of us has been called… so that we can lead others in the fulfillment of a God-redemptive purpose. He has called you to influence others with the transforming power of Christ Jesus. He has called you to lead where you are.
But you may say, “I’m not a leader!” And I would reply, “That’s simply not true.” I believe that we are all leaders. One definition of a leader is someone who has influence. And surely, in many areas of your life, you are a person of influence; a leader.
As you embrace the fact that you are a leader you’ll find yourself wrestling with the gift you have been given by God. You will realize your insufficiency. You’ll probably come to the sober reality that in and of yourself you are incapable.
And that’s the point where your greatest leadership achievement is realized. Make no mistake about it: the influence you steward has been fore-ordained by the hand of God. It is not His plan for you to be a renegade acting on your own compulsions. Rather, His desire is for you to live fully in Him so that His purpose is realized through the effective stewardship of His leadership gift. The gift of leadership is a huge responsibility. Remember, you have been called…so that!
As you lead, you will soon realize the need to pursue the advancement of your leadership gift so that Christ’s redemptive influence will be potently experienced. Bill Hybels suggests four ways through which you can grow your leadership:
1. Read everything you can on improving your leadership.
2. Go where leadership is taught.
3. Get around leaders that are better than you and ask them questions.
4. Lead something.
There are a variety of resources available to help you keep your leadership edge razor sharp, however, I believe there is none better than The Leadership Summit, a Christ-centered, Church leader focused annual two-day conference led by the best world leaders across many disciplines. The Summit is a high challenge and high intensity infusion that will stretch your thinking and provide practical skills to help you lead where you are.
The value of your life is far greater than the chemicals that are contained within. When you fully surrender and choose to live in the reality of who you are in Christ, you hold dear the one life in which you have to be a leader of redemptive potency. You value every task, conversation and seemingly coincidental encounters. As you lead, you experience the fulfillment of God’s promise to a hopeless world flowing through your surrendered life. You begin to lead like your life really matters. It does. You’ve been called…so that!
I've gotten pretty good at putting mind over matter when it comes to edible temptations. I can walk away. I can eat the bite and leave the rest to imagination. Then there are these things called "Books," and they can just scuttle my boat. It is with this critical piece of intelligence in mind that the folks at Zondervan and Leadership Network have started dripping these "sampler" books that give you just a taste-test from a proverbial buffet of ideas...with a trail of breadcrumbs leading you back to Amazon.
Misery loves company, so with that, let me share with you all my latest source of temptation: the Leadership Network Innovation Series Sampler for the spring of 2009.
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