“Goals may cause systematic problems for organizations due to narrowed focus, unethical behaviour, increased risk-taking, decreased cooperation, and decreased intrinsic motivation. Use care when applying goals in your organization.” Daniel Pink
Leadership
Others ~ Key Verses — GLORIFYTHELORD
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:3-4 NLT
I have a friend who says, “You gotta rock Philippians 2:3-4!!!” His enthusiasm for treating others well and better than himself challenges me!
When Jesus touches our life we start to love others rather than use others. Servanthood means that I can temporarily suspend my own needs in order to attend to the needs of others. This means I’m sacrificial; I have a “whatever it takes” attitude in my circles of concern. You know what annihilates service? Preoccupation with ourselves. Or a desperate need to be pumped up, propped up and applauded by other people. Or plain and simple — pride — we think we are better than everyone else. The Gospel meets each one of these black holes to not only plug them but to reverse the flow. Jesus transforms us into servants like Him. Now we can pour out our life secure in the knowledge of our unmerited, graceful exaltation with Jesus and by Jesus.
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too.” Philippians 2:3-4
DiscipleMaker Stages App
I am excited about the DiscipleMaker Stages App that was launched last week by the CNBC. Many thanks to Paul Johnson and the team that has made this app possible.
Origin has been using much of the material available to encourage people at different stages in their discipleship journey. Now with it easily available online we can access material as disciple makers that will help us in a “just in time” manner.
The app is designed for your iPhone, iPad, or Ipod.
You can down load it here.
Everything I’m wearing today…
Everything I’m wearing today was made somewhere else.
Last night all the food on my table, was grown somewhere else.
I’m not a king, but I’m living like one.
Someone else laboured.
Somebody’s mother, father, son, or daughter
planted seeds, ran a machine, and bent their back
against the weight of their own need to produce.
I thank God for them. That’s not a ruse–
My kids look up from the table every time I say,
“Thank you Lord for the men and women who grew this food.”
But I am concerned too. I don’t feel all that Joe Fresh.
A collapsed factory building in Bangladesh
has crashed into my conscience.
I grieve with hundreds of affected families today.
Work is not the problem.
Calloused negligence and care-less-ness ignored reality.
This was not just an accident.
No integrity.
Henry Cloud has called integrity the courage to meet the demands of reality.
Every leader and company creates a wake. God sees. We see.
6Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?
7The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.
8When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.
9Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?
10False weights and unequal measures—the Lord detests double standards of every kind. Proverbs 20:6-10
Talk with the Lord about this: In your circle of influence:
What kind of wake am I leaving behind?
What cracks am I ignoring?
Whose life am I treating as less than?
So you are planning a mission trip…
Throughout my years of participation in churches and ministries I have both been part of organizing groups to go and part of organizing our local work to receive groups. I’m not against the use of short-term mission experiences. In fact my own call into ministry is rooted in a mission experience in New Orleans with the community built up around the Rachel Sims Mission Centre. What’s important is how we frame the trip. What’s important is where we place it in the discipleship journey of the participants. I believe the difference in mindset between “saviour” and “learner” is so important for teams and their leaders. The difference in mindset between doing something for or doing something with the community you are entering will shape how you plan. Whether you are planning a trip to Vancouver, Appalachia, or Haiti, Bob Lupton’s wisdom will be helpful.
Exposing young people (and adults) to the needs of the world and the amazing work of God in harsh environments is important ministry. It opens their eyes, stirs their hearts and draws them into compassionate action. That’s why mission trips can be important in the spiritual development of our youth. And that’s what mission trips should be about—spiritual development, not pretending that they are about saving the world. Not immediately anyway. They are about saving us. Preparing us. Once that is clear, we can venture into Haiti and other places of need with integrity.
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